What a Week!

In my time watching football I don't think I've ever seen such an entertaining start to the season. The storylines, surprise teams, big plays and thrilling finishes have made the football fans forget...it's only September! The NFL couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. All six primetime games this season have come down to the final minutes, which is more than the NFL could've hoped for. In Week 2, there were 10 games decided by 8 points or less. Five of these included game-winning scores in the final four minutes.

So what can we take from this bizarre week?

1. The Jets are for real. I was completely wrong in thinking the Pats would dominate them. Rex Ryan said that Bill Belichick was a better coach than he was before the game, but he outcoached his counterpart in this one. The Jets defense has stopped two of the top offenses in football in consecutive weeks.  Mark Sanchez looks as poised as I've seen a young QB since...dare I say Tom Brady? I know it's a little early for that but this kid stepped up to the challenge and the great thing is that he looks like he's having a blast out there on the field. Man do I love seeing the Pats get beat.

2. The Pats just don't seem right. I feel like anytime Belichick loses, he becomes a mad scientist who has to go back to the lab again and frantically figure out the right formula for victory. But this year that might not be so easy. I'm not one to freak out over Tom Brady being out of rhythm like everyone else. This is just another instance of "What have you done for me lately" that I talked about last week. But if his productivity doesn't improve in the next few weeks I will be extremely upset. I drafted him in the 2nd round of my fantasy draft even though he's one of my five most hated athletes in sports right now. I can't stand looking at that s---eating grin on his face. But I'm still confident that he'll turn it around. He's Tom Brady after all.

What is worrisome for the Pats is their defense. They only gave up 16 points against the Jets but it could've been a lot worse if the Jets did a better job in the redzone. The Pats failed to make the crucial stops on 3rd down, to get their defense off the field. They look like they're missing the old vets Bruschi, Vrabel and Seymour. Next week is an even bigger test for this defense when they face the powerful Falcons offense.

Quick Note: This game proved how vital Wes Welker is to this offense. I always believed that it was Moss who created opportunities for Welker to get open but this may not be the case. Moss only caught four balls for 24 yards in Welker's absence. With all the pressure Brady faced, he could've really used his blitz-buster, check-down receiver to make the Jets pay. With his other receivers, Brady couldn't match the timing perfection that he has with Welker. They need him healthy ASAP.

3. Mike Singletary has changed the culture in San Francisco. The 49ers are breaking away from their trend of being a finesse team and playing the type of smash mouth football that defined Singletary as a player. In case you guys didn't hear, Frank Gore is listed as questionable for next week's game against the Vikings due to back problems from carrying the offense. Speaking of injuries, the Seahawks might have to start their entire practice squad on offense after the physical beating they took from the Niners defense. I predicted that the Niners would win, but I was wrong about one thing: they aren't going to back away from the run no matter how many defenders are in the box. On both of Gore's long TD runs, Seattle had eight men in the box. But great blocking and tremendous vision from Gore allowed him to get to the second level of the defense...where there was no one to be found. I'm not going to be one of those guys to jump the gun and call for playoffs just yet and jinx my boys. But starting off with two wins in the division is huge, especially in a sub-par NFC West. I'm just happy to have a coach seems to know what he's doing.

4. Jay Cutler still sucks. I don't care if he beat the defending champs. He just took advantage of a Steeler defense that stacked up on the run to stop the only true star on this offense...Matt Forte. And let's not forget that if it weren't for Jeff Reed's choke job he wouldn't have been in a situation to win that game. I hope Jay bought Reed a beer after the game because those missed FGs saved him from another week of tough Chicago scrutiny.

Quick Note: Check out who shows up when you type in Jay Cutler on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGcH2lAJJRQ

I can't help but laugh at that. Real question is which Cutler is less of a d-bag. I vote for the body builder...I think he's smarter too

5. The Giants and the Ravens are the two best teams in football right now. It's possible we could have a rematch of the 2000 Super Bowl this year. A lot has happened in nine years hasn't it? Kerry Collins has made a resurgence with the Titans, Trent Dilfer and Brian Billick are both NFL analysts, Jim Fassel has disappeared from the face of the earth, and Michael Strahan is acting in movies. What has the world come to? One thing hasn't changed....Ray Lewis. Lewis made the big stop to secure the Ravens win over the Chargers on Sunday. It doesn't look like he's slowed down a bit.

Neither the Giants or Ravens manhandled their opponents like the Saints did. But both beat quality teams (Cowboys, Chargers) on the road this week. The Saints are very good but their two wins came against the Lions and a McNabb-less Eagles. I still need to see a strong defensive performance from them to put them on the level of these teams. As for the Giants and Ravens, we know how dominant their defenses are. What's scary is how both teams are ripping it up through the air. The teams' offenses are very similar actually...no big name wideouts, reliable tight ends and multiple effective running backs. The Ravens have to be thrilled with the speedy development of Joe Flacco who is quickly exiting the "game management" stage and entering "play maker" stage of his career. If the G-men and Ravens continue the success in the passing game I don't see them being stopped.

This crazy and exciting week did mess up a lot of my picks for this pool I'm in. What the hell happened Packers, Steelers and Titans? But at least I went 4-1 in the picks I posted on the blog. In my fantasy predictions I went a perfect five for five with my "don't starts" and three for five with my "play-ems". So far I'm living up to my title as "The Gridiron Guru".

Check in later on in the week for more opinions and predictions. Feel free to post comments to the blog or e-mail me at morelandjeremy@gmail.com. I'd be happy to address all of your questions and opinions.