10 Week 1 surprises
09/11/2007
Stalter Home / Sports Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
The first week of the 2007 NFL season is in the books and, damn, it feels good to have football back in our lives. There’s always a little magic in the air on that first Sunday – well, until your favorite team gets waxed by 21 points, anyway.
Every year, opening day brings a few surprises. Maybe a team that everyone thought was going to be horrible rises to the occasion and shocks a contender. Or maybe a seventh-round rookie wide receiver from Hofstra comes out of nowhere to catch four passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Nevertheless, Week 1 is all about surprises and I’ve compiled 10 below that struck my fancy. And yes, I know it’s only the first week and many of these might not matter in a month. So save your emails and just enjoy that we all get to talk football again.
1. Steven Jackson’s (lack of) performance
Jackson started off like a bat out of hell, gaining nine yards on his first carry and eight on his second. Then sometime between then and the second quarter, Jackson turned into Ki-Jana Carter. His next-longest carry didn’t come until midway through the third quarter when he rushed for six yards and then turned the ball over on a fumble. His final stat line: 18 carries, 58 yards and two fumbles. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention he also had one catch for three yards. Carolina has a solid defense, but what a dud performance by Jackson – on his home turf nonetheless – in what is supposed be a stud season.
2. LT shut down
It’s rare to see LaDainian Tomlinson struggle to get any positive yardage, but that’s exactly what happened in the Chargers’ 14-3 win over the Bears. While Tomlinson did throw for a touchdown and have seven catches for 51 yards, he rushed for only 25 yards on 17 carries. It’s highly doubtful we’ll see this kind of performance again considering he won’t face nasty defenses like Chicago all season, but it was interesting to hear the announcer repeat, “And Tomlinson is stuffed again!”
3. When did Baltimore’s defense dress for the Packers?
Green Bay’s defense was simply fantastic against Philadelphia, mainly in frustrating Donovan McNabb and coming up with huge stops in the second half. The Packers only sacked McNabb once, but anyone who watched the game could see he was scrambling for his life on most plays. Nick Barnett played like a man possessed, notching 13 tackles and one huge interception in the first half that set the tone for the entire day. The thing that most impressed me about GB’s defense, however, was the secondary. McNabb simply didn’t have anywhere to throw and other than a few decent catches by Jason Avant and Kevin Curtis, major props go out to the Pack’s defensive backs.
4. When did Baltimore’s defense dress for the Colts?
Remember when Indianapolis wasn’t going to get to the Super Bowl last year because of their horrid run defense? Yeah, well they proved us wrong then and they’re ready to do it again this year. New Orleans brought last year’s top-ranked offense into the RCA Dome, but the Colts limited them to only 293 total yards, including just 106 on the ground. They held Reggie Bush to 45 total yards and made Drew Brees look like Rex Grossman in Super Bowl XLI by intercepting him twice and taking one pick back for a touchdown. With the offense seemingly already in mid-season form, what a boost Indy will get this season if the defense continues to play like they did against the Saints.
5. Bobby Petrino’s debut was less than lackluster
In the preseason, everyone got a taste of what Petrino’s offense would bring to the NFL. It was a nice combination of a power running game, spread formations and, overall, an offense that methodically moved the ball down the field at will. Now, maybe Minnesota’s underrated defense and Joey Harrington’s piss poor decision-making had something (or a lot) to do with it, but the Falcons didn’t even reach the red zone once. Five-wide formations in the preseason were toned down to just two- and three-receiver sets, and the only thing moving down the field at will was Kevin Williams after he picked off Harrington and took it 54 yards for a score.
6. Clinton Portis looks healthy again
Raise your hand if you purposely stayed away from Portis in your fantasy football drafts…come on – let me see those hands! Miami’s front seven is one of the best in the league, but Portis was able to grind out 98 yards on just 17 carries – a 5.8 YPC average – and one touchdown. Ladell Betts proved last year that he’s a capable backup, so if Jason Campbell can continue to mature and the defense can create a little pressure, maybe the Skins won’t be as bad as people think.
7. Chris Brown is back
The Titans are extremely lucky they were able to wait almost an entire offseason before re-signing Brown, who was essentially phased out of their offense just a year ago. What a game he had Sunday, rattling off 175 yards on 19 carries (9.2 YPC average) in the Titans’ 13-10 win over the Jags. The Tennessee brass wants LenDale White to be the main back, but what Brown did against a usually stiff Jacksonville front seven might have earned him the No. 1 role.
8. Wade better get the D right in Big D
When Wade Phillips was hired in Dallas over the offseason, many thought he would take the Cowboys’ defense to another level. In his debut, however, his defense gave up 438 total yards, including 312 through the air and 124 on the ground, to a banged up Giants offense. For a team considered a Super Bowl contender and a defense that’s supposed to be one of the best in the league, that was hardly a rousing performance. At least the offense looked like a juggernaut.
9. Fox’s Coverage
Holy crap Fox was bad. Missed replays, bad camera angles, late coming out of breaks – do you need time to shake off the rust, Fox? The announcing seems to get worse every year too. I swear to the football gods, if I hear one more former athlete-turned-announcer say, “If Quarterback A gets time to throw, he’s going to be all right.” Brilliant! If any quarterback has time to throw he’s going to be all right! Maybe I’m in the minority, but I used to think Fox was pretty good. But after what I witnessed yesterday, that network needs a shake up.
10. Was that Chris Chambers?
Mostly for fantasy football purposes, I launched a six-month investigation on the whereabouts of Dolphins’ receiver Chris Chambers. You see, the guy has been missing since 2005 and I was starting to worry that he would never come back again due to Miami’s ongoing search for a quarterback. But lo and behold, he resurfaced in Washington on Sunday, snatching six passes for 92 yards and a solid 15.3 ypc average. I’m really glad that he’s back now that Trent Green is tossing him the rock, and I’m super excited that I avoided him like the plague in all of my fantasy leagues this year (that was sarcasm folks; sorry for any confusion).
Questions or comments? Send them to astalter@bullz-eye.com.