FRESH TO DEATH
Pittsburgh Steelers – Ben got a lot of pass protection against a good defense. Running game was atrocious though. A total of 25 attempts for 73 yards. Someone, whether it’s the backs or the line, needs to step up.
New England Patriots – Was there anyone IN THE WORLD watching that game who didn’t think the Patriots were going to score once they got the ball back? Brady was perfect on the last 2 drives.
New York Giants – Looks like Mario Manningham (go blue) might end up as the #1 wide receiver for the Giants. We perk up a little every time Ahmad Bradshaw touches the ball. That line is so awesome. We know about Brandon Jacobs. Excited to see what Bradshaw can do.
San Diego Chargers – Darren Sproles is one of the most valuable players in the league. 245 all-purpose yards. They don’t win that game without him.
WORD
Baltimore Ravens – The pendulum that’s been leaning towards defense for years might be starting to swing the other way. Flacco may be asked to win some games this year and not just ‘manage’ them. Based on what we saw Sunday he looks ready for the job.
Tennessee Titans – Not worried about the week one loss. Steelers in Pittsburgh is a tough first game for any team. When two good teams play each other, a good team has to lose. Justin Gage might be the weapon the Titans passing game has been waiting for.
Green Bay Packers – Defense looks much improved and really formidable. The offense wasn’t clicking in week one but we expect that to change in a big way starting this Sunday.
Indianapolis Colts – With Peyton Manning running the show and looking as good as ever, this team will not feel the loss of Tony Dungy whatsoever.
Philadelphia Eagles – Brian Westbrook looks healthy. DeSean Jackson looks really fast.
Minnesota Vikings – Nothing new to be said about Adrian Peterson’s play last Sunday. Percy Harvin, on the other hand, quietly had an impressive debut with 3 receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown. Nice going, rook.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WORD AND AIGHT
New York Jets – Mark Sanchez looked good. The Jets defense looked great. Houston’s only points were scored off a Sanchez pick-6, so it was effectively a shutout for Rex and the boys. Ravens 2.0?
Seattle Seahawks – On T.J. Houshmenzadah’s (not going to look up how to spell his name—hope I got it right) first ever catch as a Seahawk, the entire Quest Field crowd let out a perfectly executed “Housh” chant. How were they all ready for that?
Jacksonville Jaguars – Had they pulled out the win on an end-of-game drive we would suddenly be very excited about the Jags, but they didn’t. Maurice Jones-Drew (go bruins) basically carried the offense. Off-season wide receiver pickups didn’t help much. Why did they ever let go of Matt Jones?
Houston Texans – Steve Slaton got wrecked by the Jets D. Doubt he’s looking forward to Tennessee this weekend.
Carolina Panthers – The Panthers should run the ball every play. No exceptions. Their backs actually had solid games against a good Eagles defense.
New Orleans Saints – Hope you all read our NFL Season Preview. If you did, then you knew Drew Brees is suuuuuper good at football before it became trendy to know that. He’s on pace for 5,728 yards and 96 touchdowns. Who’s Drew’s new favorite receiver? The open one.
Arizona Cardinals –We think Matt Leinart will be a factor this season.
Chicago Bears – “I want to kick Jay Cutler in the face.” – Chris Heller. We have a feeling he speaks on behalf of a lot of people.
Atlanta Falcons – Tony Gonzalez still has MOVES. Loved his little shake ‘n’ bake after making a catch at the 5 and running it in for the touchdown.
Dallas Cowboys – We’ll refrain from getting too excited until we see what they do at home vs. the Giants this weekend.
AIGHT
San Francisco 49ers – They actually looked kind of good. Frank Gore never broke away for a long run but pounded it in when they needed it. Josh Morgan and Isaac Bruce both played well. Shaun Hill…not that bad.
Washington Redskins – Giants in the Meadowlands is another tough week one match-up. Their next 5 games are: Rams, @Lions, Bucs, @Panthers, and Chiefs. Very manageable. They have to deliver in this portion of their schedule to stay relevant.
Oakland Raiders – They showed a lot of spunk against the Chargers. Wish they had won. Running game looks awesome. Jamarcus Russell will get there. Richard Seymour just knows how to play defense, wherever you put him. How was Zach Miller getting so wide open? We think the Raiders may surprise some people this year.
Denver Broncos – Did you see that game-winning touchdown? Josh McDaniels is officially an offensive mastermind. How does he come up with this stuff? He’s gotta be juicing.
Cincinnati Bengals – Tough to be on the losing side of what might be the greatest play of the season. It’s a Hard Knocks life for them.
Buffalo Bills – Gut-wrenching loss. They should still feel good about hanging in there at all. Running the no-huddle with 5 new offensive linemen is no easy feat. If Monday wasn’t a fluke, the Bills might make some noise this year. Probably not as a playoff team, but as a team that catches better teams off guard.
YOU’RE NOT GOOD
Miami Dolphins – Whatever.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Cadillac Williams is back. But will his back let him stay back and be a quality back??
Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs were hanging with Baltimore for a while…behind the arm of Brodie Croyle?! Do I smell a quarterback controversy? (Trivia: Brodie Croyle is from Rainbow City, Alabama. I guess Matt Cassell still has the edge).
Cleveland Browns – Braylon Edwards caught the ball…once.
Detroit Lions – They’ll win a game.
St. Louis Rams – The Rams have an offensive lineman named Richie Incognito known for his emotional outbursts.