In lieu of mere game recaps and highlights each Tuesday during the NFL season, we’re going to try and focus on some talking points coming out of the weekend’s action. The opinions expressed herein will contain humor, analysis, and irreverence, and are the sole ownership of the sometimes insightful, sometimes wacky, and always football-loving mind of the author. No animals were harmed in the making of this article.
Week 1. That wonderful time of the season where no matter whom your chosen team may be, you could honestly wake up, turn on the pregame shows, crack open the sports section, surf to the standings page………and realize that you were in a tie for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs! There are few guarantees in life, much less in sports, fellow fans, so you take them when you can get them.
And watch this: I’m going to attempt this roundup with exactly this many mentions of Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, LeSean McCoy, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, and Jamaal Charles. Just arbitrarily choosing to overlook the major stars, because they get all the press anyway.
The More Things Change……
…the more they stay the same. You know the saying. The league has seen plenty of tremendous young talent emerge recently, but we also got to see plenty of veterans step to the fore for their teams:
RB Fred Jackson: No matter how many years C.J. Spiller is deemed ready to make the Bills’ backfield his own, it seems Jackson is going to provide plenty of evidence why he just ain’t done. 7-61 may not be a line to blow you away, but that was more yards than Spiller in roughly half the number of carries to lead all rushers for Buffalo. And the run pictured above was within a whisker of being a game-winning TD instead of setting up a game-winning FG. How often has “clutch” been used in talking about Spiller?
WR Steve Smith: “Past his prime,” the Carolina front office deemed. 7 catches, 118 yards, and a touchdown in his debut for Baltimore later, guess which front office was beaming with Smitty-related smiles?
RB Chris Johnson: Maybe the move will in fact do him some good. The numbers may also be not entirely impressive, as in Jackson’s case, but 13-68 gave him his best YPC in a half-decade. Being a change-of-pace back for Chris Ivory may do Johnson a world of good, and would provide the Jets with a solid run attack.
QB Ben Roethlisberger, DB Troy Polamalu: The 2 evergreen Steelers came through against the Browns, leading the team with a 23-34/365/1 line and 11 tackles (I’ll leave you to guess which one did what).
RB Knowshon Moreno: Playing in a new locale in Miami, observers downplayed his stellar season last year as a product of playing in a Peyton Manning-led offense, and expected a sharp downturn for Moreno in the heat and humidity and with an offensive unit that had less options and less star power. 24-134-1 later, Moreno forced many to rethink that opinion in an impressive debut.
WR Anquan Boldin: Even with Michael Crabtree healthy, and Vernon Davis making the TD catches, Boldin led the 49ers in receiving and finished just a yard shy of a 100-yard day in a matchup that didn’t require Colin Kaepernick to throw too much at all.
A couple of final “The more things change….” note:
Oakland: Lost. Yeah, moving on.
Tony Romo: Throwing 3 INTs might be forgivable in context if the turnovers came about as a result of tipped balls or getting hit in the throwing arm, but the most worrisome aspect of Dallas’ capitulation to San Francisco on Sunday may be how poorly Romo threw the ball consistently.
“Hey Rookie…..”
WR Kelvin Benjamin: For pretty much the entire decade since their Super Bowl run, the Carolina Panthers have been trying to find a physical WR to fill the role that Muhsin Muhammad played to devastating effect, using his size advantage to create mismatches in the passing game and to help open up running lanes in the run game. Through the revolving door came Keyshawn Johnson (nope), Dwayne Jarrett (nope), and Keary Colbert (nope). When attention shifted from the Southern Cal alum policy, they even tried Muhsin Muhammad again. Didn’t work either. They may finally have found what they were looking for in Benjamin, who impressed in the preseason and came through in a game that counted on Sunday, going 6-92-1. There is no better example of his pure strength than his TD grab. Let’s just say he was covered pretty tightly:
WR Allen Hurns: If you pegged Hurns to be a Week 1 star, you’re either a massive liar or need to go ahead and stock up on lottery tickets. Then again, he did go undrafted and only made his NFL debut going 4-110-2, making TD catches with his first 2 career catches. No big deal.
WR Brandin Cooks: Cooks was tipped for stardom after displaying eye-popping speed at the NFL Combine and great hands during training camp and in preseason games. He was targeted early and often in the game, and though the Saints ended up losing a tight game, Cooks came through with a 7-77-1 line that also included an 18-yard pickup on a reverse. The speed and ability to get open brought to mind a certain Percy Harvin, and if Cooks can maintain that form, he will add a devastating new wrinkle to the Saints’ offense.
Contenders and Pretenders, NFC Week 1 version
New Orleans: Their defense was tipped to be improved with a full year under Rob Ryan. Jairus Byrd was going to toughen up the secondary. Matt Ryan’s line? 31-43/448/3. Four. Hundred. Back to the drawing board, then………
Green Bay: Healthy Aaron Rodgers? Check. Homegrown defense starting to improve? Check. Legitimate running back? Check. Ability to keep pace with defending Super Bowl champs? Uhhhh………….
Philadelphia: First of all, I’m really only including them on this list because of the sheer ease by which they should run away with the NFC East. And the 34-point streak to come back and defeat Jacksonville was impressive. But they had to come back to beat the Jaguars…………
Seattle: You thought they were good last season? They didn’t have a healthy Harvin for most of the season. And let’s be honest – they didn’t even look like they were much past 4th gear in easily doing away with the Packers. It is just plain scary how dominating they looked, and to consider that they may be better this year.
“Haven’t Heard From You In A While,” AFC version
QB Jake Locker: Lining up against Alex Smith, he of the $68 million extension, Locker went up against a Kansas City defense that was among the tops in the league last year and merely put up a 111.4 QBR for the day in a dominating win for Tennessee. In a primarily average career marred by a couple of significant injuries to date after being drafted 8th in 2011, there have been some whispers that this was turning into a make-or-break season for Locker. This is just the type of start he needed.
Miami Dolphins defense: Sure, the New England offense may not be a juggernaut on the scale of a Denver or New Orleans, but it’s still a unit that made it to the AFC Championship game last season. On top of that, with Rob Gronkowski’s return to full health, and after an 80-yard and then a 94-yard TD drive in the first half, they looked poised to dominate. And then Miami came out to play in the 2nd half, limiting New England to just 67 yards of offense, forcing 2 fumbles, and pitching a shutout.
QB Derek Anderson: Once a Pro Bowler (no, I’m serious), Anderson has never quite been able to replicate the heights of his 2007 season. He probably will not do it anytime soon either, but for a couple of hours on Sunday after being given the ball due to Cam Newton’s injury, Anderson rolled back the years. An impressive 24-34/230/2 line for Carolina led them to a road win over Tampa, a team tipped to be one of the most-improved this season.
Ok, so he plays for an NFC team now, and this is an AFC section, but he did burst onto the scene as a Cleveland Browns player, so that counts. Besides, my article, my rules!
What To Look For In Week 2
- How does Baltimore bounce back after their week 1 loss and certain off-field events?
- Miami and Buffalo both impressed in Week 1. Who will maintain the momentum and roll to a 2-0 start?
- If Robert Griffin III cannot impress against Jacksonville, is it time for Kirk Cousins?
- Matt Ryan torched New Orleans for 400+. Next up? A Cincinnati defense that surrendered just shy of 350 to Joe Flacco. Yikes.
That’s it for this week. See you next week!
