Week 1 Power Report

Everyone tends to overreact after one week of games. I will fight that urge, but there are several things learned after everyone’s first post-lockout real game.

Things we learned:
a. Offense is ahead of the defense. 1100+ yards of offense in the New England/Miami game, 76 points in the Packers/Saints game, and a rookie “athletic” quarterback threw for over 400 yards. Don’t overreact to it (wow, the Packers and Patriots are terrible!).
b. So much for the new rules taking away special teams plays. Green Bay’s Randall Cobb, Minnesota’s Percy Harvin, and San Francisco’s Ted Ginn Jr. each returned kickoffs from endzone to endzone (and there were plenty other long returns). There are lots more touchbacks, but players are taking a lot more risks instead of taking a knee.

Stats of the Week:
0: Wins for the NFC South (0-4)
7: Turnovers for the Pittsburgh Steelers
8: Kicks returns for touchdowns
14: Quarterbacks that topped 300 yards passing
39: Passing yards for Donovan McNabb
517: Passing yards for Tom Brady

Power Report
1. Packers. The Packers confirmed that there is no Super Bowl honeymoon for them. They are the real deal on offense and defense (despite giving up a lot of yards and points, their defense put a lot of pressure on Brees and held strong at the goal line), and even provided some fireworks on special teams, with rookie Randall Cobb returning a kickoff to paydirt.

2. Patriots. My cousin Adam stated that “Tom Brady is a product of the system.” If you watched this game or any other game in Brady’s career, you will know that the system is a product of Tom Brady. 622 yards of offense is the most I’ve ever seen for an NFL game. And who are they doing it with? Little Wes Welker, two 2nd year tight ends, Danny Woodhead, and Deion Branch. Like the Packers, the defense also gave up a ton, but they held strong at the goal line a couple times and a lot of the yards were allowed with a big lead, so I’m not worried.

3. Saints. They were one play at the goal line at 0:00 (plus 2-pt attempt) away from forcing overtime against the Packers so just because they lost I’m not going to drop them down to #13 or something crazy like that. And by the way, that a terrible playcall, handing the ball into the hands of a rookie instead of giving your best player (Brees) a chance to win it. I am a little nervous about the Saints’ offensive line; they were very overmatched throughout the game, and the defense and special teams defense played poorly, too (of course, Aaron Rodgers will make a lot of defenses look bad).

4. Ravens. Wow, was I wrong about that one. The Ravens looked like they’ve been preparing all year for this game against the Steelers and they destroyed them on both sides of the ball.
5. Texans. 34-0 at halftime is pretty big, and that was even without their star running back. The Texans have a great quarterback, receivers, backfield, tight end, and defense.
6. Eagles. Lots of playmakers on offense and defense. They still have some major issues at offensive line and linebackers.

7. Chargers. Chargers won the game but same ol’ same ol’. Defense held the Vikings under 200 yards, offense gained over 400 yards. Special teams was the bugaboo last year, and in one game they gave up an opening kickoff for a touchdown and their Pro Bowl kicker got hurt on the play. Their other problem was turnovers, and Rivers had two. Those will have to improve for them to stay this high.

8. Lions. This was one of the many surprises for me over the weekend. As long as Stafford stays healthy the Lions will stay in the Top 10. This was one defense that did come prepared.

9. Steelers. I thought the lockout was supposed to give a stable and strong organization like Pittsburgh an advantage. They were totally run over. The offensive line is bad, and while Big Ben is tough, he’s also a statue with the football and is going to be hit a ton. Look for them to bounce back in a big way at home against the Seahawks.

10. Bears. I don’t really think the Bears are this good but after the defense completely shut down the supposedly mighty Atlanta Falcons and Jay Cutler led the offense well, I can’t put them any lower. Five more sacks for Cutler is cause for concern.

11. Falcons. They are a good team but like I said, they have a tough schedule. That was a game they were supposed to win. They are likely to lose against Vick this weekend. But like the Packers last year, as long as they get into the playoffs they have a shot currently they are tied for the division lead.

12. Cowboys. Big D controlled this game until Romo made two inexcusably poor decisions that cost the game. Now we get to listen to Rex Ryan blabber for another week.

13. Jets. Any win is good, but let’s put this in perspective: Tony Romo threw all over this vaunted Jets defense, and it took two huge mistakes AND a blocked punt returned for a touchdown all in the 4th quarter to pull off this win at home. Jets are overrated. Of course, no one ever complained about being lucky.

14. Bucs. I didn’t see anything from this game, but I was pretty disappointed with the result.
15. Raiders. Broncos couldn’t stop Darren McFadden. Last time the Raiders started 1-0 they made it to the Super Bowl.

16. Giants. Giants are terrible and in big trouble. No overreaction here. The defense came in as the big question mark, but it was the Giants offense that stunk it up. Eli’s first two passes were dropped. A lineman missed a block that led to the deflected pick-6. The Giants couldn’t convert on a 4th and 1 on a completely terrible play call. As for defense and special teams: Rex Grossman threw for 300 yards. Lawrence Tynes (who should have been cut) got a field goal blocked. The least of my worries on this team is Eli Manning but the rest of the team played horrible. This was a game they had to win and they flopped.

17. Rams. Lots of injuries already spell out a long year.
18. Bills. Pretty amazing to see them this high considering they were my #30 a week ago. Good fortunes ought to continue with the Raiders making the cross-country trip next week.
19. Redskins. Rex Grossman shows that on a good day this offense shows life. And the defense came up big, too.
20. Jaguars. A league-high 47 carries helped them control the clock 2:1 over the Titans.
21. Vikings. Adrian Peterson is an amazing running back and ran over a bunch of Chargers, but if the passing game doesn’t show signs of life, he will wear out quick.
22. Dolphins. The defense was supposed to be strong. It will be hard to shake off Monday’s beat down with the Texans coming up. But hey, Chad Henne showed why I believed in him last year. He was throwing the ball all over the field and even ran one in, too.
23. Titans. When you have the best running back in football, why do you only attempt 13 rushes? It was a 2 point game!

24. Chiefs. Arrowhead Stadium was supposed to be one of the best home field advantages. Then the Chiefs lose by 34 at home to the Bills. And losing their best defensive player for the season does not bode well for the future. Coach Haley gets my favorite quote of the week: “We weren’t prepared for this game.” If you weren’t prepared for the first game of the season, what have you been doing for the last two months?

25. Colts. Talk about poor planning.
26. 49ers. Ted Ginn Jr. has one big highlight game per year, so what happens for the next 15 for the 49ers?
27. Cardinals. Did they really just let a rookie who completed less than half his passes in preseason throw for over 400 yards against them?
28. Broncos. You used a first-round pick on him, why not see what Tim Tebow can do? The Broncos won’t be any good this year anyway. All the injuries they sustained to key players will keep it that way.
29. Seahawks. On a positive note, they actually outgained the 49ers. On a negative note, their special teams wins the prize for worst unit in the league.
30. Bengals. Showing some signs of life with a big game by Cedric Benson. Is the defense that good or was the Browns defense that bad?
31. Panthers. Cam Newton looked really good all around in his first NFL start. That doesn’t mean wins will soon follow (especially with the Packers coming to town), but the future looks brighter than it did a week ago.
32. Browns. They knocked the Bengals’ starting quarterback out and they still couldn’t hold on? A loss in Indianapolis against the No-Manning-Colts next week would end their season.