It’s already Week Three, and we’ve got more than three story lines to watch for the upcoming slate of games.
With 16 games, it’s easy. Next week the byes begin, which will begin to make it harder for us to come up with 10 worthwhile takes entering each weekend.
But we suppose we’ll manage.
1. Consistency is the key for Vick, Reid.
Eagles coach Andy Reid got one thing right on Tuesday, when announcing that Mike Vick had become the team’s new quarterback. Vick, as Reid observed, is among the hottest quarterbacks in the league.
The next question becomes whether he can continue to perform at that level.
In 2006, Vick’s last season as a starter before Week Two of the 2010 season, the former Falcon’s performances swung wildly. In a 29-27 win over the Bengals, Vick generated a passer rating of 142.7 by completing 19 of 27 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. The next week, in a 30-14 loss at Detroit, Vick’s passer rating plunged to 52.0. In the next game, a 17-13 loss to the Browns, Vick’s passer rating dipped to 43.4 before rebounding the following week (despite a 24-10 loss) to 86.8.
It was then back to 47.9 (a 31-13 loss to the Saints, otherwise known as the middle finger game) before rebounding to 115.1 in a 24-14 win over the Redskins before falling back to 62.8 in a 17-6 win over the Bucs before shooting to 121.0 in a 38-28 loss to the Cowboys before plummeting nearly 100 points to 22.7 in a 10-3 loss to the Panthers.
Finally, and perhaps fittingly, Vick’s passer rating for his last game with the Falcons -- a loss to the Eagles in Philly -- increased to 97.6.
If Vick can continue to play at a high level (or, perhaps more accurately, if Reid can get him to continue to play at a high level), Vick will continue to keep the job in Philly, for 2010 and beyond. If Vick plays like he did in 2006, Reid soon will be mending fences with the guy who had the job for less than a half.
2. Wildcat looms over biggest game of Week Three.
Last year, the Dolphins unfurled their Wildcat attack on the Jets, which helped pave the way toward a 31-27 mid-October win. After the game, Jets linebacker Calvin Pace made clear his disdain for the unconventional single-wing approach.
“I’m going to be honest, I can’t respect that stuff,” Pace said. “All that Wildcat. Because we’re in the NFL, man. If you’re out there running that nonsense, it’s crap.”
And, of course, the Jets would later rely on that “nonsense” and “crap” to scratch and claw their way into the playoffs, using Brad Smith in the shotgun formation to beat the Bengals in Week 17.
After the game, the Wildcat apparently had gotten Calvin’s tongue.
On Sunday night, look for a healthy dose of the Wildcat flowing in both directions, with the Dolphins relying from time to time on the change-of-pace, misdirection-based approach and the Jets trying to give them a mouthful of their own medicine.
As Miami’s version of the Wildcat has evolved, defenses have a little more time to prepare for it. In its most effective form, the offense emerges from the huddle with the quarterback splitting wide and a running back lining up to take the snap. Recently, the Dolphins have been sending quarterback Chad Henne to the sidelines after the preceding play, making it obvious that something fishy is coming.
It may be a good idea to follow the same approach against the Jets. Despite the fact that a chunk of the strategic advantage is sacrificed, getting Henne off the field keeps a defensive back from taking a free shot at him. That it hasn’t already happened could be the biggest surprise regarding the retro offense that the Dolphins first used almost two years ago to the day.
3. Flacco should be safe, for now.
With the addition of receiver Anquan Boldin and receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and rookie tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta, combined with the ongoing development of tailback Ray Rice, most league observers expected to observe a major upgrade from quarterback Joe Flacco in his third NFL season.
Instead, through two games Flacco has struggled. Badly.
A so-so performance against the Jets in Week One (38 attempts, 20 completions, 248 yards, one interception for a 62.2 passer rating) dissolved into a disaster against the Bengals in Week Two, with 39 attempts and 17 completions for 154 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions. Passer rating? 23.8.
The decline has prompted many to wonder when/if the Ravens will bench Flacco for Marc Bulger. The easy answer? Not yet.
The Ravens faced a pair of playoff teams to start the season. Sure, Flacco floundered against them, but in two years he has played in five postseason games. Also, with speedy receiver Donte’ Stallworth out for half the season, the Ravens lack a deep threat that can stretch the field and clear out space for its collection of possession receivers.
So be patient, Ravens fans. Besides, there’s no reason to think that Marc Bulger would do any better.
4. Could Cassel be the next to sit?
With seven of 32 starting quarterbacks already gone from the field due to injury or ineffectiveness, one of the next hot spots could come in Kansas City, where the Chiefs have to be wondering whether Matt Cassel ever can duplicate the performance he produced after Pats quarterback Tom Brady tore an ACL in Week One of the 2008 season.
That year, Cassel completed 63.4 percent of his throws for nearly 3,700 yards, with 21 touchdowns, 11 picks, and a passer rating of 89.4. In 2009, his first year with the Chiefs, Cassel connected on only 55 percent of his passes, for 2,924 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.
Through two games in 2010, Cassel has been the inept captain of an anemic offense, with only two offensive touchdowns. He has completed only 52 percent of his attempts, and his passer ratting has dropped from 69.9 in 2009 to 55.8. Though the Chiefs also have two wins, Cassel had better start clicking soon, or Brodie Croyle could get the keys to the Charlie Weis offense.
Thinking ahead, it’s hard to envision Cassel returning for 2011, even if the Chiefs can overachieve their way into the playoffs. Weis had no prior connection to Cassel, and Weis surely will be lobbying for a guy like, say, Brady Quinn.
5. Bragging rights are bigger in Texas, too.
The Houston Texans arrived on the NFL scene eight years ago with an unlikely upset win over the Dallas Cowboys. Four years later, the Cowboys settled the score with a 34-6 blowout.
Two years later, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took the Olympics-frequency rivalry to a new level by explaining the differences between the franchises.
“The Cowboys have never been about checkered tablecloths and boots and hats,” Jones said. “They’ve been about glitz and glitter. Leave the other stuff to the Houston Texans.”
Texans owner Bob McNair responded by taking the high road.
“I’m not offended by what Jerry said,” McNair told the Houston Chronicle at the time. “I’m glad he knows we’re the Texans. I’m proud to be a Texan and a Houstonian. . . . Houston’s a hardworking city, and the Texans are a hardworking team. I don’t see anything wrong with checkered tablecloths, hats and boots.”
Jones later apologized for the remark, and McNair said he told Jones he wasn’t offended.
But we doubt that. And we suspect that McNair has been waiting patiently for another crack at the Cowboys, and that he wants his team to win this one almost as badly as he wants to see them finally get to the postseason.
Of course, the ultimate revenge would come if/when the Texans -- not the Cowboys -- play for the Lombardi Trophy in the glitzy and glittery football palace that Jones has erected in Dallas.
6. Eagles return to the scene of their biggest loss.
In February 2005, the Eagles played for the third time in Jacksonville. On that occasion, however, they didn’t play the Jaguars, who are undefeated in three games against Philaldelphia.
The Eagles instead played the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, and the Eagles came dangerously close to stealing the victory. A monster performance from Terrell Owens, which in many respects helped create the monster he’d become the following year, ultimately went for naught due to a stunning lack of urgency with the game on the line, possibly because quarterback Donovan McNabb became nauseous.
Months after the game, Owens supported his effort to get fired by the Eagles by taking this infamous slap at McNabb: “I’m not the one who got tired in the Super Bowl.”
McNabb, for his part, denies getting sick or tired. Either way, the Eagles lost the game. And it’s hard not to wonder whether McNabb would still be the quarterback of the Eagles today as the team prepares to return to Jacksonville, if the Eagles had won the last time they played there more than five years ago.
Who knows? Maybe if McNabb were still with the Eagles, Mike Vick would be playing for the Jaguars.
7. Packers have a chance to make a huge statement.
Green Bay’s opportunity to command the league’s attention comes on Monday night, when the Packers invade Soldier Field to face the 2-0 Bears, whom many think should be 1-1.
But the unblemished record held by the home team will make a runaway win by the Packers even more impressive. Given the protection problems that the Bears have had and the resulting beating that quarterback Jay Cutler has absorbed, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews could give Cutler the same facemask full of sod that ended Kevin Kolb’s first stint as a full-time starter less than 30 minutes after it began.
As good as Green Bay’s defense has been, the offense is even better, even without running back Ryan Grant. In the end, a game that looks good on paper could end up looking great for the Packers -- and awful for the Bears and the rest of the NFC.
8. Jahvid Best could be worst Vikings trade in 21 years.
In October 1989, the Vikings gave up a truckload of draft picks and players for the man who was perceived to be the missing link for a Super Bowl run, tailback Herschel Walker. More than 20 years later, they’re still trying to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since January 1977.
With a four-spot drop in the 2010 draft, the Vikings helped a division rival get a tailback who may end up not being the missing link but a building block. The player picked with the Vikings’ pick, Jahvid Best, has been lighting up the league for the Lions, with five touchdowns in two games and more than 230 yards of offense against the Eagles in Week Two.
Since the 1998 season, the Vikings have owned the Lions, winning 21 of 24 times. The pendulum could now be swinging back in the other direction, and if it happens the Vikings have only themselves to blame for helping Detroit get their best back since the days of Barry Sanders.
9. Falcons get their shot at the champs.
In many corners of the country, the Saints have been the ultimate feel-good story. In Atlanta, the only feeling that New Orleans’ success has inducted is nausea.
The Falcons, who have strung together winning records in consecutive seasons for the first time in team history, have craved for months their crack at the Saints. This week, they get it.
With the Saints heading home on a short week after a grueling Monday nighter in San Francisco, the Saints could be ripe for an upset. If it happens, it would thrust the Falcons directly onto the short list of elite NFL teams.
And it would put the Falcons in the driver’s seat to win the NFC South. By beating the Saints in their own building, the Falcons would need only to hold serve at home to secure the all-important tiebreaker.
10. Haslett heads home, sort of.
Two years ago, Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was the defensive coordinator of the Rams. When former head coach Scott Linehan was relieved of his duties only four games into the campaign, Haslett took over.
In his first game as interim head coach, Haslett took the Rams to FedEx Field and beat the Redskins.
Haslett’s Rams surprised the Cowboys the following week to pull their record to 2-4, but then the wheels came off again, with 10 straight losses to end the year. Haslett wasn’t asked to return.
Now, after a year in the UFL, Haslett is running the defense in D.C., and he returns to St. Louis for a crack at the team that he led to a rare bright spot with those back-to-back wins. Fresh in his mouth is the bad taste that comes from blowing a 17-point loss to the Texans. It’ll only get worse if Haslett’s defense fails to keep the Rams from scoring enough points to get only their second win since Haslett left.