2. Chris Johnson is no joke….In a spectacular performance against Oakland, Chris Johnson began right where he left off. In his twelfth straight 100 yard rushing game CJ2K also put in two scores; something that is becoming routine for the 24 year old phenom. Some thought he was a one year wonder, and a back that could not hold up…but week 1 showed us that he will continue working the magic that he did in last year’s 2000 yard campaign. Expect another great season for the Titan’s young stud, and keep an eye on those record books.
3. Trent Edwards is not an NFL Quarterback. Captain check-down was abysmal on Sunday. Part of it might be play calling, but the fact of the matter is that Trent Edwards doesn’t even look downfield to throw. I don’t know what the Bills hope to accomplish…by throwing check-down after check-down the defense can collapse on the offense which means the running game can’t get going. Taking a page from the venerable Bill Simmons, let’s call this “The Clogged Toilet” offense, because, really, that’s what it is.
4. The Steeler’s Defense is back! It’s amazing what a difference Troy Polamalu makes to that defense. They went from giving up 237 yards of total offense and 14 points a game (healthy Polamalu) in 2008 to 305 yards and 20 points per game (injured Polamalu) in 2009. What a tremendous difference that is! Don’t underestimate this team; look for them to grab a wildcard spot and possibly make a run towards the Super Bowl.
5. I don’t like to make hasty generalizations, but screw it…Houston looks great! A fantastic passing game, a breakout running back, a bright young defense, tons of playmakers…your 2010 Houston Texans! What has plagued this team in the past is an inability to win big games, an anemic running game, and bad play on the road. Two of those looked good in week 1, but how they perform on the road remains to be seen. I would like to say that no one should ever put too much stock in week 1, but damn did Houston look good. It’s no small feat to beat the Colts, and I think Houston can definitely grab a Wild Card spot if not, dare I say, win the division. Keep a definite eye on Arian Foster this year to see if he is a true number 1 back’ or merely a product of a bad Colt’s run defense.
6. Were our expectations of young Quarterbacks to high? Here they are: Chad Henne, Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez, Alex Smith (now that I think about it expectations probably weren’t that high at all for poor Mr. Smith), Matt Moore, Joe Flacco, Dennis Dixon, Jason Campbell, Kevin Kolb (dear God), and Matt Cassel. None of them played well, and some were atrocious. That begs the question, were we to high on them? Cambell, Moore, Dixon, Kolb…those I can understand. They were either unexpectedly thrust into the starting job or were put on God awful teams. But I expected at least Ryan, Flacco, and Henne to be better. Granted its only week 1, (why did I write this article again?) so they have plenty of time to prove us right.
7. Has Dallas tackle Alex Barron been cut yet? Was he even allowed to get on the bus, is his family in danger, has the witness protection program been contacted???
8. Does Bill Belicheck require basic human rest/sustenance? The man doesn’t have an offensive or defensive coordinator! With the amount of preparation that must require (to lead a winning team no less) I can’t imagine he has much time for anything else. He should just formally give Brady the role of Offensive Coordinator and be done with it.
9. The return of the Manning face…Its back baby!
10. I’m having some serious déjà vu…Kris Jenkins is out for the season…with Bob Sanders probably following. Both teams survived the same injuries last year but it is a serious blow never the less. The loss of Sander’s especially hurts the Colt’s run defense, and Jenkins looked great in the preseason. I’m sure both teams will survive, but how long are those two players going to suffer season ending injuries year after year?
11. Can Santonio Holmes cure the Jet’s offensive woes on offense? Their offense was as terrible as the Bills. Digest that for a minute. That’s like saying Usain Bolt and I had the same time running the 200 meter dash. How can a team with weapons such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Shonne Greene, Braylon Edwards, Jericho Cotchery, and Dustin Keller perform so terribly? It’s beyond comprehension; but for the sake of Rex Ryan and Brian Schottenheimer’s reputation they better hope Santonio Homes can take this offense up a notch.
12. The New England Patriots look dangerous. Few teams had much to cheer about in week 1, even if they won, but the Pats were one of the few exceptions. Wes Welker is back doing what he does best, Brady looks primed for another monster year, and the defense looks reinvigorated. It’s hard to put into words how fun that defense was to watch on Sunday. They were fast, fierce, tackled well, were full of energy, and seemed to play better fundamentally. All last season they looked flat, and a little bit lost. Now it looks like they’ve got some fire in their belly and really believe in themselves. It seems like the making of another classic Belicheckian defense. And I have to mention all the new toys that Brady has. Both Tight ends look fantastic, and Brandon Tate looks like the weapon this team has been missing. I don’t think it’s an understatement to say this offense has the potential to be better than they were in 07’.
There it is, twelve revelations from the first week of the 2010-2011 NFL season. As they always are, week one was full of fluky games, and strange occurances. If you told me last week that the Colts would lose to the Texans, Seattle would blow out the 49er’s, the Saints would be held to 14 points, Michael Vick would look like the old Michael Vick, and a guy named Arain Foster would win me game one in two of my fantasy leagues I would have respectfully laughed in your face. Here is to week two proving all of my revelations wrong!
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