Slade’s Grades Week 2
Week 2 of the 2017 NFL season is now in the books, and although
it’s still way too early for fans to panic and pundits to freak out, they already
are. The professor is here to add a
little stability to the mix and help make sense of the wacky week of football
that was week 2. For the new kids in
class, this weekly article awards passing grades to the good, fun and exciting
things that happened in the NFL this week and doles out failing grades to the
lame, awkward and just plain stupid things that transpired. Now that you know the rules, let’s get down
to it!
*Grading scale:
Pass = A plus – C minus
Fail = D plus – F minus
(C’s gets degrees but D’s don’t)
Pass = A plus – C minus
Fail = D plus – F minus
(C’s gets degrees but D’s don’t)
Week 2 Passes:
 |
| Crabtree hauled in 3 TDs in Sunday's week two action. |
Michael Crabtree: A+
The former 49er cast off had himself a day in the Bay area
on Sunday against the lowly New York Jets. I
just hope all you fantasy players out there had him in your lineup, at least at
the flex position. Crabtree lead the
Raiders in receptions with 6 for just 80 yards.
He would have totaled more yards if the darn end zone didn’t keep
getting in his way. See, three of his
catches went for touchdowns, making him the highest scoring fantasy WR of week
2. The 9th year pro has found
his niche as Amari Cooper’s sidekick in Oakland and is currently on pace to set
single season highs for himself in both TDs and yards as a major cog in the
Raider’s offensive machine. If only he could play against the Jets every week
he’d probably have a shot at Randy Moss’ single season TD record. Although that won’t happen he will still see
his fair share of targets as Derek Carr’s best possession receiver and should
continue to shine across the bridge from the team that drafted him in the first
round back in 09’.
AFC West: A-
Speaking of the Oakland Raiders, the AFC West as a whole is
shaping up to yet again be the class division of the NFL. The aforementioned Raiders along with the
Broncos and Chiefs are all 2-0 so far, and even the 0-2 Charges are anything but
a trash squad after losing their two games by a combined 5 points, with one of
those losses coming against Denver. Every
team in this division is formidable and it will be a dog fight to see who wins
the AFC West title this year. The Chiefs
look like a team on a mission after thumping the defending champs on opening
night in New England and then following that up with hard earned win at home
against a tough Philly team. The Broncos
D is still top notch and their offense is clicking way better than anyone
thought possible coming into this season.
Don’t believe me? Peep the film
from Sunday when Denver made mincemeat out of a Dallas team that is expected to
rival for an NFC title. The Raiders have
walloped the Jets and the Titans so far and Derek Carr will no doubt be in the
league MVP running again at seasons end.
The Charges will likely continue to have bad luck and lose more nail
biters, but that is nothing new for Phillip Rivers, my bet is they probably end
the season as the best 8-8 team in the league.
No matter who wins this division there is a very good chance they won’t
be the only AFC West team playing ball in January.
Defensive Football: A
Q: What do the Bengals, Panthers, Bills, Texans, Seahawks,
49ers, Cardinals, Colts, Vikings, and Bears all have in common?
A: Each of those teams’ offenses were held to 1 or fewer
touchdowns in week 2.
Statements like that may drive network executives and
fantasy football heads crazy but for the old timey tough guys out there who
miss that ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ style of football from yesteryear,
it’s music to their ears. Granted a lot
of Sunday’s action was more like ‘three incomplete passes and a punt’, but it
was still defensively driven, and that can be exciting too. For years, the NFL has been trending towards
rule changes that benefit the offense to promote higher scoring games. On top of that they hamstring defenders by
limiting not only who they can hit but when and where, in the name of
player safety. Sure, one can argue that
fewer collisions may mean fewer injuries, but it also means a less entertaining
product. Give me Ray Lewis decleating a
crossing TE over an Odell one handed catch any day of the week. Plus, I am sure that there is data out there
to support the theory that limiting tackling in practice (at all levels) is
leading to higher rates of orthopedic injuries due to improper form tackling. I don’t have the data to support that
theory. I am not a doctor. I just play one in strip clubs, but I
digress. My point is not all games have
to hit the over mark on the over/under for it to be exciting football. Watching a team rack up sacks or force
multiple intercepted passes thanks to a relentless pass rush can also be a
beautiful thing, and we’ve gotten our fair share of that this season and I for
one am thankful.
Week 2 Fails:
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| Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images |
Giant Disappointment: F
The NY Giants get my vote for the most underachieving team so far this season. They got thumped by the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in week one and spanked by the Lions on Monday Night Football in week 2. That’s back to back prime-time whooping’s for the world to see. Manning looks unsettled behind a leaky O-line and the running game is pathetic in the big apple. Odell Beckham Jr. is still gimpy with an ankle injury and free agent pick up Brandon Marshall has been invisible. Even their defense which was/is the strength of the team has been underachieving. They’ve given up over 100 yards rushing each week and have struggled to get off the field on key 3rd downs. This team was a trendy pick to represent the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl coming into this season, and now they are simply trying to find answers on how to win their first game. They need to figure out something and fast. Make a trade with the Saints for Adrian Peterson or spend this week of practice working on flea flickers, just do something. Because with road games against the Eagles and Bucs on the horizon, it isn’t going to be an easy task for them.
NFC West: D-
This division just a few seasons ago was the best in
football, now it appears to have fallen on hard times. The Seahawks will always have a shot to win
games thanks to their stacked defense, but years of neglecting their O-line has
come home to roost in a bad way. Their
running game is haunted by ghosts of Beastmode past, and Russell Wilson has
looked mediocre at best. That will
continue until Wilson can consistently get better protection and be able to
count to at least 3 ‘steamboats’ before a D-lineman is in his lap. Scoring only 9 points a game like the Hawks
have 2 weeks in a row won’t win a lot of games in the NFL, no matter how great
their defense plays. The 49ers are a much-improved
organization since John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan took over, but they were in
such disarray that success in life for that lot equates to 5 or 6 wins this
season. The Rams are still young and inconsistent and will be up and down all
season long, looking good against the bad teams and looking terrible against the good
ones. The Cardinals were my preseason
pick to win this division and I thought they’d have a bounce back year, but
after seeing them need overtime to beat a terrible Colts team on Sunday, I’m
not so sure. Losing David Johnson in
week one was a crushing blow to this team.
Unless Bruce Arians can channel his inner coach of the year and really
rally his troops on some George S. Patton pontificating in front of a giant flag type of shit, I think this team is in big trouble. The one positive that all these teams have
going for them is that the season is young and 10 wins should wrap this junky
division up.
Fantasy Football Players: D
We got a whole lot of WTF’s going on so far in this fantasy
season. Usually defenses are ahead of
offenses to kick off a football season, but so far touchdowns have been harder
to come by than finding a moviegoer who actually liked the film ‘Mother’. Alex Smith, Carson Wentz and Trevor Siemian
are 3 of the top 5 scoring QB’s so-far this year (as per CBS Sports Standard
Scoring). KC’s Kareem Hunt has been the
only RB worth having on your roster and Michael Crabtree and J. J. Nelson are
the highest scoring WR’s. What. The.
Fuck. ??? Now before you go and
drop all your high round draft picks and try to re-roster your whole squad with
waiver wire scrubs, take a deep breath.
It’s not even week 3 yet. There
is time for things to right themselves. Zeek
isn’t likely to have another 8 yard rushing effort and Julio Jones will eventually catch a touchdown
pass. Just try to remain calm and come
to terms with that idea that maybe that long shot sleeper you picked up in late
rounds isn’t going to help you this season (I’m looking at you Zay Jones), and
maybe it’s time to upgrade via waiver wire or trade. But whatever you do, don’t blow the whole
thing up yet. Your stars will make plays
for you. Be patient and refrain from
throwing in the towel… For now.
