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Quarterback Terrelle Pryor #2 of the Oakland Raiders points out the defense against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half on September 15, 2013 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Raiders won 19-9. (Getty Images)
Every couple of weeks or so throughout the National Football League season, I’m going to bring you statistics that hopefully will blow your socks off…or at the very least raise your eyebrows at least a couple of millimetres.
Today I bring you the first segment; altogether meaningless as we have only had two weeks of regular season action, but hopefully useful to you when arguing with your friends about, say, Adrian Peterson’s chances of breaking the rushing title, or how the St. Louis Rams have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL (no, really). So let’s begin:
For the second part of this article, click here: The NFL through week two: part two
Oakland Raiders
Oakland’s best chance of avoiding double-digit losses for two straight seasons is by improving the explosiveness of their offence. It seems they are off to a good start. Running back Darren McFadden had only four runs of +20 yards the whole of last season (T25th in NFL). He already has four in two games this season.
In fact, Oakland’s rushing prowess doesn’t stop there. For all the talk about Philadelphia’s ground attack these first two weeks, it is actually Oakland who leads the league in rushing yards. Behind the efforts of quarterback Terrelle Pryor and a healthy McFadden, Dennis Allen’s side have racked up 397 rush yards for a whopping average of 198.5 yards per game.
Before we get too excited, however, it must be remembered that the Raiders have faced the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars in their season openers, who ranked an abysmal 29th and 30th in rushing defence last year respectively. The City Planners shouldn’t be rushing to draw up a parade route through Oakland just yet.
New England Patriots
Two things stick out about the New England Patriots.
One: Tom Brady has the third worst completion percentage in the entire league (52.7%). Only Blaine Gabbert and Josh Freeman have a worse completion percentage through the first two weeks. Brady has never recorded a completion percentage of below 60.2 in a full season.
Two: Julian Edelman leads the league in receptions. Read that twice just to make sure you believe it. The former college quarterback has 20 catches on 27 targets so far. That’s one reception less than he got through the entire 2012 season.
Head coach Jeff Fisher of the St. Louis Rams talks with team owner Stan Kroenke prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome on September 8, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Getty Images)
Keeping the Franchise upright
The St. Louis Rams have been quietly building a stellar offensive line for years under both Steve Spagnuolo and current Head Coach Jeff Fisher. Spagnuolo drafted right tackle Rodger Saffold in 2010 and brought in Harvey Dahl from Atlanta in 2011.
Fisher then continued the project by bringing in centre Scott Wells from Green Bay Packers before the 2012 season and then Jake Long from Miami ahead of the current campaign. Finally, it looks like the rebuilding is over; and boy does it look like it has paid off.
Sam Bradford is the only quarterback not to have been sacked so far in the NFL. That is despite him dropping back for a massive 93 pass attempts in the first two games, the second most in the league. Quarterbacks can usually only dream of that kind of protection.
One quarterback who would probably sell his own mother for protection like that is Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden. Despite an offensive line which on paper looks relatively solid, Weeden is the most sacked thrower in the league through week 2 with 11. That’s what losing starting offensive linemen will do to you.
Unfortunately, things don’t look like improving any time soon for Weeden and his offensive line. They will face Jared Allen and the Minnesota Vikings, Geno Atkins and the Cincinnati Bengals, Mario Williams and the Buffalo Bills, Ndamukong Suh and the Detroit Lions and Clay Matthews and the Green Bay Packers in the next five weeks alone. As things stand, he’s on pace for a brutal 88 sacks this season. The current NFL record is 76, taken by David Carr in 2002.
Mario Williams #94 of the Buffalo Bills sacks Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers at Ralph Wilson Stadium on September 15, 2013 in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo won 24-23. (Getty Images)
Tackling the record books
Buffalo’s Williams leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks; almost half of the 10.5 he recorded last season and the same amount as he managed through his entire rookie campaign. In all likelihood Williams will slow down at some point, but right now he’s on pace for 36 sacks. The NFL single season record is 22.5.
Before the season began, Houston Texans star JJ Watt revealed his ambition to create a 20-20-20 club: 20 sacks, tackles for a loss and batted passes. Through week two, the defensive tackle is on track to record 16 sacks, 24 tackles for a loss and 24 batted passes. It’s still early, but he might actually manage to do this.
Jacksonville’s secret weapon not firing
To call the Jaguars’ new “offensive weapon” Denard Robinson a disappointment so far would be an understatement. The former Michigan quarterback has mustered only one yard on three rushing attempts through week two, and he hasn’t been targeted with a single pass despite coming into the league with ambitions of being a wide receiver.
If the Jaguars want to avoid going 0-16, they need to figure out a way to get the rookie involved more in their offence, and in better situations.
“Turnovers are like ex-wives. The more you have, the more they cost you.”
The Kansas City Chiefs had a horrible offense last season, proven by the unenviable fact that they had a league worst 37 turnovers. That averages out to about 2.3 giveaways per game, and was a big part of why the Chiefs ended up picking first overall in the 2013 draft.
This season, things are a lot different at Arrowhead stadium. New coach Andy Reid and new quarterback Alex Smith are bringing a safer brand of offensive football to the Missouri team, and it’s translating into wins. The Chiefs have exactly zero turnovers through week two, and as a result they find themselves at 2-0 in the standings. This time last year they had six giveaways and were 0-2.
Win the turnover battle, and you win the game. It’s as simple as that.
Head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs waves his fist in the air in celebration for the victory over the Dallas Cowboys on September 15, 2013 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Getty Images)
Lions without their roar
Somebody obviously forgot to give that memo to the Detroit Lions. The Lions have an impressive six takeaways on defence, which is good for second best in the league. However, they still find themselves with a -1 turnover differential because of a league worst seven turnovers on offence. They are also the fifth most penalised team in the league, giving up an average of 9.5 penalties a game to the tune of 94.5 yards.
The self-destructing pattern has cost them. The Lions effectively handed the game to the Arizona Cardinals in week two, and now find themselves at 1-1 when they really should be undefeated. In a tight division like the NFC North, a lack of discipline like that can cost a team a playoff berth.
*Unless hyperlinked, all stats taken from ESPN.go.com
For the second part of this article, click here: The NFL through week two: part two
