NFL Week 3 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Every game in the NFL is a special event.  It is sixty minutes of perfection with only one chance for players to head home with their heads held high, or hang them in defeat.  Before Week 4 Kicks off tonight, I thought it was time we revisited the top stories from Week 3 before new stories are given life.  So without further ado, here is what we learned last week in the NFL, and oddly enough these stories revolve around quarterbacks. 

1. Kirk Cousins is already making his case in Washington.  Sure, Washington lost last week, simply because it's defense fell to pieces.  But during that game came an amazing bright spot, #8.  He made some impressive throws.  I mean, hey he only threw for 427 yards, completed 63% of his passes and threw for three touchdowns.  The more he plays like that, the more one of two things will happen. Either Washington sticks with Kirk as the starter and perhaps we see the end of RG3 or, they send him off in a trade.  After all, there are some teams in need of quarterbacks, for example...

2. Miami is in need of a franchise quarterback.  Ryan Tannehill is just not getting the job done.  While he has shown flashes of brilliance, the average or sub standard throws and game management make the case that he is just not the guy in Miami.  In fact, he has done enough to start the controversy in Miami since Head Coach Joe Philbin made a point of not committing to Tannehill as the starter this week in a timely fashion.  Don't be surprised if you see Matt Moore taking the snaps with the first team soon, and this team is not the only one in the AFC East that should be concerned about the future...

3. The New York Jets are also in need of a franchise quarterback.  I found the Geno Smith pick puzzling to begin with a few years ago because well, he was a so so player in college and he continues to be a so so player in the NFL.  Geno has real trouble reading NFL defenses and some of his throws are extremely questionable.  It's only going to get worse for him, for with every bad throw, Michael Vick is watching and waiting.  I think Smith  is on borrowed time and Vick will be in the starting line up pretty soon here. 

4. Something is wrong with Tom Brady.  I dare say this because well, the proof is in the pudding, but I think Brady is in decline. He is no longer the elite monster he used to be.  Granted he is a serviceable quarterback and can still play, but the domination and fear that he used to impose over opposing defenses seems to be gone.  The great quarterbacks always manage to make their receivers better, Brady isn't doing much of that these days and that should be cause for concern in New England.  

5. Something is also wrong with the Denver Broncos offense.  So it turns out, the Defense is not the concern after all, they're just playing exhausted.  The run game has barely worked in Denver, and quite frankly, what I'm not seeing this year that I saw last year is sheer dominance from the Denver offense.  They would score at will and leave the other team stunned and demoralized. It seems like this year the plan is to get a comfortable lead and let the defense do the rest and well, that's stupid. Hopefully when Denver returns from the bye week, they return to playing cutthroat offense, I mean you have Peyton Manning, turn him loose.  

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