NFL Week 2 Round-Up

One of the best things about the NFL is that there never is a dull week of football. Every week there's a new story, new hero, new controversy...and week 2 of the NFL certainly didn't disappoint.

I already posted a blog with my thoughts in regards to the replacement refs.I've heard several people compare the replacement refs to a substitute teacher. Just like when you were a kid and you tried to get away with things with the substitute teacher, coaches and  players in the NFL are treating the replacement refs the same. Trying to get away with more. Being more physical. Cortland Finnegan of the Rams says he loves it because he's a physical guy and likes that he can be more aggressive.

This to me may just be the biggest problem with the replacement refs, other than the timing of games. The lack of respect for the refs is why we're seeing players acting more chippy, pushing and shoving after plays, etc. 

Truth is, as annoyed as I was with many of the calls this weekend, the replacement refs got a lot of them right. And the regular refs don't always call the right ones. The replacement refs seem to call pass interference a little too easily and that's concerning because it's such a huge penalty.

I still think the NFL needs to work with the regular refs and see if they can work out a deal. But, in the interim, they've got to do something to help the replacements gain more authority and control over theses games. Otherwise we're going to continue to see a lot of ugly.

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 NFL Afterthoughts of the Week

10. Antonio Gates who? Out of the game with an injury? No worries. Dante Rosario's got your back. Rosario caught all 3 TD passes from Philip Rivers in the Chargers 38-10 thrashing of the Tennesse Titans. To be fair, Tennessee isn't all that solid of a team. In fact, on twitter there was a bet going on during the games on Sunday. Who would get the highest number? Chris Johnson rush yards or Danny Ammendola catches? Chris Johnson had 17 rush yards total. Ouch.

9. Eagles beat Ravens despite multiple turnovers. Philly is now 2-0, winning both games by 1 point despite a ton of turnovers. It makes you wonder just how long they can continue to turn the ball over and win. This week they face the Arizona Cardinals, which you'd think would be a much easier game than Baltimore but Arizona just beat the Patriots. Which leads me too...

8. Arizona beats the Patriots on the road. Not only is this feat amazing considering the QB controversy in Arizona and so many questions about how that offense would perform, but Larry Fitzgerald only have 1 catch for 4 yards. And Arizona STILL beat the Patriots. The Pats lost TE Hernandez to injury during the game and he's going to be out for at least a few weeks which will certainly hurt the Pats 2 TE offense. Maybe the Pats aren't as good as we thought? Time will tell. But Arizona is now 2-0 and tied with the 49'ers for first in the NFC West. Go figure.

7. Speaking of the NFC West, how about the Seattle Seahawks? After the Cowboys domination of the reigning Superbowl Champ NY Giants, the Cowboys completely fell apart in week 2 against Seattle. QB Russell Wilson looked pretty solid and Lynch has been a beast in the running game. Other than one TD pass to Miles Austin, Dallas just couldn't get their offense going against a tough Seattle defense. Another win for the NFC West.

6. Andrew Luck gets his first NFL win. Nobody expected the Colts to be good this season. We understand that they are rebuilding and have a lot of work to do. But if there was any doubt as to why the Colts organization made the moves they did to secure Andrew Luck, many of the doubters were reassured on Sunday. Sure, they were playing a weak Minnesota team who is also rebuilding. But to see Andrew Luck drive the team down the field in the last minutes of the game to score the game winning field goal after the Vikings had just scored to tie the game? That's impressive. There is a lot to look forward to Colts fans.

5. JETS! JETS! JETS! Wait...what? What happened to the Jets we saw last week? NY's performance against the Steelers this week looked more like what we feared week 1 would look like. The sharp confident Sanchez of week 1? Not sure what happened to him. Then again, Big Ben was on fire this week yet struggled last week against the Broncos. Point being? Any given Sunday, right? If you ruled out the Steelers because they lost to Denver on the road? Come on, man. Really? And if you thought the Jets were all of sudden going to be all right and dominate after week 1? Come on, man. Time will tell where there 2 wind up at the end of the season but if I had to bet I would guess the Steelers are the more likely team to make playoff run. Maybe the Jets should play more Tebow...

4. Manning Meltdown in Atlanta. Manning fans were all excited to see Peyton do so well in the home opener against the Steelers - and expected similar play against Atlanta. Manning instead did his best Michael Vick impression and threw 3 interceptions in the first half. Unfortunately for Peyton, he was unable to overcome those interceptions though he did rally the Broncos back. It was just too late to win the game. Have to give kudos to the Atlanta defense though - they played tough. And if anyone wonders why I picked Atlanta to win their division? There you go. They are hot both offensively and defensively and you can expect them to be a force to recon with come playoff season this year. Mark it.

3. Jeff Fisher's mustache helps bring a Rams win at home against the Redskins. Okay, maybe I'm placing this a little high on my list for the week but I didn't hear anyone pick the Rams over Washington after seeing RGIII's exciting week 1 performance. What was exciting for me to see in this game was to see both sides of Rams football working hard to win the game. This is not the Rams team everyone is used to seeing. Oh, and to answer the question of Chris Johnson yards vs Ammendola catches? Danny had 15 catches to Johnson's 17 total rush yards. Still think Ammendola's the winner here. RGIII still looked good, I gotta give him credit. And if the Skins hand't drawn that stupid penalty Cundiff might have had a chance to tie the game with a field goal and who knows. But the point is, the Rams are better than you think. And get this. The NFC West? All won games this weekend. NFC Worst? I don't think so...

2. Packers fake field goal attempt and score touchdown against the Bears. After losing to the 49'ers in week 1, the Packers knew they had to win this game. The Green Bay defense did not make it an easy day for Cutler, who was sacked 7 times and intercepted 4 times. But the Bears defense wasn't making it easy for Green Bay to get in the endzone either. After setting up for a field game attempt in the second quarter, the Packers completely fooled the Bears and faked the field goal and scored a TD. Green Bay was able to take control of the offense from there on out and win the game.

1. Since everyone else can't stop talking about it, I might as well talk about it too. The end of the Tampa Bay-NY Giants game has caused quite a controversy. With 4 seconds left in the game, the Giants were up by 6 and had the ball. So you know how this goes, right? The team ahead that has the ball just takes a knee and the game is over.  But Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano ordered his team to play until the end, so the defense dove for Manning's knees to try and force a fumble. This has caused outrage from not just Giants fans, but across the league. In fact, turn on any sports radio station or TV station and it seems like no one can shut up about it. Which leads me to my tangent of the week...

I do not by any means think it was okay for Schiano to do this. You don't go after a QB who's taking a knee with 4 seconds left in the game. I get the mentality of playing until the end, the final end, but unless there was a dropped snap there was little chance of them recovering a fumble and then on top of that, having enough time to score to win the game.

But I've always wondered about the taking a knee thing. We all know the drill. The team who's winning gets the ball with a minute and a half to go and you know they're just going to take a knee and it's over.

But why can you take a knee? Shouldn't you play the game until the end? Do you know how long it takes to score a touchdown?

2.7 seconds. Or at least, that's what I learned the hard way in November 2001. Monon Bell Game. DePauw University and Wabash University famous rivalry. Tied 21-21 with 2.7 seconds left. We thought for sure the game would go into OT.  2.7 seconds left. Wabash ball. The QB throws a Hail Mary pass that was tipped and landed into the hands of another player who was in the endzone and...won the game.

Stunned is not a good enough word to describe every DePauw fan in that stadium.

Check out the play here:

Point being, why are we deprived of last minute miracles because of the take a knee rule? If the offense has to make plays during that minute and a half, a lot could happen to change the game. It could be exciting. It could be excellent ratings for the NFL.

I get the safety issue and certainly teams could still play conservatively to run the clock out. But you know what? You should have to work for that win. Isn't it a little too easy to just take a knee?

Of course when my team is in that situation I'd be biting my nails until the game's over but I don't think that's bad. Perhaps teams should play until the clock is at zero. Then both sides of the ball know to prepare themselves - and the play call by Tampa Bay wouldn't seem so utterly ridiculous. 

That's all I've got for this week. More on the latest NFL madness next week!