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Soon after week 2 in the NFL wrapped up, I saw various articles analyzing judiciously the 0-2 teams offering opinions on who’s in trouble, and who’s going to be OK.  Most offered comforting words for the likes of the San Diego Chargers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Seattle Seahawks.  All the aforementioned were at least pegged to make the playoffs.   Because plenty have been said about these lovable losers, I thought it’d be interesting to instead look at the 2-0 teams and instead offer some negative speculation.   Let’s assume all of them will be in trouble because let’s face it, no one’s perfect.  So from the Buffalo Bills to the Arizona Cardinals, all of these teams have something to worry about in the coming weeks.

Starting in the AFC East, we have the Buffalo Bills who after dispatching the Seahawks were able to squeak by AFC elite Jacksonville and should feel good about themselves.  Honestly there’s not much criticism to dole out as their defense seems solid, and QB Trent Edwards truly embodies the term, (and I hate using this term) “managing the game”.  So as long as they keep giving the ball to RB Marshawn Lynch, as long as Edwards protects the ball, and as long the defense plays good football, the Bills will be playoff darlings.  Now for the bad news:  they ARE the Buffalo Bills, the same snake-bitten team that went to the Super Bowl 4 years in a row only to lose 4 years in a row.  That being said, finally a team other than the New England Patriots who have a shot at winning the East.  New England on the other hand, sitting pretty at 2-0 have plenty to worry about.  Aside from the obvious gaping hole at QB left by Tom Brady’s injury, the Patriots have thus so far beaten the Kansas City Chiefs, and the New York Jets.  Not exactly a gleaming resume, and yes even though 2-0 is 2-0, once they get to week 6 they will have to face the likes of the Chargers, the Denver Broncos, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Bills.  This stretch in the schedule will validate truly how good a coach Belichick is at game planning and adjustments without his HoFer QB.  With the Miami Dolphins and a stronger but still somewhat mediocre San Francisco 49ers on deck, the Patriots could conceivably be 4-0 heading into a bye week before they face some real competition.

Knocking around the Houston Texans, and barely  escaping the Cleveland Browns in an ugly game, the Pittsburgh Steelers have some weaknesses such as their anemic passing game (albeit against Cleveland the strong wind conditions dictated where the ball went more than the QB’s arm did) and I have a hunch they will struggle on the road this season.  The next 3 games with 2 out of those 3 on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars will be telling on whether or not the Steelers are legitimate contenders.

For the Tennessee Titans, they are eerily similar to their NFC counterparts, the Vikings.  Stout D (although the Viking’s overall D ranking is skewed slightly facing strong offenses such as Green Bay and Indianapolis but held both to a respectable under 20 ppg), strong running game, impotent passing attack are the culprits and common traits both teams share.  However Minnesota sits on the short end of the stick at 0-2 whilst the Titans are sitting pretty at 2-0.  The Titans also mirror the Vikings in that they just hitched their wagon to an older veteran pure passer and benched/put on suicide watch their incumbent young, raw athletic running QBs.  Nevertheless Kerry Collins may not inherently bring the winning aura that Vince Young possesses but he is definitely a better passer and at this point I can guarantee Minnesota would rather go with Collins than Gus-I-got-a-concussion-running-into-the-wall-during-a-game-Frerotte.  Tennessee should be alright that is unless Collins is ineffective and all the Titans see are 8 man boxes and constant taunts of the flaming T’s on their helmets.

No team in the league may be as fortuitous at this point as the Denver Broncos who after receiving several favorable calls (controversial) on their way past the Chargers.  Their offense is potent with rising star Jay Cutler under center, but the defense gives up chunks of yardages and that will be their Achilles Heel this season unless they shore up the way they take on opposing offenses.

The Dallas Cowboys may have the same stake in lucky breaks thus far as the Broncos the way the ball was bouncing last Monday night against the Eagles.  The conundrum here is whether the Cowboys D is really solid, given that:

a) 14 points were direct results of Tony Simpson’s mistakes (fumble in end zone, INT-led-to-TD)

b) facing one of the better offenses out the gate this early in the season in the Eagles.

However because the top two WRs for the Eagles were out, that does not look favorably on the Boys unless you also come back with the breakout performance of Desean-premature-celebration-Jackson and the fact that top CB Terrence Newman was only used in nickel D the whole night.  If all the long passes completed on the Cowboy’s 2ndary were in fact in nickel formation, then just forget what I said.  The next game vs. the Packers should/could answer immediate questions on who the top dog in the NFC is, much less the NFL.

The defending champs on the other hand have successfully staved off the dreaded Super Bowl hangover starting out fast taking out the Washington Redskins and the St. Louis Rams.  The New York Giant’s recipe as of press time has been mostly stalwart play from the defense, power run attack and minimal mistakes from Eli Manning.  If it sounds familiar AND boring, then yes you have just read the same recipe that the Bills, Titans, and Patriots employ with no regard for TV ratings.  Not like they care, winning is what matters right.

And when winning is the only thing that matters even if it means jettisoning the baggage that is your first ballot future hall of famer/perennial icon/face of the franchise for two decades/overbearing personality, then well you may come off as a genius when your plan so far has yet to blow up in your face (read: Green Bay management).  As my friend Moofs would say, since when is Aaron Rodgers not Aaron Rodgers?  In my timeless opinion his situation is unfairly full of pressure in that anything short of 2 Super Bowl victories will be considered a failure.  Having none or one in his career will always be retorted by, “well Brett Favre had 1 Super Bowl and a couple of MVPs”.  Then again the fact that Favre unretired and is proceeding to look mediocre on another team only helps Rodger’s case.  That being said their defense is still questionable in terms of strength much like the Cowboys which can only be answered as we get deeper into the season.  The offense however is on par with any out there, but much less without a healthy/effective Ryan Grant running the ball.

Of all the teams the Carolina Panthers are the most mysterious to me.  Of course their cookie cutter recipe for success: QB manager to minimize mistakes + good running game + hard-nosed defense = wins, much like the aforementioned teams.  However now with super stud WR Steve Smith back from suspension for fisticuffing with a teammate, the dynamic of this offense changes.  Yet their supposed struggles at home remains an issue of concern for me as I think its peculiar for any team to struggle at home.  Sure they sneaked past the Bears who gave up a 10 point lead for one, but the fact remains that historically the Panthers are not formidable in the confines of their own stadium.

And last but certainly somewhat least, your Arizona Cardinals who after pasting mediocre to bad teams such as the 49ers and the Dolphins, are riding high with a 2-0 start on the backs of geriatric gunslinger Kurt Warner and his bad ass wideouts, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.  The surprising 7th rank aggressive defense also complements this perennial underachiever/cusp of breakout year franchise.  Not since the days of Jake the Snake Plummer have the Cardinals even sniffed the playoffs.  Will this year be any different? We’ll let Brenda Warner decide that.

And on that note, that wraps up my assessment of the 2-0ers but be on the lookout for a few things in week 3:

- Will the Bengal’s offense finally get untracked after two bad games in bad weather led by a QB who hasn’t had time to get in sync with his Ocho Cinco y Ocho Cuatro?

- How will Tennessee and Minnesota fare going full force with new yet old QBs running their offense?

- Cleveland and Jacksonville will beat the Ravens and Colts, respectively.  (call it desperation, call it bad breaks finally falling their way)

- Will San Diego finally get a win?  Too talented to go winless much longer.