Sit down and shut up: I'm going to put my face inches from yours and scream “SMALL SAMPLE SIZE” at you until you cry.
DO Keep Faith In Your Stud Quarterback
Image by Mike Roemer / AP
Here are the top eight quarterbacks by Average Draft Position, paired with their current QB ranking in total points scored:
1. Aaron Rodgers (14)
2. Tom Brady (15)
3. Drew Brees (3)
4. Matthew Stafford (22)
5. Cam Newton (5)
6. Eli Manning (4)
7. Michael Vick (6)
8. Peyton Manning (19)
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN. Does it mean that black is white, cats are dogs, and we should all accept Alex Smith as our new Dark Lord? Should we trade Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning for scraps of bread and/or old Simple Plan CDs? The answer is... no! It's been two weeks. Rodgers and Manning both faced two of the leagues' best defenses in Weeks 1 and 2 — Rodgers had San Francisco and Chicago, and Manning tore up Pittsburgh before having a tough time with Atlanta. Meanwhile, New England dominated Tennessee and struggled against a surprisingly good Arizona defense, explaining Brady's difficulties. All three of these guys should get their sea legs pretty soon, and you shouldn't panic.
Meanwhile, Eli Manning and Drew Brees owners should feel pretty swell — both of those guys should be doing a ton of passing this year.
(Stafford's a slightly less clear-cut case: I've been saying for weeks that the Lions are due for a downturn, and though he understandably struggled against the 49ers, his Week 1 debacle vs. St. Louis is a little less easily excused — Robert Griffin III fared far better than he did.)
DON'T Go Nuts Over Two Weeks Of Defense
Image by Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP
I've actually read in two different places this week that the Houston Texans' secondary has suddenly become this dominant, suffocating force of nature. Yes, they've allowed zero touchdowns in two games so far, and that's great. 124 yards per game? Wonderful. But those achievements came against the league's two worst starting QBs, Ryan Tannehill and Blaine Gabbert. ESPN's prognostication for the Texans' D right now is, "With Denver coming off a short week to prepare for this unit, expect Houston to have a field day giving Peyton Manning and his receiving corps fits." This is hyperbole. Houston's D was a very good-but-not-great squad last year that feasted on a cupcake schedule. This year, they're good, again, but they're also not the behemoths they're being made out to be. You can also file the Seahawks and the Patriots in this category.