Week One Observations
1. Willie Parker did not appear to have any burst against the Titans. Rashard Mendenhall is not competent enough in the passing game to be the every-down back. Mewelde Moore may end up seeing some this year after all.
2. Looks like Cortland Finnegan is still on his game.
3. Matt Ryan’s accuracy was off in game one – though he was more accurate than Jason Elam. It would be ironic if Ryan and Atlanta’s special teams betrayed them just as their defense came around.
4. The Tony Gonzalez Experiment may work out after all.
5. The other big free agent acquistion Atlanta made, LB Mike Peterson, may prove even more important.
6. Pat White missed on a touchdown bomb in one of his only appearances on the field. It was there. The trick plays the Dolphins ran worked pretty well on Sunday. Watch for White and more trickeration as the season continues. The Vanilla Pennington offense does not stretch the field enough to challenge good teams.
7. Brandon Stokley is a smart player. Last year when Brandon Marshall scored a go-ahead touchdown against the Browns, Stokley prevented Marshall from drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty for celebration late in a close game. You always need some smart players. The Broncos seem like a smart team this season.
8. Much of the credit for that goes to Brian Dawkins, who was a force against the Bengals.
9. Admit it – you forgot that Champ Bailey was on the Denver Broncos. Or you forgot that Bailey is one of the best defenders in football.
10. In his first game, rookie CB Alphonso Smith looked like he was worthy of Denver’s investment of a 2010 first-round pick.
11. I’ve been trying to talk myself into this for months, reminding myself of all the positives and possibilities while trying to ignore the unavoidable truth: Kyle Orton is the quarterback of my favorite team, the team I’ve been cheering for since I was five years old. Orton took a sack that knocked the Broncos out of field goal range in the fourth quarter while up by six points. This was a mistake that should have cost them the game.
12. Chad Ochocinco looks more explosive than he did last season.
13. Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers looked great on Sunday. Maualuga could win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
14. The Colts are looking good. Peyton Manning made a couple mistakes on Sunday. That won’t be happening much the rest of the season, and these close wins will become blowouts.
15. Jacksonville’s receiving corps looks as bad or possibly even worse than last season.
16. Ugly debut for Eugene Monroe.
17. Cadillac Williams didn’t look good on Sunday. He looked great.
18. Rookie kickoff specialist David Buehler blasted three touchbacks for the Cowboys in Tampa.
19. Nice balance from Dallas in game one. It will be interesting to see if that continues. They will need all their weapons to beat the mighty Giants.
20. Michael Clayton showed off some nice hands against Dallas. You need good hands to handle those Byron bazookas.
21. Clifton Smith scares the crap out of everyone, including his own team and fans, when he touches the ball.
22. The Eagles did not miss Jim Johnson, Stewart Bradley, or Brian Dawkins in game one. The plan was aggressive and the ‘backers kicked ass.
23. DeAngelo Williams played really well against the Eagles.
24. Joe Flacco threw 43 passes against the Chiefs, completing 26 of them for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Ravens are going to throw it a lot more this season, and they now have the ability to play from behind. But will they be a better team? The symbiosis between their offense and defense may lack the coherence it had last season. You get the feeling offensive coordinator Cam Cameron wants to show off a little bit, but that may not be the most effective way to win football games for Baltimore in ’09. This will be a fascinating team to watch.
25. Don’t be fooled by Kansas City’s run at the Ravens. There is very little to like about this team.
26. The media has just as good a chance at picking the Sleeper as anyone else, and might just have nailed it with the Jets. Mark Sanchez was not as good as his numbers would suggest, but deserves credit for playing well in his first start on the road. It will be interesting to see what Bill Belichick cooks up for the Jets this weekend.
27. Hard to evaluate the Redskins after week one. Going to the Meadowlands to play the Giants is a thankless task.
28. Taking handoffs, Ahmad Bradshaw is one of the five best running backs in the NFL. His composite speed, power, and moves are exceptional. His problems arise in blocking and pass-catching.
29. The Niners have had a little success in September the last few years, stealing some ugly games. Don’t be fooled. They may have the worst offense in the league.
30. Stay calm, Beanie Wells fantasy owners. He’ll be the one getting the carries before the season is over.
31. Kurt Warner was a checkdown machine on Sunday. When he wasn’t dumping the ball off, he was misfiring.
32. Welcome to Chicago, Mr. Cutler! Don’t worry, Mike Shanahan will arrive soon.
33. Green Bay’s front seven is looking good. This wasn’t a matter of changing to a 3-4 as much as it was adding and returning talent.
34. You could see Tom Brady working his way back into it the longer that game against the Bills progressed. He will get better and better as the season progresses, as will the Pats.
35. The Monday Night crew did a nice job notifying us the Patriots were double-teaming Terrell Owens and Lee Evans, so the Bills had to go underneath. Trent Edwards took what he could get and wound up with a 114.1 quarterback rating.
36. Much was made of Leodis McKelvin’s decision to return the fateful kickoff near the end of the game against the Patriots. It was the right decision to bring it out. When he caught the ball, there was 2:06 on the clock. If he can get it down to the two minute warning, it costs the Patriots a timeout.
37. Looking at the Oakland/San Diego game comparing the teams position by position you get:
Offensive line: Advantage Oakland
Running backs: Advantage Oakland
Tight ends: Push
Wide receivers: Big advantage San Diego
Quarterback: Huge advantage San Diego
Defensive line: Big advantage Oakland
Linebackers: Advantage Oakland
Cornerbacks: Advantage Oakland
Safeties: Slight Advantage Oakland
Coaching: Slight Advantage San Diego
38. Oakland outplayed San Diego up and down the roster, except for the quarterback position. Quarterback is just so much more important than any other position. And Oakland doesn’t have a quarterback. They cannot be good until they have a quarterback. Can you win games with JaMarcus Russell? Not many.
39. ***Softball analogy of the week*** When the pitcher is operating efficiently, throwing strikes and playing quickly, players field better. Everyone is locked in, focused, sharp. When the pitcher is missing badly and serving up walks, the fielders lose their focus. Getting the ball hit in your direction happens less often and comes with more pressure. As a result, more balls get booted. You see this same phenomenon in the NFL, where teams with inaccurate quarterbacks like the '08 Browns or '09 Raiders drop a lot of balls. They are out of rhythm.
40. San Diego looks like the same team as last year. Both lines look like they need to hit the weight room. LaDainian Tomlinson is injured and/or ineffective. You d
on’t see any creative defensive packages. Shawne Merriman is nonexistent. The team appears uninspired. It’s all on Philip Rivers – and he’s happy to deliver. He could put up gargantuan numbers if LT and the defense continue to struggle.41. In Monday Night’s highly anticipated battle royale of punters, San Diego’s Mike Scifres trumped Oakland’s Shane Lechler. But Donnie Jones of the Rams is emerging as the Juan Martin del Potro to their Nadal/Federer.
Defensive MVP of the week: Darrelle Revis, New York Jets
Offensive MVP of the week: Drew Brees, New Orleans
Defensive breakout player of the week: Phillip Merling, Miami
Offensive breakout player of the week: Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay
Defensive coordinator of the week: Mike Nolan, Denver
Offensive coordinator of the week: Alex Van Pelt, Buffalo
Power Rankings (preseason rank in parentheses):
32. Detroit (26)
31. St. Louis (28)
30. Kansas City (30)
29. Cleveland (16)
28. Arizona (23)
27. San Francisco (31)
26. Oakland (32)
25. Houston (21)
24. Tampa Bay (24)
23. Buffalo (29)
22. Cincinnati (27)
21. Carolina (19)
20. Denver (15)
19. Seattle (22)
18. Miami (14)
17. Jacksonville (13)
16. San Diego (10)
15. Chicago (8)
14. Washington (17)
13. New York Jets (25)
12. Green Bay (4)
11. Tennessee (12)
10. Atlanta (20)
9. Philadelphia (18)
8. New England (1)
7. Minnesota (9)
6. Pittsburgh (7)
5. Dallas (6)
4. Baltimore (11)
3. New Orleans (5)
2. Indianapolis (2)
1. New York Giants (3)
posted by GnightMoon @ 4:46 PM
10 Comments:
I hope it's not too cheesy to ask for advice:
I have LT, Sproles, and the Saints' backs Thomas and Bell on my fantasy team. I also have Cassel, and 2 of his Chiefs receivers.
My team is understandably crappy, but I also had last pick in my league. Which of these guys should be starting in Week 2, considering the match-ups (saints vs eagles, chargers vs ravens, chiefs vs raiders)?
I also have Beanie Wells and Vincent Jackson. Any thoughts? This is my 1st year playing fantasy, but it seems like week to week adjusting based on the match-ups is an integral part of the decision making. I am skeptical of how well the Chargers will be able to run against the Ravens.
Any info would be appreciated.
Oh yeah, I have Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter (apparently the latter is supposed to be back in good health for week 2?).
Too early to give up on the Houston WR's based solely on the Week 1 performance?
Andre Johnson is a mandatory start in every game. Carefully monitor the Pierre Thomas injury situation, he is a good choice if starting. Beanie probably needs a few more weeks. Vincent Jackson could have a huge game vs Ravens - Chargers will be throwing and Baltimore doesn't have anyone to match up with VJ. Dwayne Bowe I like.
I realize it's largely irrelevant, but what exactly did you see out of the Rams shutout loss that caused you to elevate them above the Lions, who played tight with New Orleans?
St Louis secondary is much improved.
Solid list of current power rankings. Though if Atlanta's defense proves it can deliver a consistent performance, I bump the Falcons to the top 5.
Obviously I'm a homer. But just thought I'd get my thoughts in on the '09 Steelers.
I think you're off a bit.
The defense last year was not merely "the best in the league." They were one of the best defenses in our lifetime.
- They let up an average of 3.9 yards per play. This is the lowest figure in the NFL in like 30 years.
- They almost led the league in points allowed, passing yards allowed, and rushing yards allowed.
- 20 of 22 starters returned. This includes an upgrade from Foote to Timmons (who will be in a 'defensive player of the year' conversation within 4 years)
So, rhw best defense in the league improved (once 'malu comes back).
They also went the entirety of last year without a legitimate NFL punter or punt/kick returner. These things make a difference. They have both now.
The offensive line, while bad, can only be better than last year. There's a lot of nuance and chemistry that go into an O-line performing together. They were beginning to jell last year.
Roethlisberger now has 80% of the playbook at his disposal in the no huddle. He will be a weapon this year. Holmes is really ready to break out.
Even with a suspect running game and weak O-line, the Steelers are the best team in the NFL. They are a better team than they were last year.
(And they have the most undeniably awesome coach in the history of sports.)
I love following your blog and your football insight but so far to date you have shown very little knowledge of what's really going on in the NFL. You need to re-calibrate what you think of each team. Your predicitons and analysis should probably wait until at least 3-4 weeks have gone by.
Hoedeman -
Last year's Steelers D did put up great numbers. But they benefited from playing the Bengals, Browns, and Ravens twice each. They didn't play the Saints, Panthers, Falcons, Broncos, or Patriots. They didn't look so hot against the Cards in the Super Bowl. This was a good team, but not one that matches up to some of the best of all-time.
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