Refs, since this is Don Banks and relates directly to the football mindset of fans, I thought it belonged here. If you feel it should be in tailgate, feel free to move.
I think this is appropriate for everyone to read...and take a deep breath.
--------------------
I awoke Monday morning in Dallas, where the sky was obviously falling after the 1-1 Cowboys humiliated themselves with the whole world watching by losing at the last second to the Giants in their new billion-dollar ballpark. Oh, and while we're at it, what's the story with Tony Romo (again)?
After my flight to Milwaukee, then came a 90-minute drive home to Madison, during which I listened to a series of radio talking heads lament the Packers' Lambeau Field meltdown against the lowly Bengals. At 1-1, Green Bay clearly looks like a pretender that made the mistake of peaking in August. And about all those injuries....
To varying degrees, the same basic blood-letting exercise was no doubt unfolding in the other 13 NFL cities that experienced defeat on Sunday. To wit:
-- In Pittsburgh, they were reeling from the defending champion Steelers' first loss since Week 16 of last season, a bitter fourth-quarter collapse in rainy Chicago.
-- Patriots Nation was in shock at the thought that the 2007 version of Tom Brady might be gone forever, and the indignity of losing to Rex Ryan and his yappy Jets was almost too much to bear.
-- Titans fans were up in arms over a home-field loss to Houston, worried sick about the defense, and amazed their team could be 0-2 with all that talent. Ditto for the 1-1 Chargers and their annual tease when it comes to Super Bowl expectations, and I could almost hear the grumbling about the Eagles defensive shortcomings against the Saints all the way to the upper Midwest.
Starting to get the picture? If Week 2 taught us anything it's that a loss, just one loss, changes everything in the NFL.* Overnight. Instantly even. Being .500 might look like a glass half-empty, half-full scenario, but that's only if your loss came in Week 1, and you won this weekend. Last week, you see, the sky was falling in Arizona, Chicago, Houston, Cincinnati and Buffalo. But one win later, the horizon has stabilized and things look considerably brighter there.
*My dream actually is that some year everybody in the NFL starts their season 1-1, with all the teams that won in Week 1 losing in Week 2, putting 32 clubs in exactly the same spot through two weeks. Then you could make the case that the whole season starts over at that point. We could even call it Kickoff Weekend II if you'd like.
But half the league being happy and half the league being miserable is what happens each and every week of the NFL's regular season. A win tends to disguise every flaw or potential problem, putting a band-aid, of sorts, on it, and a loss exposes every weakness and potential calamity. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground in the bipolar NFL these days. It's either way high, or way low, with no in between.
Can we possibly get past those Morose Mondays and see them give way to Take A Breath Tuesdays? I know what you're thinking: For a guy whose featured column is called Snap Judgments, written within minutes of games ending Sunday, it's the height of irony for me to be asking anyone to reserve judgment for longer than the opening two weeks of this football season. But I am. And here's why:
Absolutely nothing stays the same for long in the NFL. Believing that either the best-case scenario or worst-case scenario will come true is only going to make you look bad 98 percent of the time. What you think you know now, you won't know later. Count on it. It happens every season. More than we even keep track of.
Look at the Cardinals of last December, and then again in January. Look at the 2008 Jets at 8-3, coming off huge wins at New England and Tennessee in mid-to-late November. Look at the 10-0 Titans of a year ago, and the Dolphins going from 0-2 to 11-5, and the Chargers dead in the water (not really) at 4-8. Wasn't Donovan McNabb benched and the end of an era at hand for the 5-5-1 Eagles at one point last season? Weren't Tampa Bay and Denver shoo-ins for the playoffs into December, and didn't Jon Gruden and Mike Shanahan being on hand mean they couldn't possibly miss the postseason?
So to reiterate, it's only two weeks, folks. We have miles and miles to go. Practice a little patience. In New England, remind yourself that the Patriots were playing on the road against a tough division opponent in a short week of work. That's always a tall task. And Wes Welker could have really helped Brady combat the Jets' blitzing.
In Pittsburgh, try to remember that no one seems to kick well in Soldier Field but Robbie Gould, and that Jeff Reed has won you a lot of games over the years. Dallas fans should be encouraged by the Cowboys running game and run defense against the Giants, and believe that Romo's Week 1 version will show up far more than his Week 2 version.
The Packers offensive line can't possibly give up 80 sacks this season, so something has to improve on that front, and the Titans' schedule eases up considerably if they can somehow hang in there through their opening six games. Oh, and as for San Diego, the Chargers will be there in the end in the mild, mild AFC West. You know it, I know it, and I suspect even Josh McDaniels, Tom Cable and Todd Haley know it.
So let's just all wait and see what happens. Besides, there's still plenty of time to panic, if necessary. Starting the Monday after Week 3.
Read more:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/wr...p#ixzz0RsF53mQg Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription
