The NFL Roundup 2017: Week 2 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Jack Dempsey/Associated Press)

Week 2 in the NFL is in the books, and wow, what a week of football it turned out to be. We saw some teams make some bold statements about what to expect from them for the rest of the year, while other teams fixed their glaring mistakes from Week 1 in order to get their season back on track. It was a weekend filled to the brim with excitement and learning, since every team in the league taught us something about their identity. So let's not waste any more time and get right down to discussing what we learned from Week 2.

The Denver Broncos made one hell of a statement against the Dallas Cowboys. 
So many of us, this writer included, had plenty of concerns about the Denver Broncos going into Sunday's game. We all wondered whether or not they could stop the run or play well on offense and as it turns out, they can do both of those things just fine. They shut down Ezekiel Elliott, holding him to a meager eight years on rushing and the offense, well they were simply sublime. The run game was working all day long and QB Trevor Siemian was downright elite in his performance against the vaunted Dallas Defense, dropping four touchdowns on them through the air. If anything, Denver made quite the statement in this game, in that...they're for real and ready to take on any challenger that comes their way. 

The offensive coaching staff changes made by the Cincinnati Bengals, may not matter.
There's a new trend emerging in the NFL, in that, if a team doesn't perform well on offense early in the season, they show the Offensive Coordinator the door and the Bengals are the latest team to take advantage of this early exit trend since they fired OC Ken Zampese on Friday, after the team failed to score a single touchdown in its first two games. Now, while this decision makes sense because hey, no touchdowns...I honestly question if the OC is the core issue on this team. The Bengals look lethargic in every aspect of the game. The players simply don't seem inspired or excited to take the field and that my friends, falls on the Head Coach to fix, and while Marvin Lewis can make any and all changes he needs or wants to when it comes to his support staff, if he as the top coach can't inspire his team to play well on the field...then none of those of changes are going to matter. 

The New England Patriots found their inspiration.  
Speaking of teams that look uninspired, the whole football world was talking about the New England Patriots and their lackadaisical style of play in the season opener. They were a team with their head in the clouds in Week 1, and it didn't take long for them to snap back to reality and play some quality football because holy cow, they were a team on a mission this week. They completely tore into the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with QB Tom Brady dropping three passing touchdowns in the first quarter alone, setting the stage for a 36-20 victory that reminded us that not only are the New England Patriots a solid football team, but that they love for adversity to serve as their motivation and inspiration and I'm sure that Week 1 loss is going to fuel them for quite a while.

The Chicago Bears may need to start thinking about making a change at Head Coach. 
We often talk about players in football or the sports world as a whole that well...stay in their respective game long after they should have stepped away from it. We know their skill set has declined, but they seem to be ignoring this fact and we are forced to watch them struggle before our very eyes. Yet oddly enough, this is something that applies to coaches as well, and quite frankly, we don't bring it up enough. Because sometimes for a coach, the game simply passes them by and their schemes and designs for a game are old news and sadly, I think that's what's happening to John Fox right now in Chicago. Yes, he's been a good coach, he's been to two Super Bowls in his career, but judging from how well teams seem to know his conservative game plans, and that once again, the Bears are starting off the season in trouble...I think the time has come for the Chicago Bears to look at how ineffective Fox is as the head coach of the team, and consider moving on without him. He's simply not an effective leader anymore and it's just silly for the Bears executive brass to think that he is somehow going to magically change. It's obviously not something you usually see happen this early in the season, but the time has certainly come for this franchise to start thinking about a future without John Fox at the helm.

​Joe Thomas is one of the finest offensive linemen to ever play the game. 
​You know, offensive linemen really don't get the credit they deserve in this game. They're out there week after week, taking a pounding in the trenches and lining up with sore backs and aching knees and the only time anyone really notices them is when they allow a sack so we definitely need to take a moment today and recognize the phenomenon that is Joe Thomas, who played his 10,000th consecutive snap on Sunday, and that's simply stunning and a true testament to an incredible player. I mean come on, this guy is a true warrior. He's never missed a game, he's been to ten Pro Bowls and a team that could trade him away and earn a King's ransom for him...demands a King's ransom from teams that inquire about his availability. He's truly one of the finest offensive linemen to ever play the game, and we here at Nerds That Geek tip our cap to him and his monumental achievement. 

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