The Matt Barkley Sweepstakes: Week 2 Update

Do we have a usurper on the horizon?

Things are getting dicey in Sweepstakes land, both for the contending teams and for Barkley himself. The titular QB followed up an iffy outing against Hawaii with a total crash-and-burn effort in a loss to Stanford. However, while that loss may have torpedoed his Heisman and National Title hopes, it did not serve to unseat him as the Grand Prize of the 2013 draft. For now, he wears that crown.

Question is which NFL team will seat him on their throne? After Week 1, it looked like a lot of NFL teams were gunning for him, what with Weeden, Tanne-suck and others going all out to prove they don’t belong in the NFL. But the beauty of the Sweepstakes, as opposed to the boring old playoff chase, is that it only takes one week to completely reset the board. With a whole new landscape in front of us, let’s see how things look heading into Week 3:

The Prizes (QB’s only)

Worth Mentioning:  Tyler Wilson, Arkansas, Tahj Boyd, Clemson

Honorable Mention:  E.J. Manuel, Florida State
Stats:  15-24, 176 YDS, 2TD, 48 Rush YDS, TD in 52-0 W over Wake Forest
Season Stats:  525 YDS, 6 TD, 1 INT, 71.2%, 8.9 Y/A, 86 Rush YDS, TD
Breakdown:  The last time Manuel was touted as a potential first round pick, he was a hot shot freshman looking to unseat the incumbent, Christian Ponder. Four years of injury and disappointment later, here he is again. Not many others would have him this high, but if he stays healthy, ‘Honorable Mention’ will only be the beginning. Dude is huge (6’5” 240lbs), mobile, and has a strong, accurate arm.

Fifth Prize:  Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Stats:  Bye
Season Stats:  474 YDS, 4 TD, 1 INT, 62.5%, 7.4 Y/A
Breakdown:  What’s easier; playing against Florida A&M or a bye week? The answer? Nobody gives a crap because all we want to see is Oklahoma play somebody worth a darn.

Fourth Prize:  Tyler Bray, Tennessee
Stats:  22-44, 257 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT in 20-37 L to Florida
Season Stats:  900 YDS, 8 TD. 2 INT, 63.8%, 8.6 Y/A
Breakdown:  First game against decent competition and Bray falls flat on his face. Issues with accuracy and decision making clearly resurfaced against a quality Florida defense, casting a shadow on Bray’s “NFL-readiness.”

Third Prize:  Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech
Stats:  14-31, 265 YDS, TD, 3 INT in 17-35 L to Pittsburgh
Season Stats:  707 YDS, 5 TD, 3 INT, 54.3%, 7.7 Y/A
Breakdown:  To put it bluntly, Thomas stunk against Pitt. Like day old gym clothes. I’ve been rather bearish on him the entire time, and while draftniks don’t seem to be dropping him on their boards yet, concern is being openly expressed. Doesn’t matter to me where they rank him, I’m preemptively  dropping him out of spite.

*Correction: Seems as if Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have both dropped him into the 20’s on their boards. Still might be high…

Second Prize:  Geno Smith, West Virginia
Stats:  34-39, 411 YDS, 5 TD in 42-12 W over James Madison
Season Stats:  734 YDS, 9 TD, 0 INT, 88%, 9.8 Y/A
Breakdown:  Much like last year with Robert Griffin and the year before with Cam Newton, could we be looking at the year of Geno Smith? He’s a very similar talent to Griffin, mostly because of his willingness to hang in the pocket and only scramble as a last resort. It’s too early to tell for sure, but a midseason stretch including games at Texas, vs. Kansas State, vs. TCU, at Oklahoma State, and vs. Oklahoma should give us all the info we need.

Grand Prize:  Matt Barkley, USC
Stats:  20-41, 254 YDS, 0 TD, 2 INT in 14-12 L to Stanford
Season Stats:  813 YDS, 10 TD, 3 INT, 60.6%, 7.5 Y/A
Breakdown:  Wow. That was, in a word, disastrous. So disastrous, in fact, that I considered giving Geno Smith a nod at the top spot. However, in the end, it seems like that would be an overreaction on my part. Barkley has three+ years of great tape, so it’ll take more than one off performance to knock him down.

Just a note, I mentioned Jarvis Jones in last week’s update and he has indeed jumped to the top of both Kiper’s and McShay’s boards. No surprise there. In addition to Jones, there are several other defensive players near the top, as well as a couple offensive linemen. If Barkley and his QB cohorts continue to underwhelm, we may well be staring at the least glamorous top ten in recent history.

Now, onto the NFL side of the race:

Dropping Out

Seattle Seahawks
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 27-7 vs. Dallas Cowboys
Current Starter:  Russell Wilson
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
304	2	1	61.1	5.6	81.1

Breakdown:  I don’t…I don’t…I can’t talk about this right now…(me running to a spare room to cry alone)

Arizona Cardinals
Record:  2-0
Last Game:  Won 20-18 at New England Patriots
Current Starter:  ??????????????
Breakdown:  The Arizona Cardinals sole reason for existence is to torture me and millions of other NFL fans, isn’t it? This must be what hell is like. I’m done with you guys…get off my list.

What in the heck are we doing here?!?!

New Orleans Saints
Record:  0-2
Last Game:  Lost 27-35 at Carolina Panthers
Current Starter:  Drew Brees
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
664	4	4	54.5	6.6	71.6

Breakdown:  They’re not getting the #1 pick. No way, no how. This is just a courtesy listing. Nothing to see here, move along.

We’re not all that impressed with Barkley, so…

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Lost 34-41 at New York Giants
Current Starter:  Josh Freeman
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
381	3	2	59.6	7.3	85.5

Breakdown:  A win against the Giants would have definitely taken them out of this race for good. As it was, I nearly took declared them out anyways after putting up three quarters of really solid football. Defensive problems surfaced again in the fourth, but at least you can’t say the team quit. Last year, they would have simply unstrapped their knee brace (or braces, if you’re Gerald McCoy) and gone home. This year, they’re going headfirst into other player’s knee braces! Upcoming games against Washington, Oakland, and Minnesota will tell us exactly how mediocre they are.

Carolina Panthers
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 35-27 vs. New Orleans Saints
Current Starter:  Cam Newton
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
556	2	2	69.8	10.5	100.8

Breakdown:  So, let me get this straight – the Panthers can only manage 10 points on the Bucs, but they can score 35 on the Saints? Let’s see, if I’ve got the math right that would mean the Giants would score 143.5 points against the Saints. Does that sound correct? Anyways, Cam Newton is way too much of a stud for Carolina to lose 13+ games. Their next five are tough (vs. NYG, at ATL, vs. SEA, vs. DAL, at CHI), but they’ve got winnable ones after that.

New York Jets
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Lost 10-27 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Current Starter:  Mark Sanchez
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
404	4	1	53.7	7.5	95.0

Breakdown:  I deeply regret pulling them out of this race after one good showing…against the Bills, no less! Honestly, I’m not sure what came over me. Perhaps it’s because I watched Sportscenter one day last week? Anyways, please accept my deepest apologies.

Cincinnati Bengals
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 34-27 vs. Cleveland Browns
Current Starter:  Andy Dalton
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
539	3	2	67.6	7.9	93.9

Breakdown:  (Chris Farley voice) Hey, Bengals fans, remember that one time when you thought your team was going to make the playoffs? Yeah, that was awesome. (End Chris Farley voice) At this point, there shouldn’t be a single soul who believes Cincy is a playoff team. I mean, they gave up 27 points to the freaking Browns! WEEDEN HAD A 5.1 QB RATING THE WEEK BEFORE! Basically, they’re a slightly worse version of last year’s team. They’ll score points, they’ll beat bad teams, and they’ll get slaughtered by good teams. Good news though, the Bengals next four is against Washington, Jacksonville, Miami, and Cleveland! That equals three wins, an early exit from the Sweepstakes, an unnecessarily excited (delusional) fan base, and another heartbreaking “collapse.” Fun times in Cincy!

Buffalo Bills
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 35-17 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Current Starter:  Ryan Fitzpatrick
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
373	5	3	54.9	7.3	86.5

Breakdown:  Oh Bills, perpetually stuck in a state of mediocrity. Not good enough to win anything, not bad enough to win anything. Just…normal bad. I really thought they had gotten it after last week’s “strong” showing against the Jets. But no, they’ve gone and unleashed C.J. Spiller on the rest of the league, initiating a (very speedy) reign of terror on the rest of the league’s also-rans. You’d think that Fitzpatrick, with his Harvard degree, would be smart enough to say, “Hey, we really need to lose this game so we can get a real QB to replace me, but this Spiller guy is killing us…here you go, Eric Berry, pick-six coming your way.” Apparently a Harvard education isn’t what it used to be.

St. Louis Rams
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 31-28 vs. Washington Redskins
Current Starter:  Sam Bradford
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
508	4	1	71.7	8.5	112.4

Breakdown:  There are still serious issues with this team, ie. lack of offensive weapons and constant injury issues. But for all the bad, there’s plenty to like as well, the most notable of which is Sam Bradford’s strong early season play. Bradford is playing at a crazy high level thus far despite still having inadequate help surrounding him. His accuracy, sound decision making, and ability to drive the ball downfield has seemingly returned, making the Rams much more competitive than most anticipated. Given their cupcake schedule, it would take an act of God for them to land the #1 pick.

Are we really this bad???

Tennessee Titans
Record:  0-2
Last Game:  Lost 10-38 at San Diego Chargers
Current Starter:  Jake Locker
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
403	2	2	61.3	6.5	77.6

Breakdown:  Are they really this bad? Eh, probably not. As disconcerting as it is to get completely bombed two weeks in a row, the losses were wholly expected. New England in Week 1 and at San Diego in Week 2 is a tough way for anyone to open up their schedule, much less for a team breaking in a young (and raw) QB. With Detroit and Houston coming up, expect the Titans’ struggles to continue, but don’t panic. Minnesota, Jacksonville (2x), Indy (2x), Miami, Buffalo, and the Jets await them on the back end.

Kansas City Chiefs
Record:  0-2
Last Game:  Lost 17-35 at Buffalo Bills
Current Starter:  Matt Cassel
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
559	3	3	58.7	7.5	78.7

Breakdown:  You know what; I think I owe the Chiefs a big apology. The last two Sweepstakes updates, I’ve listed them under “If Andrew Luck was in this draft, we’d try harder…” That was clearly a mistake on my part. Who am I to prematurely judge a team’s efforts and intentions? Clearly, the Chiefs see something in Matt Barkley (or Geno Smith), and they’re going at this full bore…and doing a darn good job of it too, might I add. At New Orleans, home vs. San Diego, home vs. Baltimore, and at Tampa Bay await them in their next four, so they probably won’t even have to try that hard to get to 0-6. However, I’m not forgetting this is the same Chiefs team that got massacred in their first two games of last season before ruining their golden opportunity at QB salvation. It’s “prove it” time for KC!

The (Outside) Favorites

Indianapolis Colts
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 23-20 vs. Minnesota Vikings
Current Starter:  Andrew Luck
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
533	3	3	56.6	7.0	75.2

Breakdown:  A win’s a win, but needing a 53 yard FG late in the 4th to take down the Vikings is…underwhelming. On the plus side, Luck had an efficient, solid game despite getting absolutely no help from the running game. NOT on the plus side, I’m pretty sure they’re never getting help from the running game. And also their coach has publically stated that he loves to run the ball. So good luck with that, Indy.

Minnesota Vikings
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Los 20-23 at Indianapolis Colts
Current Starter:  Christian Ponder
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
515	2	0	75.8	8.3	110.6

Breakdown:  Upon second consideration, I think we may have vastly underrated how untalented this roster is. I mean, look at those numbers from Christian Ponder! Dude is first in completion percentage, sixth in QB Rating, fifth in Y/A – he’s playing out of his mind! Thing is, Ponder was supposed to be one of the main problems, not a solution. So to be sitting there with a loss to Indy and a should-have-been loss to Jacksonville despite getting that level of QB play is unfathomable. The defense must truly be historically bad. After all, they did make a certain Jacksonville QB look like a viable NFL player. Imagine what will happen to the Vikings if Ponder goes back to sucking…

Miami Dolphins
Record:  1-1
Last Game:  Won 35-13 vs. Oakland Raiders
Current Starter:  Ryan Tannehill
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
419	1	3	57.6	6.3	62.6

Breakdown:  Someone on the Dolphins sideline should have slashed Reggie Bush’s ACL’s, because that dude singlehandedly put a huge dent in their Sweepstakes chances. So much so that I can’t even list them as a true “Favorite” now. I guess this was bound to happen after what I wrote last week”

“Trust me when I say that the Miami Dolphins are EASILY the least talented team in football. I know the Browns are bad, I know the Raiders are bad, but it would shock me if Miami won more than 2 games. Matt Barkley, how do you feel about aqua?”

Well then. Let’s just move on.

The Favorites

Cleveland Browns
Record:  0-2
Last Game:  Lost 27-34 at Cincinnati Bengals
Current Starter:  Brandon Weeden
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
440	2	4	52.8	6.1	57.6

Breakdown:  If not for the fact that they’re the Cleveland Browns, I would NOT list them as a “Favorite” this week. They’ve been competitive two weeks in a row now and got exciting/promising returns last week from many of their young players, most notably their two offensive cornerstones. In reality, they’re a bad coaching decision and a dose or two of Adderall from potentially starting 2-0. If this were any other team, I’d say the law of averages dictates they’ll likely receives some lucky bounces and pull out their share of these close contests. But this isn’t any other team. It’s the Cleveland Browns. When have they ever gotten a lucky bounce?

Jacksonville Jaguars
Record:  0-2
Last Game:  Lost 7-27 vs. Houston Texans
Current Starter:  BADGABMAX
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
313	3	0	51.7	5.4	84.9

Breakdown:  You can pretty much flip a coin between the Jags and Raiders – they’re both completely pathetic – but I’ll give the Jags the benefit of the doubt, for now, because they have yet to allow 35 points to the freaking Dolphins. However, with the return of BADGABMAX (he’s earned that one), the Jags are not going down without a fight (that’s poor wording, right there). Potential fly in the ointment: Chad Henne. I can’t say for sure, but I don’t remember Henne being laugh-out-loud bad. Bad, yes, but not bad enough for me to rework his name into a humiliating moniker.

Oakland Raiders
Record:  0-2
Last Game:  Lost 13-35 at Miami Dolphins
Current Starter:  Carson Palmer
Season Stats:

YDS	TD	INT	COMP%	Y/A	RATING
670	2	1	59.6	7.1	84.1

Breakdown:  35 points. To the Dolphins. Awful.

Games Matt Barkley Might Want to Watch This Week

Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns – Preseason favorites have been dropping like flies around here. Will the Browns be next? By the way, the last two times these teams have met, the scores were 13-6 (Bills) and 6-3 (Browns), so while Barkley might want to keep an eye on this one, I’d advise the rest of you to avert your eyes.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts – It’s unclear whether BADGABMAX will be a go in this one, so the Jaguars might potentially have a chance. If both they and the Browns win, this race would be wide open once again…or it could start a runaway for the Raiders.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins – How crazy would it be if Miami got off to a 2-1 start?

Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints – No way the Saints lose this one, right? Right? Either way, we’re getting an 0-3 team.