NFL Week 1

Week 1 of the NFL Season is over. Lets name some facts.



Game of the Week:Carolina vs San Diego-No doubt about this. Carolina and San Diego battled it out in Qualcomm Stadium and at the end of the day, the Panthers prevailed following a hail mary by Delhomme to win the game 26-24. Keep an eye on Carolina.





Player of the Week:Donovan McNabb(Philadelphia Eagles)-McNabb is alive and well in Philly and they're ready to party like its 2004. Can this be the year finally for McNabb?





Dissapointment of the Week:The Indianpolis Colts-A flat out bad performance against an inferior Bears team in the Colts 29-13 loss on Sunday. This is not how a Super Bowl contender should perform on opening day at home. Just plain bad.





Most Impressive Team of the Week:The Chicago Bears-Maybe 2007 was a fluke. Lovie Smith and the Bears seem to be back behind the throwing of Kyle Orton and the running of Matt Forte and a strong defense. Lets see if Chicago can keep it going.



Numbers:

220-The amount of rushing yards by Michael Turner in the Falcons 34-21 win over the Lions



10-The average of rushing yards by Turner in that game



24-The amount of incompletions thrown by Matt Hasselback in Seattle's 34-10 loss to Buffalo



414-The amount of passing yards the Rams surrendered in their 38-3 loss to the Eagles



0-The Rams are 0-5 when wearing white pants. Seriously stick to Gold are record is MUCH better in them. The White ones are cursed so are the blue



25-In 28 games, the Rams have only managed 7 wins or 1/4 or 25 percent



123-The amount of rushing yards by Matt Forte in his debut as the Bears beat the Colts 29-13



81-The percentage of completions by Aaron Rodgers in the Packers 24-19 win over the Vikings



260-The amount of pounds that JaMarcus Russell weighs



112-The amount of days left til Scott Linehan is fired



The Good:

New York Giants-They completely annihilated Washington. It was a flat out blowout. I don't know if you can blame that on Jim Zorn's constant changing of formations(from the Gibbs to the West Coast and back) or is the Giants defense that good. Either way they beat up on Jason Campbell and Clinton Portis. Brandon Jacobs looked like he was in 2006 form with his 116 rushing yards. Repeat?



Atlanta Falcons-Maybe I am wrong about this team, maybe they have a future Hall of Famer in Matt Ryan, a stud tailback in Michael Turner and a good coach in Mike Smith...or maybe its just that they're playing the Lions...I don't know. Either way I look for the success to continue in Atlanta if they can get past New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Carolina.



Buffalo Bills-Never thought I'd see the day where a California player and a Stanford man would cooperate so well together. Trent Edwards(Stanford) and Marshawn Lynch(California) looked great in the Bills 34-10 win over the Seahawks. The defense completely annihilated Matt Hasselback and for the run game, the post-Alexander era may be a problem. The Bills have a real good shot to win the AFC East.



New York Jets-Theres a 2nd team in New York now. No one has noticed them because they've been in the shadow of the Giants. They're the New York Jets and they're ready to fly behind the arm of Brett Favre and a strong defense. The AFC East race looks interesting now.



Philadelphia Eagles-I don't know if its the Rams or my prediction of a Philly comeback is coming true. The Eagle demolished the Rams 38-3 on Sunday and Donovan McNabb looked like 2004 Donovan and not 2005-2007 Donovan. Seriously he's back, Philly's defense is strong and they can dethrone the Cowboys EASILY.



Pittsburgh Steelers-I'm quite surprised. I expected the Texans to go out and tear up Pittsburghs 5 man blockers but instead they gave Big Ben time and he tore up the Texans along with Big Willie Parker as the Steelers won 38-17. People are saying they're in for a letdown, but after Sunday I think the critics will be let down themselves.



Carolina Panthers-They're alive. I said it in preseason, that team in 2006 and 2007 is dead and a new one has arrised. Panther fans it is 2003 all over again. NFC beware theres a second kind of cat in this league.



New Orlean Saints-See Panthers but replaced 2003 with 2006.


Dallas Cowboys-A flat out beatdown on the Cleveland Browns. Tony Romo threw to his highest potential, Marion Barber III shreded through the Browns front 3, and T.O. is keeping the momentum going. The NFC East looks to be a fight to the death.



Chicago Bears-The Bears took the Indianapolis Colts and took them to the woodshed in their 29-13 win. 2007 may very well be a fluke. Kyle Orton is no Rex Grossman and Matt Forte ain't not Cedric Benson...he's better and the Bears defense never left.



Green Bay Packers-Who said it was going to be a down year. Despite not passing as well, Green Bay still looked like the same '07 team in their 24-19 win over the Vikings. In the post-Brett Favre era, Packers fans may see lots of green pastures. Heres to a potential Jets/Packers Super Bowl in February.



Denver Broncos-I don't know if Denver is that good or Oakland is that bad. Either way the Broncos tore up the Raiders 41-14 on Monday Night Football. Jay Cutler looked just as good and the run game is alive in Denver. With a falling San Diego, and an easy Kansas City, Denver may just win the AFC West.



The Bad:

Washington Redskins-In Jim Zorn's defense, its his first game as a head coach and offensive coordinator. But these players know how to play the game by now. The other night they looked confused and the defense was easily vulnerable against the Giants attack. I did say they'd start slow so wait and see what happens.



Detroit Lions-That defense looked dreadful. They're lucky to have the 2nd best receiving core, otherwise it could've stayed 34-21. Its not over yet, they still have a favorable schedule. So wait til November before we see what kind of team this is.



Seattle Seahawks-Old habits do die hard as the Seahawks defense looked bad in a rare occasion, in a 34-10 loss to Buffalo. Hasselback couldn't get anything going and any more injuries than they might fall the direction of...



St.Louis Rams-They've hit rock bottom. Without a doubt, rock bottom. In 2006, the Rams started 4-1 under Linehan and since they're 7-21. Scott Linehan needs to go, its clear to anyone who knows football. In a matter of 3 years he has managed to turn a decent 10-6 team into an 0-16 squad. The players are giving on him, its only a matter of time before the organization gives up on him. I hate to say it but the way that secondary looked, its as if 2007 never ended.



Oakland Raiders-Speaking of 2006, this team went 2-14 that year and Lane Kiffen turned them around to a respectable 4-12(misleading) record. But it appears as if they haven't really improved much especially after the beatdown Denver gave them.



The Unknown:

Miami Dolphins-They looked great against the Jets, but how long can they keep it up as Buffalo and New York continue to improve. The running game didn't look good at all.



Kansas City Chiefs-They shut down New England, but if Tom Brady was still in that game, would Kansas City been in it in the 4th Quarter?



New England Patriots-Brady is gone for the year, and now a guy who hasn't started since 1999 is taking over at QB. Matt Cassell was a **** recruit coming out of High School but was inferior to Carson Palmer(2000-2002) and Matt Leinart(2003-2004). So how can Cassell expect to succeed in the NFL?



Houston Texans-Is Pittsburgh that good or is Houston that bad? I don't know, either way Houston looked REALLY bad defensively in their 21 point loss to Pittsburgh. Lets see how the season plays out first.



Jacksonville Jaguars-They shouldn't have lost to Tennessee, they shouldn't have done so bad on offense, they should be 1-0. I think Jacksonville will be successful, but at the moment, I feel they might be in SOME trouble.



Tennessee Titans-How long can they win? Defense wins championships but you got to have an offense that can keep up. They don't really have a QB situation favorable but Chris Johnson and LenDale White can carry the load. We'll see what Tennessee is by Week 6.

Cincinnati Bengals-They were close, but yet so far. Truth be told, the Bengals should've beaten the Ravens on Sunday but they didn't. Just like in the past losing games they should've won. They got the talent, lets see if they can pull it off.

Baltimore Ravens-Joe Flacco looked good, he had a rushing touchdown and 129 passing yards. The defense looked improved, but lets see if they can stay that way through a tough AFC North and NFC East.

San Diego Chargers-Shawne "Lights Out" Merriman is out for the season and San Diego lost its home opener to Carolina. With the heart of the defense ripped out, can the Chargers bounce back and manage to win the AFC West? Lets wait and see.

Arizona Cardinals-Are they good? Are they bad? or are they ugly? We're not sure. The offense managed 23 points and the defense shut down the 49ers offense. Week 1 didn't tell much about them so we'll see as the tough schedule continues to arise.

San Francisco 49ers-J.T. O'Sullivan looked good, and Frank Gore is better...but they only managed 1 touchdown. The defense looked about the same. Maybe with time they'll improve.

Cleveland Browns-I said the defense would hurt them, and the offense seemed to hurt too. The Browns only managed 10 points in their 28-10 loss to the Cowboys. They can still be a playoff team but they just can't lose like that to playoff teams.

Indianapolis Colts-The need to do something. I know Manning wasn't in condition, but no excuse they can still make it through the year but they should not have lost to the Bears.

Minnesota Vikings-They almost beat Green Bay had it not been for Tarvaris Jackson. They need a QB if they expect to be successful in Minnesota. Wheres Brad Johnson when you need him?

Overview:Week 1 didn't tell much like it always does. Some good matches, some bad. Overall I look forward to October.