Week 1 Wrap Up

Jets Continue to Win Battle Against Competency

Week 1 Wrap Up

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Before I get started, I would like to acknowledge those who lost their lives six years ago and their families. I would also like to offer my prayers to the family of Bills reserve TE Kevin Everett, who suffered a serious spinal-cord injury Sunday afternoon against the Broncos.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’d have to say the start of the 2007 NFL Football season was largely a disappointment. Thursday night was great, the Saints had no answer for the Colts and were unable to even score an offensive touchdown…no small feat considering where these two teams offenses & defenses were last year (1^st & last in the League). The Colts held Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush to 38-yards each and 106-rushing yards as a team. Drew Bres, channeling his Purdue days, threw 41 passes and 2 Interceptions. The Colts, meanwhile, looked in mid-season form, spreading the ball around, while their defense picked up where it left off last year during the playoffs stifling New Orleans in what was supposed to be a shoot-out. The Colts scored more points than the Pats, gave up less points than the Pats, and didn’t even give up an offense TD; yet, no one’s talking about the Colts. Not to mention, the Jets were lucky to even make the Playoffs last year, the Saints ran through the NFC.

The Bucs gave the Seahawks a brief scare on Sunday, actually making the game interesting until Jeff Garcia had his head bounce off the ground like a superball. Back-up, Luke McCown; who I think is like the sixth McCown brother; relieved Garcia and helped Seattle put the game out of reach. Garcia’s okay, so don’t worry Bucs fans; now you can hold out hope until at least Week 10 before you realize your season’s actually over.

I don’t even think Bills fans expected the Broncos to play as terribly as they did on Sunday. J.P. was his usual Losmantacular self, throwing for less than 100-yards; while Cutler threw for over 300-yards, but only produced 1 TD. It doesn’t matter whether they “escaped with a victory,” if I were Mike Shanahan, I’d spent a little less time whitening my teeth, and more time trying to figure out why my golden boy couldn’t get it done against the Buffalo Bills. I mean, c’mon, this should’ve been like the Wolverines playing Appalachian State…oh, wait a minute. I’m also trying to figure out how Denver’s 470 yards of total offense only translated into 15-points.
The Hype Machine is also working overtime, as the Patriots and Cowboys both beat inferior teams and to hear Keyshawn, Jaws and the rest of the morons over there, we shouldn’t even bother to play the rest of the season. Randy Moss caught 9 passes for 183-yards and a TD, while the Patriots spanked the Jets, like an unruly child, 38 – 14. The Giants, meanwhile, were able to jump out to a 6 – 3 lead after the 1^st Quarter, but must’ve forgotten that when you give up 14-points in each subsequent Quarter, it’s a little tough to win football games. In case you haven’t figured out, I’m not at all impressed by the Pats or Cowboys ability to beat middling teams to open the Season. Dallas gets their first test in Week 3 when they go to Chicago; while the Pats host the Chargers next week and then head to Cincinnati in Week 4. Things also went from bad to worse for both New York teams who saw their starters go down. Chad Pennington, a/k/a 3^rd Grad girl arm, with an ankle sprain and Eli Manning with a separated shoulder.

In other games, the Texans stunned just about everyone, including themselves, beating the Chiefs 20 – 3 in the first game of the post-David Carr era. The Chargers looked sloppy in their win over the Bears, but the Bears looked even worse. Vince Young ran for a TD in Tennessee’s win over Jacksonville while he continues to throw less passes than Lance Bass at a singles convention. In retrospect, the Eagles 16 – 13 loss to Green Bay isn’t as surprising as it looks, considering Donovan McNabb doesn’t really have anyone to throw to and he’s still not 100%. McNabb looked rustier than a ’63 Studebaker and Favre was his usual gunslinging self going 23-for-42, with 206-yards passing and an INT. While the Eagles were busily losing a road game they should’ve won, the Rams were losing a home game they should’ve won against the Panthers. Steven Jackson was held to less than 60-yards on the ground, while Bulger had a Losmantastic day with only 167 passing yards.
Monday night saw the Bengals let the Ravens hang around until Steve McNair went down with a groin injury and the inexplicably still employed Kyle Boller attempted to drive Baltimore downfield, only to pull a Tony Romo and choke on the goal line. The 49ers won in spite of themselves and are now tied with the Seahawks for 1^st in the NFC West…they’re dancing in the streets in Berkeley today!

Next Week:
Buffalo attempts to break the 200-yard barrier against Pittsburgh, I hope they don’t hold their breath.
If the Colts scored 41 on New Orleans, I’m afraid to know how many they’ll score on Tennessee.
Atlanta at Jacksonville…someone’s got to win, right?

Random Observations:
I’ve heard two separate announcers on two different networks refer to Braves catcher, Matt Diaz, as “Matt Dye-az,” what gives?
Ladainian Tomlinson has more TD passes than Rex Grossman. Exactly when do Chicagoans start to get worried?
LSU has the best college football team in the country, hands down.
No one should ever question Steve McNair’s toughness.

Unsubstantiated Rumor of the Week:
The Giants are exploring bringing Tiki Barber back, as head coach…?