- In my opinion, the biggest story line out of Week 1 is the performance of Robert Griffin III. Now, I do think his first touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon was a little on the lucky side and definitely padded his stats--but nonetheless, beating and outplaying Drew Brees in New Orleans who did not lose at home last year is an extraordinary, and beyond impressive feat. This kid looks like a star, and the Redskins look they could be a real son of a bitch to play week in and week out.
- 2nd biggest storyline: Peyton Manning. Manning did not miss a beat Sunday night against a more than stout defense in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Manning was 19-26 for 253 yards and two scores. He looked like the Peyton Manning of old. Also, the Broncos defense were practically toying with the Steelers offensive line. They sacked Ben Roethlisberger five times and hit him another nine, and offensive coordinator Todd Haley was forced to abandon the running game due to the absence of any sort of resemblance to running lanes. Conclusions: Peyton Manning just made this team a serious threat, and the Steelers have some work to do.
- Team that brought the biggest "wow" factor in Week 1: the San Francisco 49ers, . ESPN has been showing all of these stats on how a team that improved as much as they did last year always comes back with a disappointing season. Bullshit. I can tell you this: that will not happen with this team. Yea, they only won 30-22, but that doesn't tell the whole story.They bludgeoned a popular Super Bowl pick and supposedly the best offense in the league in their house. I have never seen a team hit people harder than these guys do, other than maybe that 2000 Baltimore Ravens championship team. These guys STICK people. And I mean stick them. I just got the feeling that the entire Lambeau Field audience was just like, "Shit, this team is better than us."Aaron Rodgers was clearly rattled, and the lone rusher besides Rodgers was Cedric Benson, who carried the ball 9 times for 18 yards. Rodgers dropped back 47 times. I'm sorry, this team will not win a championship if they are throwing the ball 75% of the time. They can't let these behemoth pass rushers on the loose without fear. If they don't find more of a balance, they may find trouble come playoff time. For the 9ers, the running game was fantastic, Alex Smith managed the game and made no mistakes, and even Randy Moss joined in on the fun and caught a wide-open touchdown pass.Mostly for me, the 49ers showed that they are the absolute NFC favorites.
- Other teams that brought the "wow" factor: Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens. Don't you just get that feeling that it's finally Matt Ryan's time to shine? He has been a very good regular season quarterback but a very bad playoff quarterback. Ryan looks like he is out for blood this year, and this offense looks lethal. A healthy Julio Jones may take over as the best wide receiver in the league this year minus Calvin Johnson. Complement him with Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez...you just can't cover them all. They ripped up the Chiefs defense. The Ravens absolutely bullied the Bengals who were a playoff team last year. Joe Flacco is out to prove he can sling it as well as any QB in the league (much like Ryan), and Ray Rice could be the best back in football. The defense was in classic form, with Ray Lewis racking up 14 tackles and Ed Reed intercepting an errant Dalton pass for a touchdown.
Quick Hits
- Alright Jet fans, it was a good start...but god the Bills looked awful. Ryan Fitzpatrick was just flat out brutal. The offense was definitely encouraging, but still the expectations need to be tempered.
- In my opinion, the Dolphins and Browns both made horrible mistakes by going with rookie QB's Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden respectively. Both looked to be overmatched, with Weeden not being able to move the offense forward whatsoever. Both are in bad situation with really bad teams, why throw them into the fire and risk their mental psyche? Now they are faced with a situation where these teams could get off to brutally bad starts with brutally bad quarterback play, do they bench the guys they drafted with the intent to turn their franchise around? Potential disasters.
- Russel Wilson and Andrew Luck didn't exactly dazzle either, but they at least showed the ability to move the offense and give their team a chance to win.
- Watch out for this Cutler-Marshall combo. They were in sync all day long, albeit against a bad Colts defense
- Michael Vick was awful, throwing three interceptions and the Eagles barely escaped with a victory against a Browns team that looks to be horrendous. Dream Team!
- Matthew Stafford pulled the same type of performance, throwing three picks and barely squeezing out a victory in the final seconds against the Rams
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