September 22, 2015

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary after Week 2

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Matt Rourke/AP

Sam Bradford is the highest paid player on the Eagles. He has not played like it.

Week 2 of the NFL season is in the books, and the Eagles are taking a tumble after starting the season in the No.3 position. Here's this week's hierarchy:

16) Bears (0-2)

The Bears have started off this season with a point differential of -33, which is the lowest in the NFL. They lost to two good teams in the Packers and Cardinals, but now they'll have to start Jimmy Clausen for at least the next two weeks in relief of Jay Cutler, who injured his hamstring on the following pick 6:

That play couldn't have gone much worse for Cutler -- Awful throw, stiff armed to the ground, defensive touchdown, and injury added to insult. The Bears are a possibility for the No. 1 overall pick next draft.

Last week: 14

15) Buccaneers (1-1)

The Buccaneers aren't going anywhere this year, and they're probably going to win enough games to mess up their chances of drafting in the top 5. The Bucs' first seven opponents this season had a combined record of 44-83-1 last season. So don't be surprised if they're somewhere around 3-4 or 4-3 after Week 7 and people are saying how much Jameis Winston has turned things around.

Last week : 15

14) Giants (0-2)

The Giants made NFL history.

The New York Giants are the first team to blow double digit leads in consecutive games to start a season in #NFLHistory.
— History of the NFL (@TheNFLHistory) September 20, 2015

Congrats!

Last week: 13

13) Redskins (1-1)

The Redskins actually look like the best team in the NFC East right now, sadly. Their defense is allowing 21.29 yards per drive, which is best in the NFL. They also got an efficient 23 of 27 performance out of Kirk Cousins to go along with a strong run game last week against the Rams.

Last week: 16

12) Saints (0-2)

Shame on me and everyone else who took the Saints in their survivor pool. This team is trash, and taking a trash team in Week 2 of a survivor pool is just dumb. And now the Saints will be without Drew Brees for a while with a shoulder injury.

Last week: 11

11) Rams (1-1)

You know how anemic the Rams' offense was last Sunday against the Redskins? They had six fewer first downs than the Eagles had against Dallas. Trading for Sam Bradford may not have been the right move for the Eagles, but moving on from Nick Foles was.

Last week: 8

10) Vikings (1-1)

Sorry, this isn't actually analysis, but lol...

This mascot got dropped by the Minnesota Vikings after he asked for a $1.6 million contract http://t.co/i2yYRJ6PbW pic.twitter.com/UnQ64sPSPr
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) September 23, 2015

Last week: 12

9) 49ers (1-1)

The Steelers just did whatever they wanted against the 49ers through the air last Sunday, as Ben Roethlisberger went 21 of 27 for 369 yards (13.9 YPA), 3 TDs, and 0 INT. These are the Niners I was expecting to see this season, not the team that easily handled the Vikings Week 1.

Last week: 9

8) Lions (0-2)

The Lions do a great job of stopping the run on defense, and they have a talented mix of playmakers on offense, led by a quarterback who was drafted No. 1 overall but has not lived up to expectations. Any of that sound familiar?

Last week: 6

7) Eagles (0-2)

The Eagles can't catch:

The Eagles can't block:

The Eagles can't throw.

If catching, blocking and throwing weren't important, the Eagles would be in OK shape.

I really wanted to move the Eagles much further down this list, but I have a hard time putting them behind a lot of the other slop teams in the conference. Doing so feels like an overreaction, even though the Eagles have looked truly horrendous.

Last week: 4

6) Panthers (2-0)

Remember that 2013 Chiefs team that started 9-0 after facing a string of terrible quarterbacks before falling back to Earth when they began facing real competition?

Well, the Panthers won't get to 9-0, but they have a great chance at starting the season at 4-0. They're 2-0 after facing Blake Bortles and Ryan Mallett. They'll face Luke McCown and Jameis Winston over the next two weeks.

Last week: 7

5) Falcons (2-0)

The Falcons have to be viewed as the surprise team so far this season, with Dan Quinn probably the early favorite to win "NFL Coach of the Year."

Last week: 10

4) Seahawks (0-2)

The Seahawks lost in St. Louis Week 1, and people kind of went, "OK, well they play badly in St. Louis every year." Then they lost in Green Bay, and people said, "OK, well winning in Green Bay isn't exactly easy." This week, the Hawks host what might be the worst team in the conference in the Jay Cutler-less Bears. If they do anything other than destroy the Bears at home, I think there is genuine reason for concern.

On the bright side for the Seahawks, Kam Chancellor is back. They missed him in the the two games he sat out, and he's not getting any more money, apparently, so nobody won that whole standoff. Well, except for the Rams and Packers.

Last week: 2

3) Cowboys (2-0)

Sean Lee is a monster. Against Philly, he had 14 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and an interception. I honestly can't say I saw that coming. The Dallas offense has not looked good. Their run game isn't anywhere close to what it was a year ago. To say they don't miss what DeMarco Murray gave them last year is downright stupid. But... their defense really has been tremendous so far, and this is a team that is missing four defensive starters at the moment.

Tony Romo will be out eight games, at a minimum, on an offense that is already missing Dez Bryant. Fortunately for the Cowboys, they play in a division that features an offense that can't get its head out of its ass, a team that blows fourth quarter leads like it's trying to lose, and a perennial doormat, albeit a doormat that is playing reasonably well right now.

Last week: 3

2) Cardinals (2-0)

The Cardinals are scoring 3.3 points per drive, which leads the NFL, and is just outstanding offensive output. They are also gaining 42.2 yards per drive, which is second in the NFL. As a point of comparison, the Eagles are averaging 1.36 points per drive and 23.6 yards per drive. They are 30th in both categories.

Last week: 5