Sunday, September 09, 2007

NFL Week 1 Thoughts

Time to give my thoughts on what was a very, very solid mostly opening day action in the NFL.

Vikings 24, Falcons 3
You already know how I feel about this... this is how the Vikings are going to have to win football games this year. They played great defense (with a very good pass rush - 6 sacks - which was the achillies heel of the defense last year), and were able to run the football with success. Obviously I hope Chester Taylor isn't hurt, because the Vikings are going to need him, but Adrian Peterson made my Rookie of the Year pick look good, at least for one day.

Broncos 15, Bills 14
Obviously this isn't quite what I expected from Denver, given that I picked them to win the AFC West, but they did just barely get the job done. Statistically, Denver dominated the game. Cutler had over 3 times as many passing yards as Losman, and Denver had more than 50 yards rushing edge on Buffalo. However, Buffalo had the Special Teams edge... with a Roscoe Parrish TD, which kept the game in their favor until time expired. Which is all that matters.

Steelers 34, Browns 7
I expected the Steelers to dominate this game, though maybe not quite this much. Also as expected, the Browns QB woes will keep them from doing anything this year. Charlie Frye was abysmal (and replaced early in the game), and Derek Anderson wasn't much better, completing less than 50% of his passes. Brady Quinn, hope you're ready.

Packers 16, Eagles 13
Philly special teams, you have got to be kidding me. Two muffed punts... one that led directly to a Packer TD and the other that led to the game-winning FG (Mason Crosby is pretty good, by the way). Everyone knew the Packers defense was good, but they shut McNabb down, as he completed just 15 of 33 passes... whether that was because of the Packer defense or because McNabb just struggled, I didn't really see enough of the game to comment... anyone that watched a lot of it want to help me out here?

Panthers 27, Rams 13
This is definitely not what I expected. Marc Bulger had troubles, barely completing 50% of his passes, and Steven Jackson could not get it going either, fumbling twice. Meanwhile, after so many years of the Panthers being picked to have a chance to go to the Super Bowl, could they be flying under the radar? If they play defense and run the ball like they did today, then they are a very real threat to New Orleans in the South.

Patriots 38, Jets 14
It's always tough for me to watch Randy Moss play in another uniform, especially today, when it was just about vintage Randy Moss. Brady had lots of time in the pocket, and he made the most of it, completing 79% of his passes for nearly 300 yards and 3 TDs. I already can't wait for the AFC Playoffs.

Redskins 16, Dolphins 13 OT
Remember all that preseason talk about how Ronnie Brown hadn't won the job yet, and everyone just scoffed at it as just motivational tactics by Cam Cameron? Well, Brown didn't exactly light it up, with 11 carries for 32 yards (not that Jesse Chatman was any better). A great performance by the defense at home, and Miami doesn't have enough to get the win. It could be a long season in Miami. Their 2nd and 3rd leading receivers on the day were their starting RB and backup RB.

Titans 13, Jaguars 10
So much for that vaunted Jaguars running game. Maurice Jones-Drew had 7 carries for 32 yards, and Fred Taylor had 6 carries for 16 yards. Are you kidding me? 13 carries combined for those 2 guys? Garrard was statistically solid, but the offense has to run through the 2 good RBs. Otherwise we could be seeing this result a lot for the Jags.

Texans 20, Chiefs 3
It's really going to be a long season in Kansas City. The offense is just simply atrocious. A bad QB (whoever they throw out there), bad WRs, a slowing down Tony Gonzalez, and a mediocre O-Line. Larry Johnson isn't going to get much help. On the other side, I'm really excited to see what Andre Johnson will do this year now that there are other talented guys around him. 142 yards and TD for him in the opener.

Lions 36, Raiders 21
I thought the Raiders defense was good? Kitna had 2 INTs, but he also completed 75% of his passes for 289 yards and 3 TDs. And yeah, Calvin Johnson is pretty good. For the Raiders, they at least have to be encouraged by the resurgent LaMont Jordan. 159 total yards and a score for him.

Chargers 14, Bears 3
New year, same Rex Grossman. He was inconsistent, threw 1 INT (not entirely his fault) and had one play where the ball just slipped out of his hands. Vintage Rex Grossman right there. Also, I know the Chargers eventually wound up with 14 points, but that Bears defense is really, really good. No one holds LDT to 25 yards on 17 carries. That's ridiculous.

Seahawks 20, Bucs 6
Nothing real surprising here, as the Seahawks are just clearly the better team. The Bucs took a 6-0 lead after the 1st, but it was Seattle after that. Now a whole lot to say about it.

Cowboys 45, Giants 35
More than anything, the one thing that I took away from this game was... that both secondaries suck. Eli Manning and Tony Romo are good, but they shouldn't be throwing for a combined nearly 660 yards and 8 TDs. On a positive note, we did get a "Hefty Lefty" sighting, and that's always exciting. For my fantasy team's sake, I hope Brandon Jacobs' injury isn't serious.

So far in my picks against the spread this week I am 8-5-1... a nice start in my quest to finish above .500.

What stuck out most to you?

9 comments:

bpl said...

Watched most of the Philly/GB game... Brett Farve made a couple of plays that just made me shake my head. He's still so calm and collected under pressure, but with a gunslinger's mentality. He kept them in the game, but as I texted Joe from TSF after the game, "I think the Eagles lost that game more than the Packers won it."

Glad to see the Lions start the season off right. The only team in the division not in first is the Bears!

twins15 said...

I would say that any time a team muffs 2 points, and the other team scores 10 of their 16 points directly off that, the game was lost more than it was won. Great job by the defense of GB, but Philly was bad.

And yeah, Detroit's offense certainly can be explosive... going to be an interesting game next week before DET/MIN... two teams with totally different styles.

bpl said...

I agree... DET/MIN will definitely be a game to watch.

Kevin Hayward said...

I was watching the tail end of the Denver game (truth be told, I was waiting for the US Open to start), and was rather impressed with Jay Cutler's composure in a tight situation. But the fact that they got a kick off before the clock ran out was ridiculous.

grittysquirrels said...

yea GB cought a big break this weekend. I didn't watch the game but I listened to it on the radio.

-Mason Crosby is very good...his leg is awesome
-GB defense is very strong this year
-Philly special teams gave the game away
-GB had trouble running the ball
-Favre played average in my opinion, he needs to get used to managing games and try to step back from taht gunslinger mentality a little bit.
-Packers offensive line really hurt Favre. I thought they were making strides in the right directions last year but they were leaving Brett open on his blind side and weren't helping out Brandon Jackson at all.

Truth be told Philly should have won but they gave it away and I'll take it!

twins15 said...

Yeah the Vikings had a couple of games like that last year, where they maybe didn't really deserve to win, but they did. At this level, you'll take it anyway you get it.

I do agree though about the Packers D... should be very good. We could have 3 top 10 defenses in the NFC North.

Neil Joshi said...

adrian peterson, marshawn lynch, and calvin johnson all looked great in their debuts. russell finally signed today, but he's gotta lot of work to do if he wants to catch those three prized rookies.

Anonymous said...

Even though the Pack were quite lucky to win this game, you MUST give credit to their defence for keeping what should be a great offence to 13 points and McNabb for just 100 and something yards. I am a Packer fan and watched them last season and completely agree with the comment about the O-Line be very very disappointing. They made it very hard for Favre to have a good game as there was always a defender right in his face. I think that Favre had a pretty good game (2 amazing plays when it appeared he would be sacked) considering the Philly defence is very good. My major concern about this team is the running game. Brandon Jackson didn't look very flash against the Eagles and I don't think Vernard Morency has what it takes to be a good starting running back. I'm moving off track so I'll get back to week 1. The major issue that I took away from week one is the pathetic offence (both playing and coaching) of the Baltimore Ravens. How can they turn the ball over 6 times in one game? Why did they bother bring in Willis McGahee if he's only going to carry the ball 16 times and none when it was first and goal in the final two minutes. In closing, I will state the ten things that caught my attention from week 1
1. The Patriots demolition of New York shows us that they're definitely the real deal
2. The poor running performance from Jacksonville that ultimately cost them the game
3. The Colts brilliant defensive effort against an explosive Saints offence
4. The injury to Orlando Pace that will severely damage Steven Jackson's chances at a league MVP title as well as a playoff birth for the rams
5. The key injuries to Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs and Osi Eumenura (sorry for the spelling) that will most likely cause the Giants to be well under 500 after the half way mark of the season
6. The devastating injury to the tight end from Buffalo (somebody Everitt). My thaughts and prayers go out to him and his family.
7. The week one performances of Oakland, Kansas City, Miami, Atlanta and Cleveland suggest that these teams will be the ones battling for the number 1 draft pick come week 17
8. San Francisco should have a great defence this year after they're effort vs Cardinals
9. Carolina's performance shows me that they will be in the playoffs. But will it be as a divisional winner or wildcard? Only time will tell.
10. The Pack is back! Go Packers!

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