The NFL Blog: Week 1 Review

The Always Predictable NFL

In the words of a surprised Simpsons character: WHAAAAAAAAA???!!!

Yeah, it was a pretty ho-hum opening week to the NFL season. Let’s start with the ordinary: Tom Brady played half of a quarter and the Patriots won behind Matt Cassell. The Colts christened their new stadium with a 16 point loss to the Bears in front of a national audience on Sunday night. The Chargers lost at home to the Panthers, who were playing without Steve Smith. The Jaguars lost to the Titans, who finished the game with Kerry Collins under center. The Seahawks lost to the Bills by 24. Chad Pennington played for Bill Parcels and lost to the Jets, who were quarterbacked by Brett Favre, and the next night the Packers won over the Vikings at Lambaugh Field. The Falcons and Ravens both started rookie quarterbacks and both won, with Matt Ryan’s first NFL pass going for a touchdown, and Michael Turner breaking the Falcons single game rushing record while carrying the ball more than 15 times in a game for the first time in his career. Chad Johnson caught 1 pass for 22 yards; Eddie Royal caught 9 for 146 yards. The Eagles had 414 yards passing without Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown.


There were a few surprises: Oakland lost by 27. The Rams lost by 35. Dallas won. And the 49ers lost. Okay, enough. But honestly, the NFL is sometimes just too unpredictable. When we say “on any given Sunday” we really mean it. After such a crazy opening weekend, I’m questioning what we really know for certain right now. Who are the great teams? Who are the contenders? Do we really know for sure? Is this going to be a landmark season? Is an era about to end and another about to begin?


Of course the biggest development of week 1 was the stunning season ending knee injury suffered by last season’s MVP Tom Brady. Just like that, the favorite (at least in Vegas) to win the Super Bowl became just another of 32. I know that the Patriots are the standard in team sports as far as self motivation and resiliency, but I have my doubts as to whether they will be able to overcome this and maintain competitiveness. Brady is more than the League MVP, he’s the greatest quarterback of this era, and he’s the unquestioned leader of the Patriots on the field and in the locker room. People are talking about how the Pats are going to have to change schematically on offense. Well no shit! But their entire personality is going to be different. Their head has been chopped off and I’m not sure how long the limbs and organs will continue to work on nerves and reflexes alone. How long until Randy Moss gets frustrated? How long until he starts taking plays off? And over the years the Patriots have become a team dependent on throwing the ball. I don’t know if they can be a great offensive team if they have to rely on running the ball as their strength. And if the offense isn’t putting points on the board and holding the ball for long periods of time, and if the offense is giving up more interceptions, that defense is going to be exposed. It’s old in places. And we all know the stories of teams that have succeeded with backup quarterbacks. Yes, we’re all aware that Brady himself first emerged as a backup quarterback stepping in after Drew Bledsoe was injured early in the 2001 season. But the odds are that Matt Cassell has been a career backup—not just in the pros but also in college—for a reason. How miserable are you right now if you are a Patriots fan? I mean, for a full calendar year your team was unfairly hounded and criticized as a fake champion. All of the organization’s achievements were discredited by overzealous media members, maniacal politicians, and jealous fans. Your team fought through all of this, going 18-0 to get to the Super Bowl. They had the game won and were on the brink of being known as the greatest team in football history, when a series of fluky plays suddenly banded together to steal it away and make the season meaningless. You’ve been waiting more than half of a year for a chance to start over with the hopes that maybe in another half of a year there would be a chance at redemption, which even if achieved, could never begin to erase the disappointment of last year. And then, before the end of the first quarter of the first game, it’s all over, and you have to wait till next year. I mean, the players must play on, and they will fight for pride and because they have tremendous heart and competitive spirit or else they wouldn’t have made it this far. But let’s be honest folks. The Patriots are not going to win the Super Bowl. Even with Tom Brady, the Pats didn’t win the Super Bowl in any of the last 3 seasons, and only reached the big game once. Now, you think they have a shot at winning it with their Hall of Fame quarterback on the sidelines? No. If any team can rally around the family and come up with a gutsy 8 or 9 win season, it’s New England. But Super Bowl dreams are down the drain. If New England does finish with a winning record and make the postseason, it would probably be Bill Belichick's greatest coaching job to date.

Who were those guys wearing Colts uniforms on Sunday night?

They hadn’t lost a September game since 2002. You realize in each of the last 5 seasons the Colts had started out the season winning at least their first 5 games? In the last 3 years, the Colts started out 13-0, 9-0, and 7-0 respectively. Perhaps it was the fact that Manning hadn’t played in the preseason and was rusty. Certainly that played a role. But maybe they are just getting old. Marvin Harrison appears to be a shadow of his former self. Peyton is coming off the minor knee surgery, making center Jeff Saturday’s absence quite untimely. They have a tough schedule ahead of them, and they could be nearing the end of their run as a perennial power in the AFC.



Well if the Patriots are done for the year and the Colts aren’t the same old Colts, then surely it is San Diego’s time. But the Chargers too disappointed in their opening game, losing at home to the Panthers on a last second TD pass. Now comes word that Shawn Merriman has finally decided to go ahead and have season ending knee surgery. Are they going to fool around again this year or are they going to take it to the next level? So far it seems more likely the former.

Well what about Jacksonville then? They’ve been a steady force in the AFC for years now, with a strong defense and a strong running attack. Yet they lost their opener to the Titans. Speaking of the Titans, how do they continue to do it? They win despite poor play from the QB position and a lack of talent at the skill positions. I just don’t get it. I don’t get Vince Young either. Personally I think they’d be better off with Kerry Collins. They get by on defense, special teams, and running the ball anyway. And as hard as it is to believe even to this day, Kerry Collins did lead a team to the Super Bowl some years ago.



Some folks are saying that the NFC has closed the gap between itself and the AFC which has been the unquestioned superior league for most of the decade. I wasn’t buying it a few weeks ago but at this point I’m starting to wonder if those folks aren’t on to something. Clearly Dallas is as talented as any team in the NFL and they looked better than any of the other major contenders in week 1. The Eagles were dominant in week 1 and the Saints got a win in a tough game against the Bucs. The Packers appear to be just fine without Brett Favre. And then there are the defending champion New York Giants. It’s shaping up to be a very compelling season, despite the loss of Tom Brady, the best player in the NFL for the best team in the NFL. In fact, because of that injury, this year may be more wide open than any in recent memory.