Monday, September 12, 2011

What We Learned From Week 1

Many of the games this weekend didn't go my way personally, but we did learn a lot from the the first full Sunday of NFL football.  Here's a few of the things that stick out in my mind from yesterday's games.

Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears proved all the critics wrong and destroyed the Atlanta Falcons.  Cutler threw for over 300 yards and a pair of TD's, and proved he doesn't care what the media has to say about him.  The Bears are the real deal.

Speaking of the real deal; the Detroit Lions are good.  This game was not as close as the score showed.  The Lions dominated the field in yards and time of possession.  Stafford looked every bit as good as he did in the preseason, and if he stays healthy, the Lions may be due for a playoff spot in 2011.

The shocker of the weekend was the Buffalo Bills.  I knew the Chiefs offense wasn't going to be as good as they were last year, but there defense was awful.  The Bills put up 41 points with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing 4 touchdowns.  They are in an extremely tough division, but look for them to spoil some other teams season as we progress through the year.

The Dallas Cowboys aren't going to the Super Bowl.  I don't know why so many people think they are every year, but they are the Notre Dame of professional football.  They play well, but when they see they have a victory in their grasp, they throw it away...literally.  Two bone-headed plays by Romo cost the Cowboys the game late last night.  Dez Bryant looked like Larry Fitzgerald in the first quarter, but then fell apart...literally.  As for the rest of this division, the Giants have too many injuries to be competitive.  The receivers drop too many passes from Eli, and they have to play a tough schedule in the East.  The Redskins seem to be playing much better than anyone expected.  The Eagles will be good until Vick gets hurt, then Vince Young will be forced to play and may need a psychiatrist on the field with him. 

We also learned that the Cleveland Browns are same old Browns they've been the last five years.  There's a new offense but the same check down five yard passes that go no where.  It's embarrassing to get beat at home by a team that has more turmoil than any other team in the league.  Looks like another five win season for my beloved Browns.

As for the Colts.  There defense is built to play with a lead and rush the quarterback.  No Peyton Manning means no lead.  No lead means no defense.  As many pro bowl players as this team has, without Manning, they are in a rebuilding stage.  They are going to have to redesign that defense, get some size on the front four, and get better corners.  The offensive line is horrendous and they cannot run the football.  This means everything has to fall on Kerry Collin's shoulders, and this is not a good thing.  A long, long season is ahead of the Indianapolis Colts.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice blog! You forgot to mention DA-Bears will go 19-0

Vince Payne said...

The Bears were very good. I didn't expect that at all. Jay Cutler quieted a lot of his critics, and that defense is lights out. That's going to be a really good division!