Time for our look back at Week 1 in the NFL and what it means for the greater football landscape. Throughout the season we'll give you our comprehensive takes on the games that transpired and the true impact of the goings on in the National. Football. League. So let's do the commish proud and Protect the Shield!
Overrated Story of The Week: Brett Favre's Triumphant Return
-I don't know what you saw on Sunday, but I saw an old man trying to play QB who looked like an old man trying to play QB. I saw a guy trying to manage the game and successfully hand the ball off to Adrian Peterson all day, not a legendary gunslinger. Couldn't Sage Rosenfels be a game manager too? I'm glad the Vikes are paying Favre millions and millions of dollars to hand the ball off and dink and dunk.
(By the way, how annoyed were you to see Favre prance around on those AP TD runs just to get the camera's attention. If any other player in sports were to dance around like that and draw attention to themselves you would hear flames and arrows coming down chiding that person to act like he's been there before, and not draw attention away from his teammates... not that there's a double standard here or anything.)
Underrated Story Of The Week: Sophomore jinx? What Sophomore jinx?
-Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco (above) were sensational yet again at QB for Atlanta and Baltimore respectively in Week 1 wins. Flacco threw an uncharacteristic 43 times for the Ravens with successful results (300 yards and 3 TDs). Matt Ryan's steady hand (2 TDs 0 INTs) led the Falcons to an important win over the Dolphins. These two teams, and their star QBs might be back in the playoffs and avoid that sophomore jinx.
3 Stars:
3rd Star: Mike Singletary (HC-49ers)
-The 49ers got arguably the biggest win of the week in a tough, divisional road game at reigning NFC Champion Arizona. It's obvious that the Niners don't have the talent that the Cardinals do, but you have to admire the job that Singletary has done in San Francisco. Especially with the Crabtree saga raging on, Mike Singletary has established himself as a good NFL coach.
2nd Star: Adrian Peterson (HB-Vikes)
-Did you see that last TD run? Wow. He swatted Eric Wright aside like a gnat. That was a Jim Brown run in the city where he set the all-time rushing record. 180 yards and 3 TDs in Week 1 is a great performance, especially considering he only had 40 yards midway through the 2nd half. There's no doubt he IS the best running back in football.
1st Star: Drew Brees (QB-Saints)
-Well, at least our NFL star pick came through this week! Singling out Drew Brees going up against the Lions was an easy call, but even the biggest Saints fan in the world (yes, that's me) didn't expect 6 TDs. For someone who is always keeping his expectations low with regards to the Bayou Boys, I am scared at what Drew Brees and this offense is capable of. All of the plaudits and accolades may go to Brady, Manning, and Favre... but Brees is the best QB and the best player in the NFL. A few more seasons like this in NO and he's looking at a Hall of Fame career.
Fab 5:
1. Pittsburgh
2. New England
3. Philadelphia
4. New York Giants
5. Green Bay
11 Random Observations:
1) Jay Cutler, you have got to do better. Cris Collinsworth put a lot of the blame on Cutler's 4 INTs on the inexperienced wide receivers, but the supposed franchise savior can't throw that many picks and make that many bad decisions.
2) New England and San Diego's MNF wins were closer than the experts think, but it's not a definitive verdict on their fates this season. Both teams will be fine in the long run. The W's matter in this league, not how pretty you look. But, Richard Seymour will be missed in NE.
3) There are perhaps as many good Tight Ends now than ever before. From Gates and Gonzalez to Heath and Zach Miller, Shockey, Carlson, Olson, Heap, and Watson are just a few of the great TE's in the league.
4) Jake Delhomme and the Panthers might be done. I couldn't believe that Jake relived the nightmare of last year's playoffs, and he looks like Rick Ankiel throwing balls to the backstop all those years ago. Without a real backup plan, it might be a long season in Carolina.
5) Tony Romo is the happiest man in Dallas to not have to deal with TO, and the Dallas offense is better off for it.
6) More retro AFL and NFL uniforms please! Even the refs looked great in their candy cane outfits. Can we bring back some mud while we're at it too?
7) As much as I don't like the media hype for Mark Sanchez... he looked a lot better than Matt Stafford in Week 1.
8) As much as the media has criticized Eric Mangini and the Browns... they deserve it. That was a pathetic Week 1 performance.
9) Detroit may be the worst team in the league... but St. Louis certainly had the worst Week 1 performance getting shut out in Seattle.
10) If Baltimore scores 38 points every week like they did against Kansas City, they're going to the Super Bowl.
11) You didn't think we forgot Denver's win in Cincy, right? That was an amazingly lucky, once in a lifetime play, and it was even better with Gus Johnson on the mic. I can't feel too bad for the Bengals though, when you go scoreless for over 59 minutes, you deserve to lose.
What Happened In Week 1 That Will Change The Season: Brian Urlacher's Injury
-This hurts Bears fans. My bro, Mr. Yoder II, is lying in a dark room by himself cut off from society thinking the season is over. Urlacher's loss will absolutely cripple a Bears D that is already a shadow of its former self. Nobody can fill that hole in the middle of the Cover 2, so it looks like from here on out the Bears will have to outscore teams to win. If Jay Cutler continues to go all Bad Rex on Chicago, it'll be a season of disappointment.
No comments:
Post a Comment