During the NFL season, The Post’s Anthony Sulla-Heffinger will break down five storylines to watch for each week.
Does Quinn steal Cassel’s job?
I’ve already written about my stance on the Chiefs fans cheering when Matt Cassel got knocked out of last Sunday’s game against the Ravens, so let’s advance the story a bit. Cassel will not play this week against Tampa Bay (concussion), which means Brady Quinn is going to take the reins in Kansas City. The general rule of thumb is that it’s hard to lose your starting job due to injury, but in this case, if Quinn leads the Chiefs to a fairly dominant road win against an above-average Bucs team he could find himself supplanting the injured Cassel.
Packing it in
It hasn’t been a great season for Green Bay thus far. Take away the Monday Night Football call that cost the Packers a win and you have a team that has lost to San Francisco and Indianapolis while beating (in unconvincing fashion) New Orleans and Chicago. Green Bay travels to Houston on Sunday night, and while they still may have the sour taste of primetime football in their mouth, if the Packers lose this game, it might be time to really sound the alarm for a team that would be 2-4 and potentially three games behind the Vikings in the NFC North.
Battle of the sneaky good teams
Miami and St. Louis aren’t just playing better than expected; it wouldn’t surprise me if either, if not both, made legitimate runs at their respective divisions or the wild card. These two play on Sunday in a matchup that is probably the second-best game of the 1:00 p.m. slate. St. Louis’ defense is incredibly underrated and they have a dual threat at running back with the power-speed combo of Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson. Miami on the other hand has somehow resurrected Reggie Bush’s career while creating ones for Brian Hartline and Ryan Tannehill as well. Bet you didn’t circle this one in August.
Pocket Protector
Want to make a bet on how many times Robert Griffin III scrambles out of the pocket this week? Whatever you make the number, I’ll be taking the under. Following a brutal, legal hit last week against the Falcons, RG3 has been cleared to play this Sunday against Minnesota. The Redskins paid a king’s ransom to move up and draft Griffin No. 2 overall and have essentially put the future of their franchise on his shoulders. I wouldn’t be shocked to see more play calls designed to have him sit in the pocket this week and prevent a second concussion in consecutive weeks.
New era in New England?
This has nothing to do with Tom Brady and a decline in his productivity, so let’s end that potential angle before it even develops. That being said, I find it incredibly intriguing that the Patriots are as committed to the running game as they are this season. Could you tell me the last time New England was in the top three in the NFL in rushing? Didn’t think so. This year the Patriots’ three-headed combo of Stevan Ridley (490) Brandon Bolden (206) and Danny Woodhead (119) have combined to give New England the third-best rushing attack in all of football in terms of yards and the top scoring rushing offense (10 TDs). If New England can make its opponents respect the run, it will have the best offense in the NFL at year’s end.