Week 15 came and went with some bit hits and controversy - heres Cumbletons Conclusions

In a league that is trying to improve player safety, Odel Beckham, for whatever reason, was thrown completely off his game by Carolina Panther’s cornerback Josh Norman. Uncharacteristically Beckham had several drops, but it was his helmet to helmet hit on Norman that should have seen him ejected. It was a hit that was both dangerous and completely unnecessary.

 

There's no doubt that the NFL MVP this year should be Cam Newton. He's playing some impressive football and led the Panthers to a 38-35 win over the Giants, including 5 touchdown passes. Newton creates plays both running and passing and is a big man to have running at you. He's in control of his team and is the unquestioned leader demonstrated when he was calming down Norman after his run in with Odel.

 

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the NFC East, the Redskins ended the Bill’s playoff hopes, and the Eagles were soundly beaten by an Arizona Cardinals team that is setting the tone for the NFC. Sloppy play from several Eagles (dropped passes and fumbles on back to back drives), interesting calls (not using bigger back DeMarco Murray on short yardage plays) and injuries to their secondary saw the Eagles limited. But it was the strength of the Cardinal’s receiving corp that impressed me. Larry Fitzgerald, Malcolm Floyd and John Brown are as formidable as any receivers in the league and rookie running back David Johnson also flashed potential.

 

Tennessee Titan’s fans haven't had much to cheer about other than the potential of Marcus Mariotta this year, and they are again in the running for the first overall pick. The one bright spot on the team has been Delanie Walker and it is ridiculous that he was not voted to the Pro Bowl. As well as being a great blocker for a TE Walker will break the 1000 yard barrier again (he currently has 935) and has six touchdowns. On a bad Titans team he is doing all he can and it’s a shame he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

 

When I interviewed the Chief’s players for their Wembley appearance they were struggling. Since then they have seen a considerable change of fortunes on their way to winning seven straight games. Part of the credit must go to head coach Andy Reid. Reid kept the Chiefs hungry and believing through their early struggles and they are now playing some impressive football. The signing of Jeremy Maclin looks like a master stroke as he has quickly become the weapon of choice for Alex Smith down the stretch. The Chief’s defence can be dominating and they made plenty of plays this week as they walked away 34-14 victors over Baltimore.

 

The Packers showed what they can do again with a win over the Raiders, and fans are hoping that they can round into form. Watching this game my one takeaway was how quiet Kalil Mack was. A week after having a 5 sack performance that took over the game against the Denver Broncos, Mack barely saw his name called. He registered one sack, one solo tackle and tackle assist. He has 15 sacks so far in 2015 and is becoming one of the league’s young superstars.

 

The Steelers got a win against a very good Broncos team but it was a game of two halves. The Steelers were in complete disarray in the first half and were down by 17 points but bounced back on the back of another huge day from Antonio Brown. Denver on the other hand failed to score in the second half for the third week in a row. Denver have named quarterback Brock Osweiler as the starter for their Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Peyton Manning is expected to be inactive. Going into the offseason Denver will have a decision to make about who they want at QB in 2016 as Osweiler will be coming to the end of his contract and Manning has a huge cap figure.

 

The Cowboys quarterback carousel saw yet another player under centre. Former Boise State star Kellen Moore became the latest player to step up and kept the Fitzpatrick led Jets team close, eventually losing 19-16. Since the ups and downs of Sanchez and Geno Smith, Fitzpatrick has steadied the Jet’s ship. He may not be the most athletically gifted player or put up showy numbers but Fitzpatrick is consistent and with a player like Brandon Marshall to catch the ball and an imposing defence he will keep them in the hunt.

 

The Jaguars continue to show promise and Gus Bradley has them heading in the right direction thanks to the consistent play of receiver Allen Robinson (1141 yards and 13 touchdowns). The Jaguars could finish the season with two 1000 yard receivers with Allen Hurns needing only 93 yards in the last two games. Their defence is the real issue. They are the NFL’s 30^th ranked team, giving up an average of 27.1 points and 361.5 yards.

 

The Pro Bowl teams have been announced and once again there is much outrage as players that have had amazing seasons have again been ignored in favour of those that are big names or happen to play for large market teams that have prime time games.

 

Neither LeSean McCoy nor Jason Peters were the best at their positions this year yet both made the Pro Bowl. McCoy has been injured often this year and has only played his best in patches whilst Peters has played reasonably well but has not been at his dominating best. Continuing the theme of Pro Bowl snubs a minor surprise for me is the omission of Denver cornerback Bradley Roby. He's been consistently impressive in coverage and while he hasn't made as many flashy plays and pick sixes as Kansas City’s Marcus Peters he has been far more consistent.

 

It's a broken system but is a lot better than the AFC vs NFC games before them. If you have a player that you don't think deserved their Pro Bowl place or think another player was snubbed why not tweet me and let me know @Cumbleton

Concluding Week 13 as the offences start to roll into postseason mode

Tyrod Taylor gives the Bills a weapon both running and throwing the ball and he kept the ball alive time and time again against the Texans. Meanwhile Sammy Watkins had several long plays as the Bills kept their playoff hopes alive.

 

Odell Beckham was making plays all day long against the Jets as he made their vaunted defence look ordinary on his way to his fifth straight 100 yard game. Revis is no longer the elite player that he once was.

 

Blake Bortles to Allen Robinson looks quite the combination. Bortles set the Jaguars single season record and Robinson became the first Jaguars receiver to reach 1000 yards since 2005. They did this without injured WR Allen Hurns on the other side. The Jags are really assembling some good pieces to the puzzle.

 

The Blaine Train continues to roll! Blaine Gabbert continues on his road to redemption with two huge plays to lead the 49ers to an overtime win against the Chicago Bears. He pulled the game level with his 44 yard TD run and won the game with a 71 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Smith.

 

The Giants blew a 10 point lead and saw their game go to overtime before eventually losing to a Brandon Marshall led Jets team. Marshall became the first ever player to have 1,000 yard seasons for four different teams. For all his personality issues Marshall, like TO before him, is an outstanding playmaker.

 

Regardless of how the rest of the season turns out and whether Chip Kelly stays or goes, the Eagles need to be more disciplined. They had 4 penalties on one drive in the first quarter! Although they went on to defeat the Patriots they relied heavily on special teams and defence. The defence was hugely improved from the unit that has allowed 90 points over two games. The main reason for this, I believe, was the fact they were able to consistently put pressure on Brady. Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox is having an amazing season and should make the Pro Bowl.

 

After another embarrassing loss the Browns have named Johnny Manziel as their starting quarterback, something they should have done weeks ago (and technically did before Manziel made the front office think twice with his off-field hijinks). The Browns look like favourites for the first overall pick and so essentially get four games to see if they have their QB of the future in place or need to look to Paxton Lynch or Jared Goff.

Conclusions after Week 11 - The Playoff Picture strating to assemble

The early playoff picture is starting to take shape and there are still two unbeaten teams, the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. It's quite a feat when you consider that the Panthers had been written off at the start of the season and the Patriots have an ever increasing injury report.

 

The Cardinals and the Bengals showed that they're for real in an impressive head to head. It was Carson Palmer who made his case for player of the week with an impressive second half showing through the air. Thanks to Palmer the Cardinals pulled off the win, 31-34.

 

The Falcons continue their free fall with a loss to the Colts who started Matt Hasselback at quarterback. The Eagles continue to have an inconsistent season as they were demolished 45-17 by first overall pick Jameis Winston. Winston looked ridiculously good for a rookie as he threw five different touchdowns to five different players!

 

Denver travelled to Chicago with untested QB Brock Osweller. He had a strong showing and may be the successor to future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Osweller did a pretty good job against Chicago and will get at least two more games to show that he is for real.

 

London has proved to be somewhat of a talisman for the Chiefs. They have carried on their good form and move into playoff contention with a win against the terrible San Diego Chargers, who look like they are firmly in the hunt for the number one overall pick. This week Dontari Poe became the heaviest player to score a touchdown as he rumbled in from a yard out.

 

The Blaine train came off the rails against the Seahawks but the 49ers will continue to see what they have in Blaine Gabbert, especially now that they have put Colin Kaepernick on IR. If Gabbert plays well he's likely to secure a job for next year at the very least. At worst he becomes the short term answer to their quarterback problem.

Concluding the week - Gabbert get the win and gets the start again.

In the NFL, as in life, things often seem to come back into fashion given time. On Sunday Blaine Gabbert, a former first round pick once laughed out of Jacksonville for repeated failure with meagre resources, took over from the ultimate shooting star, Colin Kaepernick. With relatively little help from the ground game Gabbert mostly made good decisions and was able to do enough through the air with 185 yards and 2 TDs, but also 2 interceptions. Gabbert made several nice throws and the win was enough to inspire coach Jim Tomsula to name Gabbert as the starter next week -  his second start of the year.

 

It was a rough week for franchise quarterbacks with injuries to both Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and Colts’ Andrew Luck. Despite Roethlisberger’s injury the Steelers, led by Antonio Brown’s 284 yards receiving, were too much for the Raiders as Penn State tight end Jesse James collected both his first deflection and his first touchdown. Meanwhile after an impressive day going 21 of 36 for 252 yards and beating the man he replaced in Indianapolis, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck later revealed that he’s suffering a kidney laceration and will be out for 4-6 weeks.

 

A week after being demolished by the Patriots, the Dolphins were taken to pieces by the Bills, losing 33 – 17. LeSean McCoy and promising rookie Karlos Williams rushed for over 100 yards each and Sammy Watkins caught 8 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. It was a promising look at what the Bills offence can achieve with all of its weapons in place.

 

Whilst the Buccaneers lost, their young players gave reason for hope. Second year man Mike Evans is a star, accounting for 152 yards receiving. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston continues to improve week on week with guard Ali Marpet doing a good job of protecting him.

 

After suffering a loss last week against the Denver Broncos, which saw a miserable 77 yards, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were largely ineffective for the first two quarters against the Panthers. Despite a valiant fight back by Rodgers and his largely unknown receivers it was not enough.  Have injuries finally caught up with the Packers? It sure looks like it. Conversely the Panthers remain unbeaten and are playing some impressive football behind Cam Newton.

 

 

The Eagles running game showed up once again and proved how much damage they can do once they get going. With DeMarco Murray gaining 161 total yards and a touchdown, Ryan Mathews gained 67 yards and a touchdown and Jordan Matthews had an impressive 133 yards. But the dropped passes continued. The Cowboys lost in overtime 27-33. Brittle running back Darren McFadden showed that he still has the talent (117 yards on 27 carries) if he can only stay healthy. This game saw Eagles promising rookie middle linebacker Hicks lost for the year with a torn pectoral muscle.

 

Drew Brees seems to be trying to win in New Orleans despite them having no defence. Case in point, that awful bobbled pass by a Saints defender that Delanie Walker grabbed and ran all the way to the end zone. Drew Brees cannot constantly be expected to throw for 5 touchdowns week in, week out.

Concluding Week 8 - San Fran QB riddle and Chiefs power at Wembley

The NFL may have a pretty impressive redemption story in the case of the 49ers. It says something about the state of the San Francisco offence that they've benched starter Colin Kaepernick in favour of Blaine Gabbert, the former first round pick who flamed out of Jacksonville.

 

The Chiefs game at Wembley was impressively one sided as the Chiefs dominated every phase of the game. It was an impressive performance by the Chiefs, especially on defence. But the difference in the teams may start with the quarterbacks. Alex Smith was more than happy to run the ball as he helped his team and he made every effort to get first down after first down, only sliding once he'd passed the marker. Stafford, however, was sliding way before the distance needed for a first down. This is not behaviour that is going to win over the locker room and unite the team.

 

It would be a great boost to the team if their win on Sunday was the start of a winning streak as they make a push for the playoff. By contrast things in Detroit became more unsettled with the firing of the Lions GM. Andy Reid later said that he is behind the move to an NFL franchise in London once logistic problems are worked out.

 

Todd Gurley continues to make plays every week and is already looking like one of the best backs in the NFL.  He has the power to run over people and the speed to take the ball to the house and outrun defenders. The Rams draft pick looks like a steal!

 

The Broncos demolition of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers was worth noting for two reasons. The Broncos defence was around Aaron Rodgers all game and gave him no opportunity to make plays and when he did his receivers were generally covered. Secondly Peyton Manning looked much happier throwing the ball and got the ball out with a lot more power than in recent weeks.

 

 

Conclusions of Week 7 see the Jaguars get a London win, and Johnson running a new tread in Arizona

Week 7 got underway in London as the Jaguars and Bills squared off at Wembley Stadium in what was probably the most exciting of all the International Series matches. The match was notable for more than the action on the field. It was the first time that the Jaguars seemed to have a ‘home field advantage’ from the fans. Perhaps this was helped by an impressive second quarter which saw them score two defensive touchdowns in quick succession. The Bills must be praying for the return of Tyrod Taylor after EJ Manuel turned the ball over three times in 8 plays. But it wasn't all bad for Manuel. With a Bills team that was missing Sammy Watkins the second year player generated several scoring drives and at times made some impressive touch passes. In fact Manuel and the Bills looked to have done enough to complete an impressive comeback before Blake Bortles took over and hit Allen Hurns for the winning touchdown. Finally the Jags won in London.

 

The Patriots are 6-0 and Super Bowl bound right? Not so fast. Tom Brady and the Patriots narrowly defeated the Jets on Sunday. But look at who they've beaten; the Bills, an improving Jaguars, the downtrodden Colts, an impressive but stalling Steelers, Romo-less Cowboys and the Jets. Not exactly the Power Ranking top 10!

 

The Eagles continue to improve despite losing to a Carolina team that has an extremely aggressive defence. The Panther’s linebackers looked quicker than everyone on the field and their defensive line gave the Eagles fits.  On offence the combination of Mike Tolbert and Jonathan Stewart frequently ran through the Eagles defence (Byron Maxwell I'm looking at you) like it wasn't there. The Eagles defence did keep them in the game with turnovers but in the end the dropped passes and stupid penalties were too much. Last year’s first round pick Marcus Smith has still yet to contribute in any meaningful way and seems destined for bust label.

 

Two first round picks who definitely weren't busts are Oakland’s Amari Cooper and St Louis’ Todd Gurley. Amari seems to catch everything thrown his way and already has 519 yards and 3 touchdowns. Gurley, seemingly fully recovered from his ACL injury in college, added 128 yards to his rushing total for the year which now stands at 442 yards. He also scored the first two touchdowns of his NFL career.

 

The Lions prepared for their trip to Wembley with a loss to the Vikings. Teddy Bridgewater had a fantastic game and made several plays that suggest he could be an NFL star. Whilst the Chiefs looked impressive at times in their win over the Steelers was even more impressive when you consider they were without Jamaal Charles (torn ACL) and Jeremy Maclin (still recovering from a concussion). It was good to see Eric Berry playing at such a high level after battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

 

Bill O’Brien is in the hot seat, and if he's not he certainly should be. The Texans lost yet again and were not helped by the fact that their supposed starting quarterback this week Ryan Mallett, missed his flight (seriously, how does that happen to a supposed professional football player?!) and had to fly commercially. It's not the first time that Mallett has been late. He overslept and missed a pre-season practice earlier in the season. Personally that's not the sort of player I want leading my team, and it appears the Texans agree with me – Mallett was released on Tuesday. Tebow for the Texans anyone?

 

The Dolphins won their second straight match and the game was over by half time! Lamar Miller finally gets a significant number of carries and how does he respond? He rushed for 175 and chipped in with 83 receiving yards before being taken out of the game at half time. Ryan Tannehill passed for four touchdowns and the much maligned defence chipped in with a touchdown and 4 sacks.  Dan Campbell certainly has Miami playing with some intensity.

 

A year ago running back Chris Johnson was a New York Jet and only managed to rush for 663 yards in 16 games. Everyone was predicting the end of his career. A year later and after a drive-by shooting in which he nearly died, Johnson is looking rejuvenated in the desert. Now with the Arizona Cardinals, he's started the season with 567 yards rushing in seven games, including 122 yards on Monday night against the Ravens. Johnson looks to have found his speed and vision after looking lost at times for the Jets.

 

Tyrann Mathieu looks a little bit like Brian Dawkins. He's got a chance to be a really special player if he can stay healthy. The guy’s 5’9 but tackles like he's been shot out of a cannon and has instincts in spades. Arizona say he studies hard too. He's a fun player to watch.

Concluding Week 6 - Breakout game for Hopkins, and the Dolphins making waves again

The Jaguars really need T.J. Yeldon to return from injury ahead of their match against the Bills in London next week.  Dernard Robinson can do a lot of things but simply isn't as good when running the ball. This game saw the Jaguars take a backward step offensively as Bortles made some bad decisions behind an offensive line that can be described as inconsistent at best!

 

Meanwhile DeAndre Hopkins was breaking out for the Texans. He made all kinds of acrobatic catches, against what was often good coverage, on his way to 10 catches, 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hopkins is rapidly becoming one of the better receivers in the league. He was no doubt aided by Arian Foster who looked much faster than earlier in the year, suggesting that he is returning to full health.

 

The Dolphins change of coaching staff seemed to make a difference as they ran the ball right down the Titans throats. Lamar Millar ran for over 100 yards and the Dolphins really got after Marcus Mariota, sacking him 5 times. Cameron Wake was a force and accounted for 4 sacks and two forced fumbles. The Dolphins scored 38 points having averaged 16 for the year. With just under two minutes left and the game effectively over Zach Mettenberger took over and looked pretty good even though Bishop Sankey had two drops on the drive. If I'm the Texans I'm at least inquiring about Mettenberger.

The Jets Cory Ivory ran the ball exceptionally well against the Redskins on Sunday as he rushed for 146 yards. Brandon Marshall had over 100 yards receiving and Ryan Fitzpatrick rushed for a touchdown as they were simply too strong for the Redskins. It looks like it could be another long year in America’s capital!

 

Neither quarterback looked impressive in the Cleveland vs Denver game as both had two interceptions. Each team’s defence scored and the ground games took over. The

Broncos eventually scraped another win, making enough plays to secure the victory in overtime and are now 6-0. Should Manning work through his poor form then Denver will really be a team to watch out for.

 

Two games went to overtime this week.

 

The Arizona Cardinals fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers despite Carson Palmer passing for over 400 yards. The Steelers started second string quarterback Mike Vick in place of injured starter Ben Roethlisberger, but when Vick went down it was Landry Jones who sparked the offence to an upset win. Mattavious Bryant had 167 yards and 2 TDs and it was enough to see the Steelers go to 4-2.

Andy Dalton has been phenomenal all year and continued to play at a high level, adding another 3 touchdowns. The Bengals were far too much for the Bills, lead for the first time this season by EJ Manuel. A healthy LeSean McCoy produced 90 yards and a touchdown but there was little competition. The worst loss for the Bills was the injury to second year receiver Sammy Watkins. Watkins, perhaps the lone bright spot on Buffalo’s offence last year, was returning from injury and will be a huge loss if he can't play when the Bills arrive in Wembley next week.

Ok, so it was against the Bears but a week after I dropped him in my fantasy league Calvin Johnson returned to fantasy relevance as he saw his Lions to their first win of the season. Johnson had 166 yards and a touchdown and Matthew Stafford rallied after getting benched last week, throwing for 4 touchdowns and over 400 yards.

 

Every year there’s a team that shows how difficult it is in the NFL to pass the ball if you don't have a legitimate running threat. Last week the Chiefs lost Jamal Charles for the year to a torn ACL. The result? They struggled to replace Charles’ elite skill set. This allowed the Vikings to focus on the pass and stop the Chief’s offence. Meanwhile the Vikings managed to make enough plays to win 16-10 despite two interceptions from Teddy Bridgewater.

 

As an Eagles fan it was great to see the Eagles start to make some offensive progress. The defence is continuing to play at a high level but the Monday night game was just ugly for both teams. Neither offence could put together a sustained drive on a regular basis nor the pass protection of both teams failed frequently as attested by several sacks and pass deflections.  Riley Cooper is the Eagles leading wide receiver in yards per catch with 19.8 and he seems to have little or no connection with quarterback Sam Bradford who frequently made horrible plays. Could it be time to bring out Mark ‘The Sanchise’ Sanchez in Philly?

 

Conclusions from Week 3 - Outstanding individual milestones

In the absence of reigning rushing champion DeMarco Murray the whole Eagles team pitched in to get Chip Kelly his first win of the season. Ryan Matthews rushed for 108 yards and Darren Sproles was electric . Part of that comes from sustained drives without which the Eagles offence and the tempo system doesn't work. The Eagles got great production from two of their rookies, Eric Rowe and Jordan Hicks, but the supposed jewel in the Eagles 2014 draft crown, Nelson Aghalor, remains largely unnoticed so far this season. Final note on this one should go to Brandon Bair. The third year former Oregon player, who has been inactive the past two games, came up big with three pass deflections.

 

Anyone in the league doubting that the Raiders are a much different team to the one that lined up last year should watch the Browns game. Derek Carr is making use of Amari Cooper early and often in games (targeting him 8 times for 134 yards) and that defence simply isn't as bad as it has been in recent years. Cooper's presence a deep threat opens up the running game and Latavius Murray took advantage and rushed for 139 yards.

 

Like him or hate him the ever impressive Tom Brady joined the elite 400 TD club. Whilst I think his legacy is irrevocably tarnished as a result of the DeflateGate it's still an incredible achievement and one that Drew Brees should also reach later this year.

 

Think the Bears regret getting rid of Greg Olsen? Only once in his time in Chicago did he get up to 60 catches. In that same year he still only just breached 600 yards. He's been impressive for the last three years with the Panthers and has really continued that way this year. On Sunday he had 134 yards receiving and two touchdowns as he proved un-coverable.

 

That Falcons offence is incredibly potent. Devonta Freeman ran for 141 yards and three TDs while Julio Jones scorched the Dallas defence for 164 yards. They're now 3-0 and clearly the class act of the  NFC South. What a difference a year makes.

 

Adrian Peterson is back. In their demolition of the Chargers he rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns. When Peterson is in the backfield second year signal caller Teddy looks a lot more comfortable.

 

Steve Smith had 13 receptions, 186 yards and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals and still wasn't the best receiver in the game! AJ Green was ridiculous in this game, snagging 10 passes for 227 and two touchdowns. Green's averaging over 100 yards so far this year as his and Andy Dalton and the Bengals are enjoying the fruits of his labour as they increased their record to 3-0. This was every bit the offensive shootout many predicted, with both quarterback throwing for over 350 yards.

 

Colin Kaepernik had perhaps the worst start to a game I've ever seen. He threw two pick sixes in his first four passes. The 49ers are in real trouble again and it could be time for them to start researching quarterbacks. 

 

Aaron Rogers is amazing. His command of the offence is incredible and his ability to move in the pocket buys time for the players around him. It doesn't hurt that he has an impressive offensive line keeping him upright (ask Alex Smith). Speaking of Smith he played a great game himself in the second half and Jeremy Maclin is certainly justifying his acquisition by the Chiefs in the offseason.  

Making (some) sense of Week 2

The NFL is a wonderful thing. Just when you think you understand it the game flips things on its head. The Eagles and Seahawks were expected to challenge for a place in the postseason but so far this season they are winless. Both teams stand 0-2 and have been unable to run the ball. The

Indianapolis Colts retooled their team with several veteran players and so far their investment hasn't been returned. Fresh off the back of a four turnover week from Andrew Luck the Colts are also 0-2.

 

Some things stay the same though. The Patriots still appear to be the team to beat and can now add an efficient running back, in the shape of former Eagle Dion Lewis, to their passing attack. Lewis was out of the league last year and has given Bill Belichick his workhorse back. The Packers continue to get the job done too despite injuries to Jordy Nelson and Eddie Lacey. Aaron Rogers seems to be able to plug anyone in at receiver and make them productive.

 

Speaking of unforeseen events, the Jets are now 2-0, face the Eagles and look favourites to move to 3-0. Tyrod Taylor spent his first 4 years in the NFL as a quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens but, having signed with the Bills in the offseason Taylor proceeded to beat out last year's starter EJ Manuel and their other offseason acquisition, Matt Cassel. Taylor's playing some pretty good football and has been part of the reason why the Bills came to within 8 points of being 2-0 as they lost by two points to the Patriots. Taylor has been making points both with his arm and his legs but took far too many sacks (an amazing 8) on Sunday.

 

In last week's battle of the rookie quarterbacks Marcus Mariota looked like a sure fire Hall of Fame candidate whilst Jameis Winston reminded many of Raiders bust JaMarcus Russell! Mariota returned to earth with a bump this week as he was constantly harried by the Browns. Former first round pick Johnny Manziel showed promise as he hooked up with Travis Benjamin on two long touchdown passes but will return to the bench this week as Josh McCown returns from a concussion. Meanwhile the Buccaneers got into a shootout with the Saints that allowed Winston to exhibit the arm that made him a first round pick, lofting two fantastic touch passes into the endzone early on. 

 

Raiders fans could be forgiven for thinking 'here we go again' after last week's terrible performance but the Raiders woke up in spectacular fashion today as Derek Carr and Amari Cooper took over the game. The pair combined for 109 yards, as Carr rocketed his way to 351 yards passing. He gives the Raiders a legitimate weapon that they've been lacking since Tim Brown.

 

Jacksonville, London's team, had a much better second game of the season. Blake Bortles looks to be making the jump that many second year quarterbacks make. He finished the game with 273 yards and two scores on 33 attempts. Another second year player was the beneficiary of Bortles play; Allen Robinson caught passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps the biggest improvement from last year was in the offensive line as they were able to keep the Dolphin's aggressive defence away from Bortles.

 

Is it me or do there seem to be a lot more injuries already this year than there have been in the past?

 

Week 3

 

The Giants finally won a match after two fourth quarter losses. They destroyed the Redskins, but it wasn't so much that the Giants played well, rather that Eli Manning was more careful with the ball. It was somewhat unexpected and although the Redskins came back at the end their much talked about running game seemed to dry up as Eli, Odel Beckham and Reuben Randall took control.

Cumbleton's Conclusions - from Week One action

Life as a Houston Texans fan isn't getting any better in 2015. Alex Smith and the Chiefs destroyed the vaunted Texans defence. Brian Hoyer started this season continuing the poor play that saw him deemed replaceable in Cleveland. Hoyer was sacked four times and failed to show any signs of life, eventually being replaced by Ryan Mallet who finally sparked some offence. It could be a very long year in Houston! The Chiefs didn't have things all their own way as Travis Kelce underlined his amazing promise, grabbing two TDs, before getting knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury.

 

Speaking of Cleveland Johnny Manziel was beaten out by Josh McCown but didn't have to wait long to get under centre. After McCown was knocked out of the game with a concussion Manziel took the field on Cleveland's subsequent possession and looked a different player as he completed two passes for 67 yards, the second of which was a 54-yard completion to Travis Benjamin. His play after that promising start was questionable as he scrambled around and turned the ball over three times. With McCown facing a delayed return Manziel could finally get a prolonged look.

 

That St Louis Rams defence appeared the real deal, stifling Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offence in the first half. Once Seattle found their feet on defence newly acquired Nick Foles had very little time to get the ball away and another former Eagle Cary Williams got a strip sack and fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.  In the end some questionable calls from Pete Carroll saw Seattle suffer a shock defeat to St Louis.

 

Tyrod Taylor rewarded Buffalo coach Rex Ryan's faith by sparking the Bills offence, both with his legs and from the pocket. Bills rookie Karlos Williams  showed why the Bills were so comfortable parting company with Fred Jackson in the offence as he had an impressive first game. But the real story of the game was the Bills defence that gave the Colts nothing as they had  no answer for the Bills running game and stingy defence - in fact Buffalo took a 24-0 lead and eventually ran out 27 - 14 winners. Taylor provides hope for the Wembley bound Bills.

 

After last year's wholly anaemic performance on offence, Brandon Marshall showed why the Jets chased him after he caught 6 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Chris Ivory rumbled away for 91 yards and two touchdowns. It was no doubt a relief for the Jets as they demolished the Browns. If Geno Smith continues to improve like he did at the tail end of last year they could make the AFC East very competitive down the stretch.

 

Lions running back Ameer Abdulah started his career with a TD on his first carry. One of the undoubted stars of the pre-season, Abdulah, continued his impressive form and looks to make the Detroit offence truly two dimensional as he combines with all pro receiver Calvin Johnson. The paring could be bad news for opposing defences.

 

In a battle of the top two picks in the NFL draft, Marcus Mariota saw his first pass go for a touchdown whilst Jameis Winston's first regular season pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown. It's far too early to predict careers as divergent as Manning and Leaf but it wasn't the best start for Winston.

 

Time and time again we see teams letting their opponents hang around until late in the game and then trying to hold on rather than putting the final nail in the coffin. It happened to the Giants against the Cowboys. They played poorly, Romo made mistakes and the Giants defence made plays to keep the Giants ahead until the dying minutes when the Cowboys drove down the field. Both teams may struggle down the stretch, especially the Cowboys, who lost Dez Bryant for a significant period.

 

The Raiders certainly appear to have regressed this season as they couldn't produce an offence. Starting quarterback Derek Carr, left with a hand injury in the second quarter and things were no better when backup Matt McGloin took over, in fact they were scoreless at the half.  The complete lack of impact from Kahlil Mack and Aldon Smith must be a concern.

 

The Falcons defence, one of the worst in the NFL last season, was the surprise of Monday Night football as they kept the high powered Eagles offence off the field for the majority of the first half. Falcons rookie Vic Beasley lived up to his first round billing both against the pass and run. For new Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford it looked like the first half was a warm up as he looked out of sync with his receivers. The second half was a different story as Bradford and the Eagles offence found its stride and came to within a botched field goal of winning, losing 24-26. The worrying side of the Eagles play was the HUGE number of penalty yards.

 

In the 49ers match against the Vikings two things stood out - Kaepernick playing from the pocket and Adrian Peterson barely making an impact after his suspension. The 49ers defence, and indeed the team as a whole, looked better than I expected given the amount of turmoil they faced.