NFL: Week 3 knee-jerk reactions
September, 25, 2012
9/25/12
1:45
PM ET
By ESPN.com staff | ESPN.com
You’ve heard the chatter by the sports pundits and on the talk shows. Heck, you may have even heard it here. So are the knee-jerk reactions about your team based in reality? Our NFL bloggers weigh in.
NFC Knee-jerk Reactions | AFC Knee-jerk Reactions
WEEK 3
| Team | Knee-jerk reaction | Reality or not? |
|---|---|---|
| AFC EAST by James Walker | ||
 | RB C.J. Spiller (shoulder) is hurt and the offense will come apart at the seams. Spiller was all Buffalo had. | This is an overreaction. Remember, Spiller was a backup to start the season. Fred Jackson is capable of filling in and expects to play this weekend. |
 | Miami suffered a heartbreaking, overtime loss to its biggest rival. The Dolphins won't recover emotionally. | Not so fast. It was an emotional loss, but the Dolphins will still play hard. If Miami continues to lose, it will be because of talent, not emotion. |
 | The sky is falling on the Patriots. They are 1-2 and no longer a threat in the AFC. | This is not a valid knee-jerk reaction. The Patriots aren't going 16-0, but they won't be 8-8 either. New England will get it together and string some wins together soon enough. |
 | Darrelle Revis (knee) is done and so are the Jets. Stick a fork in them. | Yes, this is real. Revis affects the entire dynamic of the Jets, and this team won't recover. I would be shocked if they make the playoffs. |
| AFC WEST by Bill Williamson | ||
 | The Broncos are just not good enough to hang with the big boys of the NFL after losing to the undefeated Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans in the past two weeks. | Well, that is the reality right now. The Broncos didn't make enough plays and they fell behind in both games. They are inferior to the top teams in the league after three games. |
 | Running back Jamaal Charles is at the top of his game. He ran for 233 yards in his third game back from a torn ACL. | Yes, he is back. Charles couldn't dominate like he did if he wasn't. Now, that doesn't mean he is going to break off 200 yards a game. The Chiefs will be careful with him, but he showed his explosiveness has returned. |
 | The Greg Knapp offense is a success in Oakland. The Raiders scored 34 points in a win over Pittsburgh and were successful in the running and passing games. | We have to see whether the Raiders can keep it up. But if it Knapp's offense was a lost cause, the Raiders wouldn't have scored 34. Oakland showed it can be successful on offense under Knapp after a bad first two games. |
 | The Chargers are a fraud. After starting 2-0, they were blasted by Atlanta, 27-3, at home. | Look, it was a bad day for San Diego. There is not much to positive to point to. The Falcons was the best team the Chargers who were impressive as they started 2-0 -- have played, and San Diego was completely manhandled. Until the Chargers beat an upper-level team, they will be reminded of Week 3. |
| AFC NORTH by Jamison Hensley | ||
 | The Ravens are the best team in the AFC. Their comeback win over the Patriots proves that. | Don't start booking your Super Bowl flight just yet. Routing Cincinnati and rallying to beat New England certainly make the Ravens one of the power players in the conference. But the undefeated Texans are the best team in the AFC, and perhaps the entire NFL, right now. |
 | The Bengals are unstoppable on offense. A.J. Green is the best wide receiver in the league. | Green is starting to climb into the Calvin Johnson level of NFL wide receivers. Not sure whether the Bengals' offense is that good or the defenses have been that bad. The Bengals offense should put up big numbers the next three games against Jacksonville (No. 28 in defense), Miami (No. 22) and Cleveland (No. 25). |
 | The Browns are the worst team in the league. They're going 0-16 this season. Cleveland is doomed. | There's no defending Cleveland's 0-3 record, but it's not like the Browns have been blown out in every game. That said, the Browns could easily go 0-6 -- they have games at Baltimore, at the New York Giants and home against Cincinnati coming up. |
 | The defense lost the game in Oakland. Warren Sapp was a year off when he said the Steelers were old and slow. | There are legitimate concerns about the decline on defense. Let's just wait until James Harrison and Troy Polamalu return before pushing the panic button. |
| AFC SOUTH by Paul Kuharsky | ||
 | The Texans are good. Seriously, if you run through their schedule, they could go undefeated. And did you see the way Matt Schaub fought his way back into the game after he took that terrible shot? He's tough as nails. | It was a good win, and there aren't a lot of holes in this team right now. But Gary Kubiak's surely not happy about how the Texans let up at the end and allowed Denver to threaten. Even the best teams don't typically coast through a season without any adversity. |
 | Man, this team isn't progressing as well as it seemed like. I mean losing to the Jaguars? On a big play from Blaine Gabbert? That's embarrassing. These guys ought to be ashamed of themselves during the bye. | Rest and time away can actually help a team get better -- it's healthy. The Colts took care of one bad team a week earlier with the win over the Vikings. But they aren't better than the group of teams at the bottom of the league, and they can lose to anyone at this stage. |
 | If they could just get that last 20 seconds in Minnesota on opening day back, they'd be 2-1 and on the heels of the Texans. Maybe it wasn't pretty but there are a lot of 1-2 teams in the league, so we're in reasonably good shape. | Well, you're right about 1-2 not being terrible given the circumstances around the league. But this is still an awfully shaky team, and its growth is very incremental. |
 | What an outburst! I mean, that was a game for the ages. They can find big plays. The run game and the pass defense don't have to be giant issues -- we can work around them as we get better. The Titans are resilient. The Titans are back. | Tennessee's part in an epic game was fantastic. But the Titans didn't turn on a faucet that pours out unlimited 60-yard touchdown plays. They did well to fight back from mistakes, but make those mistakes against the likes of Houston, and there won't be a follow-up feel-good story. |
AFC WEST SCOREBOARD
Thursday, 9/5
Sunday, 9/8
1:00 PM ET Oakland Indianapolis 1:00 PM ET Kansas City Jacksonville
Monday, 9/9
10:15 PM ET Houston San Diego - ESPN/WatchESPN
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Bill Williamson
Williamson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Denver Broncos for the Denver Post. He previously covered the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
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