Unfortunately, I was not able to watch the Steelers game this past Sunday. I was traveling during the early games and even though I shell out big bucks for Sunday Ticket, I for some reason don't have a DVR or Tivo--that's gotta change. Anyway, thanks to all you for the insights about the game.
I did however see highlights of all the games, as well as some of the late games Sunday and of course the two MNF games. Here are some observations from Week 1:
* People need to settle down about the New Orleans Saints. There is no way that offense doesn't put up gawdy numbers this year. One off night on the road against the defending SB Champs. Big deal. Their defense though might be their achilles heal again this year.
* How dumb must Arthur Blank feel for letting Matt Schaub go. The Atlanta Falcons are now stuck with perennial loser Joey Harrington at the controls.
*The Washington Redskins might suprise some people this year. The Joe Gibbs Era version 2.0 hasn't got exactly to plan, but they really had no shot last year with a pathetic Mark Brunnel and an inexperienced Jason Campbell. This team isn't built to blow anybody out, but if their defense continues to improve from a year ago, they're going to be in their fair share of football games. All Joe Gibbs does is win--or at least, so says his resume--so I wouldn't be at all surprised if they get back to the playoffs this year.
*In my mind, the San Diego Chargers are the team to beat in the NFL. The media loves the Pats, and of course the Colts deserve the accolades they receive, but people seem to forget that the Chargers decimated the league last year before losing a game to the Pats that they shouldn't have in last year's playoffs. They have the best player in football, an extremely capable QB, and a stout defense that should be even better than last year's unit.
*The Detroit Lions are going to put up some serious numbers this year. I've always thought Jon Kitna was better than people give him credit for--he has after all been stuck on lousy teams his entire career. Make no mistake about it, the Lions still have major issues and will lose more games than they win, but they'll undoubtedly be one of the more entertaining teams to watch in '07.
*The Philadelphia Eagles are going to be fine. Two costly special teams turnovers were their downfall at Lambeau, but I still feel they're the team to beat in the NFC East.
*Anybody have an explanation as to why the Baltimore Ravens abandoned the running game last night? Mcgahee wasn't exactly shredding the Bengals defense, but he was having success in between the tackles. 'Offensive genius' Brian Billick went away from the run though and put the ball in McNair's hands far too often I thought. Fine by me. I'm always happy when the Ravens lose, even when it means the Bengals win. I actually heard an 'analyst' say that the Ravens would win more games than they did a year ago. That would be 14, 15, or 16 Ws. Really?