Some of these reactions deserve a deeper look however, and may not be just a jerk of the knee afterall.
What did we gather from this Sunday's action, and even last Thursday with the Saints-Vikings...
1. The Cowboys have a LONG way to go if they are to be true Super Bowl contenders.
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| You mean you aren't allowed to grab the neck? |
Taking a step back: Had Alex Barron not grabbed Brian Orakpo by the neck there, it looked like there was a pretty good chance that Orakpo was going to get to the scrambling Tony Romo and perhaps end the game even without a throw, or surely not give him enough time to find Roy Williams in the front corner of the end-zone. Also, it's easy to blame Choice for the fumble, as it is his responsibility to protect the ball and get to the ground there, but why in the world are they running a short dump off pass play like that in the waning seconds when it had no chance of scoring? Jason Garrett must be held accountable for that one right with Choice. Just take a simple knee and go in down 3-0. Instead, with that, you're down 10-0, and it completely changes the complexity of the game. Garrett is moving right up my list of people who should still be cut/fired!!!
Bottom line is the Cowboys had offensive issues all preseason, not being able to move the ball enough to put up points, and while people wanted to say the oft-used phrase "it's only preseason", well, it doesn't appear to be changing much, as the same exact problems persisted. Sure, they can definitely right the ship and win a bunch of ballgames with the talent they have and the line could gel, but until that begins to happen, it's going to be some hard living on the offense, and most notably, the running game.
The Cowboys have been a sexy Super Bowl pick all off season, and really, most people don't know why. They have won a grand total of 1 postseason game in 14 years, and most recently, scored 3 against the Vikings last January, and the line was the big issue then. Romo is doing all he can, but he needs some blocking to get his offense clicking.
2. The AFC South is going to be a ton of fun to watch unfold
Knee-jerk reaction: The division is now the Texans to lose after a 34-24 defeat of the defending AFC Champion Colts. After losing 15 of their first 16 meetings with the Colts, they finally thoroughly outplay Peyton and friends behind the breakout performance of running back Arian Foster (Steve Slaton who?) who rumbled for 231 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. It's so each to say this is a sign of things to come, but on top of the Colts, there are still the Titans and the pesky Jaguars to deal with.
Taking a step back: This is still Peyton Manning and this is still the Indianapolis Colts, who have all the experience in the world in getting to the second season, compared to none from Houston. Yes, it was a very nice win for the Texans, but the game was in Houston, and playing at home is always an advantage, and they have been showing vast improvement for a few years, but one week is not enough to say it's time for them to own this division. But if Foster keeps running like that and they can win without a big performance by Andre Johnson, and the Colts with Bob Sanders keep struggling against the run, there could be some struggles in this division for the Colts when they still have Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew to face twice, and we could be in for a very exciting divisional race between these 4 teams.
For 1 week at least, the Colts sit dead last in the AFC South with their 0-1 record.
3. Mike Vick can still play, and play effectively
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| The decision of who should start got a bit more cloudy on Sunday, once Kolb is healthy that is. |
Taking a step back: This is still Mike Vick, the guy who has never been a great passer in the NFL, often times is too quick to abandon the pass and go to the run, and the guy who missed multiple seasons while in prison. He definitely still has all the talent in the world, and is a very dynamic player, but it's far to soon to make the rash decision to give him the starting job once Kolb is healthy and ready to play again, be it next week or in a few weeks.
Either way, it gave the Eagles fans another element to watch for and made the game with Green Bay exciting quickly.
4. Not so fast on the crowing the 49ers NFC West Champs already
Knee-jerk reaction: The knee-jerk reactions for this one began way back in January with the retirement of Kurt Warner, leaving a void at quarterback in Arizona. From that very moment on, it was so trendy to pick the 49ers as easy NFC West Champs in 2010, even before the Super Bowl took place last season.
Then, after the drubbing on Sunday at the hands of the Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks 31-6, all of a sudden the Seahawks are all the way back, and getting ready to re-take control of the division. Suddenly, the 2-time defending champion Arizona Cardinals are a complete afterthought to those with their quick rash reactions.
Taking a step back: I have said all along, that the 49ers are still led by Alex Smith, and are one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL, right along with the Seahawks. The 49ers have had games over the past couple season where everything clicks and they play well, with games like their dominance over Arizona in December of last season, then have far to many games like this Sunday against the Seahawks. Then, there's the Seahawks, who undoubtedly got a very nice win over San Fran, but may be even more inconsistent than the 49ers, and are still coming off back to back terrible seasons. The Seahawks hype will fade much quicker, but the 49ers still have plenty of issues.
Meanwhile, Arizona goes out, and wins their first game sans Kurt Warner behind new quarterback Derek Anderson. No, it's wasn't pretty by any means in a 17-13 victory over rookie QB Sam Bradford and the Rams, but it was a victory on the road no less, which is always tougher no matter who a team faces. Anderson went 22 of 41 for 297 yards, but most importantly, no interceptions. He had obvious timing issues with star receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who was out for the majority of the preseason, only completing 3 of 15 attempts to him. With some time to build chemistry together and get on the same page, along with Steve Breaston helping people quickly forget about Anquan Boldin, things may only get better. The real issue lies with Tim Hightower and his fumbles, losing 2 yesterday. Beanie Wells has had his issues as well, no doubt, but it's his opportunity to seize after the performance by Hightower.
Bottom line is, it is far to premature to crown the 49ers already. They still have Alex Smith, defensive backfield holes, and Frank Gore showed his inconsistency again with all of 28 yards on 17 carries. The Cardinals are not a team to sleep on just yet. I will stick by my prediction that the Cardinals can still scratch out another divisional title.
5. The Giants are healthy on the defensive line again, and dangerous.
Just going to skip the reactions on this one, and get right to it. Just 2 seasons ago, the Giants dominated the NFC in the regular season following a Super Bowl title before losing to the Eagles in the postseason. Last season, they had all the defensive line issues in the world, and couldn't pressure opposing QB's. They got healthy this off season, with Umenyiora fully healthy to go alongside Justin Tuck, then they added potential superstar Jason Pierre-Paul in the draft. Kenny Phillips is back at safety after missing much of 2009, and Antrel Rolle is next to him back there, both are incredible ball hawking safeties.
Yes, they still have Eli leading them an his tendency to make mistakes, and he was no stranger to them this Sunday with 3 interceptions, but he also threw 3 touchdowns, 2 to up and coming star receiver Hakeem Nicks, and the team finally decided to give Ahmad Bradshaw the bigger share of carries over Brandon Jacobs. Yes, it was against the Panthers, who many feel are in a downward swing currently, but it was a nice win no less.
All that added together, and the Giants are a very dangerous team once again, and a serious contender for the NFC East title. They have been my pick to win that division all along, and with the struggles of Dallas, it looks just a little more like a possibility after 1 week.
Some other quick takes...
-Lions quarterback Matt Stafford already is injured, once again with shoulder issues. The kid has all the talent in the world to be a good QB, but cannot avoid injury early on.
-The Lions also lost after having a go ahead TD taken off the board when Calvin Johnson did not "complete the process of the catch". Yeah, baffled me too. But I suppose the right call. read about it here.
-Matt Forte was a superstar yesterday, but not because of his running, but his receiving, going for 151 yards on 7 catches and 2 TD's, helping make QB Jay Cutler look good. (On a side note, I had the decision to start either Cutler or Stafford at QB on a fantasy team this week. I took Cutler, good call by me)
-The Dolphins and Bills played, and the Dolphins won 15-10, but it was painful to try and watch. little else can be really added, other than the Bills have no clue who should carry the ball. Rookie C.J. Spiller was a complete disappointment in his debut.
-Tebow got on the field against Jacksonville in a 24-17 loss, but did nothing, only totalling 2 yards on 2 carries. Meanwhile, Kyle Orton played quite well, and isn't relinquishing that job anytime soon.
-Atlanta and Pitssburgh got into a field goal battle, went into overtime, and the Steelers finally found the end zone on a 50 yard game winning run by Rashard Mendenhall. Meanwhile, the ageless Hines Ward continues to perform, going for 108 yards on 6 catches, helping ease Dennis Dixon at quarterback.
-Tampa Bay and Cleveland may have been one of the least watched games in recent memory. Are you really surprised? Oh yeah, the Bucs won 17-14 with some help by Peyton Hillis and his red zone fumbling.
-The Saints and Vikings may have been involved in the most disappointing game of the week. We all expected points, points and more points. We got 14-9. Either way, the Saints are defending champs, and already 1-0. A strong start for sure.
With 2 more games tonight yet to go between the Jets/Ravens and Chargers/Chiefs, we still have plenty of football left to feed our never ending desire of football.
I will leave with some quick predictions on the night. The Ravens win 20-13 with some help of Mark Sanchize and his errant passing. LaDanian Tomlinson leads the Jets in rushing on the night.
In the week 1 finale, the Chargers get off on the right foot with a 34-20 victory, with a nice debut from rookie Ryan Matthews.
Once the night is over with, Sunday cannot come soon enough again.
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