Isn’t is great to have football back. Sundays go from being the worst days of the week to the best. It was a great opening week that had a little bit of everything. It had upsets, comebacks, and improbable finishes. Here’s to a great start to a hopefully even better season. With all that said here are my thoughts and observations after week one.
Tom Brady is Back- Touchdown Tom showed no effects of his injury as was dominant in the Pats win leading a classic Brady comeback at the end of the game. Brady didn’t go deep much but rather took what the defense was giving him and hit Moss and Welker underneath all game long. We will not see a repeat of his 2007 numbers but there is no doubt about it that Brady is back.
…but Drew Brees is the best QB in the league- Brees continued his dominance by passing for 6 touchdowns and 358 yards. He narrowly missed Dan Marino’s single season yardage record last year and will threaten the record again and could make a run at Brady’s touchdown record. Brees was my preseason MVP pick and he looks every bit the part as of now.
L.T. is done as an elite back- The 30-year-old back has a few steps. He couldn’t get much done against a poor run defense and lost snaps to Darren Sproles. Sproles played on third downs and in the two minute drill and was on the field on the Chargers game winning drive and scored the touchdown. He had a great run at the top but now in a full fledged committee with Sproles.
The Rams are terrible- I thought the Rams would be bad this season as I picked them to finish 4-12 bu they looked down right awful in week one. They couldn’t generate anything on offense and I know I’ve said this many times before but I’ll say it again: Marc Bulger needs to go. He has lost all confidence and is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL. Jake Delhomme has something to say about that.
…and the Seahawks aren’t that good- Don’t go overreacting to their 28-0 defeat of the Rams. As I previously stated the Rams are terrible. Also Hasselbeck struggled early throwing two picks before settling into a groove. I wouldn’t take too much from this victory.
Speaking of Washed Up Quarterbacks- Jake Delhomme has joined the club. He was pitiful on Sunday and it was painful to watch him play. He looked nervous and rattled out on the field. In his last two starts he has thrown 9 interceptions in 51 passes as the Panthers have been outscored 71-23. A.J. be ready. 
Don’t get to Excited about Vick- Although it seems unlikely at this point Donovan McNabb cold easily return in week three and all this Vick talk would be put to rest. Even if he is out for a while Vick simply isn’t ready to start. He looked like a man who hasn’t played football in two years in the preseason and needs more time. Also Jeff Garcia has stepped in and for games before for Andy Reid and the Eagles so Reid certainly has confidence in him.
So much for Tony Gonzalez Blocking- Gonzo looked every bit the number one target for Matt Ryan leading the team in receiving and scoring a touchdown. With his addition to the offense the Falcons don’t look like a one year wonder while the team they played certainly had some issues.
What was up with Jake Long- The former number one pick and Pro Bowler from last year looked dreadful on Sunday. He struggled a bit in the pre-season and allowed two sacks on Sunday and got embarrassed by John Abraham. He also allowed a sack to back up Kroy Biermann and it doesn’t get easier as he faces Dwight Freeney and Shawne Merriman the next two weeks.
It’s not Sunny in Chicago- A week Chicago would like to forget as they lose to the arch rival Packers and lose defensive leader Brain Urlacher for the season. To make matters worse golden boy Jay Cutler threw four picks in the loss. But all is not lost. It was only one week and despite the bad performance by Cutler they still had the lead with under two minutes left.
A.P. is to good- It’s not fair to the rest of the league. This guy is a certifiable beast. His touchdown run was simply unreal as he abused the Browns defenders. He has a legitimate shot to reach 2,000 yards this season.
The Niners were impressive- They made Kurt Warner show his age as they harassed him all day and forced him to dump down and not go deep. Shaun Hill lead an impressive game wining drive that took seven and a half minutes off the clock.
Broncos vs. Bengals- A game that had six points in the first 59 minutes goes on to have 13 in the final minute including the craziest play you’ll see all year. Also with that win that brings Kyle Orton’s career record as a starter to 22-12. The guy may do it ugly but he wins games.
The Ravens can play Offense too- They aired it out against the Chiefs as Flacco threw for a career high 307 yards on a career high 43 attempts. It is clear that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron feels a lot more comfortable with Flacco this season. Also it possible that the Ravens running game got better. Ray Rice looked great showing quickness and impressive power for his 5′8 frame and Willis McGahee looked rejuvenated as he scored two touchdowns.
J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!- Marky Mark looked poised leading the Jets to an impressive win over the Texans. Keep in mind this was the Texans and the real test will come in the next two weeks as the Jets face the Patriots and the Titans. But the biggest story from this game was the Jets defense. Rex Ryan brought his “organized chaos” to New York. Darrelle Revis blanketed Andre Johnson all game long and the front seven pressured and hit Schaub while shutting down Steve Slaton. David Harris looked especially good delivering big hit after big hit and him and Bart Scott are quite the tandem in the middle. The Jets reward: Tom Brady and the Pats next week.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
