First off, I’d like to single out Pedro Tagatac of Lihu‘e, who was the Football Frenzy Week 1 picks winner with a 13-2 record. Well done, sir. My 12-3 mark was good enough to lead the panel, but Pedro outpointed
First off, I’d like to single out Pedro Tagatac of Lihu‘e, who was the Football Frenzy Week 1 picks winner with a 13-2 record. Well done, sir. My 12-3 mark was good enough to lead the panel, but Pedro outpointed us all.
As for the first week of NFL action, it’s always the most overreacted to week of the season. I’ve heard that Las Vegas makes its most money during the regular season on Week 2, because everyone who watched the first week thinks they know exactly how good each team is.
But we don’t.
So I’ve decided to put together a list of things that I think I learned, but that I should immediately forget about Week 1.
Jake Delhomme has lost his mojo.
The Panthers’ quarterback, who was once the darling of the NFC when he led Carolina to within three points of a Super Bowl title, has now had 11 turnovers in his last two games and strikes fear into the heart of his own fans. He was heartily booed at home last week. That can’t be good for the ego.
But… this is still a Panthers team that went 12-4 last season, has two outstanding running backs and one of the league’s best receivers. Delhomme has had two horrific performances, but he’s shown himself to be resilient in the past. He shouldn’t be written off just yet.
The Chicago Bears are bound to disappoint and Jay Cutler can’t live up to the hype.
With their first franchise quarterback since the pre-VHS era, Bears fans had reason to be excited coming into the division showdown with the Packers. After Cutler’s four-interception display left Chicago-ans feeling about as deflated as a week-old birthday balloon, folks are swan diving off the Bears bandwagon.
But… this was Cutler’s first game in primetime with his new team, facing a team that some, myself included, see as a Super Bowl contender. Not only were they still in the game given Cutler’s grossness, they were winning with 1:11 left when the Packers somehow came up with a 50-yard touchdown.
Cutler threw for over 4,500 yards last season. Let’s let him learn his new teammates before we write him off as a whiny failure.
OK, at least before we write him off as a failure.
The Patriots are in deep trouble.
New England got outplayed by a seemingly inferior Buffalo team for 55 of a 60-minute football game. Both the offensive and defensive lines were getting pushed around. Tom Brady was a bit tentative, which is understandable considering he basically has a brand new knee. They only gained 3.2 yards per rushing play. They gave up 4.7 yards per carry.
But… they won. They’re 1-0. Not only did they win, it wasn’t even that surprising, was it? I mean, they were down by 11 points with five minutes to go and we now look at it and say, “Yeah, of course they were going to win. They’re the Pats.”
And there it is.
They’re the Pats. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they come through when it matters. They have some definite holes to plug, but nobody is better with the duct tape than Coach Belichik.
The Rams stink.
St. Louis averaged a paltry 4.3 yards per play in a 28-0 loss to the Seahawks, as opposed to Seattle’s 6.4. They were 2 for 12 on third downs. They had 10 penalties for 85 yards. They gave up 446 total yards. They forced three turnovers, had two trips into the red zone and still didn’t score all game.
But… Um.
(crickets chirping)
No, I’m pretty sure the Rams stink. That’s the one thing we know after Week 1.
By the time you are reading this, a good chunk of Sunday’s Week 2 action will be complete and we will have a whole new list of things we think we know.
But honestly, we still don’t.
