That's what I take out of Week 2, along with a Stat of the Week that might be a Stat of the Year, and why the Dolphins are trouble, and why the Vikings should steer clear of a certain tall receiver from the West Coast, and why the enhanced season proposal isn't bowling you over.
Do you know what is bowling me over? This introduction. It tells me just enough to know I wouldn't read this column if I didn't write about it every week, but doesn't tell me enough to where I care if there was something I wanted to read in here, but did not read it.
Vick played the kind of game Sunday at Detroit he's been waiting to play for years. He was a polished quarterback who ran when forced -- when it was natural -- and threw from around the pocket the vast majority of his 41 pass-drops. He completed 62 percent (21 of 34). Played mistake-free; no turnovers. Just watching on TV, I saw a quarterback who scanned his options before taking off if nothing was there, the imprint of coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg showing.
Hasn't Mike Vick teased everyone before by looking like the passing quarterback we thought he would be for years? I am sure most people, especially Falcons fans, remember that shoot-out a few years ago (I think it was 2007) against Pittsburgh in Atlanta where Vick threw the ball extremely well and had a great passing game. Then he followed it up with another great passing game, followed by four straight bad passing games. Maybe Vick will be that guy who is a good passing quarterback, but he was playing against Detroit this week and it was one game.
Is Vick different? Is he going to be someone's long-term option a year from now? Watching him over the last six quarters, I think he has a real chance now.
Maybe Vick is different now. The key as a team looking to sign Vick is that you have to build your entire offense around Mike Vick. That's the only way it will work over the long-term. His strengths are not adaptable to every offense, which is how it is for a lot of quarterbacks, but Vick in particular.
I know many of you don't want to see Vick succeed because of his past crimes. Understood. But he's a compelling story right now, and he might be turning into the player the Falcons thought they drafted nine years ago.
I love it when Peter writes like this.
"I know you say you want to divorce me and take all of my money because I am a cheating liar. Understood. But I have paid a lot of money for my attorney and there is a possibility I am sleeping with the judge that will preside over our case."
What's funny is that I don't find Vick to be a compelling story. There are stories I don't enjoy that I do find compelling. Brett Favre's great year in 2009 was compelling, even if it annoyed me. The Mike Vick story I am over. I really don't care about his story.
Mike Vick was the player the Falcons thought he was for the Falcons when he played for them. It's not like he was a bust. He was the highest paid player in football because he had an extraordinary skill set and helped the Falcons win games with that skill set. You could even say the NFL built a lot of its marketing around Vick and used him as a pillar for their marketing of the sport. Peter should know Vick was the player the Falcons wanted during his time there. He never passed the ball as well as they liked, but it is not like he was a disappointment in Atlanta.
In Washington on Sunday, Houston trailed 27-10 with 18 minutes to play, but tied it on a play Schaub never saw concluded, and then rallied in overtime, even after LaRon Landry had hit Schaub with a rib-rattler he'll certainly be feeling all week. I kidded Schaub in training camp that out of 100 real football fans, only five -- maybe -- could answer the question, "Which quarterback led the NFL in passing yards last year?'' It was Schaub, but who remembers a jillion yards by a quarterback whose team went 1-5 in the division and didn't make the playoffs?
The real question every has is, "how did that top-3 fantasy pick Arian Foster do?" What are his Hall of Fame chances this week?
Arian Foster had 19 carries for 69 yards and 3 catches for 69 yards and no touchdowns. If Peter can over react last week and call Foster a top-3 fantasy pick, I can over react and say those aren't the numbers of a top-3 fantasy running back. I thought Foster was going to total over 100 yards every week, lead the NFL in rushing and touchdowns, and then save a baby from a burning building? What happened?
Fourth-and-10. That was the game right here. Make a play or go home 1-1. Schaub took the shotgun snap and moved right to escape some pressure, then moved right some more.
"I felt their guy coming inside on me,'' Schaub said, "so I moved away from the pressure. I saw Andre [Johnson] way down the field on the left and I just put it up to him. Then I took the hit, and I never saw what happened. I don't know how he caught the ball.''
Johnson leapt high above safety Reed Doughty three yards deep in the end zone and power-grabbed the ball. Great play by Johnson. Great throw by Schaub, knowing he was about to get leveled. And the best numbers of Schaub's life -- high school, college or pro.
I saw this play while watching the game and this was all Andre Johnson. All he gets is a "great catch by Andre Johnson" from Peter. Matt Schaub threw a great Hail Mary to Johnson in the hopes he would catch the ball, but other than that it was all Andre Johnson. Giving Schaub more credit than Johnson is ridiculous. He saw Johnson in the end zone and threw it up for him and Johnson did the rest. Of course in Peter's world, the quarterback is always the hero.
Freeman, the 22-year-old kid from Kansas State, has taken tutelage from offensive coordinator Greg Olson and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and become a confident player who makes smart decisions. Against Carolina, on third-and-17 in the middle of the second quarter, he threw a ball down the right side to a spot that only Kellen Winslow would be able to make a play, and he did, for a 40-yard gain.
I wasn't a fan of Josh Freeman coming out of college from Kansas State, but I was wrong about him. He has all the makings of a good NFL quarterback from what I have seen this year and last year. I'm shocked to be saying this, but he reminded him of Donovan McNabb...seriously. The way he moves around in the pocket to avoid the rush, keeps the play alive with his feet until a receiver can get open, and can make good throws on the run.
You're not going to rip up the Tampa defense, not with the strong midsection led by two 23-year-old tackles (Kyle Moore, Roy Miller) and a 21-year-old backup (Brian Price) and 22-year-old two-way end (top pick Gerald McCoy). DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart ran for 97 yards on the day, but it took them 25 carries to get there.
Which comes out to about 4 yards per carry, which isn't terrible. Stewart got 8 carries for 43 yards, but because he was too successful running the ball, he did not deserve too many more chances to get in the game. Success is not an option with the Panthers. If you are too successful, on the bench you go.
The defense bludgeoned Matt Moore to the bench.
This is true if "the defense" is defined as "Matt Moore's skill set as a starting NFL quarterback."
Minnesota is all screwed up. A year ago, Viking Nation was pirouetting with joy after Brett Favre threw the miracle pass to Greg Lewis to stun the 49ers. Today, the Vikes are 0-2, and Favre threw more interceptions in the first 54 minutes of his first home game Sunday (three) than he threw at home last year in eight games (two).
Brett Favre threw interceptions? I don't believe it. Well, he was just playing the game like a child and trying to have fun out there, so this can be excused.
The popular theory is that he misses Sidney Rice, which is smart because he and Rice made beautiful music together last year, and because he hasn't bonded with Bernard Berrian the way he did with Rice.
We all know a Hall of Fame quarterback isn't expected to make his receivers better. If you don't give a Hall of Fame quarterback a ton of reliable weapons how can he be expected to perform well enough to win a game?
Begin excuses for Favre in 3, 2, 1...
Though I love Jackson, one of my two All-Pro receivers in 2009, I see three problems with the Vikings trading for and signing him:
1. He wouldn't be eligible to play until mid-October, when the Vikings are slated to play Dallas. The Vikings are in crisis mode now, and they want Jackson. But if the Vikings have to play two more games without him, how smart would it be to deal for him now? By the time he gets in the lineup, Rice might be two or three weeks away from returning.
We all know an NFL team shouldn't have TWO great receivers on the roster. That would be madness.2. It's not very smart to deal a high draft choice (likely a second-round pick, or a second-plus something) to acquire a guy who is one misdeed away from a possible year's suspension.
Says Peter King, the same guy who just concluded that Mike Vick could be the long-term quarterback for an NFL team after this season even though he is one wrong move from Roger Goodell banning him from the NFL for God knows how long.
4. Even if the Vikings deal for Jackson and play it safe, signing him to, say, a one-year, $7 million contract instead of a long-term one, in essence they'd be trading a high draft pick for a guy who'd be a 12-week rental, then watching Jackson hit the free-agent market next offseason. Not smart.
Three reasons, huh? Sounds like four to me.
Last week, it was reported in Boston with some outrage that the car Tom Brady wrecked a couple of weeks ago, a $97,000 Audi, was owned by a charity he has worked for, Best Buddies, and given to him as a perk for the work he's done for the charity. The outrage stems from the fact that Brady, who just signed a $72 million contract extension, shouldn't be taking a $97,000 car from any charity, obviously.
I blame Gisele for all of this. She's ruined him.
Then it turns out Brady didn't get the Audi car from the charity, but from the car company Audi. The story isn't very exciting, but it is still all Gisele's fault.
Where, exactly, is this landslide for the 18-game season?
One of the dumbest things I have read in the media are members of the media wondering who is supporting the 18 game season. Peter should quit wondering because, in general, no fans are supporting the longer schedule, so why the questions wondering who is supporting it? The majority of fans are not supporting the 18 game season, but the NFL wants to do an 18 game season, so they are going to do it and then take away two preseason games to pretend like they are doing the fans a favor. The owners and the NFL want an 18 game season and they don't care what the players or the fans want.
I asked on Twitter: Which would you prefer for the future in the NFL -- a 16-game season with four preseason games or an 18-game season with two preseason games. I got 593 responses, and the results surprised me.
• A 16-game schedule: 386 votes (65.1 percent).
• An 18-game schedule: 207 votes (34.9 percent).
What shocking results! This really surprised Peter? I have talked to maybe 1-2 people who are in favor or don't care about a longer NFL season. That's the only ones who have liked or not hated the idea of an 18 game schedule and I love to ask random people their opinions on sports-related matters.I'd love to focus on a few of the other games -- especially the meaning of Jets 28, Patriots 14 and the significance of the game for Mark Sanchez -- but I'll save that for tomorrow.
It gets its own special day. Mark Sanchez AND the Patriots? Peter King loves this shit. We may see the longest mailbag in the history of MMQB tomorrow.
7. Chicago (2-0). Pretty hard to believe Jay Cutler is standing, never mind playing well behind that line. But he is, and he is. That was a mature quarterback who didn't blow his stack when he was getting the tar knocked out of him in the first half at Dallas.
Does this mean the media can't beat up on Cutler anymore? That would make them very sad. I wonder at what point John Clayton will consider Cutler an "elite" quarterback, since he wasn't one of the 14 elite quarterbacks Clayton named a few weeks ago.
Offensive Player of the Week
Matt Schaub, QB, Houston. For a while, late last year and early this year, Arian Foster was the chic gotta-stop-this-guy-to-beat-Houston pick.
What? When the hell was Arian Foster the guy an opposing team had to stop to beat the Texans? Did this all occur in Peter King's head? When I think of the Houston Texans, I think you have to stop Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, then stop whichever running back they have healthy for that week.
If Arian Foster was ever the "chic" pick to try and stop to defeat the Texans, Peter King was at the head of the list of people who made him that "chic" pick.
Coach of the Week
Raheem Morris, head coach, Tampa Bay. "We're buying in,'' Josh Freeman said after the game. "We all feel good about the direction we're heading in with Raheem.'' From the start of the offseason program, Morris told his team there wasn't any cavalry coming over the hill -- this was the team they were going with. So far it hasn't been a team for 2012 and beyond. It's been a team ready to play and win now.
Before we all get excited about the Bucs, let's try to remember they have beaten two terrible teams. They beat the Browns at home and the Panthers on the road. Both teams have mediocre quarterbacks and offenses that seem to be in flux. Tampa Bay is good enough to beat them, but before saying the team is ready to win now, let's allow them to beat a team that has it's shit together.Tampa Bay is definitely on the right track and it is happening faster than I thought it would, but let's not get too carried away this year.
Goat of the Week
Matt Moore, QB, Carolina.
To be fair, it is not completely his fault. The offensive play calling has been interesting at times, he has no receivers to throw to that don't have the last name "Smith," and the coaching staff refuses to give Jonathan Stewart the ball when he is running well. Matt Moore has still been bad though.
He's playing with an indecision that has to be a shock to coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson. Fox has a big decision to make to try to salvage his season -- whether to give Moore one more week or to go to second-round pick Jimmy Clausen. It's a call he hoped he wouldn't have to make all season, never mind Week 3.
Here is another option. Try to find a good second receiver in free agency or the draft so the young quarterbacks on the roster have more than one passing option. Wait, it's too late for that? Shit.
What would I do if I were John Fox? Probably give Moore one more start. If he's lousy again, I'd give the job to Clausen.
Or they could run the Wildcat/option offense with Armanti Edwards. That's always an idea. Wait, Armanti Edwards has been activated for the first two games of the season? I forgot about that. Why would a team activate a player who can make plays with the ball in his hands? There's a chance he could score a touchdown and then the team might win and the players might want more money and there is a strike coming up so Jerry Richardson doesn't want to spend any more money. It would just be a disaster. It's better to be 4-7 going into the last 5 games and go 8-8 for the year like the team usually does.
(bitter rant ends)
Philadelphia linebacker Ernie Sims went 1,000 days between wins.
True fact:
As opposed to a false fact?
The last time Sims played in a game for a winning team before Sunday's 35-32 triumph over Detroit was Dec. 23, 2007, when the Lions, his original team, beat Kansas City. Since then, he was 0-1 in 2007, 0-16 in 2008, 0-11 in 2009 and 0-1 this year with the Eagles. That's a personal 29-game losing streak for Sims.
"Wow,'' Sims said after the game from the Eagles' locker room. "I never sat down and figured that out.''
Well, who would?
You would Peter King. You would.Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
I enjoy how Peter has re-named his aggravating/enjoyable travel note after an incident where he acted like a badass. It's like his own personal way of reminding us that Peter King will dropkick an asshole who jumps in front of him to get on an elevator.
How not to handle a mini-crisis: Saturday morning, on an Amtrak train from Boston to New York, an elderly man fell in the bathroom while the train was near Stamford, Conn. He banged his head and bruised his arm, and was lying on the floor of the train. The train stopped to discharge and pick up passengers, and a nervous-sounding voice came over the PA about a man having fallen and we might have a delay. "I think we're gonna need medical,'' he said, with a scared edge to his voice.
I mean, are you kidding me? The PA system on a train with 300 passengers is not the place to sound borderline panicky about an old man who falls in the bathroom. A simple, "If there's a doctor on the train, or any medical personnel, please report to the bathroom at the rear of the cafe car,'' would do just fine.
Because asking if there is a doctor on-board the train, and if so, if he would report to the bathroom (of all places) over the loud speaker isn't going to draw interest and possible panic from some of the passengers.Tweet of the Week I
"who's the slouch now?''
--@MarkCannizzaro, New York Post football writer Mark Cannizzaro, 90 seconds after Randy Moss -- called a "slouch'' by Darrelle Revis in the offseason -- scored on a one-handed touchdown catch over Revis near the end of the first half of the Patriots-Jets game.
I don't dislike the Jets by any means, but I think they can talk all they want, but at some point they have to back it all up on the field. If you call a guy a "slouch," you may not want to let him score a touchdown against you the first time you face him after calling him that.f. LaDainian Tomlinson: 22 carries, 138 yards, 6.3 per carry. Reborn.
We'll see. If we have learned anything this year about Peter King it is that he takes a player's performance in one game VERY seriously.
c. Vince Young had an alarming regression Sunday. Good quarterbacks have to have more pocket awareness than he had against Pittsburgh.
Isn't that the story of Vince Young's career? He looks like a Pro Bowl quarterback one week and then regresses in some games. This is why I wasn't on the Vince Young bandwagon last year. I don't know if he can be trusted to play at the level he sets for himself in 1-2 games over a full season.
g. Teams in QB crises: Carolina, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Arizona.
Arizona? What about Derek Anderson? Isn't he the solution to the quarterback problem that asshole Matt Leinart presented? If there is any justice in the world then Carolina would not have had as much confidence in Matt Moore when he played in games after the team was out of playoff contention, Jacksonville would bring in a challenger to David Garrard, Buffalo would have drafted Jimmy Clausen, and Arizona would have given Matt Leinart (and his bad attitude) more time.
5. I think if you just learned how to pronounce the name of one very high Nebraska draft choice -- defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, by Detroit with the second pick in 2010 -- you'd better get ready for a second one. The Cornhuskers will have another top-five pick next April, again from the defensive side: 6-0, 205-pound cornerback Prince Amukamara. Pronounced "ah-MOOK-ah-mar-ah.'' I spoke with Suh about him the other day. "He's going to be a lockdown corner in this league,'' Suh said. "He's really good.''
He showed it Saturday. His tight coverage helped push down the draft stock of Washington quarterback Jake Locker, thought to be a candidate for the first overall pick next April, at least for now. In the 'Huskers' beatdown of Washington, Locker was an awful four-of-20 -- that's 20 percent completions.
Prince Amukamara is a really, really good corner. I just felt like I had to throw this in there and agree.6. I think the most interesting thing I read this week, by far, was the column about Randy Moss in National Football Post by former Packer salary-cap czar and negotiator Andrew Brandt. Terrific insight about how angry Favre was when Packers GM TedThompson didn't sign Moss in 2007. A snippet of it, starting with the time on draft weekend 2007, when it was the Patriots who got Moss over the Packers, because New England was willing to give Moss a one-year deal and a clear path to free-agency after the season, while Green Bay insisted on a second year:
Cue the Brett Favre hissy fit circa 2007:
"Brett was livid. The rest of the weekend I was fielding calls from [agent for Favre and Moss] Bus Cook about what went wrong in trying to sign Randy. Ted did not want to deal with Bus, so I listened patiently to their rancor and tried to explain our position.
"I told Brett to trust what we had at the position; that Greg Jennings would be a star in a couple years. He said he didn't have a couple of years.
It's good to hear that in 2010 Brett Favre was well-versed in lying as well. He didn't have a couple of years? He's still playing and Greg Jennings is a great receiver.
It is also good to hear that Brett Favre found the Packers weren't really a team or organization that needed to worry about putting a good team on the field in the future, he needed them to do everything they could to please him right at that point. The Packers should never be concerned with personnel moves in regard to the long-term health of the organization, but should be concerned about what personnel moves mean for Brett Favre.
My constant message that our method of drafting and developing talent rather than acquiring proven commodities only served to infuriate him and his resentment of a general manager that showed him none of the compassion and welcomed input of previous regimes.''
Dammit. Brett Favre needs to be properly coddled and his personnel signing preferences need to be respected!
9. I think I admire Jerry Jones for not going all Steinbrenner and firing his kicker, who has missed 34- and 44-yard field goals in the first two weeks. But really, how can you trust David Buehler? And why would going to a Matt Stover be such a revolutionary move?
"I think Jerry Jones is making a great decision by being patient with his kicker and not releasing him. I also think Jerry Jones should release his kicker and not be patient with him."
b. What a great call by Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, the fake field goal in overtime to beat Notre Dame. And how sad to hear he suffered a heart attack hours later.
Great call followed by not extra point because it was overtime, which means Michigan State didn't cover the spread in the Yahoo pick (it was +3.5) and I didn't get a point for choosing them to cover.
c. I'll say this about the addition of Manny Ramirez for the White Sox: It actually propelled them in reverse. Since Ramirez entered Chicago's lineup Sept. 1, entering Sunday's games, the White Sox are 7-9, and have gone from four games behind to 10. In 48 at-bats, Ramirez has one homer and one RBI. What a darn shame.
He's the guy Peter loves to love when he plays for the Red Sox, but doesn't seem to like that much once he leaves.
g. And Saturday's battery for the Mets was Dillon Gee and Josh Thole. With Lucas Duda in left.
I know Peter is a big baseball fan, yet doesn't seem to follow prospects in baseball, but Gee, Thole, and Duda may have funny names, but they also could have a future in the majors. They are young players who the Mets are letting play to see what they can provide to the team. Gee has pitched very well in his couple of starts in the majors.
j. Good luck, Ross Tucker. It was great working with you. You've got a great future in this business.
ESPN saw the lack of potential in Ross Tucker and immediately made him a job offer. Who is going to ride in the car with Peter on training camp visits now?
