THE WORST OF THE WORST – NFL WEEK 2

TONY ROMO – There is no better way to completely ruin the opening night of a new billion dollar stadium than throwing three interceptions and basically giving the Giants 21 points. On the night that Jerry Jones’ enormous spectacle finally opened, quarterback Tony Romo showed why he is the most overrated player in the NFL.

Take your time and just try to think of someone more overrated… Did you think of anyone yet? It’s just not possible.

If it wasn’t for running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones, the Cowboys would have been blown out. Romo made some terrible passes throughout the night, including three picks that looked like they were thrown right to the New York secondary. He might be able to throw all over the Tampa Bay defense, but the NFC East defenses are going to make his life miserable.

JEFF REED – It’s hard to place blame entirely on a kicker, but in this case it is kind of hard not to. In a hard-hitting typical Pittsburgh game, the Steelers had a couple opportunities to get ahead in the fourth quarter. But kicker Jeff Reed missed two (that’s right… two) field goals in the final 15 minutes from 38 and 43 yards out, respectively.

With less than 12 minutes to play, the Steelers faced a fourth-and-17 on Chicago’s 20 yard line when Jeff Reed went in for the field goal attempt. He could have put Pittsburgh up 17-7, but the ball went wide left. After a Bears touchdown, Reed had another opportunity to put the Steelers ahead, but the 43-yarder went wide left again. It is unacceptable for the defending champions to squander opportunities like that.

JIM ZORN – Zorn’s offense made five trips to the red zone and only came out with three field goals. Yes, Mike Sellers and Devin Thomas dropped easy touchdown passes, but other than that Zorn showed he has no confidence in his quarterback when he is within 20 yards from the end zone.

Zorn’s red zone play calling was horrendous to say the least. On the seven-yard line, Zorn called two running plays to Clinton Portis and gained a total of two yard, and then called a half-back pass to tight end Chris Cooley. Why is he so afraid of Jason Campbell in the red zone? He rarely throws interceptions and if it wasn’t for two dropped balls, Campbell would have two touchdown passes.

And to top that off, Zorn had the offense go for it on fourth-and-inches on the two-yard line. Washington could have just kicked a field goal, making the score 12-7 and forcing the Rams to have to score a touchdown to win with less than two minutes left (the reasonable and just plain smart call), but Zorn was too desperate. And of course, he called a horrible running play to the outside (a play that never worked throughout the game) and Portis lost two yards. Fortunately for Zorn and the Redskins, they were playing the Rams. - Michael Klopman

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THE WORST OF THE WORST – NFL WEEK 1

Jay Cutler – Well now we know what happens when Devin Hester is the no.1 receiver for Cutler. Besides Hester (who is not a wide receiver) and tight ends Desmond Clark (who is out with a back injury) and Greg Olsen, Cutler has nobody to throw it to.

And since Matt Forte can’t carry the ball every play, Chicago’s offense is in trouble. And Green Bay exploited Sunday. Cutler threw four interceptions in a game that was only decided by six points by a touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers with less than two minutes left.

Four interceptions… That is not what the Bears had in mind when they traded for Cutler, especially when a defensive tackle is the one who makes the interception. Although the 325 pound Johnny Jolly made an incredibly athletic play to make the catch, that is no excuse for a “pro-bowl caliber” quarterback to throw the ball into the hands of a defensive tackle.

The Redskins Offense – A total of five plays were run by the Washington Redskins offense in the first quarters against the Giants at the Meadowlands. That’s it.

Jason Campbell looked like a deer in the headlights lining up against Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. And the New York defense loved every minute of it. Campbell couldn’t move the ball. Head coach Jim Zorn was not consistent with his play calling. And if it wasn’t for a fake field goal in the red zone that score a touchdown, the Redskins would have been down 17-0 at halftime.

Santana Moss was completely taken out of the game after getting a little too physical with defensive back Corey Webster. Campbell was totally unsuccessful throwing the deep ball. The Giants dominated the time of possession and the Redskins looked like they never had a chance (although they only lost by six).

Kurt Warner – The re-signing of Kurt Warner was supposed to help the Arizona Cardinals continue to be successful on offense. But when running back Tim Hightower is the team leader in receptions against the 49ers, there is a problem.

Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin only caught a combined total of eight passes and for 90 yards. Isn’t Warner supposed to spread the ball around a little more? Isn’t Warner supposed to be more successful with the deep ball? Didn’t the Cardinals win every game against an NFC West opponent last year?

Instead, the San Francisco defense intercepted two of his passes, completely shut down Arizona’s running game and won 20-16. Maybe the Cardinals won’t run away with this division after all.

HONORABLE MENTIONS – The Cincinnati Bengals (too easy), Jake Delhomme (way too easy), Andre Johnson (only four receptions for 35 yards). - Michael Klopman

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Campbell Confusion

Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell just can’t get any love. The fans aren’t cutting him any slack. Analysts and writers are close to giving up on him all together. The Washington organization has even implied that it may have had enough of him already.

But the question that nobody has answered yet is… why?

The 27-year-old has started in 36 games since 2006 and has played in a different system each season. Campbell’s completion percentage, passer rating and touchdown passes have improved every year. Though he only threw 13 touchdown passes last season and only averaged 6.4 yards per pass, he only threw six interceptions and started to use his legs as a weapon. Yes, there has been a lack of the “big play,” but Campbell is still improving.

But after he makes a bad throw, fans immediately call for backup quarterbacks Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel. When owner Dan Snyder and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato had the chance to acquire quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez, they pounced on the opportunity but came up short.

This season will be his fifth in the league and the third as starting quarterback at the beginning of the season – and it seems like he is playing for his job this year.

The Redskins 2008 story is simple.

- A new coach implemented a new system and it worked for the first half of the season.

- The offensive line was healthy and that opened up holes for Clinton Portis, who was an MVP candidate during the first eight games (including a five-game streak which he rushed for 120 yards or more).

- The healthy o-line and Portis helped open up the passing game, allowing Campbell to throw zero picks during half of the season and lead the Redskins to a 6-2 start.

- THEN, the offensive line fell apart. Portis was no longer a real threat as he collided with Coach Zorn and the media. And Campbell was sacked 22 times in the second half of the season, making it nearly impossible for the offense to score more than two touchdowns in a game (that only happened once in the second half of the season against San Francisco).

Everyone needs to realize that Jason Campbell is not the problem. The problem is the offensive linemen protecting the former Auburn Tiger. As his passing statistics improved each year, the number of sacks drastically increased too. Campbell was sacked a career-high 38 times in 2008. The blame shouldn’t go to the quarterback if he is lying on his back for the majority of the game. If the offensive line can stay healthy and keep Campbell on his feet, then the Redskins will be able to put up plenty of points. But that is a very big “if.” - Michael Klopman