Although the Falcons/Steelers game was undoubtedly the game I was most emotionally invested in this past Sunday, the season began for everybody this week.
Vikings/Saints
The very first game of the season, which took place last Thursday, was the much anticipated rematch between the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings and last season's Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints, in the very same Superdome where the Vikings fell to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game last winter. Everyone expected this game to be a crazy display of skill from both teams, on both sides of the ball, and it was actually really anticlimactic in my opinion.
The end result should not have surprised anyone except for maybe those Vikings fans who, despite their QBs age and preference for spending his offseason as the ringleader of a media circus as opposed to preparing for the season, are under the misguided notion that somehow their team is prepared to exceed last year's accomplishments. The Saints won, 14-9. But, this contest was obviously not the high-scoring, fast-paced nailbiter that anyone expected.
The bottom line is that both teams looked weaker than they should have after having such successful seasons last year. The Saints run defense was surprisingly shaky (which is great news for my Falcons) and Garrett Hartley, who was cool as ice under pressure last year, was just a hot mess of missed kicks. Drew Brees is an extraordinarily accurate passer, and the passing game was simply not as successful in the season opener (with the exception of the first drive, which resulted in a touchdown) as it had consistently been last year. However, the Saints adjusted and integrated more of a running scheme into the second half, which really opened up their offense.
The Vikings looked to be very much in preseason form. I personally think that allowing Brett Favre to, once again, skip out on preseason has been detrimental to this team, which has also weathered a number of injuries and health issues between last winter and last week. The play calling and refusal to adjust during the game was questionable, the player rotation was questionable (where the heck was Camarillo?), and overall, I think this is a Vikings team that has a long way to go to even be able to think about claiming their division this year.
Which brings me to the next game of note:
Packers/Eagles
I won't beat around the bush here. I'm a Packers fan, and I was very pleased with their performance in Sunday's matchup in Philadelphia. The Eagles have a bit of a learning curve to handle at present after trading Donovan McNabb to the Redskins and committing to Kevin Kolb as the starter. Kolb had some solid performances last season when starting in place of the injured McNabb, but is untested as far as a regular season established QB. Kolb looked weak early in the game, and then suffered a concussion, and former Falcons QB Michael Vick came in to run the offense. I will say, Vick looks to be back in playing shape, as opposed to the prison shape he was in last season. He looks agile and quick, like he did when he was last with the Falcons.
The Packers offense looks solid. Aaron Rodgers is on his way to being one of the all-time great quarterbacks. The offensive line was a little disappointing at first, showing shades of last season's ineptitude, but they pulled it together to protect Rodgers effectively as the game continued. The receivers looked sharp, and the defense looked very tough overall. You could tell they hadn't gameplanned for Vick's style of play and had some difficulty adjusting. All in all, I think the Packers look like THE team to beat in the NFC this year.
There were a ton of injuries in this game--a grim reminder of what these guys put on the line every Sunday when they take the field to play for our entertainment (oh, and millions of dollars. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that aspect of things.) The Eagles were much more plagued by injuries than the Packers, but the Packers did suffer a devastating loss in RB Ryan Grant's season-ending injury. I did hear that the Packers signed RB Dimitri Nance from the Falcons practice squad, and I think he's a great addition. He had some great preseason performances.
Browns/Buccaneers
We had free DirecTV Sunday ticket on Sunday, so I was really excited to see the Browns play. They played at the same time as the Falcons, so I could only watch so much. All I know is that it seemed like they were playing really well, and then turnovers and errors got the best of them.
I'm doubly mad about this, because a) I really wanted the Holmgren era to start off strong with a win, especially over a mediocre Tampa Bay team, and b) Tampa's win and Atlanta's loss on Sunday means that currently the Buccaneers are ahead of us in the NFC South. Jake Delhomme is awaiting MRI results and is currently hobbling around in a walking boot due to an ankle injury. Things are, as usual, looking to be particularly challenging for the Cleveland Browns. I just hope we can pull it together. Even a .500 season would be a huge improvement over the last two years.
Bengals/Patriots
I did catch a little of this game, but the Patriots ran away with it so early that I just couldn't bring myself to watch the train wreck. At least Cinci fought back and scored quite a bit. With their receiving corps and Cedric Benson, plus the strength of their defense, Cincinnati should be able to pull together a decent season. I hope this first game was not a harbinger of things to come. What can you even say about the Patriots? They're always good.
Other Notable Games
The Cowboys, also known as "analysts' perpetual favorites to win the Super Bowl every year despite their actual on-field performance", lost to the McNabb-led Redskins Sunday night. The Houston Texans upset the Colts for the first time in team history. Rex Ryan's mouth wrote a check his team couldn't cash in the season opener, when they dropped their first game Monday night in the new Meadowlands against a very tough Baltimore Ravens team. The Kansas City Chiefs taught the San Diego Chargers a thing or two in Arrowhead Stadium in the other Monday night game with a big win.
There were a lot of surprises in Week One, and it was certainly an exciting start to the 2010. Here's looking forward to Week Two, with hope that my teams will come out on top this week!
