Things I Noticed: Week 1

While the pre-season gave us a small taste of the action, the utterly meaningless games did little to satisfy our football cravings.  Now the regular season has begun.  Now the games actually count.  Now it's finally football season again!

The season kicked off on a Wednesday night (which still seems like an odd night for football, but who are we to complain?) with the defending champion Giants hosting their rival Cowboys.

Here are some things that I noticed this week:

• Last year, two rookie QBs took the league by storm with historical seasons.  This week saw a total of 5 rookie QBs open the season as their team's starter, with mixed results.  Only one of the group was impressive in leading his team to victory.  Two of them were very up and down, but showed some promising signs in defeat, while the other two were just plain awful.
• Get Eli some Advil.  His Giants appear to be suffering from a mind numbing Super Bowl hangover.  After a pre-game celebration of last year's championship season, it all went downhill for the Giants.

• Despite all the stats the broadcast booth could throw at us about how Eli set a league record for 4th quarter TDs last season, how they fawned over how clutch he is and how the Cowboys had a bad habit of late game collapses, it was the Giants that failed to pull out a close game late in the 4th quarter.
• The game started off ugly, with both teams having trouble moving the ball, coupled with some early turnovers.  David Wilson, the Giants first round pick and a popular fantasy football sleeper, fumbled on his second carry of the game and found himself confined to the dog house for the remainder of the game, touching the ball only on special teams for the remainder of the evening.  Given coach Coughlin's distaste for turnovers, especially from young players, it could take some time before Wilson earns his way back into more playing time.  Given that his fumbling problems date back to his college days, his rookie season could become a bust if he doesn't do a better job holding onto the football.
• After that slow start, the Cowboys offense exploded. resulting in impressive performances by Tony Romo (307 yards, 3 TDs) and DeMarcco Murray (131 rushing yards).  Romo's performance is all the more impressive when you consider that two of his top weapons were banged up and questionable to even play in the game.  Miles Austin surprised by not only playing, but playing well (4 catches, 73 yards, 1TD), while Jason Witten served as little more than a decoy (2 catches for a meager 10 yards).
• Who is this Kevin Ogletree?  After winning the 3rd receiver spot in Dallas, he didn't disappoint in the season opener (8 catches, 114 yards, 2 TDs).  Last season, Laurant Robinson had a break out season in this same role that led to the Jaguars ridiculously overpaying him.  Could Ogletree be this year's Robinson?  Given how often the Cowboys' top receiving options tend to find themselves on the injury list, there's a good chance that Ogletree remains involved following his big game.
• One of the game's biggest plays was made after a Romo interception, but the play wasn't made by Michael Boley, who picked off the pass.  It seemed that Boley was about to plow his way into the endzone for a pick six, but Cowboys lineman Tyron Smith made the save with an illegal horse collar tackle that took Boley down at the two yard line.  Despite the vicious tackle, a half the distance to the goal penalty cost his team only one yard.  A fired up Dallas defense was able to hold the Giants to a field goal on a drive that started first and goal at the one yard line!  With the Giants needing two scores to make a comeback late in the 4th quarter, how different could the game have played out if one of those scores needed only to be a field goal instead of a TD?
• Tom Brady's 2 TD passes moved him into 5th place on the all time list with 302.
• The Patriots gave their 31st ranked defense a big boost in the draft this off-season and saw some early returns on some of their rookies.  Chandler Jones stripped the ball loose to allow Dont'a Hightower to scoop it up and take it to the endzone for a momentum shifting score.  Safety Tavon Wilson also came up with a key INT in the endzone, showing great awareness following a tipped pass.
• Brandon Lloyd had a successful debut.  Despite slowing up on a route just enough to allow the ball to sail over his head on what should have been a sure TD, Lloyd recovered to contribute a solid 5 catch, 69 yard performance.  A few of those catches showed off his ability to get open along the sidelines, which is a threat the Patriots offense has lacked in recent years.

• The Riddler!  That's my new name for Stevan Ridley.  The Titans defense had no luck solving him. The second year RB looks poised to take over as the focus of the Patriots backfield.  With Shane Vereen injured (again) and Danny Woodhead better suited for a 3rd down role, Ridley has the chance to run away with the starting job.  His 125 yard, 1 TD performance is a great start.
• Coming off of a disappointing season, Chris Johnson did little this week to convince us that he's ready to rebound this year.  His 11 carries for a measly 4 yards might be a sign that this year could be even worse.  At least last year he had the lockout and a contract hold out to name as reasons for his slow start to the season.  What's his excuse this year?
• Jake Locker came in as the opening day starter for the first time in his young career, but wasn't able to finish.  Hopefully a shoulder injury to his non-throwing arm won't keep him out for long, but at least for the end of this game, Matt Hasselbeck was called upon once again to lead the Titans.
• Andrew Luck may be a future star, but his debut with the Colts was inconsistent.  While he did manage to pass for over 300 yards and a TD against a tough Bears defense, he also turned the ball over 4 times (3 INTs, 1 Fumble).
• Cam Newton had us all fooled by convincing us that this league was easy for a QB picked first overall to come in and light up the league from the start.  Even someone with Luck's impressive pedigree is bound to have some growing pains along the way.
• Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall picked right up where they left off from their days together back in Denver.  Marshall caught 9 passes for 119 yards and a TD.  He's the first legitimate #1 receiver that Cutler has played with since... well, Marshall.  Reuniting the pair in Chicago should be a big boost for Cutler and the passing game.
• Browns rookie QB Brandon Weeden's debut couldn't have gone much worse.  He threw 4 INTs, completed just over a third of his passes and finished with a shockingly low QB rating of 5.1.  On the bright side, it can't get much worse.  Unfortunately, it likely won't get much better.
• If that stat line wasn't embarrassing enough, Weeden made headlines before the game for somehow getting stuck under the American flag that was being brought out for the pre-game National Anthem.  How does that even happen?
• Despite a miserable offensive performance by the Browns, they still nearly pulled off the upset over the Eagles thanks to Michael Vick's poor play.  He wasn't quite as bad as Weeden, but he did play like an over matched rookie, throwing 4 INTs of his own (one of which was returned for Cleveland's only TD).  Vick may have been rusty after missing much of the pre-season.  He left two games early with injury and sat out the rest of the time as a cautionary measure to prevent further injury.  Despite his poor play, he did come through when it mattered, throwing the game winning TD pass with just over a minute to play.
• The Lions nearly lost a stunning upset to the Rams before Matthew Stafford saved the day with a game winning TD with only 10 seconds remaining.  After a shaky first half, which included 3 INTs, Stafford settled down and remained cool and collected while leading the comeback.
• The Rams managed to put a scare into the Lions thanks in part to their ability to capitalize off turnovers.  They scored 13 points off the three turnovers, including Cortland Finnegan's INT return for a TD.
• Matt Ryan had perhaps the best game of his career (299 yards, 3 TDs, 1 rushing TD) in ripping apart an undermanned Chiefs defense.  With the weapons he has at his disposal, Atlanta plans on allowing Ryan to take more control and open up the offense, which could lead to a huge season for him.
• Julio Jones is one of those weapons.  He showed why with his 108 yard, 2 TD performance.  If he can stay healthier this season then he and Roddy White could form the most dangerous WR pair in the league. 
• Just about 1 year removed from a devastating ACL injury, Jamaal Charles showed much of his old explosiveness in his return.  Watching him burst through the line for a 46 yard gain would make anyone forget about the injury.
• Speaking of RB's returning from ACL injuries, Adrian Peterson made his own miraculous return from the same injury.  What's most shocking is that Peterson was injured less than 9 months ago.  This is an injury that typically takes about a year to return from, but is often said to take as much as 2 years before the player is back to their old self.  Have advancements in the medical field cut down on that timeline, or does AP have some kind of super-human healing ability?  His full explosiveness might not be back yet, but he was solid in his return (84 yards, 2 TDs).
• The Vikings pulled off a wild finish in overtime against Jacksonville.  Blaine Gabbert thought he had pulled off the win with a deep pass for a 39 yard TD.  After adding the two point conversion, the Jaguars led by 3 with only 20 seconds remaining.  The often criticized second year QB did his part, but his defense couldn't hold.  Fellow sophomore, Christian Ponder, connected on two quick strikes to improbably move into field goal range in the little time he had.  A 55 yard FG sent the game into OT, where they won with another FG.
• Robert Griffin III dazzled in his debut (320 yards, 2 TDs).  It may not be on the historical level of Cam Newton's debut last year, but he did do one thing that Newton didn't do in his first game - win.  Of the 5 rookie QBs to start this week, RGIII was the only one to lead his team to victory in an upset over the Saints. 
• After a nightmare off-season, headlined by bounty-gate, things haven't gotten much better for the Saints as we move into the regular season.  The Redskins may be a team on the rise, but if this Saints team is going to remain a contender they are supposed to beat teams like this.  Or at least not look so awful in losing to them.  Their season was bound to go one of two ways - they would either go into Eff You mode like the post Spy-Gate Patriots in 2007, or their season would spiral out of control and become a disaster.  Right now I'm leaning towards the latter.
• The final stat line may look impressive (339 yards, 3 TDs), but Drew Brees did not have a good game.  He failed to complete even half of his passes (24/52) and threw 2 INTs.  One of his biggest plays of the game was a 33 yard bomb to Lance Moore for a TD that pulled the Saints within one score mid-way through the 4th quarter, but even that came on 4th down after three straight incompletions.  The three straight misses was an all too common theme throughout the day.  He did manage to get within striking distance for a game tying TD, but his hail mary attempt as time ran out ended up being picked off in the endzone.
• The Jets failed to score an offensive TD behind Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow the entire pre-season.  So of course they open the regular season by dismantling the revamped Bills defense for 48 points.  Were they just playing possum the past month?
• After we finally got a chance to see how the Jets will implement Tebow, the early signs seem to point toward there being less controversy then we imagined.  Sanchez took the overwhelming majority of the snaps, with Tebow running on 5 wild cat plays.  He also handed the ball off on another running play, but did not attempt a pass.  Sanchez did plenty of that (266 yards, 3 TDs).  If he keeps playing like that, he won't need to worry about Tebow stealing his job.
• Then again, just wait until Sanchez has a bad game.  It'll happen eventually, and when it does, you can expect the NY fans and media to be hollering for more of Tebow.
• Fred Jackson exited in the first half with a leg injury, which should be a concern for the Bills considering he missed over a month at the end of last season with a broken leg.  This injury doesn't appear to be nearly as bad, considering he was able to walk off the field under his own power, but a RB on the wrong side of 30 that keeps getting injured is never a good sign.
• On the bright side, Jackson's early departure allowed CJ Spiller to shine (169 yards, 1 TD).  The explosive Spiller may not be able to hold up over the long season as an every down back, but it's clear the Bills need to get the ball in his hands more.
• Ryan Tannehill was another rookie QB having a rough day.  He was picked off 3 times and sacked 3 times by a swarming Texans defense.  Perhaps the Dolphins believe Tannehill can be their QB of the future, but despite the early success of other rookie QBs in the past few years, I don't agree with the decision to throw him in as the starter from Week 1.  Rookies that have had success, like Newton, Dalton and RGIII have all had better targets to throw to.  The Dolphins traded their best receiver before the season and have done little to replace him.
• Despite reports that Arian Foster was banged up in practice this week, he managed not only to play, but to carry a heavy workload (26 carries, 79 yards).  His yards per carry left a lot to be desired from an elite RB, but he did find the endzone twice. 
• Still, it was surprising that given their big lead and Foster's questionable health, the Texans didn't protect their top asset by giving some extra carries to Ben Tate.  Not that he fared any better, but he only was given 5 carries.
• Alex Smith led the 49ers to a statement victory in Green Bay.  One of his two TD passes went to Randy Moss, who is certainly no stranger to finding the endzone at Lambeau Field.
• David Akers ended the first half by tying a league record with a 63 yard FG.  The kick had just enough on it, plus a little luck.  After hitting the cross bar, the ball took a fortunate bounce through the up rights.  Akers and his teammates reacted as if they had just won the game.  Well they would go on to win, just not yet.
• The Packers attempt for a 4th quarter comeback was aided by a 75 yard punt return by Randall Cobb.  The score was originally nullified by an illegal block in the back penalty, but despite several replays revealing it to be the right call, the refs ended up picking up the flag and allowing the score to stand.  That was just one of many head scratching moves made by the replacement refs this week, but at least this one didn't end up costing the 49ers the game.  It sure did make it more interesting though.
• In the midst of a lack luster performance, John Skelton was forced out of the game with an injury.  Kevin Kolb came to the rescue, leading an impressive drive for a game winning TD late in the 4th quarter.  The Arizona QB spot was a mess all last year.  Kolb may have looked good in limited work this week, but expect the starting spot to swap several more times before the season is over.
• Russell Wilson surprised many by winning the starting QB job in Seattle over prized free agent acquisition Matt Flynn.  After a terrific pre-season, many were then quick to anoint him as the next great rookie QB and a savior for Seattle.  After one regular season game?  Umm, well... the news is a little underwhelming.  Not that Wilson can't still become great, but I think the hype got a little overblown.  The lesson: don't put too much stock into pre-season performance.
• More adventures in officiating!  On Seattle's final drive, the Seahawks had a chance to win with a late TD.  Doug Baldwin nearly reeled in the winning catch, but the ball came loose when he came down with the ball under him, apparently knocking the wind out of him.  Play was stopped for the injury, which should have cost Seattle their third time out since the game was under two minutes.  Yet a couple plays later, the replacement officials granted them another time out.  This allowed the Seahawks to run 3 more plays to try to throw the ball into the endzone from short range, when they likely wouldn't have had enough time to run more than one play had the clock not been stopped.  Seattle failed to score anyway, so the end result did not impact the game, but it certainly made the Cardinals defense sweat a little more.
• Turns out, the lead official misunderstood the rule.  He was under the impression that the injury to Baldwin would not cost Seattle a time out since the pass was incomplete and the clock had stopped anyway.  However, that's not what the rule states and they should have been charged with that time out.  This was later clarified and apologized for after the game.  Well, at least Arizona hung on to win.  No harm, no foul?
• On a day that Ronde Barber celebrated his 200th consecutive start (longest active streak in the league), the converted safety picked off a pass and recorded a sack to help lead a Tampa defense that looks to be much improved from last years team that gave up more points than any team in the league.  It became clear that the Bucs quit on former coach Raheem Morris at some point during their 10 game losing streak to end the season.  With a new coaching staff installed for this year, the Bucs are hoping to turn things around.  Holding Cam Newton and the explosive Panthers offense to 10 points in an opening week victory is a great start.
• Newton's season opener wasn't nearly as impressive as his record setting debut last year, but he still managed over 300 passing yards.  Much of that came during a desperate comeback attempt in the 4th quarter, including a 51 yard bomb to Louis Murphy to set up the FG that would bring the Panthers to within one score.  The Bucs were able to run out the clock after that, never giving Newton a chance to finish the comeback.
• After missing all of last year due to multiple neck surgeries, Peyton Manning made his much publicized Broncos debut in a win over the Steelers.  He even picked up his 400th career TD along the way, with the first of a pair of scores he would throw in the game.  The milestone score came on a quick throw to Demaryius Thomas near the line of scrimmage that he raced down the field 71 yards to the endzone.
• Ben Roethlisberger is no stranger to clutch 4th quarter performances, but he couldn't come through this time.  Driving towards mid-field in the game's final minutes, the Steelers would have a chance for the game winning score, until Big Ben's pass was picked off by Tracy Porter, who returned the throw all the way back for a game clinching score.
• Down two scores with under 2 minutes to play would seem like an insurmountable lead anyway, but Roethlisberger's final drive ended with being sacked 3 times, forcing a turnover on downs, which allowed the Broncos to run out the clock with a couple of kneel downs.
• The Ravens unveiled their new no-huddle offense and watched Joe Flacco run it flawlessly.  You don't think of the Ravens as being an offensive juggernaut, but that's what they expect to be with this new game plan and they certainly looked the part this week.  The no-huddle doesn't necessarily mean up-tempo.  What it does is allows Flacco to control the pace, while allowing him to read the defense and react with multiple options. 
• Flacco's 60.9% career completion percentage is a bit underwhelming, but after completing 72.4% of his passes in this game, it seems this new offense suits him.  A lot of short passes and screens helped boost that percentage, but he also proved capable of hitting on the deep route, as shown by his 52 yard strike to Torrey Smith on the first play of the game.
• The Bengals snuck into the postseason last year thanks to one of the league's easiest schedules.  They struggled against stiffer competition, particularly their top division rivals - Pittsburgh and Baltimore.  It still remains to be seen how much Andy Dalton has grown in his second season, but he's not off to a great start.
• Philip Rivers wasn't dazzling, but he did enough lead the Chargers to victory.  Most importantly, he didn't do anything to help his team lose.  After setting a career high with 20 INTs last season, Rivers did not turn the ball over.  In what ended up being a one score game, winning the turnover battle was a big key to their win.
• With Ryan Mathews still sidelined with a broken clavicle, the Chargers running game really struggled.  Chargers RBs combined for only 22 yards on 17 carries (1.29 yards/carry).  The lack of success on the ground made it more difficult for the Chargers to put the game away, leaving the door open for a potential Oakland comeback.
• Following an injury to their usual long snapper, Oakland botched three punts in the game to give the Chargers excellent field position.  San Diego made them pay for the mistakes by adding FGs on each of those short drives.
• When healthy, Darren McFadden is one of the game's most explosive offensive weapons.  Despite playing from behind for much of the second half, Oakland knew it had to keep him involved. While unable to get much going on the ground (15 carries, 32 yards), Run-DMC managed to make an impact.  He was targeted a game high 18 times, hauling in 13 of those passes for 86 yards.
• There were several examples this week of the replacement officials making mistakes, which was bound to happen under these circumstances.  Most of the issues were related to spotting the ball, late flags and some confusion over communicating the correct call.  In most cases, the officials gathered together to get the call right, even if it took longer than usual.  I mentioned a few of the instances where they clearly got the call wrong, but at least in each of those cases, the botched call did not determine the outcome of the game.  But what happens if it does?  What if we are still stuck with replacement officials by the playoffs? 
• For the record, it's hard to blame these replacement officials.  They lack experience at this level and have been put in an unfair position by the league.  The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business.  If they can't figure out that paying a little more to their officials would improve the quality of games then they are risking a major potential problem.  These replacement refs will shoulder most of the blame for a game altering missed call, but it's really the league that should be blamed.