Thoughts From Week 2

Eagles-Redskins: The Eagles looked pretty bad Monday night. Donovan McNabb showed some positive signs. He was moving reasonably well and looked like the McNabb of old in the 4th quarter. If only he figured that out earlier in the game. Credit the Redskins defense for covering the Eagles receivers, but the old, confident McNabb would have put up at least 25 points on that team. It can't be helping that he's got Kevin Kolb in his rearview mirror. It seemed like every incomplete pass was followed by a shot of Kolb on the sideline. Not that it matters. This team is McNabb's until he gets injured or the Eagles are completely out of contention.

I'm starting to wonder if the Eagles system was ever ideal for McNabb. The West Coast offense requires more accuracy than arm strength, which is why Jeff Garcia was able to step in and have so much success last year. I'm a McNabb fan, but it seems like his talents could be far better utilized if he had a big play receiver (who's not a lunatic) and played in an offense that featured more throws downfield. Imagine if he was the quarterback in Detroit or Arizona. He'd be lighting up the scoreboard every week. That said, the Eagles look like they are capable of being a very good team. The defense is better than last year's and the wide receivers are at least as good. If McNabb can play like he did in the 4th quarter, the Eagles can be very dangerous.

Bengals-Browns: Jamal Lewis rushing for 200 yards has to be considered one of the biggest surprises of the year. That said, we all know why it happened. The Bengals defense is abysmal. Lewis and Derek Anderson are not that good, sorry Cleveland fans. How many games will it take for Anderson to throw another five touchdowns? I'm thinking four, at least. I just feel bad for Carson Palmer. I mean what more can you ask from him?

By the way, Chad Johnson looked genuinely dejected after he received a rude welcome to the Dawg Pound. Honestly, Chad, what were you expecting? Don't get me wrong, I love Chad Johnson, but he had to know the Browns fans wouldn't exactly be happy to see him.

Packers-Giants: Nothing made me happier than watching Jeremy Shockey screw his team over when he was penalized for spiking the ball. I took great pleasure in the Giants' demise. The Eagles may be 0-2, but the Giants are an uglier 0-2. This game also proved just how awful the Giants defense is. Tony Romo got most of the credit for Dallas' success in Week 1, but it clearly had a lot to do with the Giants inability to tackle. There is no excuse for letting Favre put 35 points on the board.

Bills-Steelers: When will Lee Evans make a play? I've got him in my fantasy league and he's killing me. I'll have to wait at least until Week 4. Hard to imagine he'll go off against the Patriots. By the way, I love ESPN's headline on the game recap: "Drained Bills lose first game since Everett's injury." This game had nothing to do with Kevin Everett. If the Bills had been playing the Giants this week, they would've won and the headline would be "Bills win big for Everett." All that off the field stuff is so overblown. The Falcons aren't 0-2 because they miss Michael Vick, it's because they're bad. End of story.

Saints-Bucs: What happened to the Saints? Well for one thing, Reggie Bush has to remember he's in the NFL. He struggled early last year as well (though it seems like everyone forgot about that) and it's because he insists on running side-to-side all the time. Every so often that will work, but most of the time you won't have too much success. Deuce McAllister is going to need some more carries; ten isn't nearly enough. It also doesn't help that the defense still stinks. They're not a bad team and they'll come around, but we could be looking at a disappointing season.

Raiders-Broncos: Mike Shanahan straight out owned the Lane Kiffin. Was it cheap? Yeah, kind of. But the way he pulled the ref aside and perfectly timed his timeout was simply a veteran coach showing up his young counterpart. Give the Raiders some credit though. They don't look half-bad for an 0-2 team. No one expected them to hang with the Broncos, let alone take them to overtime.

Jets-Ravens: What is wrong with Brian Billick? This is the second week in a row when he's called passes when all he needed to do was run some clock. It was one thing to do that last year when he had a healthy Steve McNair and a washed up Jamal Lewis running the ball, but McNair looked awful last week and Kyle Boller started against the Jets, AND he's got Willis McGahee now. What's the point of acquiring a stud running back if you aren't going to use him? If not for a few dropped passes late in the 4th quarter, the Jets probably would have won that game.

Chargers-Patriots: What part of "MVP" doesn't Norv Turner understand? You've got a young quarterback on the road against a good defense and the MVP in the backfield, so you start the game with a pass? It didn't help that the defense looked flat for most of the game. The Patriots deserve credit for the win, they are clearly the best in the league until someone (maybe the Colts) prove otherwise. Still, it really seemed like Turner spent more time safeguarding his playbook than he did preparing his team.