September 19, 2012

Greg's Top Ten Biggest Surprises From This NFL Season:

1. Mediocre Quarterback Play: This is solely directed at the "elite" quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Matt Stafford have a combined mark of 12 TD's and 11 INT's heading into week three. I'm guessing these guys will probably get it turned around at some point, but as of right now there's much to be desired.

2. C.J. Spiller: Two weeks into the season Fred Jackson's understudy has gained 364 yards from scrimmage and has an videogame-like 10.1 yard per carry. Chances are, he'll come down to earth somewhat, but as of today he is the NFL's top rusher. Who would have guessed it?

3. Cardinals are 2-0: What? Did Kurt Warner come out of retirement? Personally, I think this is a case of "It's better to be lucky than good." Seattle let week one's matchup with the Cardinals get away from them late and the Patriots were one missed kick away from getting the best of the Cards. Perhaps the buck will stop in week three's matchup against former division rival Philadelphia.

4. Saints are 0-2: I suppose we could have seen this coming considering how much the team went through in the offseason, but I still expected better from them. Both the Redskins and Panthers have scored on them with ease. Chances are, they get their first win this week against the lowly Chiefs.

5. Alex Smith Breaks Team Record: Smith's 216 straight passes without an interception thrown is remarkable when you consider how many great players have suited up at quarterback for the 49ers. He bested Steve Young's mark of 185 during week two's Sunday night game against the Detroit Lions. Side note - he still has to throw another 119 passes without an interception to match Tom Brady's NFL mark of 335 passes without a pick.

6. Replacement Officials: As I understand it, the money the league officials are asking for is a drop in the bucket when one considers how much revenue the NFL takes in every year. Why the quality and integrity of the game is being compromised is beyond my understanding. I guess I shouldn't be shocked by anything that happens when the NFL's top brass and greed are involved, but I really thought this would be resolved by now.

7. Chris Johnson Sucks Again: Seriously, how the hell did this guy run for 2,000 yards a few years ago? This season his stat line is as follows: 19 carries for 21 yards 0 TDs. That's 1.1 yards per carry. There are people watching the games at home who could run for 1.1 yards per carry over the course of two games. Heck, Steve McNair could probably still rush for 1.1 yards per carry. Oh, wait, too soon?

8. Clay Mathews is Lawrence Taylor: Two games, six sacks. Can someone block this guy? He's making sacks look as easy as you used to when using LT in Tecmo Super Bowl. Imagine if Mathews kept up this pace...48 sacks on the year. Of course, that won't happen, but Michael Strahan's single season mark of 22.5 is very much within reach and we're just two weeks into the 2012 season.

9. Akers Ties NFL FG Mark: Of all the players kicking in the NFL there's no way I could be convinced that Old Man Akers could boot a 63-yard Field Goal and tie an NFL mark for distance. Even Akers appeared completely stunned that he made the kick, which bounced off the bottom of the post and over just before the end of the half during the Niners' week one matchup against the Packers.

10. 20 Teams Are 1-1: Never before in NFL history have so many teams been 1-1 through two games of the season. I guess there really is something to be said for parity.