Week 1 Reflections

It's back...it's finally back. Words can't describe how much I missed the NFL. As a Cowboys and Colts fan, last season ended on a bitter note for me. January 13, 2008 was quite possibly the worst day of my entire life. Anyways, this is my take on Week 1...

The first week of the 2008 edition of the NFL was overshadowed by the season ending knee injury suffered by Tom Brady. This is obviously a huge blow to the Patriots. Brady's replacement is the lifetime backup Matt Cassel. Cassel has not started a game since 1999, when he was in high school. He attended USC and spent his entire collegiate career backing up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. The Patriots must have filmed the Trojans' practices too because they decided to draft him.

5 Things I learned:
1. The Vikings need Tarvaris Jackson to be able complete easy passes in order for them to win.
2. The Colts need their starters (especially Peyton) to play a couple preseason games in order to be ready for "real" football.
3. The Redskins were NOT ready to play a regular season game.
4. Scott Linehan will get fired before the end of the season.
5. The Dolphins aren't terrible.

5 Things That Proved to be True:
1. The Lions cannot win a road game
2. The Browns 2007 season might have been a fluke
3. The Saints will be much better in 2008.
4. Jake Delhomme is the key to the Panthers' success.
5. The Bengals are TERRIBLE.


Other Observations:

• The Steelers are going to be well prepared when the playoffs roll around. They have a tough schedule and I'm a firm believer in losses and tough games building character. The Patriots proved that a relatively easy regular season does not prepare you for adversity in the playoffs.
• Jeff Saturday is a really big part of the Colts' offense. His injury forced Indy to start a rookie at center and we saw how out of rhythm that offense looked.
• Joe Flacco is slower than most lineman and it still didn't matter against the horrendous Bengals' defense.
• Reggie Bush had 14 carries for 51 yards and eight catches for 112 yards. Hopefully, Sean Payton learned where Mr. Kardashian is most effective.
• Chad Pennington had more passing yards than Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, Jake Delhomme, Phillip Rivers, Jeff Garcia, Marc Bulger, David Garrard and Tom Brady (sorry, I had to).
• Andre Johnson is a top 5 wide receiver in the entire league.
• Tony Romo had the best protection I've ever seen. My boy Patrick Crayton described it perfectly to Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Randy Galloway:

"[Romo] was surveying the field like he was at the beach, picking out honeys and he had plenty of time to look." Crayton said.

• Are the Chargers just slow starters or are they overrated? Also, Darren Sproles is too small to be a running back in this league. Look for Jacob Hester to emerge as the backup.

Rookie of the Week:

This is a tough one. Joe Flacco did great. DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal also looked great, but I have to give it Matt Ryan. He threw a 62 yard touchdown pass on his first career NFL pass attempt. He didn't make any mistakes and led his team to victory. Matt Ryan is my rookie of the week.

Media Notes of the Week:

I know it's a once a year occurrence, but ESPN has to re-think putting Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Mike Ditka in the booth together to call an NFL game. They were awful. It sounded like three drunk buddies in a bar watching a game together. Ditka sounded incoherent and his random outbursts startled me. Greenberg and Golic sounded like they were doing their radio show. I have to admit that I feel asleep halfway through the fourth quarter.

The real Monday Night Football crew wasn't much better. Tony Kornheiser was annoying. He was constantly making references to Brett Favre. It got old fast. Ron Jaworski even told him to knock it off. I like Mike Tirico's enthusiasm and I love Jaworski's analysis, but Kornheiser ruins it.

That's a wrap on my Week 1 Reflections. I'll be back later in the week with the second edition of "Mosley vs 3rd Long" and possibly more...

Peace.