Gridiron Blitz: Week One Review

Time to review the first week of the NFL season, Sports Inquirer-style:

Music to listen to: Viscera Eyes by The Mars Volta

The way that these will work is that I’ll review each game that took place in the week. I’ll offer thoughts on each contest. I think by doing this format that I will take care of each of my points.

New Orleans 14, Minnesota 9: In my NFL preview, I wanted to put the Vikings as the overrated team in the NFC but resisted because many others were starting to turn on them. Now we see why? The Vikings actually got the defense together after allowing the Saints to get a touchdown on its first offensive drive. Adrian Peterson was running with a purpose in the first half but the Vikings still attempted too many passes for the rest of the game. Brett Farve doesn’t have the ability or the receivers to run a pass-heavy offense. As for New Orleans, the goal should have been to get the win and avoid the distractions of a city that knows how to party throwing another big one to celebrate their crowned champions. The Saints will look much better in the next few weeks.

Tennessee 38, Oakland 13: I’m going to kick myself for not picking the Titans to make the playoffs if they make a big run this year. They have arguably the top player in the league, at least the best runinng back, an improved defense and a quarterback for all of the criticisms and trust me, I lived in Nashville for three years, I’m one of his biggest critics, still finds a way to win games. As for Oakland, with the division looking potentially wide open, the Raiders have to bring a better effort than that.

New York Giants 31, Carolina 18: If the Giants can get this type of passing production, they will win the NFC East. The rushing offense for New York could have been better but in this game it was fine. Carolina’s biggest issue all season is going to be the lack of an efficient offense.

Houston 34, Indianapolis 24: Much respect to Arian Foster and his career-day but people are making way too much into this result. The Texans have circled this game on their schedule for the entire offseason. Some were even calling this the “biggest” game in franchise history. That should say something negative when the opening contest of the regular season gets this distinction. This is a long season so let’s see how Houston handles success and everyone saying how great it is. I had the Texans going to the playoffs before the season started so the result wasn’t surprising to me. I still have Indy going to the Super Bowl and that wouldn’t surprise me as well.

Pittsburgh 15, Atlanta 9: There must be caution for reading too much into the first game of a season but if I was a fan of either team, I would be concerned about the offense. Don’t let Mendenhall’s 120 yards fool you. He got 50 of those yards in the game-winning touchdown run in overtime. No matter who is starting as the quarterback, the Steelers need to make improvements with the rushing attack. The Falcons need to worry less about Matt Ryan and more about running back Michael Turner. If he isn’t running the ball and allowing Atlanta to run play-action plays, than the offense is going to come to a halt. It would be nice if the Falcons receivers outside of Roddy White can make a big catch as well.

Miami 15, Buffalo 10: I don’t have a special cable package that allows me to watch any game I want so I’m at the mercy of the locally selected contest. It works out for me overall. So after the New England/Cincinnati contest, CBS turned into this game and I was able to see the sequence that has gotten Buffalo’s head coach Chan Gailey in some hot water. Buffalo is down 13-10 and has a fourth-and-10 from its own one yard line with a little more than a minute left in the game. The Bills have two timeouts. Gailey decides to take the safety by having the snap for the punt go into the end zone. At this stage like nearly everyone else, I thought that the Bills would than attempt an onside kick but instead they punted the ball to Miami. The Dolphins got possession of the ball and ended the game. That’s a losing mentality that will undue the Bills in the long run.

New England 38, Cincinnati 24: The Patriots did what they did but I want to discuss the post-game comments made by Randy Moss. If you missed it, Moss stated that he wanted to be appreciated more for his efforts on the Patriots, promised that he wouldn’t be a distraction, discussed how football is a business and not a game for him and finally that he thought that this would be his final year in New England. Every word that he spoke was the truth.

People are looking at the package too closely and ignoring the message. Would I have liked Moss to worn better clothing for his rant? Absolutely but that’s another debate for another time. What he was saying was true. Moss wants a new contract to stay in New England but is going to be a professional and play it out. He also realizes that as a 33-year old whose skills have diminished some will not be resigned by a New England franchise that is notorious for releasing veterans not named Tom Brady. Moss said all of this in a calm manner without raising his voice and getting emotional.

I think we’re used to Moss and others like him (you can take that anyway you want) being disruptive while making demands. The fact that Moss made his statements in a relaxed tone was even scarier for others than if he pulled a typical “diva” wide receiver rant.

As far as on the field stuff, the Patriots are going to be a tough out in the AFC if the young defense matures.

Tampa 17, Cleveland 14: If you have a positive note from this contest, I’ll give you a cookie.

Seattle 31, San Francisco 9: I have the 49ers winning the division so this surprised me. The only hope that you have as a San Fran fan is that this was an early wakeup call for the rest of the season. You just hate to have one of those in a road division game but that happens. What shouldn’t happen is Frank Gore running for only 38 yards on 17 carries and being the team’s leading rusher.

Green Bay 27, Philadelphia 20: So much to debate on this game. It was one of the most physical contests for a season opener I’ve ever seen. Three guys are out for the season from this game alone.

For Green Bay, it was a good road win. You would have liked to seen the defense stop Vick some more in his rush attempts but that’s being picky. Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson looked like All-Pros in midseason form already. Obviously losing running back Ryan Grant for the season hurts but the easiest position to replace most times is running back and the Packers had some bench guys come in and do well in the contest.

For Philadelphia, slow down on the Vick talk. If Kevin Kolb is healthy, he should be the starter. I don’t understand why people are so enamored with Vick. He still overthrows open receivers, has minimal touch on his passes, lacks pocket awareness and has terrible footwork. Yes, he looks to have regained the speed he had with the Falcons but that’s it.

If Kolb isn’t healthy, Vick is a good alternative but not in the long-run.

Arizona 17, St. Louis 13: Good road win by the Cardinals but what was the St. Louis staff thinking having rookie quarterback Sam Bradford attempting 55 passes when you still have Steven Jackson in the backfield?

Washington 13, Dallas 7: Look at the end of the first half and of the game and you will see why I’ll never understand how people can continue to pick Dallas to be in the Super Bowl. Between the undisciplined players, the incompetent coaching and general hubris of the squad, Dallas will never be a championship contender. The Cowboys have enough talent to win the division but nothing beyond that.

Jacksonville 24, Denver 17: Classic case of a home team winning its season opener behind a home crowd that won’t be there for full support for the rest of the season. When you add the fact of Denver traveling across the country, that made this victory even more predictable.

Kansas City 21, San Diego 14: The Chiefs will still have struggles this season but if the defense can continue to play like that and the young players continue to produce, there isn’t a reason that the Chiefs couldn’t be a seven-win team, maybe even more.

San Diego always has a slow start to the season but could really use Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeil in a major way.

Baltimore 10, New York Jets 9: I said it on twitter last night. The Jets have a 10-win defense and a six-win offense. Mark Sanchez may turn out to be an elite quarterback but he isn’t there in his second season.

Baltimore got the win but I would still have major concerns for the offense as well but at least they have some proven players on that side of the ball.

Chicago 19, Detroit 14: It was a catch. Even if you go by the rule book, Calvin Johnson catches the ball, lands his butt on the ground and even plants a hand on the ground. The play should have been over than. He caught the ball and made a football move, falling to the ground while still having possession of the ball.

I understand Jim Schwartz, the Lions head coach, not letting the call be the blame for the loss. He doesn’t want his team to dwell on the blown call for the rest of the season. That’s his job. I bet if you get him one-on-one away from the team and media, he will tell you that’s a catch…so don’t use the reasoning of the head coach not protesting it as approval of the call.

The rule is a bad one but even if interpreted like it should have been, that was a catch.

Those are my thoughts, what about yours?