NFL Week 2: Steelers’ defense, Panthers depth and Cardinals win
We are now two weeks into the NFL regular season.
The preseason and offseason are well behind us. Teams are truly revealing their true selves, but lets not get too carried away either as there is an awful lot of great football ahead of us and much will change. Below are some observations through two weeks of games.
Bills are a total mess
Rex Ryan has fired his offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, in Buffalo. The Bills have a chance to go completely off the rails this season and it would not be surprising if Buffalo ends up picking in the top five in the 2017 NFL Draft. What are some things that Anthony Lynn now needs to change on the offensive side of the ball? First off, this is an offense that is far too reliant on big plays.
This was the case in 2015, as well as the first games of this season when the Bills couldn’t produce big plays in Week 1 and scored just seven points. Thursday night when Buffalo put up 31 points, albeit in a losing effort, they did hit on big plays. More consistency is needed. Some of this is the nature of Tyrod Taylor, but the Bills offense also needs to sustain far better on a play-by-play basis. That is easier said than done, especially with Sammy Watkins, who this passing game is ultra-reliant on, not himself with is foot injury.
In the end, this is setting up to be a very long and painful season for the Bills. With the Cardinals and Patriots on the docket up next, it is likely to get even worse before it gets better. Not to mention, the situation on defense is possibly even worse than what Lynn has inherited.
Panthers thin at running back
One of the most shocking developments in terms of offseason player movement was the Panthers not finding an upgrade for Jonathan Stewart’s backup and/or eventual replacement. Carolina’s offense sputtered late last season when Stewart was sidelined and his injury history is well-documented. Plus, age is becoming an issue with Stewart as well. On Sunday, Stewart injured his hamstring early in the game and with Cameron Artis Payne inactive, the Panthers had to turn to Fozzy Whitaker.
San Francisco bottled up Todd Gurley in a big way last Monday and its run defense personnel is better than most give it credit for, but the loss of Stewart was noticeable for the Panthers in this contest, even thought Whitaker’s final numbers were impressive. Whitaker has some big play ability and he showed that in this game, but he isn’t an every down back on a week-to-week basis and even with Stewart out, only received 16 carries against the 49ers.
It wasn’t like Whitaker played poorly at all, but he isn’t a finisher or workhorse. On a day when Carolina turned the ball over four times, they were still the superior team. But this development at running back could be very much worth noting and it sure would have been easier late in this contest in the extreme heat for Carolina if they had had a power running back to lean on, especially in this offense that very much leans on the run.
Steelers proving to be complete team
On a very rainy day when Ben Roethlisberger was far from at his best, the Steelers defense came to play in a big way for the second straight week. As the Jets found out in Week 1, the one guy that can take a game over on Cincinnati’s offense is A.J. Green. With Ross Cockrell and plenty of help on Green, the Steelers kept the Bengals’ star receiver in check. Green didn’t catch a pass in the second half. Cockrell and the Steelers safety play was outstanding in their much-maligned secondary.
Pittsburgh’s defense has gotten much more athletic over the past few seasons and they did a great job of getting a lot of bodies to the ball in this game. The star on this side of the ball though is Ryan Shazier, who just looks like he is playing the game at a different speed than everyone else on the field. Shazier has really developed as a coverage player as well. Gio Bernard had a big game, but much of that production came very late in the game and as a receiver. Overall, Pittsburgh’s run defense was great for the second straight week.
This isn’t to suggest that this defense will resemble the great Steelers defenses of old, but even if this unit is league average or slightly above, Pittsburgh should be one of the very top teams in the NFL and they are clearly in the drivers seat now in the AFC North.
Arizona bounces back in big way
What a performance by the Cardinals. Obviously they are right back in the conversation with the very best teams in the NFL. Actually, they never should have left that conversation. However, it should be noted that this week’s matchup against the Buccaneers offense was a much friendlier one for Arizona than against the style of offense New England plays. The biggest reason is the employment of Patrick Peterson, the NFL’s best cornerback.
Peterson travels with the opponent’s top wide receiver, but against the Patriots, there really wasn’t one to travel with. The total opposite was true vs. the Buccaneers, as Peterson shadowed Mike Evans the entire afternoon. While Evans and Jameis Winston connected on a spectacularly and nearly indefensible touchdown catch, this matchup played to Arizona’s strengths much better than Week 1.
It also shows that while Tampa Bay has some pieces in place, they are not there yet and still have plenty of roster building to do. It should also be noted that (unfortunately this was the case around the league this week), injuries to key Bucs players also benefited the Cardinals quite a bit as well in what was a dominant performance none the less.