They’re 2-0, really? The NFL’s pleasant surprises
No matter what experts may know, they can never know everything. You can study a team all you want, but you can’t truly measure them until they start playing some real football. Training camp, pre-season and the previous year do not mean anything once the
real season starts. Just ask the Miami Dolphins, the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans that question. No one would have thought that they’d all be 2-0 to start the year.
The Miami Dolphins may be a surprise to most people, but they really shouldn’t be. They were very weak in 2009, but what weaknesses did they not address this off-season? Their main problem on offence was the lack of a playmaker at wide receiver. Hello Brandon
Marshall.
Their defence was ageing and declining in production. Exit Joey Porter, Jason Taylor and Gibril Wilson; hello Karlos Dansby, Cameron Wake and Koa Misi. Don’t forget their new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who has improved the pass rush and the secondary.
While we have yet to see the full potential of what Marshall can bring to the Dolphins, in part because of the Dolphins’ conservative play calling, we have seen the coming out party of a young, talented defence. Vontae Davis looks like a savvy veteran, Cameron
Wake is showing why he belonged in the NFL and Karlos Dansby has proved to be a great leader for an otherwise young defensive unit.
When the Miami offence really gets going, watch out. Surely they have more up their sleeves for Marshall and other components on offence and they should show that soon. Their next two games are against division rivals the New York Jets and the New England
Patriots, and they’ll have to start throwing the football and be a little more aggressive to knock them off.
The Chicago Bears were 0-4 in the pre-season, and Jay Cutler looked like the Bears’ next quarterback disappointment. See how much pre-season means? The Bears are 2-0 now and their offence appears to be finding their rhythm, especially with Cutler’s masterful
performance against a tough Cowboys’ defence in Week two. Cutler threw for 287 yards with three touchdown passes. More importantly for Cutler, he did not throw an interception. The Chicago offence appears to be heading for improvement in Mike Martz’s system.
The pass-happy offensive coordinator seems to be a perfect match for the gun-slinging Cutler.
Hopes are high for the Bears who are tied with the Green Bay Packers on top of the NFC North. Things can get really interesting soon as the Packers will visit Soldier Field on Monday night. That will be a statement game for the Bears who can quickly establish
their dominance over the North. It could also expose them for being an overachieving team early on. More will be known about the Bears following their showdown next Monday.
The Houston Texans are on top of the AFC South. Some predicted the Texans to make the play-offs, but you didn’t hear too many people picking them to overtake the Colts. It’s not only the fact that the Texans are 2-0 that’s so impressive, but how they’ve
won.
First the Texans made a statement by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 34-24 while Arian Foster rushed for 231 yards. That quickly showed that the Texans are indeed for real and the Colts will have their hands full with the new kids on the block.
The Texans’ 30-27 victory over the Washington Redskins doesn’t sound impressive on paper, but when you’re down 27-10 and find a way to win, that’s always impressive. Matt Schaub led his struggling team to an amazing win throwing for 497 yards and three touchdowns.
Schaub also had some help from his best receiver Andre Johnson, who had 12 receptions for 158 yards and a score. The Texans showed a lot of character in their comeback win and showed they have the mental toughness to win games on a bad day.
We should be aware that things could always change later in the season. Remember last year, we saw one team go from 6-0 to 8-8 and another team go from 0-6 to 8-8, (the Broncos and the Titans respectively). It may be early to talk now, but these teams are
really looking good and teams should start circling these teams on their calendar if they play them.
Tags: