The NFL Roundup - Week 2

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)

Just like that ladies and gentlemen, we are back into the thick of football. With Kickoff Weekend now behind us, the regular season suddenly feels like home and everyone is anticipating the next slate of games that get underway tonight. But before tonight's prime time game between the Jets and the Bills, we thought we would take a moment and highlight some of the stories to keep an eye upon this weekend.

Just how long will Case Keenum remain the Rams Quarterback if he continues to be ineffective?
The Los Angeles Rams offense was present on the field against the San Francisco 49ers in their season opener...and that's about it. They couldn't get the running or passing games going against that stout defense and Case Keenum, who was minted the starter over first overall pick Jared Goff was outright awful, going 17/35 and throwing two interceptions as well. While Head Coach Jeff Fisher said that Keenum remains the starter and that there will be no changes at the position, one has to wonder just how long that edict is going to last. The Rams are now the home team of one of the biggest television markets out there...and losing simply won't do. Which means at some point, Fisher will have to make the tough call to send Keenum to the bench and if he plays as bad as he did on Monday night, that may just happen this weekend. 

Are the San Francisco 49ers as good as they appeared to be on Monday Night?
Speaking of that Monday night game, we need to talk about the San Francisco 49ers because holy cow, they looked like a squad transformed in their season opener. Gone was all the confusion and poor fundamental play we came to expect from them last year on defense. They harassed the Rams all night long, shutting them out completely and the offense was no slouch either, earning two touchdowns on the ground and one in the air. But...considering that Los Angeles was playing in sub par fashion, are the Niners really that much better under Chip Kelly? On defense, believe it or not, the answer is yes. Todd Gurley is a ridiculously talented tailback that finds ways to make plays, and they completely and utterly shut him down, holding him to a mere 47 yards. The offense on the other hand did face an exhausted and porous Rams defense, so the jury is still out if Blaine Gabbert is the answer there, but either way, this team gets one hell of a test and opportunity to show how good they really are when they take on Carolina come Sunday.

Will the Cleveland Browns be better or worse without Robert Griffin III?
Any way you slice it, the Browns are a rattled team right now. They just lost their starting quarterback to injured reserve after the season opener and well...they lost and lost big to the Philadelphia Eagles. But despite once again starting off the season facing ugly adversity, and changing quarterbacks again, you can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, Cleveland will be in a better position to win, with Josh McCown at the helm. While he was injury prone as well last year for this squad, he knows the system and has shown some severe flashes of brilliance while on the field. If he can stay healthy, manage the game well and get some points on the board, everyone may quickly forget about RG3 and McCown may finally be the leader under center the Browns have been waiting for...or, they could just lose horribly once again.

​Will the Dallas Cowboys be a more disciplined team this week?
There is one great equalizer in the sport of football, one so powerful that it doesn't matter how well the team plays, all will be forgotten as soon as someone on the squad commits, the mistake. Yes, this is a sport that is judged on physical prowess, but also upon mental prowess and unfortunately, a mental error potentially cost the Dallas Cowboys the game last week when Wide Receiver Terrance Williams had the opportunity to set up the Cowboys to possibly win the game with a field goal, had he stepped out of bounds.  But alas, he did not and the clock ran out and the rest as they say is history. That moment is incredibly important to this team because, you know it's hanging over Williams' head and well...the rest of the team as well. That's dangerous because doubt comes from mistakes like this and if doubt takes root this early, more mistakes will be made and things can spiral out of control which means that Dallas HAS to play with more discipline this week, but will they? I can't say yes for sure because it's dependent on a few factors. Head Coach Jason Garrett needs to be the primary person to make sure the big mistakes are corrected, but Dak Prescott and other team leaders need to step up and make sure their teammates are calm, cool and collect when they take the field Sunday and if not...well then get ready for more boneheaded plays. 

Will the Patriots come out of Week 2 1-1?
New England was a force to be reckoned with last week in Arizona and while it's clear they have plenty of depth to sustain them, every team has their kryptonite and for the Patriots, their weakness just so happens to be the Miami Dolphins. I say that, because on several occasions the Dolphins have played the spoiler for the Patriots, upsetting them at critical times and well, considering that they hung with the Seahawks and only lost by two, there's a good chance Head Coach Adam Gase is looking at this week's game as a grand opportunity for his new look Dolphins to make a statement and surprise the Patriots at home. Of course the big question is whether or not Miami can pull off such an upset, since this New England team was so damn good Sunday night, but I like the Dolphins chances, and we should be in for a solid AFC East matchup regardless.

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