Wednesday Morning Thoughts: NFL Week Two

Sleepless in Seattle
Jimmy Graham still thinks he's in New Orleans, a putrid offensive line, an at-best committee back field and now what appears to be an ankle problem with Russell Wilson. After a last second come-from-behind victory in Miami in week one, and a third straight loss to the Rams, are the Seahawks problems real? Don't smash that panic button quite yet. However as Seattle looks to avoid a 1-2 start for the second straight year, it's not too early to read into the tea leaves. With Arizona the heavy favorite to take the NFC West crown, it will take a hefty turnaround and a leave of absence from the injury bug for this offense to truly get into the division race. Fortunate enough, the 12th man can still lay claim to one of the league's best defenses, and that's surely enough to carry them into a playoff spot (See 2015 Denver Broncos for example). Only going into the third week, overreaction season is well underway, but these issues seem a tad far from a minor bump in the road.




That Team Cray, Ain't it Jay?
Much to the dismay of the Chicago Bears front office, Jay Cutler indeed does not ball so hard. Yet with his 7 year, $126.7 million (38 guaranteed) contract extension just two years ago, you'd think Kanye and Jay-Z would've thrown him on a hook. Cutler once looked promising as a young Denver Bronco, even into his early years with Chicago held some vision of future success. But all the doubt, hate and bashing came to fruition on Monday Night Football for the whole world to watch. With that (I'm not going to reward him by calling it a performance) Jay Cutler is quite possibly the most overpaid quarterback in the history of the National Football League. Besides his just flat awful play, Cutler, by far, has the worst attitude of any quarterback at any level I have ever seen. In fact, Cutler should return every penny given to him by the Bears' organization, before he gets charged with robbery. Simply put, I wouldn't trust Jay to pass the biscuits at the dinner table. The excuses are done for Jay Cutler. Your time in this league has been nothing short of disgusting. Chicago's lack of success isn't to be all pinned on Cutler, but if you have the privilege of calling yourself an NFL quarterback and a hundred million dollar man, at least act like you're a leader, at least do that for everybody. The city that at one point in time always had your back and defended you has officially turned on you. If Jay is still able to call himself a Chicago Bear by this time next year, the city of Chicago will be more than windy.



Let's Make it Official
We really shouldn't be whining since replacement officials could be perched and ready to swoop in at any time, but boy, what in the world is going on with officiating? Can we stop fining players for celebrations in the end zone? Someone tell the zebras it's a game, and games are supposed to be fun when you're winning. Additionally, stop fining players odd amounts of money for showing their support of a cause (i.e. commemorative 9/11 cleats). If the league can't make money off it, they'll make money of the players wearing it. Also, I hope the league knows that this money is minute to the players' contracts. Like Antonio Brown said, "It ain't nothin to a boss". Now lets get to real issues. Can we know what a catch is, please? It doesn't matter if a player needs to do a front-flip to show possession of the ball, we just need a definitive way to define a catch. Another thing, coming out days later and admitting a call was missed does no good for anybody. Don't say sorry if you don't mean it. You have high definition replay from multiple angles, USE IT. What a shame this practice of looking at a play extensively and still not getting a call correct has come. Already two weeks into a season and controversy erupts, let's clean it up before things get Hail-Mary-In-Seattle messy.

Number of the Week: 45
45 percent is the number given to the Cleveland Browns to land the number one overall pick in the NFL's 2017 Draft, according to ESPN Stats and Information. Only two weeks into the season with a record of 0-2, this percentage wasn't attained by a team last season until week 13. The team right below the Browns? The Jacksonville Jaguars, sitting at a mere 10%.

Quote of the Week: 

"I'm a football coach, not a doctor. The medical staff is the medical staff. I coach the team, medical people handle the injuries.They don't call plays, I don't do surgery. We have a great deal there, (it) works out good." - The always wonderful Bill Belichick, on answering questions about his quarterback situation heading into Thursday Night Football.

Tweet of the Week: 

"Pretty cool that some of those Eagles players wanted to fist-bump the national anthem. Can't see who would be upset by that." @SportsPickle

Donnie Druin is an award-winning writer from the Arizona Newspaper Association, and apparently only shares his thoughts on Wednesday mornings. Follow him on twitter @DonnieDruin for updates on the sport you love, or just to tell him nobody cares about his thoughts on any day of the week.