John Berger
Senior Editor
I think it’s safe to say that all NFL fans are happy to have the real officials back. Last Wednesday the NFL and the referee union reached a deal to end the ref lockout. After the Monday night debacle between the Packers and Seahawks where a pretty clear interception was ruled a touchdown, the NFL owners were essentially forced to make a deal. They had no other choice. That big a gaffe on national television came with too much bad PR for the owners to not make a deal.
The officials were greeted with a standing ovation upon their return to the field last Thursday in Baltimore. You can argue that it was hypocritical for the fans to give the refs a standing ovation when they were booed mightily last year, but we all saw the alternative to having the real refs there.
With that said, here are my NFL thoughts from last weekend:
- The Texans are the best team in the NFL. In today’s NFL, the Texans are a bit of a throwback team. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 17 points per game thanks to a balanced offensive attack and great defense. Arian Foster and Ben Tate form what is probably the best running back tandem in the league, and Andre Johnson is a top 3 wide receiver. Matt Schaub is better than most people think, and like I said, the defense is great. JJ Watt leads the league in sacks. I understand that their schedule hasn’t been all that difficult thus far, but they pass the eye test for now.
- There was an absolute explosion offensively from the Patriots in the second half on Sunday. Throughout the first half the Pats looked lethargic and they let the Bills take it to them. But somewhere in the middle of the third quarter, something clicked and the Patriots’ offense went nuts. They scored three touchdowns in a span of about 8 minutes of game time in the 4th quarter. I generally think that run/pass balance is overrated-the last two Super Bowl champs have ranked in the bottom 8 of rushing offense-but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Patriots have been at their best this year when they’ve run the ball effectively. On Sunday they ran for 247 yards, and in their week 1 win over the Titans they ran for 162 yards. In their two losses they’ve ran for 77 and 90 yards, respectively.
- It’s going to get worse for the Jets. Sunday’s 34-0 loss to the 49ers was bad, but this has the potential to become really, really bad. The team was already on shaky footing after a terrible preseason, and then Darrelle Revis went down. And now the offense has looked anemic in back to back weeks. The chants to start Tim Tebow have already begun, and that could potentially create a chasm in the locker room. The Jets are still talented enough to have a really good season, but I don’t think Rex Ryan is the guy to lead them.
- Arizona is going to have a dilemma on their hands soon. The Cardinals are one of only three NFL teams to have a 4-0 record and they’ve already beaten the Patriots in Foxborough. Arizona has done a lot of good things this year, but it will be very interesting to see how Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt handles a potential quarterback controversy. John Skelton was named the starter at the beginning of the season, but he suffered an injury during the first game of the year. Backup Kevin Kolb has played very well in his absence, completing 63% of his passes with 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. It looks like Skelton may be able to return soon, and it will be interesting to see if Whisenhunt names him the starter, or sticks with Kolb, who has the hot hand.
- Tony Romo just can’t seem to break through. It seems like he’s been on the cusp of being an elite NFL quarterback for awhile. Every time you think he’s elevated himself into that upper tier, he does something to bring him back down. He led the Cowboys to a great opening night win over the Giants at the Meadowlands, but he followed that up with a bad performance against the Seahawks, and then a terrible game on Monday against the Bears where he threw 5 interceptions.
