Cam Newton made this blog after his play in week one. He has now notched his first NFL victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Prior to today, Newton had received some criticism because he had passed for an impressive number of yards, but he had thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. His touchdown pass to Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen proved that Newton could come through under pressure late in games.
-The Buffalo Bills are starting the season unbeaten after three contests. Like their counterparts in the NFC (Detroit Lions), Buffalo has been the laughingstock of its division for a long time; actually since their famed Super Bowl runs with Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Jim Kelly. This no name cast of characters will have lots of people noticing this week after taking down the New England Patriots. Initially, one may be shocked at the offensive output after seeing that the team put up thirty-four points. It’s important to realize that Tom Brady threw four interceptions to help the Bills cause.
-Michael Vick has regressed from his storybook comeback. I am firmly on the side that he has served his time and deserves a second chance, but not much has transpired positively for him since he inked his one hundred million dollar contract. He broke his hand on Sunday and then he blamed the referees for not protecting him enough. The intra-division loss to the Giants is surprising considering New York’s lackluster performance against the Rams in the previous week.
-The Ravens jumped out to a four touchdown lead against the Saint Louis Rams. Nobody expected the Rams to take down Baltimore considering all of its injuries. Rookie Torrey Smith had one hundred forty four yards receiving in the first half alone for the Ravens. It must be especially sweet for him since he is playing professionally in the same state where he excelled at the college level for the Terrapins. Running back Ray Rice had seventy-seven yards on the ground after only six carries. His fifty three yard run bolstered his per carry average immensely. Total yards were 406-81. That should be the discrepancy someone usually sees in a half of the Wisconsin Badgers against the Indiana Hoosiers.
-San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith led the 49ers to victory against the Bengals on the road. The much maligned University of Utah product provided the necessary production for the win because Frank Gore only gained about two and a half yards per carry on the ground. Skeptics have insinuated Jim Harbaugh is simply biding his time until Andrew Luck leaves Stanford. I would argue that developing Smith is of the utmost importance because management may not agree with him, or Luck could be gone by the time the 49ers make a selection.
-The biggest surprise of week three is the continued lackluster performance of the NFL media (present company excluded of course). A reporter actually asked Vikings coach Leslie Frazier this week if the Lions game was a “must win.” Frazier is a better man than I am. I would have had some fun with the buffoon by saying that the team would just win if they felt like exerting the necessary energy on Sunday.