Annoying NFL Texts with Ian Rapoport: Are the Giants really this bad?

Week 2 of the NFL has come and gone, but thankfully, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is still here to help us sound smarter—or at least less clueless—than we really are. For the uninitiated, the weekly plan is for us to draw on Ian's considerable expertise and light him up with questions about the football, the NFL, and of course, the status of his multiple fantasy teams,

We'll start with an easy conclusion: The Giants stink, this after two complete duds in prime-time games against the Cowboys and the Lions.

The bar was meant to be higher after Week 1 for the Cowboys and their polarizing back Ezekiel Elliott, who's still playing despite a looming suspension from the league. Elliott was at least a difference-maker by rushing for 104 yards in that opening win over the Giants. Against the Broncos, he ran for a mere 8, and appeared to be coasting after a third-quarter Cowboys interception.

We've already made clear in this space our disdain for the Patriots and, to a lesser extent their star quarterback, which is why it pains us to broach the topic of the Pats' bounce-back win, led most notably by Tom Brady throwing for 447 yards and three touchdowns.

As charmed an existence as Brady leads, the opposite could be said of Sam Bradford, the middling journeyman quarterback who enjoyed a breakout performance in the Vikings' season opener, only to be scratched in Week 2 because of a non-contact knee injury.