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Ten Thoughts on the NFL

Week 3 is in the books and have I got some NFL Thoughts for you to digest this week!

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

1) Another game in Lambeau and another game without an interception for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He hasn't thrown a pick at home since 2012. Check out this incredible stat. In his last 19 games at Lambeau Field, including the postseason, Rodgers has completed 395 of 574 passes (68.8%), for 5,239 yards, with 48 TD and 0 Interceptions. His passer rating is a sparkling 125.3 QB.

That's just not fair.

2) Way back on Thursday Night, the New York Giants finally got a win by knocking off the Washington Redskins 32-21. Think about this for a second, if it wasn't for back to back weeks of bonehead plays/decisions in the 4th quarter, this team could be undefeated.

After a shaky outing in week one against the Cowboys, Eli Manning has had two very good games in a row. With #1 wide out Odell Beckham Jr. doing Odell Beckham Jr. things, this offense can be scary good.

3) Sticking in the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles found a way to win, but this team has a lot of issues on offense and it all starts up front.

4) I have a feeling the Pittsburgh Steelers will be OK with Michael Vick starting on place of an injured Ben Roethlisberger for 4 or 5 games. Yes, it's a very tough stretch of games, but the overall talent on that offense should be able to eke out a couple wins.

Vick will need to become a game manager and the Steelers will have to lean on one of the better backs in the game today, Le'Veon Bell, but they are a well coached team that should be able to hold things down while Big Ben rehabs.

5) Speaking of QB play, the Buffalo Bills have to be very happy that their faith in Tyrod Taylor was payed dividends so far. The Bills are 2-1 and their defense is still trying to settle in under head coach Rex Ryan, but the offense, led by Taylor, has been solid. True, they have the leagues' #1 rushing attack, but Taylor is completing nearly 75% of his passes, with a passer rating of 116.1, and he's chipped in with 96 yards on the ground. He has to clean up some of his turnovers, 3 interceptions (all against N.E.), 3 fumbles (none lost), but the Bills have found a winning formula.

6) Did you catch this stat from over the weekend?

The Oakland Raiders trio of quarterback Derek Carr, running back Latavius Murray and wide receiver Amari Cooper became just the 12th such 25 or younger trio to pass for 300 yards, rush for 100 yards and have over 100 in receiving yards.

6a) Did you catch this tweet?

Cooper is really good.

7) I don't think the NFL even understands what a legal catch is anymore.

How is this not a catch?

Tyler Eifert caught the ball in the air, he landed taking 4 different steps before reaching the ball across the goal line, the ball came loose and it was ruled that he didn't complete the catch.

Yesterday morning Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating said the following as he backed the call.

"(Eifert is) hit just as his second foot hits the ground. To become a runner you got have the ball longer than two feet down, you got to have to have the ball long enough to do something with it, avoid contact, ward off an opponent,"

But Eifert did have the ball "longer that two feet down." He caught it, got two feet down, was hit, took two more steps as he turned to the goal line, reached the ball across, which should constitute doing "something with it," then as he was going down the ball came loose, after he crossed the goal line.

It was a bad weekend for the Refs...

8) ...and for rules interpretation in general...

So if the ball changing direction is not enough evidence to say it hit something, then what caused the change in trajectory? Does the NFL know something about physics that no one else does?

9) Some people are wondering why the San Francisco 49ers are sticking with Colin Kaepernick at QB after he threw 4 interceptions on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

That's easy, Blaine Gabbert and his career 66.8 passer rating is the back up.

If the hardest job for an NFL general manager is finding a competent starting quarterback, imagine how hard it must be to find a quality backup among the remaining candidates. There aren't 32 good starting QBs in the NFL, let alone 32 more good ones to back them up.

10) Chicago Bears head coach John Fox sure is taking a lot of crap for not going for it on any of the 10 4th downs that he elected to punt on during their game in Seattle.

Ten punts seems like a lot when you see it written out. "Chicago Bears punt on all 10 possessions"

But when you break it down, it's not that big of a deal.

Fans, analysts and social media experts didn't really get restless about Fox's coach-not-to-get-embarrassed game plan until the second half. In the first half the Bears were only down 6-0, so being chancy on 4th down didn't make any sense at that point.

In the 3rd quarter the first 4th down the Bears faced was a 4th and 17 from their own 34 yard line with the score 13-0. There's no point in trying to gain 17 yards at this point in the game.

Chicago's next 4th down was a 4th and 24 from their own 15 yard line at 8:32 in the 3rd quarter. The score was still 13-0, so no real need to try that one either, especially with them so deep in their own territory.

Seattle scored a TD on their next possession, a 7 play 85 yard drive, that pushed their lead to 20-0.

Chicago's next possession is the one that raised some eyebrows. They faced a 4th and 1 from their own 46 with 2:36 left in the 3rd quarter, yet elected to punt it away. This is the only time they punted that I have an issue with. Going for it around midfield is a common enough occurrence in a close game, let alone one where you're trying to spark your offense.

The final two 4th down punts came in the 4th quarter when the Bears were down three TDs. The game was essentially over at this point in the game.

First there was the 4th and 2 from their own 28, then a 4th and 5 from their own 25 with just 4:28 left to go in the contest. The Bears offense had done nothing to give them any hope they could pick up the first downs, so there's no point in handing Seattle (at least 3) points in these situations.

You may say John Fox didn't show any faith in his offense by punting those 10 times, but the 3.65 yards gained per play on the other 40 offensive snaps probably swayed his thinking.

And it was a busy day at Windy City Gridiron yesterday, so in case you missed the snap counts and statistical breakdown from Sunday's game, you can click here.

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