WEEK #3 NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

  

How can a Colts fan not lead off with what happened in San Francisco Sunday afternoon.  Oh my!.  Hell yes!  What a fantastic game.  That was the kind of effort that owner Jim Irsay, GM Ryan Grigson and head coach Chuck Pagano have been waiting for since Irsay brought the duo in a couple years ago.  The trade for Trent Richardson, the offensive line play, the defense, ball control, special teams.  It was hard to find much flaw in the gameplan that the Colts executed.  I said last week that the Richardson acquisition could be the start of something special for Indianapolis.  If one week is any indication, all signs are definitely positive.

Is it possible for a trade to help both teams involved?  For one week at least, it looks like the Colts and Browns have both benefited.  Cleveland goes on the road and picks up a big win against the less than daunting Vikings.  But a win is a win, and if you would have listened to the talking heads all week, the Browns seemed destined to just pack it in this season and coast to the first overall pick in next years draft.  There is something to be said about professional pride.  Let's hope that had something to do in this instance.

So I'm watching some of the Bengals/Packers game.  Cincinnati jumps ahead 14-0, only to see the Pack storm back and score the next 30 points.  Game over, right?  Not so fast.  The Bengals come alive, score a Td late in the 3rd quarter and one early in the 4th to get within a FG.  But all the Packers have to do is run some clock and close out the game.  Again, easier said than done.  Rookie RB Jonathan Franklin fumbles, returned by Terrance Newman to the house to put the Bengals up 34-30 with 3:30 minutes left.  Green Bay can't mount a drive, and Marvin Lewis wins a game just as he drew it up in the locker room.  Bengals had a win stolen from them week one.  This one was payback I guess.  Merry Christmas.  Packers head into their bye week 1-2 and haven't looked good doing it.  Sometimes the bye weeks come just at the right time.


I know the Seahawks have looked pretty good through the first three weeks, but a team that seems to have quietly compiled a 3-0 start is the New Orleans Saints.  Everybody wanted to talk last year about the demise of the Saints without head coach Sean Payton.  Well where is the praise now that he is back and guiding them to win after win?  Brees and Graham torched my fantasy team to the tune of 113 of my opponents 197 points scored.  Big matchup at home this week against the undefeated Dolphins.  Then on the road at Chicago and at New England before their bye week #7.  If this team makes it to the off week still undefeated, teams better take notice come January.  Just sayin'.  (Of course, having said that, they will probably drop all three games.  Just sayin')

I'm not sure why, but I'm kinda rooting against RG III.  Maybe it's because I think he's somewhat overrated.  Maybe it's because of all the hype coming out of college.  Maybe it's the fact he's forever linked with Andrew Luck, who I am obviously rooting for to do better.  I guess Griffin puts up numbers from a fantasy perspective, but I'm not convinced he's a QB you want to build your team around.  Obviously he's an injury risk.  Which in turn means he's not running anymore.  Which in turn takes away a big part of his intrigue from my perspective.  And I'm not sure he's a leader of men.  I know Peyton Manning is.  Andrew Luck seems to fit the bill.  RG III?  Not so sure.  If it's wedding scandal, or arguing with his head coach, or teammates questioning his desire, something is always in the air with this guy.  Sure, he's got the Subway commercials.  He's got the Hooters girl on his arm.  All I know is that I'm sure glad the Colts called Luck's name on draft day and not RG III.  And did I mention his Redskins are sitting at 0-3?  He better come up big this week on the road in Oakland.  Just sayin'.


The Giants are in trouble.  There is not a team in the league, besides maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars, that have looked quite as bad as the G-Men through the first three weeks of the season.  And I've said it before, but I hate the Panthers offense this year.  But hey, when your defense pitches a shutout it's pretty easy to win games regardless of who's calling your offensive plays.  A 38-0 shellacking.  An embarrassment for the Giants and their fans.  It's only week four, but they have a must win game, on the road, against an undefeated Kansas City squad this week.  Lose that game and I say it's turn out the lights in the city that never sleeps.

Baltimore came up big, as I predicted, at home against the Texans, winning 30-9 in a game that never seemed close.  Houston is in trouble.  They should be sitting on an 0-3 record.  Instead, they are 2-1.  A big test this week as they host the undefeated Seahawks, arguably the best team in the league right now.  The following week, they travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers.  Not an easy task.  They also go on the road to take on an undefeated Chiefs squad before their bye.  They need to right their ship and soon (or not from a Colts fan perspective).

Another team in trouble (albeit without a 2-1 record) is the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Bears forced five turnovers in a 40-23 thrashing in Pittsburgh.  Guess your team philosophy can only carry you so far.  In the end, it comes down to the players playing the game.  From a fantasy perspective, stay away.

Oh, and Peyton Manning is good.  Another three Td game to go along with 374 yards.  I know it's stupid to extrapolate current stats to the end of the year, but Peyton is on pace to throw for 6100 yards and 64 touchdowns.  Just sayin'.