Potshots miss mark
Week 5 in the NFL yielded three overtime games and an array of unexpected developments.
Preseason playoff hopefuls the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs find themselves with a combined 2-8 record. The Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys, two teams expecting to play deep into January, have losing records.
Six teams — the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots — are unbeaten in a league defined by parity.
As usual, Sunday produced knee-jerk reactions and overreactions. Here are five and why they are off base:
1 Don’t believe in Andy Dalton until he proves it in the playoffs.
Yes, Dalton needs to improve his 0-4 playoff record, and fast. But he’s not the only quarterback dealing with playoff struggles. Let’s give him credit for an outstanding start to his fifth NFL season. This isn’t a game manager at quarterback. If his success continues, he’s a dark horse MVP candidate. Dalton has 11 touchdown passes vs. two interceptions. He’s on pace to throw for more than 4,500 yards. He is accurate. He makes prudent decisions. And he remains upright. Dalton has a strong offensive line and an arsenal of skill-position players as good as almost any in the league.
2 The Broncos will win big in spite of Peyton Manning.
Let’s not get carried away with ragging on Manning. Yes, Denver remains unbeaten because of its defense. Yes, the velocity on many of Manning ’s passes leaves a lot to be desired. And, yes, it’s striking to see he has more interceptions (seven) than touchdown passes (six). The Broncos should be formidable enough to emerge as AFC West champs. But if they are going to be a legitimate threat in the playoffs, Manning will need to play a more productive role, even at 39. He is going to have to become more of a game manager. And he likely will need to become more conservative. It would help if the Broncos found some success in the running game.
3 Devonta Freeman is nice little story, but it won't last and the 5-0 Falcons are a paper tiger.
This is not the season for a lot of notable running backs to shine. But there’s enough of a sample size to see that Freeman is for real. In his last three games, Freeman has amassed 539 total yards and seven touchdowns. In Sunday’s 25-19 overtime victory against the Washington Redskins, the 5-8 Freeman rushed for 153 yards and caught seven passes for 44 yards. The scariest thing for the rest of the NFC is Matt Ryan and Julio Jones do not have to have remarkable days for the Falcons to win. First-year coach Dan Quinn has changed the culture and injected a Seahawks-like edge into the emerging defense. What’s more, the schedule is soft. Barring something unforeseen, Atlanta should have a gaudy record, and count on Freeman playing a leading role in that success.
4 Matt Cassel will cure the Cowboys’ offensive woes.
Uh, no. The answers to the Cowboys’ offensive struggles are Dez Bryant and Tony Romo. When Dallas plays Oct. 25 at the New York Giants after its bye week, it might be best to replace Brandon Weeden with veteran Cassel. What do the Cowboys have to lose? The offense can’t look much worse than it did against the Patriots. But to think the offense will dramatically come to life with Cassel at quarterback is misguided. Yes, he is more accomplished than Weeden. And Weeden is both limited and mistake-prone. But this offense just does not have enough playmakers with Bryant and running back Lance Dunbar (knee) sidelined. Jerry Jones must be counting the days until Nov. 22, the earliest Romo can return from his broken left collarbone.
5 The Philadelphia Eagles are who we thought they were and Chip Kelly is a genius again.
Nah, let’s pump the brakes on that a bit, even after the 39-17 thrashing of the mostly hapless New Orleans Saints. If beating the Saints meant a whole lot this season, we’d be crowning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What Sunday showed was it’s premature to bury the Eagles. Let’s not pencil in Kelly for the Southern California job just yet. Philadelphia still has a pulse, especially in a division as middling as the NFC East, where nine wins might give you the outright division title. Sam Bradford still threw two interceptions in the red zone in the first half. At least DeMarco Murray finally had success on the ground. But unless the Eagles beat the Giants next week, don’t get too excited.