Week 1 Thoughts

After week one, It is clear that once again we should expect a season full of surprises and upsets. We saw some new players make some great first impressions and some old players showing that they can still play.

5 Things That Surprised Me During Week 1:

1. Arian Foster, Houston Texans – Foster had an unbelievable game. Starting for only his second game as a pro, he almost matched his career total in rushing yards going for 231 yards on 33 carries and scoring 3 touchdowns. Foster had great blocking up front, but displayed great vision and acceleration to make good runs into great runs. I don’t think he will go for 231 yards again in week two, but I think he could put up some good numbers against the Redskins especially with Albert Haynesworth still pouting.

2. Calvin Johnson’s catch not being ruled a touchdown – it still does not make sense to me. Johnson lands, supports himself, and roles over and the ball come out after all that. I understand that the rule has to be written like that, so it is less subjective, but that is the type of play that is only going to be over turned after watching the replay. The difference between this and the tuck rule, which everyone is comparing it to, is that I think the tuck rule was just a bad rule in the first place. I think this was a catch based on the rules. When the play is seen at full speed pretty much everyone thought that it was a catch. When they put it in slow-motion it made it look a lot less fluid and stable than it actually was. The ball pops out after the last part of his body hits the ground (the hand that has been holding the ball firmly). At what point can the ball come out and still be ruled a catch? Replay for those who have not seen it:

3. The Bengals came out really flat – You have to give a lot of credit to the Patriots, they looked very sharp, but the winners of the AFC North division last year, looked awful. What made the Bengals so good last year was their defense and run game; both were terrible in the first half. I thought the Bengals could have a special team this year with the addition of new pieces on offense. The second half you saw what the new additions in the passing games could do but for this team to be successful there team is going to have to come out and play with a little more energy than they did.

4. Pretty funny Clip with Ochocinco getting made fun of (watch until the 2:00 mark)
 

5. The Saints and Vikings only scored a total of 23 points – With two of the best offenses from last year battling it out, I thought it would be a shootout much like the AFC Championship game from last year. It still ended up being a great game but it was a field position game. I knew the Saints could win shootouts, but if they can start winning defensive games, what team is going to beat them?


3 Things That I Expected:

1. Playing games in Kansas City will be tough – Although I have never been to an NFL game other than in Foxboro, the two places I always feel like have a crazy atmosphere when I watch them on TV (I don’t count domes) are Kansas City and Denver. There stadiums always seem to be going nuts. It is like a college atmosphere at their stadiums for big games. I expect playing at either place will be very tough for opponents once again like it was for the Chargers on Monday night, (the rain probably helped too).

2. Everyone’s Cinderella team, the Oakland Raiders, did not look good – Yeah the Raiders got rid of QB JaMarcus Russell, but there were a lot more problems on that team than just the QB that people were forgetting. For starters, they do not have a great offensive line (4 sacks 2 fumbles on new QB Jason Campbell in game 1), and they do not have any proven running back or receivers. Also, their defense is young and unproven.

3. Tim Tebow’s first game in the NFL came and went without a splash – Tebow had 2 rushes for 2 yards. I think it probably would have been a good idea for people to wait 1 or 2 years before investing in his #1 selling jersey, because I don’t think he will be seeing the field too much this year.