Sorry about the slow posting this past several days. Rest assured that will change this week, as we have the Jaguars game to break down as well as a short week to prepare for the Bengals in Week 3.
Let's get to it then..Week 2 is just about behind us, with only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars yet to play. Here's the Week 2 installment of `Stock Up-Stock Down'.
Stock Up: Atlanta .
The Atlanta Falcons followed up their Week 1 thrashing of Carolina with a 14-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Atlanta dominated up front, running for a ridiculous 306 yards, while holding Cadillac Williams to a mere 37 yards on the ground. The Falcons defense also picked off Chris Simms three times. If Atlanta can eliminate some of the penalties (16 for 83 yards), they're going to win a lot of football games this year.
Stock Down: Washington Redskins
The Skins looked terrible tonight. Granted, Clinton Portis was out of the lineup, but Mark Brunell sure looked his age tonight, completing only 18-of-33 for 197 yards. Mind you, many of those yards came late in garbage time with the game already decided. Washington's only touchdown came on a 100 yard kickoff return by Rock Cartwright. The Redskins better find a way to get the ball to Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd, and Antwaan Randle El or they're going to continue to find themselves on the short end of the stick.
Stock Up: New Orleans
The Saints won back-to-back road games to start the season for the first time in franchise history when they defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-27 at Lambeau Field. Last week against the Browns it was the running game; today it was a heavy dosage of Drew Brees. The newly acquired QB shook off three first quarter turnovers to finish 26-of-41 for 353 yards and 2 TDs. Brees distributed the ball all over the field as 8 Saints caught passes. The defense gave up some big plays to Brett Favre, but hung in there just long enough for the offense to put the Packers away. Next up? Monday Night Football against the 2-0 Falcons.
Stock Down: Tennessee
We knew the Titans were going to struggle this year, but Sunday's effort against the San Diego Chargers was simply embarrassing . Kerry Collins couldn't even make it to halftime, being replaced by rookie Vince Young with a few minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Collins returned in the 2nd half but didn't fare much better. The Titans only positive yardage on offense came in the final five minutes of the game with nothing at stake except the opportunity for the Chargers to pitch their second shutout in as many games. When it was finally over, the Titans had managed only 218 yards. They also turned the ball over twice and were dominated in the time of possession battle 21:25 to 38:35. Ugly, ugly football.
Stock Up: Minnesota Vikings
Last Monday night, the Vikings shocked the world with an upset victory over the Washington Redskins on the road. All they did this week is follow it up with a tense 16-13 victory over a Carolina team that many thought would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Brad Johnson was his reliable self, completing 19-of-31 passes for 243 yards and 1 INT. RB Chester Taylor and the Vikings D were the true stars though. Taylor ran for 113 yards on 24 carries, and the Minnesota defense kept Jake Delhomme out of rhythm all night. Give the Vikings coaching staff a lot of credit as well. They had the stones to call an incredibly gutsy fake FG pass in the 4th quarter that tied the game. No way a Mike Tice coached football team wins that game. Kudos to Coach Childress and the Minnesota Vikings on their 2-0 start.
Stock Down: Miami I truly believed the Dolphins would bounce back from their Week 1 loss to the Steelers with a home victory over the Buffalo Bills. Judging by your picks in Week 2 of the BTSC Pick `Em Challenge, so too did you guys. Not so fast. The Buffalo Bills went in to Miami and held the Dolphins to a meaningless garbage time TD, winning 16-6 despite not having that impressive of a day offensively. The Bills sacked Daunte Culpepper 7 times and blocked a punt to help overcome their offensive shortcomings. The Miami fans booed the Fins as they went into the locker room at halftime, and continued to do so throughout the 2nd half while Miami failed to put points on the board. Nick Saban won't let his team panic, but this was a win that the Dolphins needed. It's all uphill from here.