I’m not sure what happened, but this week started well and then just went into the tank. I guess the underlying theme of Week 1 is wait until Week 2 before we start playing. Oh and another thing, let’s make sure that it’s not close to have a referee decide a game. Let’s get the tale of the tape.
Minnesota @ New Orleans – After an aggressive first drive for the Saints, this turned out to be a yawner. Not much excitement on either side of the ball, and each team seemed a little rusty to say the least (maybe there is an argument for an 18 game season). The Saints won, but I imagine that both teams will be better over the remainder of the season. Just one questions popped out during this game, I know Peterson had 19 carries, but this is game one of the season, why not give him 25? He didn’t put the ball on the ground. Sounds like Chilly is over coaching already. Inquisitive Mind 1 – 0 for the week.
Carolina @ New York Giants – We all knew that the Panthers had no chance in this one, but it just took the Giants a little while to wake up. Eli had 3 INTs to go along with 3 TDs, but we all know that the ground game will be the key for the Giants this year. And, I said it, Clausen will be the starter by week 3. After that hit that Moore took, we’re one step closer. Inquisitive Mind 2- 0 for the week.
Atlanta @ Pittsburgh – Talk about crying in your beer. This was a slugfest. The Steelers stopped the Falcons ground game and the Falcons stopped the Steelers air attack (yes, limited with Dixon back there). This came down to 3 things: 1) Polamalu’s pick in the 4th. The announcers were saying a great call by Dick LeBeau, no way. Polamalu jumped that route after he saw White catching it all day long. Beautiful play to get his toes in. 2) Jeff Reed’s two missed field goals (and one with the win on the line?) and lastly 3) Atlanta, is this all you got on offense? I mean Ryan can’t throw that deep out every 7th play and hope that it works and no running game to speak of. Falcons, you let me down. Also, I love it when I’m right about Ward. Inquisitive Mind 2 – 1 for the week.
Cleveland @ Tampa Bay – Maybe the Panther fans were right to laugh when I mentioned the best QB in this game being Delhomme. He proved that he’s a decent QB, but oh my goodness he is mistake prone. Freeman looked decent and the defense showed glimpses of years past. The Bucs snuck one out. Inquisitive Mind 2 – 2 for the week.
Denver @ Jacksonville – I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the best game that Garrard has played in 2 maybe 3 years. The Jaguars had a balanced attack and the defense was teeing of on Orton like he was a piñata. Denver might be in trouble. Orton can’t keep taking hits like that. Inquisitive Mind 2 – 3 for the week.
Indianapolis @ Houston – The Texans beat the Colts. I think everyone in Houston is still partying. Yes, it’s the first game of the year, but 231 yards rushing by Arian Foster and a good/great defensive unit spells good things for the Texans. Even with Manning throwing for 433 yards (a career high) and having a 109 QB rating, this game wasn’t as close as the final makes it seem. If the Texans can play like this all year, that AFC South is going to be interesting. Inquisitive Mind 3 – 3 for the week.
Miami @ Buffalo – Somebody had to win this game and the Dolphins just eeked it out. Not much else to say. If you watched this game, I apologize for the 2 ½ hours of your life you won’t get back. Inquisitive Mind 4 – 3 for the week.
Detroit @ Chicago – WHEW!!!! What in the halibut is going on here? I’m sorry, this was a loss for the Bears. Johnson caught that pass and was getting up when he lost the ball. I’m waiting on the NFL to review this one. Bears fans have a lot to be happy about: 1) a win is a win 2) Urlacher played pretty well and didn’t get hurt 3) and they may have found their #1 receiver in Matt Forte (well, this is really a joke). Forte rushed for 50 yards and had another 151 yards in the air. How can Lovie be so arrogant? Doesn’t he know that he has exactly 15 more games to be the head coach of the Bears? Inquisitive Mind 5 – 3 for the week.
Oakland @ Tennessee – Can I take get a do over on this one? Yes, I used big IFs earlier but the Raiders looked horriawful, with the exception of Darren McFadden. He did prove that he can carry the full load (even if only for one game). The Titans will end up a lot better than some guessed if they can play like this the rest of the year. VY had a decent game and only had 17 attempts, while Chris Johnson did his work. Inquisitive Mind 5 – 4 for the week.
Cincinnati @ New England – If this game were another 2 quarters long,……the Bengals didn’t start playing football until after halftime. You can’t do that and expect to win at Gillette Stadium. Wes Welker looked good in his return to the big stage and I’m still trying to find how Ochocinco had 12 receptions for 159 yards. Did I turn the channel or something? Maybe the Bengals will wake up and start playing now. Inquisitive Mind 5 – 5 for the week.
Arizona @ St. Louis – How quickly the mighty have fallen. It’s going to be a long year for the Cardinals if they are going to play like this. Both teams looked horriawful, but one of them was a few inches from a Superbowl two years ago and the other team was starting a rookie QB and if you watched the game, you couldn’t have picked which team was which. Bradford might actually be the real deal. Inquisitive Mind 6 – 5 for the week.
San Francisco @ Seattle – I bet you a dollar to a donut that no one on that 49ers team slept well last night. They probably won’t sleep at all this week. They looked worse than horriawful. 2 field goals is all they could get? From a 49ers standpoint, I point to one stat line: 26 of 45 for 225 yards and 2 INTs. Alex Smith, please pack your bags. Happy to see Hasselbeck play well since he’s been beaten up so much the last few years. I wonder if the NCAA would take some of Pete Carroll’s money he made as coach of USC because he knew guys were cheating (old bone to pick)? Are the Seahawks for real is the question? I guess we will know if about 3 more weeks. Inquisitive Mind 6 – 6 for the week.
Green Bay @ Philadelphia – I never root for anyone to get hurt, but I have to say that Kolb playing the way he did and leaving the way he did is ‘KARMA’. You don’t get rid of McNabb just because. Kolb sustained a concussion right before halftime (hopefully he’ll be ok) and then we got Mike Vick. The pack played well, but may have lost Ryan Grant for a significant time after the injury to his ankle. Brandon Jackson more than filled his shoes while Aaron Rodgers was throwing to just about everyone all day long. I guess we’ll have to see if Andy Reid was right by saying that ‘Kolb is his QB when he’s healthy again’. Inquisitive Mind 6 – 7 for the week.
Dallas @ Washington – You’ve got to be kidding me?!?!??!? This came down to a final play with the Cowboys throwing a TD and they lose. Somewhere, Daniel Snyder is smiling so hard his face is cracking. If the Cowboys don’t get an O-line and soon, all of this home team for the Superbowl stuff isn’t going to happen. Which Cowboy coach made that play call before the half? He should be cleaning the all the bathrooms in the new Cowboys Stadium. The Redskins snuck this game away from the Cowboys, but a win is a win. Inquisitive Mind 6 – 8 for the week.
Baltimore @ New York Jets – This was a smash mouth game that should have been a joy to watch for those that appreciate defense (and some bad offense). The Jets brought all of the bravado but no offense to speak of. I doubt they completed a pass for more than 10 yards at any one time. The Ravens defense, led by Ray Lewis smothered and hit the Jets all night. Shonn Greene may not touch the ball for a week or two after letting it hit the ground so much last night. In the end, the better offense won. Flacco to Boldin looks like a good pairing. Is it me or does Flacco always seem to throw off of his back foot? The scary thing is that both teams will get better. Bad omen for the Jets is that they may have lost Kris Jenkins for an extended period of time. Inquisitive Mind 7 - 8 for the week.
San Diego @ Kansas City – This is reason #4080 that Norv is NOT the coach that the Chargers need. This was a loss to the Chefs (still the funniest commercial ever). The Chargers looked lackadaisical and not ready for football. The Chiefs didn't really have that much on offense and they still won. If anything I was surprised that the Chiefs defense is actually starting to look like a unit. Great kick return by rookie Dexter McCluster. Great upset by the Chiefs. Inquisitive Mind 7 - 9 for the week.
Well, that's Week 1 down and I think that I'm happy it's over. A 7-9 record is not how you want to start the season, but hey, we have a long way to go. I'm not too far off of the professionals.
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