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Revisiting Week 1 results, we thought the New Orleans Saints would be fine after the bounty scandal and the Arizona Cardinals very well could be the worst team in the NFL. The reasoning was sound, but the Saints slipped up against the Washington Redskins in Robert Griffin III's extraordinary debut and the Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks and rookie Russell Wilson.
We're not overreacting to those results, though. The Saints will get better and the Cardinals won't get to play an offense as out of sync as Seattle's offense every week.
But for now we're moving on and looking at the most underrated and overrated team in the Week 2 ESPN NFL Power Rankings.
Underrated -- Dallas Cowboys
Did anybody see the Cowboys-New York Giants game last week? You know, when the Cowboys dominated Big Blue on the way to a victory more emphatic than the score line would suggest.
I'm going to assume not, because if so there's no way the Cowboys would be lingering around the No. 10 spot. Let's put what they did into perspective: They went into the home of the Super Bowl champions and for the most part of 60 minutes outcoached, out-executed and outperformed the big-game specialists in New York.
This wasn't the same Dallas defense we saw a year ago. They were comfortable in Rob Ryan's scheme, and now have the personnel to play it. Nowhere was that more apparent than at cornerback, where both starters bumped and banged the Giants' receivers at the line of scrimmage. Indeed, with Brandon Carr in press coverage on 50 percent of all passing plays and Morris Claiborne up at 78 percent, they sent a clear message to every NFL team as to what they can expect from the Cowboys this year -- they'll be in your face, physical and they're going to make you work for every yard.
Couple a defense like that with an offense that boasts a healthy Tony Romo and it almost seems unfair. He's found another weapon to lessen the burden on Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten in Kevin Ogletree. The sudden emergence of Ogletree (who averaged a staggeringly-high 5.43 yards per route run in Week 1) could negate the loss of the reliable Laurent Robinson. With an offensive line that was able to slow down a feared pass rush like that of the Giants, and a running back in DeMarco Murray who picked up 4.7 yards per carry after contact this week, it looks like Jerry Jones' plan is coming together.
This could very well be the year of the Cowboys.
Overrated -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They looked a little overrated in the rankings last week, and now they've jumped up four places thanks to a win against a team like the Carolina Panthers? In our opinion, that just makes the target a little bigger.
Now there's no denying the Buccaneers looked good hosting the Panthers. They missed only seven tackles (last year they averaged more than 10 per game), Josh Freeman looked more composed in completing 81 percent of aimed passes (passing attempts excluding where the QB is hit as he throws, has a ball batted at the line of scrimmage, throws the ball away or spikes the ball into the ground) and they prevented Cam Newton from running through them like he did last year when he picked up 119 yards and four touchdowns in two contests.
But break it down a little bit more and what do you see? We see limited offense that has a quarterback who doesn't challenge defenses. Last year Josh Freeman threw a smaller percentage of deep balls (6.5 percent) than any other starting quarterback in the league, and he started off 2012 by not attempting one ball farther than 20 yards in the air. That kind of football will only work for so long, and requires more production from a running game than the 3.6 yards per carry they managed.
As for the defense, the Bucs still look like a team that will struggle to consistently get pressure off the edge, with a player like Adrian Clayborn capable of feasting on bad tackles but not against some of the best in the league. In three games against Jordan Gross in his career he's managed just two pressures and one hit, and was shut out by the Panthers' left tackle this time. The Bucs need him, and a number of other defenders, to take a big leap forward from what we saw last year (when they had the lowest team defense grade of all NFL franchises), and there just isn't the evidence to think they will.
No, this team is still very much a work in progress. Against the Panthers, the Bucs didn't move the ball well enough and were fortunate to be the guinea pigs for this new, ultra-aggressive Carolina offense that seems to have forgotten it runs the ball well. Next week the Bucs face the Giants, and with the Super Bowl champs likely in a bad mood, reality is going to hit Tampa Bay hard.
Extra points
• Seattle was pretty bad offensively, but did you see how well that defense played? There's a reason John Skelton had to leave the game after facing pressure on 43.3 percent of passing plays. The Seahawks can bully you in the run game and find the quarterback when you drop back.
• The Bills, and Ryan Fitzpatrick in particular, weren't great against the Jets. They struggled to get pressure and they passed the ball erratically. But in C.J. Spiller they have a true game-changing back who forced more missed tackles (eight) than any other back this week. When they settle Fitzpatrick down, Spiller's performance will start counting for something.
• We're not sold on Christian Ponder, but if he can play as serviceably as he did against Jacksonville, then his playmakers can take over. You know the guys I'm talking about: Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Percy Harvin.
We're not overreacting to those results, though. The Saints will get better and the Cardinals won't get to play an offense as out of sync as Seattle's offense every week.
But for now we're moving on and looking at the most underrated and overrated team in the Week 2 ESPN NFL Power Rankings.
Underrated -- Dallas Cowboys
Did anybody see the Cowboys-New York Giants game last week? You know, when the Cowboys dominated Big Blue on the way to a victory more emphatic than the score line would suggest.
I'm going to assume not, because if so there's no way the Cowboys would be lingering around the No. 10 spot. Let's put what they did into perspective: They went into the home of the Super Bowl champions and for the most part of 60 minutes outcoached, out-executed and outperformed the big-game specialists in New York.
This wasn't the same Dallas defense we saw a year ago. They were comfortable in Rob Ryan's scheme, and now have the personnel to play it. Nowhere was that more apparent than at cornerback, where both starters bumped and banged the Giants' receivers at the line of scrimmage. Indeed, with Brandon Carr in press coverage on 50 percent of all passing plays and Morris Claiborne up at 78 percent, they sent a clear message to every NFL team as to what they can expect from the Cowboys this year -- they'll be in your face, physical and they're going to make you work for every yard.
Couple a defense like that with an offense that boasts a healthy Tony Romo and it almost seems unfair. He's found another weapon to lessen the burden on Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten in Kevin Ogletree. The sudden emergence of Ogletree (who averaged a staggeringly-high 5.43 yards per route run in Week 1) could negate the loss of the reliable Laurent Robinson. With an offensive line that was able to slow down a feared pass rush like that of the Giants, and a running back in DeMarco Murray who picked up 4.7 yards per carry after contact this week, it looks like Jerry Jones' plan is coming together.
This could very well be the year of the Cowboys.
Overrated -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They looked a little overrated in the rankings last week, and now they've jumped up four places thanks to a win against a team like the Carolina Panthers? In our opinion, that just makes the target a little bigger.
Now there's no denying the Buccaneers looked good hosting the Panthers. They missed only seven tackles (last year they averaged more than 10 per game), Josh Freeman looked more composed in completing 81 percent of aimed passes (passing attempts excluding where the QB is hit as he throws, has a ball batted at the line of scrimmage, throws the ball away or spikes the ball into the ground) and they prevented Cam Newton from running through them like he did last year when he picked up 119 yards and four touchdowns in two contests.
But break it down a little bit more and what do you see? We see limited offense that has a quarterback who doesn't challenge defenses. Last year Josh Freeman threw a smaller percentage of deep balls (6.5 percent) than any other starting quarterback in the league, and he started off 2012 by not attempting one ball farther than 20 yards in the air. That kind of football will only work for so long, and requires more production from a running game than the 3.6 yards per carry they managed.
As for the defense, the Bucs still look like a team that will struggle to consistently get pressure off the edge, with a player like Adrian Clayborn capable of feasting on bad tackles but not against some of the best in the league. In three games against Jordan Gross in his career he's managed just two pressures and one hit, and was shut out by the Panthers' left tackle this time. The Bucs need him, and a number of other defenders, to take a big leap forward from what we saw last year (when they had the lowest team defense grade of all NFL franchises), and there just isn't the evidence to think they will.
No, this team is still very much a work in progress. Against the Panthers, the Bucs didn't move the ball well enough and were fortunate to be the guinea pigs for this new, ultra-aggressive Carolina offense that seems to have forgotten it runs the ball well. Next week the Bucs face the Giants, and with the Super Bowl champs likely in a bad mood, reality is going to hit Tampa Bay hard.
Extra points
• Seattle was pretty bad offensively, but did you see how well that defense played? There's a reason John Skelton had to leave the game after facing pressure on 43.3 percent of passing plays. The Seahawks can bully you in the run game and find the quarterback when you drop back.
• The Bills, and Ryan Fitzpatrick in particular, weren't great against the Jets. They struggled to get pressure and they passed the ball erratically. But in C.J. Spiller they have a true game-changing back who forced more missed tackles (eight) than any other back this week. When they settle Fitzpatrick down, Spiller's performance will start counting for something.
• We're not sold on Christian Ponder, but if he can play as serviceably as he did against Jacksonville, then his playmakers can take over. You know the guys I'm talking about: Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Percy Harvin.
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