The Good, Great and Ugly from the NFL's First Quarter (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of the NFL's Good, Great and Ugly First Quarter. If you haven't read Part 1, click here.

We had to get ugly at some point. We’ll hold off on the Eagles for a bit and get to two of the most perplexing offensive line situations in the NFL.

The New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers were both in the AFC Championship game last year, but the perils their offensive fronts have created this season suggest that the chances of them returning to that game are slim. The Steelers had offensive line issues last year, but fortuitous scheduling allowed them to cover up those woes in the second half. Couple that with the fortune of not having to face the Patriots in the postseason (a horrible match-up for the Steelers last year), and the Steelers got away with a lot in 2010. Pittsburgh will have the luxury of enjoying those same types of benefits this season, considering the six remaining games on the schedule following its bye week, but the Steelers have still looked ugly nonetheless. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got knocked around last Sunday against a Houston defense that isn’t exactly a group of marauders. He was hit a total of eight times and sacked five times. Rashard Mendenhall rushed for only 25 yards before leaving the game with an injury. Beyond that, the defense gave up 180 yards rushing to the Texans and rank 22nd in total rushing defense. Regardless of championship pedigree, the Steelers are a mess right now.

As for the Jets, their offensive line issues go way beyond the Nick Mangold injury cop-out. Mark Sanchez was hit nine times in last Monday night’s game against the Ravens and was sacked twice. Sanchez coughed up the ball three times, two of which resulted in direct touchdowns by the Ravens defense along with an interception return to the house. Baltimore played awfully and they still rolled the Jets, 34-17. The Jets only scored three points offensively. The other 14 came from the defense and special teams. Furthermore, this came a week after the Raiders ran amok on their defense. The passing game looked solid in that affair, but it seems as though the Oakland secondary had something to do with that, because the Jets’ passing scheme is horribly painful to watch. The Jets have some real issues that go beyond awaiting the return of an All-Pro center and backing up another Super Bowl prediction.

If you want ugly, look no farther than the teams at the bottom of the NFC East. After trampling the poor Rams, the Eagles lost the weirdest game of the season to the Falcons on Sunday night in week two, then lost to the Giants in week three and fell apart against the 49ers last Sunday. Michael Vick is already in sporadically injured mode, and Andy Reid’s play calling has been disturbing (which isn’t out of the ordinary, but still). LeSean McCoy has proven that he is one of the best offensive talents in the NFL, yet he carried the ball a mere nine times against the 49ers for 18 yards. No wonder the Eagles struggled so much in opposing territory. The Eagles attempted five field goals (and made only three), and finished the game two-for-seven in the red zone. A 23-3 lead against any NFC West team should be a lock for a team as talented as the Eagles, but they let the gritty Niners stick around and take the game that was handed to them. To make things worse, there are only two teams in the NFL worse at stopping the run than the Eagles.

Say goodbye to the “Dream Team,” because the hype affected the Eagles so much that they can’t stop the run, run the ball when they need to, protect Michael Vick or tell Vick when to cool down when he’s running around aimlessly, or run an offense comprised of anything consistent besides the “home run play.” Philadelphia is the ugliest team in the NFL after one quarter of the season. No team with this much talent should be 1-3. Because of this, they’re changing the dynamic of the Ubiquitous Sleeper Selection curse. It can’t be the Lions because they’re 4-0. They’ve already dodged their bullet. It doesn’t seem like it should be the Eagles because they’re not a sleeper team, but they unquestionably carried more hype than any other team in the NFL before the season and it became their curse. The expectations were enormously high; they were never going to reach them by any stretch. The NFL hype curse that has been cast over the league since 2005 has proven to have nothing to do with a “sleeper.” The proven constant is the inordinately high expectations, which the Lions were not burdened with. The yearly phenomenon is now known as the “Inordinate Expectations Curse.” Thanks to the Eagles for clearing that up for us. At least they're not as ugly as this next player…

Tony Romo finds ways to keep fans on their toes. He does as best as he can to give the impression that his potential as a Super Bowl winning quarterback is right around the corner. But it’s not. It’s not hard to discern where Tony Romo’s career is going. In fact, his career is what it is at this point. He’s been in the NFL for nine years. He’s 31 years old. Take his career at face value and you can label Romo as a classic choke artist with nice fantasy numbers. If you’ve had any questions about Romo’s career, well, there you go. A costly fumble at the goal line and terrible interception capped off Dallas’ week one loss to the Jets – a game in which the Cowboys appeared to be unstoppable through the air. Romo was criticized, then praised over the next two weeks for playing with cracked ribs and inching out wins over the 49ers in overtime (NFC West team) and the Redskins (about as ugly as a game can get without being Jets vs. Ravens). Then last week’s collapse to the Lions happened, and that was all we needed to see.

The Cowboys had a 27-3 lead and Romo was dismantling the Detroit secondary. Then, two interception return touchdowns later, it was 27-10. Romo felt it was necessary to throw his third interception, his worst and most inexplicable of the game, with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter to help set up Megatron’s last ridiculous catch. The Lions won 34-30, and Romo’s second half performance was the ultimate difference in the game. Unsurprisingly, his supporters felt the need to take some weight off his shoulders and look at the secondary issues. There are definite secondary issues in Dallas, but those problems are bound to manifest when the quarterback keeps putting his defense back on the field. Romo is what he is. It’s not a dig; it’s fact. Maybe he’ll do something spectacular one day, like improve on his 1-3 playoff record or take the Cowboys to the NFC Championship game for his first time. But it's doubtful.
On another note, did you know that LeBron James is a Cowboys fan? You probably did if you watch ESPN. But how ironic is it that LeBron and Romo share crazy inter-sport parallels? Both are at the core of their respective sports' hype, both obtain undeniable talent, and both find ways leave nothing to show for that talent. LeBron is also a Yankees fan, and some guy named A-Rod just struck out to end the Yankees’ season yesterday. I guess that’s another angle for another day. Enjoy the last three quarters of the NFL season, and let the ugliness mesmerize you as much as the greatness.