NFL Week One



"We got the 'Brady sucks' thing going on after we beat 'em 38-14. Only in the Meadowlands."
-- Tom Brady, standing on the field at the Meadowlands and talking via a headset with CBS after the Patriots overwhelmed the Jets 38-14. An hour later he added, "That's why I love playing in New York."



Or perhaps it's because it's so easy to spy on them?...



Of course, Randy Moss didn't need a spy. He caught nine Tom Brady passes for 183 yards and a touchdown.

Hard for the Patriots not to go overboard now?

“Tom Brady and Randy Moss looked a little like Larry Bird and Bill Walton in that magical winter of 1985-86: two of the best players of all-time, plotting together for the first time, beating the stuffing out of the other team.”

So are the Pats the team to beat or the team that cheats?

*****

Redskins wore out the Dolphins in OT

“In the end, the Redskins held the Dolphins to 66 yards rushing and running backs Portis (playing his first game since late last season) and Ladell Betts combined for 157 yards rushing. But the most important fact was how the Miami defensive players felt at the end of the game. Despite training in sweltering conditions in South Florida, the Dolphins struck the Redskins as tired. A point of emphasis for this Washington team in the offseason had been trying to wear opponents down at the end of games. Yesterday it worked.”

Oddly enough considering their return to the auld three yards and a cloud of dust mentality at Redskins Park was the announcement that they've signed Reche Caldwell who was released by New England last week after playing just one season with the Patriots and leading the team in receptions.

*****


Granted, it was only the Browns, but Steelers fans must feel good about Mike Tomlin’s debut and whilst no one was ready to compare them to the Pirates, there were indeed questions going in.

"Great starts are always great, but they can't define us," Tomlin said shortly after his players gave him the game ball from their manhandling of the Cleveland Browns, 34-7, to open the NFL season.

"Because the Browns played so poorly, it was difficult for anyone to define the Steelers. It looked like a college opener, Steelers vs. Cupcake State. Before the first quarter ended, the Browns had lost two turnovers, botched a punt and committed what may be an NFL record of four separate penalties on one play, if they kept track of those things.”

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw four touchdown passes for the first time in his career and the same quarterback who led the NFL last season with 23 interceptions had none yesterday and finished with a healthy passer rating of 114.3. Again, just the Browns.

And perhaps similar to Pirates fans who must console themselves with the feats of the Steelers, Browns fans must bury their heads in the hope that the Indians will make it to the World Series this October to distract them until Brady Quinn gets his debut (if indeed they wait that long…)


Bye Bye Frye

There's one less QB in Cleveland standing in Quinn's way now after the Browns traded the miserable Charlie Frye. The thing I can't figure out is:

A. How in the world did the Browns manage to convince anyone, especially after that wretched performance against Pittsburgh, that Frye was worth ANYTHING, let alone a sixth-round draft pick.

B. What the hell do the Seahawks want with Charlie Frye? Are they looking for insurance against Matt Hasselbeck Disease? Trying to become the new laughingstocks of the NFC West? Woe to the Seahawks fans if Hasselbeck gets hurt. Even if Shawn Alexander looked like his 2005 version on Sunday.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first quarterback since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970 to start his team's season opener and be traded before Week 2.

Running Backs



Chris Brown of the Titans led everyone with 19 carries for 175 yards, a 9.2 average. Against the vaunted Jax Defence. Very impressive. And perhaps weekly performances like that will take some of the pressure off the learning curve of QB Vince Young, who showed that curve is sharp at times.

The rumour is that defenses are so concerned with keeping Young from making big plays rushing to the outside, that gives Brown and LenDale White the ability to do some damage inside. See if it's a trend...



But this Adrian Peterson kid for Vikes, wow - Peterson set a team record for yards rushing by a player in his first NFL game, eclipsing D.J. Dozier's 57 set Sept. 13, 1987. He rushed for 103 and turned a short pass into a 60 yd TD.

He also became the third running back since 2000 to gain 100 yards in his NFL debut (LaDainian Tomlinson and Cadillac Williams were the first two).

*****

Yes, Tony Romo had a strong week with 345 yards and four touchdowns passes plus another rushing, but it didn't hurt having The Mouth making great catches.

Speaking of which, the first Terrell Owens of the Week Award goes to Chad Johnson for donning a gold blazer with "Future Hall of Famer, 20??"

*****

No blip on the radar following coaching change in San Diego. A year ago, league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and star tight end Antonio Gates had 41 percent of the Chargers' offensive touches. In the Chargers’ 14-3 victory over the Chicago Bears, Turner upped that total to 63 percent (of San Diego’s 52 offensive plays, 33 were receptions or carries by them).

*****

NFL Dogs O Da Week included the Falcons and the Chiefs who lost miserably to Houston who is QB'd by Falcons former backup, Matt Shawub. Small world.

The Bills lost three other defensive starters to serious injuries: free
safety Ko Simpson (broken left ankle); cornerback Jason Webster (broken
forearm); and linebacker Coy Wire (sprained knee this doesn't even consider the tragedy that befell reserve tight end Kevin Everett - bad week one for bills, worse one for Everett.

Adding more insult to injury, Travis Henry had 139 yards rushing in his Broncos debut, playing against his former team. and of course, they lost in the last seconds on a Jason Elam FG.

In the game's final 2:13, Jay Cutler did a pretty good imitation of John Elway. He engineered a 42-yard drive, which included his seven-yard run on fourth-and-2, to Elam's winning field goal. He delivered perfect throws on slant routes to Jevon Walker, deftly managed the clock, and alertly got the offense off the field while the field-goal unit scrambled on for Elam to connect on his 42-yard attempt with one second left.

*****

What happened to Reggie Bush and Vince Young?

Meanwhile, last year's top draft pick, Houston DE Mario Williams, who had two sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the 20-3 win over LOWLY Kansas City.

*****

"Not everyone needs preseason tuneups. Randy Moss, Clinton Portis,
LaDainian Tomlinson and Plaxico Burress didn't play a single down during
the preseason. Yet Moss had a monster debut for the Patriots, Portis
rushed for 98 yards and had a touchdown for the Redskins, L.T. passed
and rushed for TDs and Burress scored a career-high three TDs."

via USA Today

*****

Something To Consider, Post Season...

Before three of his last five starts, the Sox gave Matsuzaka an extra day's rest, but his ERA in that span was 9.57 (28 ER in 26 1/3 innings). He's been giving up home runs in bunches lately, six in his last four starts spanning just 20 1/3 innings. He also has walked 11 in the last four starts.

Misc


ND, the start of a very long seasonIn two games, the Irish have a total of minus-8 rushing yards.