NFL Thoughts after Week One

Image Courtesy of Bing

Week one of the NFL season is over and I noticed a couple of trends.  First, it might be a good idea for more NFL teams to use their preseason more judiciously.  Some offenses looked like they hadn’t seen each other in several years.  The good news is fewer guys were hurt during the preseason, the bad news was a lot of offenses stunk during game one of the regular season.  Especially my fantasy football QBs, but that’s another story.  Second, reviewing pass interference calls won’t amount to much.  The 49ers Richard Sherman mugged a guy late in the game and the booth didn’t make a call.  That rule was a bad idea to begin with.  Now, off my soapbox and here are some post week one thoughts.


Packers 10 Bears 3:  I get the impression that Aaron Rodgers could beat the Bears with a high school team.  Matt Nagy had an extreme case of the cutes when it came to play calling.  The Packers defense looked good, or the Bears offense was really bad, I’m not sure which.  I do know that after watching Mitch Trubisky, DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, the idea that Ryan Pace went out of his way to chose Trubisky is mind boggling.


Bills 17 Jets 16:  The Jets had a 16-0 lead and let it get away.  Le’Veon Bell rushed for 60 yards and caught a TD pass in his Jets debut, but the New York offense was still pedestrian.  As for the Bills, I think Josh Allen is a better on the field QB than fantasy QB.  That’s intended as a compliment.  I don’t see either of these team as presenting a challenge to the Pats.


Rams 30 Panthers 27:  The Rams used Todd Gurley as their closer Sunday.  That was probably the best news for the Rams, besides the fact they won the game.  The Panthers Christian McCaffrey ran for 128 yards and caught 10 passes for another 81. Cam Newton wasn’t particularly sharp.  That bears watching going forward.


Vikings 28 Falcons 12:  Vikings QB, Kirk Cousins threw for 98 yards.  Falcons QB, Matt Ryan threw for 304 yards.  Passing yards can be really deceptive.  Thanks, in part, to a couple of Ryan interceptions, the Vikings ran up a 28-0 lead.  Ryan then padded his stats after the game was out of reach.  We didn’t learn much about Cousins and Ryan may just have had a bad game.  We shall see.


Eagles 32 Redskins 27:  I thought the Redskins will be bad this season.  The Eagles were my choice to win the NFC East.  After Sunday’s game, I still feel the same way.  The Redskins ran up a 17 point lead but weren’t able to hang on.  The Redskins had very little success on the ground, running for only 28 yards.  New Washington QB, Case Keenum, had a great day, throwing for 380 yards with three TDs and no picks.  Meanwhile, Eagles QB, Carson Wentz threw for 313 yards and three TDs.  He also had no interceptions, he did, however, have a ground game.  We may have seen the best of Case Keenum.


Titans 43 Browns 13:  Browns fans were probably having Johnny Manziel flashbacks Sunday.  It was that bad.  The Titans are pretty much anonymous, but that may change.  I do think the Browns will bounce back but the Titans offense may have been underrated.


Chiefs 40 Jaguars 26:  Well, Patrick Mahomes is still the most dynamic talent in the game.  It was, for him, a ho hum 379 passing yards and three TD passes game.  We’ve come to expect that from him.  Nick Foles might help the Jaguars down the road, but a broken collarbone means it will take a while.


Ravens 59 Dolphins10:  In what could be a regular feature of this NFL season, a QB torched the Dolphins defense. This time it was Lamar Jackson who threw for five TDs.  Things were so bad Dolphins players were reportedly trying to get traded from the team after one week.  Maybe will see a Kurt Russell movie about this, “Escape from Miami”.


Seahawks 21 Bengals 20:  Marvin Lewis may be gone but that didn’t stop the Bengals from losing a game that probably should have won.  Bengals QB, Andy Dalton, threw for 418 yards but ultimately it wasn’t enough.  Russell Wilson hit Tyler Lockett with a 44 yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to put the Seahawks ahead for good.  I’m thinking both of these teams are who e thought they were.


Chargers 30 Colts 24:  I’m not a big believer in moral victories, but Colts fans have to be heartened by the way their team played in this overtime loss.  Jacoby Brissett looked good and T Y Hilton and Marlon Mack looked excellent.  Things might not be as dire as expected with the unexpected retirement of Andrew Luck.  As for the Chargers, Austin Eckler accounted for 154 yards from scrimmage filling in for Melvin Gordon who is angling for a new contract.  Eckler’s performance didn’t help Gordon’s bargaining position.  Philip Rivers still looks like Philip Rivers, throwing for 333 yards and three TDs.


49ers 31 Buccaneers 17:  Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t great, but Jameis Winston was just outright bad in defeat, throwing three interceptions.  Two of those picks were returned for TDS.  Going forward, I think Garoppolo will get better.  I’m much less confident about Winston.


Cowboys 35 Giants 17:  I may have underestimated Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.  Prescott threw for 405 yards and four TDs in the Cowboys win.  Dallas WR, Mike Gallup, could be experiencing a breakout season.  Gallup caught seven passes for 158 yards.  Ezekiel Elliot ran for 53 yards on 13 carries and only figures to get better.  As for the Giants, Saquon Barkley is still good.  Barkley managed to pick up 120 on 11 carries.  The rest of the Giants aren’t so good.  Those trends look to continue.


Lions 27 Cardinals 27:  When does a tie feel like a loss?  When you give up an 18 point lead in the fourth quarter like the Lions did.  Cardinals rookie QB, Kyler Murray caught fire in the fourth quarter, leading the Cardinals to a comeback tie.  For Cardinals fans, there is reason for hope.  For Lions fans not so much.


Patriots 33 Steelers 3:  I think the over and under of at what age Tom Brady can’t perform at a high level is 50.  Brady was sharp, throwing to a plethora (new word for me) of receivers in the Pats dominant win.   The Patriots are the one team where Antonio Brown may at least attempt to keep his divaishness (madeup word) in check.  As for the Steelers, losing to the Pats in New England is nothing new, but this loss was a real paddling or butt kicking sitiation   (Oh Brother Where Art Thou reference) depending on your point of view.  Don’t make too much of the Steelers loss, yet.


Saints 30 Texans 28:  This game showed what the NFL can be.  Drew Brees drove his team down the field for a last second FG after DeShaun Watson had lead is team to the go ahead TD.  This was a game that both teams star players making big plays.  Both the Saints and Texans look good going forward.


Raiders 24 Broncos 16:  Derek Carr was 22-26 for 259 yards and Josh Jacobs ran for 85 yards and two TDs in the Raiders win.  Perhaps most importantly, Carr wasn’t sacked, a huge departure from last season.  As for the Broncos, don’t look for Joe Flacco to be a lot of help this season.  It looks like a tough year in Denver.