Four NFC playoff teams–the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers–are in danger of dropping to 0-2, which means deep trouble in the NFL.
Only one team in the last three years has rebounded from 0-2 to make the playoffs. That was the 2003 Philadelphia Eagles.
By losing home openers, the Giants, Redskins, Panthers and Bucs are in particularly tight positions on the road this week.
The Giants go to Philadelphia, the Redskins to Dallas, the Panthers to Minnesota and the Bucs to Atlanta, so 0-2 starts are quite possible.
With the Cowboys also 0-1, the Redskins-Cowboys game is an important early showdown. The Redskins beat the Cowboys out of a wild-card spot last year by defeating them twice, including a 14-13 squeaker in Dallas the second week of the season. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs has to be wondering why schedule-makers would think he wanted an encore.
The Eagles are eager to rebound from their last-place finish in the NFC East. After four straight division titles, they were replaced by the Giants, who beat them twice.
The Panthers’ loss at home to Atlanta was a shock even though Carolina played without injured receiver Steve Smith. Picked by many to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, the Panthers now travel to Minnesota, where the Vikings are buoyed after their huge victory in Washington in coach Brad Childress’ debut.
The Panthers couldn’t get into the end zone without Smith, no stunning surprise, and if his sore hamstring muscles don’t come around soon, you can kiss the Panthers goodbye. Fortunes turn quickly in the NFL.
The Bucs were shut out by the Baltimore Ravens and now go to Atlanta, not the friendliest environment for young quarterback Chris Simms to find himself in a shootout against Michael Vick.
The Bucs won the NFC South last year thanks to a 5-1 start. But guess who was quarterbacking then? New Bear Brian Griese.
There were 11 teams that lost openers at home. Only the Green Bay Packers get to try again at home this week. Every other first-week loser is on the road. If the Packers fall to the Saints at not-so-friendly Lambeau Field, where the Pack is suddenly 7-10 over the last two-plus years, Brett Favre won’t be the only one thinking, “Maybe we just ain’t very good.”
The difference between 0-2 and 1-1 is enormous. Of the 24 playoff teams in the last two seasons, 13 of them started 1-1. None of them came back from 0-2.
Of course, every team that starts out 0-2 will point to the 2001 New England Patriots, who bounced back with their first Super Bowl title. But for most teams, 0-2 means wait until next year.
Poor Mario
You knew this would happen: Defensive end Mario Williams, drafted by Houston ahead of Reggie Bush, had two unassisted tackles and one assist in last week’s loss to Philadelphia. Already, fans fear Williams is a bust.
Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney said the Texans are making a mistake by moving Williams around. He has played both ends, both tackles and nose tackle.
“That puts him at a disadvantage–I’ll come flat out and say that,” Freeney said. “If you want a guy to get better, you have to have him do the same thing over and over and over. Think of it as a concrete layer. To become a good concrete layer, you have to lay a lot of concrete. You have to do the same thing. If he does 20 different things, he’s going to be average. Sometimes he’ll be below average, sometimes he might be a little bit better.
“If you’re not doing the same thing every single day, it’s going to catch up to you. You’ll be a good utility player, but at the end of the day you have to be put in a position to excel.”
Branch out
If the Patriots’ team chemistry can survive the loss of receiver Deion Branch on top of kicker Adam Vinatieri and defensive end Willie McGinest, then quarterback Tom Brady should win MVP easily.
“I thought it was a sad day to say the least,” defensive lineman Richard Seymour said of Branch’s trade to Seattle. “I don’t think any of his teammates envisioned something like this happening because when you look at Deion Branch, he embodies everything as a football player and everything that we talked about as the type of guys we want on this team.
“It’s a tough day for a lot of the guys on this team. . . . Not only what he means to us on the field, but in the locker room as a person. Then you also talk about what he meant to us on the field, a heck of a lot, a Super Bowl MVP, a Pro Bowl-caliber player. I saw a lot of hearts broken when coach [Bill] Belichick announced that move, and I guess we just have to play with the guys we have. That’s all we can do.”
Simms feels the heat
Three interceptions by Tampa Bay’s Simms against Baltimore earned him unusual criticism, starting with himself.
“I made some stupid decisions in the passing game,” Simms said. “I was the reason we lost. Period.”
Coach Jon Gruden was harshly critical, and quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett piled on by adding: “He couldn’t have played much worse. Anytime you throw the ball to the other team, it’s unacceptable under any circumstances. If you do that, everything else that you do that’s good doesn’t matter. I think that’s unacceptable. I think he knows it as well as anybody. The single most important thing of quarterback play was violated in Week 1. What else can you say?”
NFC North teams
The Bears have just 10 new players on their 53-man roster. In stark contrast, the Lions have 19 newcomers, the Vikings 21 and the Packers 23.
The Bears kept five rookies, their fewest total since 1997. The Packers led with 14 rookies.
The Packers have the youngest team in the division (and in the NFL) with an average age of 25.57 years, followed by the Bears at 26.57, Vikings at 26.59 and Lions at 27.08. Although the Lions have a 21-60 record in six seasons under general manager Matt Millen, this is the fifth time the Lions have been the division’s oldest team.
Runners world
The Bears do not have one too many running backs with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. The run-by-committee philosophy that helped Pittsburgh, Denver and Carolina reach last year’s conference championship games is becoming a trend.
All four rushers taken in the first round of this year’s draft–New Orleans’ Reggie Bush, New England’s Lawrence Maroney, Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams and Indianapolis’ Joseph Addai–are projected to share carries with others rather than serve as featured backs.
“In this day and age, you’re going to have multiple backs,” Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said during the off-season. “The days of the Walters (Payton) and Eddie Georges are over.”
Strangely, the workhorse back of opening week was Atlanta’s little Warrick Dunn with 29 carries. Even he shared the load with rookie Jerious Norwood.
———-
dpierson@tribune.com
