- The New York Jets trotted out their “New York Titans” throwbacks on Sunday, and I can’t make up my mind whether they have a rustic beauty to them, or if they’re just plain ugly. It’s nice to get away from the Hess gas station colors, but I’m leaning towards the second option. By the way, the Packers will sport their 1920’s bat-signal uniforms on Oct. 16 against the Rams, so look forward to that.Only seven quarterbacks have ever thrown for 400 yards in consecutive weeks, something Cam Newton has now done in the first two weeks of his professional career. Oh, and he also broke his own rookie record for passing yards in a game, which he set last week. And unlike last week, when he took advantage of a cushy Cardinals secondary that routinely left Steve Smith wide open, Newton was going against the Packers this week, a team with an excellent defense. Newton also threw a trifecta of interceptions to go with his 432 yards and pair of touchdowns, but needless to say, it’s an extraordinary beginning to the Cam Newton era. Two games may not make a career, but he’s making a believer out of a lot doubters in spite of his team’s 0-2 record.
- Not to be outdone, Tom Brady also threw for 400 yards for the second straight week, a coincidence made all the more incredible considering he now has as many 420-yard games in his career as Newton, and they’ve all come in the first two weeks of the year. Of the five other quarterbacks in history to record 400 yards in back-to-back weeks, Phil Simms, Dan Marino and Dan Fouts did it, but so did the irrelevant Billy Volek in 2004 and, strangely enough, Matt Cassel in 2008, when he was filling in for Brady after he got hurt. In the context of names like Volek and Cassel, the point needs to be made that just accumulating a lot of yards does not a great quarterback make, and no further evidence needs to be offered than Brady, who so rarely throws for this many yards and is widely considered one of the five best QB’s ever. On that note, how scary is it that of all the great teams Brady has been on, only now is he erupting for these monster yard totals? Or better yet, how scary are the Patriots right now? (Brady’s 940 passing yards a record for the first two weeks of the year.)
- In the Falcons’ come-from-behind win against the Eagles, Tony Gonzalez passed Terrell Owens for fifth place on the all-time receptions list. Despite a tremendous 13-catch, 171-yard performance from Jeremy Maclin, the Eagles seemed to lose all momentum when Michael Vick left in the third quarter with a concussion. The panic meter shouldn’t be very high on this one, since the concussion was reportedly mild and Vick came back better than ever after a rib injury last year. Mike Kafka was acceptable in his stead, completing 7 of 9 passes for 72 yards, but Vick gives the Eagles a certain dynamic that even a competent backup like Kafka simply can’t replicate. If Vick can’t go on Sunday, either Kafka or Vince Young will start against the Giants next week. While that doesn’t help their chances of winning, the Eagles under Andy Reid have shown a tremendous ability to win with replacement quarterbacks, from Koy Detmer to A.J. Feeley to Jeff Garcia and even to Vick, who was Kevin Kobb’s backup a year ago. Young and Kafka might be next in line.
- Things in motion tend to stay in motion, and that held true for the Lions and Chiefs yesterday. The Lions’ continued their promising start to the season by taking Kansas City behind a woodshed and doing unspeakable things to them, until they finally squeaked out a 48-3 victory -- their largest margin of victory in franchise history. This was not a modest performance by any means. The Lions continued to throw the ball late into the fourth quarter, even though they already had a gargantuan lead. But considering they were 0-16 just a few years ago, it’s not surprising the Lions are unfamiliar with the etiquette of this whole “winning” thing. Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ season went from bad to hide the women and children, as they lost stud running back Jamaal Charles for the season with what’s assumed to be a torn ACL. Thomas Jones can adequately fill his place, even if he is a bit old, but this was not the way the Chiefs thought their season would begin: losing two games by a combined 79 points, the fourth-worst two-week opening of a season ever.
- Lions kicker Jason Hanson had a pretty good day, converting six PAT’s and a pair of field-goals and even making a tackle. Hanson played in his 297th game with the Lions, passing Hall of Fame center Bruce Matthews for the most ever with one franchise. Oddly enough, that record would’ve belonged to Brett Favre had he stayed in Green Bay during his final three seasons, rather than jumping to the Jets and Vikings; Favre’s consecutive games streak ended at 297.
- Donald Driver made history on Sunday, reeling in a 10-yard catch and recording his 9,666th receiving yard with the Packers, passing Hall of Famer James Lofton for the franchise high. It’s quite an accomplishment for Driver, who’s also the Packers’ all-time leader in receptions. However, he’ll have to do something about that career yardage number, because right now it’s looking a tad satanic.
- Adrian Peterson established a new franchise record for rushing touchdowns after collecting a pair of them against the Bucs. Peterson’s 54 touchdowns are two better than Chuck Foreman’s total with the Vikings, although he’ll need an onslaught of them if he wants to save their 2011 season. They’re already 0-2, in a brutal division with the Packers, Bears and Lions, and their passing game is dysfunctional (to put it kindly). They play the Lions at home next week, where Detroit hasn’t won since 1997.
NFL Notes & Records: Week 2 -- Brady, Newton make more history
Only 22 teams have made the postseason after beginning the season 0-2; the Seattle Seahawks did it last year. Normally, the league has a few surprise 0-2 teams, but not this time around: the Vikings, Seahawks, Panthers, Chiefs, Colts and Dolphins are winless, and it’s hard to imagine any of them finishing near .500, let alone making the playoffs. Of course, the Seahawks play in such a miserable division that they’ll be fighting for their playoff lives regardless of what their record is.
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