The Dugout – Week Two, Who Knew?
Week Two, Who Knew?
The NFL is one of those leagues that feels predictable. A team’s pretty limited to how good their quarterback is, right? So unless you have a defence capable of overriding the talent gulf between yours and theirs then things are supposed to go as planned. But it’s never that predictable.
Otherwise how could you possibly explain Drew Brees, a probable Hall of Famer, losing to a rookie in his second game for a team that won 2 games last season? It cannot be done and yet it happened. Or Joe Flacco’s Ravens losing to the Oakland Raiders, a team that hasn’t had a winning record since 2002. Or the St. Louis Rams beating Seattle one week and losing to Jacksonville the next. Or the Miami Dolphins padding out their defence to mouthwatering standards only to concede a near perfect day to Kirk Cousins and the Washington R**skins. You never really know in the NFL, it’s a bloody nightmare sometimes.
At least if you’re a New York Giants fan then you know to expect the unexpected by now. Somehow the G-Men have contrived to blow a near un-losable game to the Cowboys in week one and then against the Falcons this round they blew a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter.
It’s a fascinating NFC East that they find themselves in now. The ‘skins were supposed to be the cellar dwellers with the Giants as dark horses to the Super Bowl threats of the Cowboys and Eagles. Yet the Eagles are having all sorts of troubles on offence, the R**skins looked oddly competent against the Dolphins and the Cowboys… well now. 2-0 ought to be a start to celebrate and instead the ‘boys might be one of the more depressed teams in the competition. Ravens fans might edge them, though. Dez Bryant broke a bone in his foot last week, Tony Romo one in his collarbone this week. Neither will be able to return until at least week 6, most likely neither is seen ‘til more like week 9 or 10. They’ve given themselves a buffer but for a team that thrived in 2014 with a healthy offence, this is a disaster and it blows that division wide open. The upside is that with the other three sides at varying shades of crisis, they might yet sneak into the playoffs with 8 or 9 wins and possibly at full health by then. In the meantime, it’s Brandon Weeden’s show. Don’t be shocked if he’s better than you expect him to be (definitely better than when he was a Brown), however this is a team that’s gonna rely on that mythical offensive line more than ever before now. Those committee running backs had better get right.
The Hayne Refrain – Week 2
So, Jarryd Hayne’s second game in the NFL wasn’t quite the forward pass that people were hoping for him. Instead it was more of a backward pass, the kind that he left behind to get here.
But to be honest, this is more like what we ought to be expecting of Hayne. He’s raw, he’s a rookie, he’s never even played the sport before. This is already unprecedented success.
Last week Hayne got the third running back spot on game-day largely thanks to his versatility on special teams, though he stopped taking punts after Reggie Bush went down (he missed one before that, but they do rotate their returners a bit anyway). Mike Davis was inactive, so when Bush went down, Hayne was the only other option. And while Carlos Hyde had a massive breakout game, those yards are gonna tire you out a little, so Hayne got a few reps on long drives, filling in and giving Hyde a breather as per the usual approach.
However while Bush missed this game, Davis was made active in his place, so he took over as second string running back. Hayne leapfrogged for third. That’s nowhere near as unfair as it sounds, coaches expect different things of their different running backs. Number one will be a workhorse, usually. The most talented and the one with all the responsibility. The second will be more in that mould too, though carrying a third back is normally for trickier plays. Draws and such, you want a little variety there and Hayne brings that. He’s sneaky and he’s fast. He’s also not a great blocker, which matters.
Davis is, he’s played this game all his life. Hayne’s strengths are in the stuff he’s been able to translate directly from the NRL to the NFL: running in open space, evading defenders, etc. Blocking is all new to him and while he has made a couple nice plays (his blocking vs the Vikings in week one was as good as it’s looked yet), he’s not that dude. Not at this early stage. Davis has the experience to pick up a blitz on passing plays, protecting his QB from that extra rusher.
Hyde picked up a leg knock in the first half which is where Hayne’s two rushes (and four total snaps) came in, but once Hyde returned, Davis got all the additional action. That includes after Hyde was pulled from the game for concussion testing in the third, not to return. Given that the Niners were well behind on the scoreboard at that stage, it makes sense that mostly be passing the ball for quick and long yardage, hence the better pass blocker. Running it takes time and tends to be for much smaller expected gains.
Hayne also took two punts, his only special teams appearances. One was called a fair catch (like he should have done last week, just sayin’) and the other he made 7 on the return. DeAndrew White took one late punt return for 4 yards. The rookie WR was playing his first game, in place of Bruce Ellington, and he also took Ellington’s kick return duties for the most part.
The fact is, it’s hard to run the ball at the best of times and when you lose 43-18, it’s even harder. Davis was on the park for 41 plays and yet only rushed 7 times for 14 yards. The Steelers gave the Niners a torching, with Ben Roethlisberger finishing with a perfect passer rating and Andre Brown hauling in 3 touchdowns and 195 receiving yards on a massive day for him. Hyde should be 100% for next week, Bush is still unknown.
The 49ers play the Cardinals away on Monday in a 9am kickoff (NZT). It isn’t getting easier, and expectations therefore are best tempered. Giving plays to an undrafted 26 year old rookie from Australia is a luxury that’s hard to spare sometimes. Don’t get too worried about a game like this for the Hayne Plane.
Back in Business
Hey but get excited for Paul Lasike. Those visa issues are all sorted and as forecast in these pages a week ago, he was swiftly re-signed to the practice squad of the Chicago Bears. Now he can get back to training and learning his role on a team that, unlike the Cardinals where he spent his pre-season, really prides their running game as a priority. Last season they strayed from that and suffered. This season they have a new head coach (John Fox) and new offensive coordinator (Adam Gase) and they’ll be keen to amend that. Matt Forte is still one of the best running backs in the league and the Bears are a team more likely to carry a fullback, as is Lasike’s preferred position.
It’s been a rough start for the Bears, though. Losses to the Packers and Cardinals have exposed holes all through the once-dominating Chicago Defence, and reports are suggesting that QB Jay Cutler will miss at least a couple of weeks after leaving the Cards game early with a bung hammy. The offensive line’s been soft too, perhaps a lead-blocking fullback wouldn’t go astray…
Superman Cam
WOOF, WOOF!
Nice Guys Finish Last
NFL Week 2 Power Rankings:
- New England Patriots (Last Week 1st)
- Green Bay Packers (2)
- Denver Broncos (6)
- Seattle Seahawks (NA)
- Cincinnati Bengals (9)
- Atlanta Falcons (5)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (NA)
- Kansas City Chiefs (NA)
- Dallas Cowboys (3)
- New York Jets (NA)
Unfounded Rumour of the Week:
Apparently Washington Pro Football Team quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins don’t talk to each other anymore. You can at least understand a little awkwardness, Cousins did take RG3’s starting job recently, completing an incredible fall from grace from a lad once meant to be the face of the franchise for years to come. But once injury limited his running game, his arm wasn’t able to hold up. And while Cousins has had his share of troubles with turnovers, he was very good against the Rams, leading the ‘skins to a 24-10 win, throwing 23 of 27 for 203 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions throws. Mighty impressive, actually.
"Simply put: they don't talk. They don't speak to each other, they don't communicate, they can't even be in the same room as each other because of the tension that exists between the two sides."
Quote of the Week:
Aaron Rodgers might just be poking fun at Russell Wilson there, after his Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 27-17 this week. Rodgers wasn’t too happy last season after Wilson credited God for setting up a miraculous Seahawks comeback in the NFC Championship game.
“I don’t think God cares a whole lot about the outcome. He cares about the people involved, but I don’t think he’s a big football fan.” – Rodgers in January.
Good Week:
New York Jets Defence – Pretty marvellous how they’re playing, beating the Browns and then the Colts with five takeaways in each of them, something that hasn’t been done by a team in both week one and two since 1992. Not quite as shocking when you consider that they’ve had the run stop down for a couple years, and they’ve brought back Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis. Revis was massive against the Colts, a pick and two fumble recoveries. This was a team with 13 takeaways in all of 2014.
Starlin Castro (Chicago Cubs) – 10 hits in his last 22 at bats, 20 for 45 in September. Castro’s starting to get it going for the Cubbies and they’re gonna be one hell of a bandwagon to jump on if they go on a postseason run. Right now they’re on the verge at 88-62. Castro’s bat has forged a scary 3-4-5 trio that also includes Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Castro did make an error at short, but manager Joe Maddon blamed that on an AC/DC concert a few days earlier.
Texas Rangers – Into first place of the AL West after sweeping the Houston Astros in four. Not bad for a team 42-46 at the All Star break. Since then they’ve traded for Cole Hamels, fixed a previously disastrous bullpen and started getting some timely hitting from their big bats. Still not a team that looks like it can compete with the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Cardinals or Royals, but Jeff Bannister must be the frontrunner for Manager of the Year.
Bad Week:
DeMarco Murray (Philadelphia) – His first gem up against his old team the Dallas Cowboys, and he’ll have been hoping to make a statement. Especially after just 9 yards rushing in week one. Instead he had more of the same, continually plugged for losses and finishing with only 2 net yards rushing on 3 carries. He made a few plays catching the ball but this was a terrible day. 94 players (including 19 QBs) currently have more rushing yards this season than Murray. He’s tied with Tony Romo and Andy Dalton.
Baltimore Ravens – For a team built on their defensive ability, a team that won a Super Bowl a couple years back with a goal line stand… letting a game slip with 26 seconds to go to Derek Carr and the Raiders must sting. Surely Terrell Suggs, brilliant as he is, wasn’t that crucial?
Ragnar (Formerly of the Minnesota Vikings) – Such a tragic loss. The Vikings ran out to their first home game of the season and they did so without their mascot of 21 years, Ragnar the motorcycle-riding Viking. Apparently his contract ran up in the offseason and he wanted a massive pay increase. Needless to say, they kicked him out on the street. #OnlyInAmerica
Player of the Week:
Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – This bugger. Probably the MVP of the NFL after two weeks. 466 yards at 64.4% with 3 TDs. He hasn’t thrown an interception yet in 2015. Really making the most of that suspension reprieve, isn’t he?