WATERCOOLER CHAT: RISING AND FALLING STARS IN WEEK TWO NFL

FOOTBALL

A wild Sunday in the NFL, where we saw some rising and falling stars:

On the ‘falling’ side, the Indianapolis Colts.  They were, as you know, still without Peyton Manning and taking on a below-average Cleveland Browns squad.  The veteran Kerry Collins tried to get things going for the Colts, and utilized Manning’s go-to receiver Reggie Wayne, who had 66 yards on the day, but other than that — they were a dead horse.  It didn’t take long for the Browns to regain the lead behind a thunderous rushing effort from another Peyton — Peyton Hillis.  He had 94 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.  It looks like the Colts will continue to spiral downward and need to utilize the draft to rebuild the next few years.  As for the Browns, they might finally be heading in the right direction.  Cleveland 27, Indianapolis 19.

And in Carolina, a ‘rising’ star:  None other than the #1 draft pick Cam Newton.  This time he wasn’t facing the Arizona Cardinals, where he threw for over 400 yards, but rather the defending Super Bowl champions:  The Green Bay Packers.  Many thought this was going to be a blowout, but that wasn’t the case.  In fact, Cam Newton got the Panthers out to a surprising 13-0 lead.  If you’ve seen the Packers, you know they can score quick.  Aaron Rodgers came with two beautiful touchdown strikes to Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson to take the lead.  Even though the Panthers are now 0-2, they definitely have a rising superstar in Cam Newton, who, yet again, threw for over 400 yards:  an NFL record for a rookie in his first 2 games.  The Panthers are a team to take seriously this year.  Green Bay 30, Carolina 23.

And in Detroit, both a seriously falling and impressively rising stars.  The Kansas City Chiefs came into town after getting blown out by Buffalo on their home field.  The Chiefs were a surprise team last year, even making the playoffs after finishing last the season prior.  They were hoping the loss to Buffalo was a fluke as they traveled to Detroit.  As it turns out that was no mirage — the Chiefs really do stink.  And on top of that disturbing revelation, they most likely lost their star running-back Jamaal Charles for the year.  He tore his ACL early in the first quarter.   That was the story for the Chiefs.  The Lions, however, look absolutely fantastic.  They are playing with gusto for the city, and have an array of lethal weapons on both offense and defense (namely Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best, and Ndamukong Suh).  These guys can put up points fast and put some intense pressure on opposing offenses.  Right now, they’re 2-0, and tied with the Packers for the lead in the NFC North.  They are a force this season — easily the best team they’ve had in over 15 years.  Finally Detroit has something to cheer about. Detroit 48, Kansas City 3.

More Superstars for the week: Dallas Cowboys QB, Tony Romo showed his true competitive spirt by playing with a fractured rib to lead his team to an impressive overtime win over their rivals the SF 49ers. Another great game for New England Patriots QB Tom Brady throwing for over 423 yards and 3 touchdowns in a win over the San Diego Chargers.

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