NFL Week 1 in Review….
Wowsers. What a week one in the NFL. A tough week for the Guru to say the least, but week 1’s usually are unpredictable and I avoid them when it comes to the real dough. Here are the horrible results:
7-9 Straight Up
3-13 VS. the Spread
Not the start I was hoping for, but hey it’s only week 1 and I have plenty of time to recover. Right? I hope so!
Here are some of my thoughts about what I saw –
*–The Patriots had better figure out who they are going to throw the ball to, because that wasn’t a great defense they played on Sunday and Tom Brady completed only 11 passes to receivers. Wih the official word regarding Deion Branch released yesterday the receiving corp just got thinner. The Patriots were able to swing a deal for Doug Gabriel and may want to call on the Raiders again to check out the availability of Jerry Porter.
*–Speaking of the Raiders, they officially are the worst team in football, on and off the field. On the field, everyone seems unhappy. Randy Moss is unhappy, Warren Sapp is unhappy, Aaron Brooks can’t be happy getting thrown to the ground every play. Then comes word that disgruntled receiver Jerry Porter was clapping and fist pumping on the sidelines after the Raiders got crushed by the Chargers last night. So maybe everyone isn’t unhappy in Hater-Nation, it seems Porter is pretty happy. As for the front office, total chaos. First, they hire a guy that hadn’t coached in 10 years to be head coach, and did one better by hiring an offensive coordinator that hadn’t coached in 12 years, and was running a bed and breakfast 6 months ago. Umm, not the best choice in my opinion. I write this blog, I might be a better choice. As a Bronco fan I love nothing more than what is going on in Oakland, but as a sports fan it is truly sad to see what is going on with one of sports’ most storied franchise.
*–I may have underestimated the Baltimore Ravens just a bit. A tad maybe. That defense looked dominant on the road, and the team I watched is going to win more than the 6 games I havd them down for. For one week at least, Ray Lewis looked like he was 6 years younger and Chris McAllister suddenly figured out how to cover people again and it looked like 2000 again as he was running down the sidelines on that pick-6. Tampa looked about as good as I expected, for an 8-8 team. But after one week, Baltimore looks like a team to be reckoned with.
*–My big over-estimation for the season just many turn out to be Kansas City. I had forgotten that Herm Edwards was head coach and the disaster he left in NY. Even before Trent Green got planted into the Arrowhead turf the K.C. offense looked like a high school team. Now with Green out, they may be hard pressed to be at .500 at midseason. At his age, coming back from that severe of a concussion may be harder than most think and if Green is gone long-term teams will stack the line to stop Larry Johnson. LJ was already going to be affected by the late retirement of Willie Roaf, and this could put a big damper on his quest for 2000 yards.
*–Another tough opening day for Jake Plummer and the Broncos, but all they did last season after getting blasted 34-10 in Miami was finish the season 13-2. If the Broncos can get to their early BYE at 2-1 everything will be fine, 1-2? The Jay Cutler watch will officially be on in Denver.
*–Not a bad opening weekend for all the new head coaches. New Orleans, Minnesota, St. Louis, and the Jets all won with Head Coaches in there first game. Nothing like getting off on the right foot. AS for Head Coach re-treads, well, not as fortunate. Oakland, Buffalo, and Kansas City all lost the debut’s of their new coaches, even though each has coaching experience. So much for experience.
*–Either the Arizona defense is lousy, or Alex Smith and the 49′er offense is going to be alot better than everyone thinks. Frank Gore looked solid as the feature back and Smith looked composed and accurate in a tough situation. Let’s face it, playing a team that is opening a new stadium is never easy, and the 49′ers were in that game until the end.
*–The bomb squad is on red-alert in Dallas after the Cowboys blew a 10-0 lead and lost to the Jags. Everyone is saying the right things after the loss, that featured horrible penalties and 3 bad picks by Drew Bledsoe, but the ‘Boys are built to win, and win big. After an effective 1st half, Owens was invisible for most of the 2nd half until scoring a late TD. A big divisional game with the Redskins is up next, and both teams need a win to avoid falling to 0-2. Should the Cowboys lose, heads may roll.
*–The total collapse and destruction of the Brett Favre legacy continued Sunday when “The Guy Some People Thought Was One Of The Best Ever, Until He Kept Playing And Now He Sucks” accounted for ZERO points in the home opener against the Packers’ arch rival, the Chicago Bears. Please let it end. I am not a Packer fan, far from it. But I do feel bad for them. They are in a no win situation. Brett Favre still thinks he’s the man, and the team and fans are afraid to tell him the truth. You know, like when your girlfriend asks if she looks fat in those jeans. You can’t tell the truth, so you don’t. I have never been a Favre fan, mostly because everybody chose to selctively ignore things with Favre that they murder other players for, but what is happening now is a joke. And the Favre lovers still have the audacity to say he can still win in the NFL. HE CAN”T. Time to go back to Louisiana, back to the tractor, back to the farm and let the Packers being the long rebuilding process. Each time Favre takes the field is another week longer the Packers are going to be a joke in the NFL.
Technorati Tags: NFL, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Deion Branch, Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City, Larry Johnson, Trent Green, Jake Plummer, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Drew Bledsoe, Bill Parcells, Terrell Owens, T.O., Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
