NFL Week 1 Review

We know the scores. We know the winners and losers. What do we take away after the first week of the NFL season? Here's a few things that stood out.






Welker's return could propel the Pats.



1. The return of Wes Welker.

Hard to believe the last time we saw Welker in a regular season game, he was coming off the field with a wrecked knee. A lot of people thought Welker may not appear for the Patriots until later in the season. It's obvious that Welker has the healing powers of Wolverine. In his performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, Welker had 8 catches for 64 yards and a pair of TD.

2. Brett Favre misses Sidney Rice.
Without his "go-to guy", Favre struggled in the season opener. Visanthe Shiancoe may be that guy for now, but the Vikings need another receiver to take over the role and not Shiancoe. It's not that I don't think Shiancoe isn't good enough to be Favre's #1 option because he can. Shiancoe doesn't get enough air time unless he's talking. The Vikings actually need to integrate a running game. Are you listening, Brad Childress?

3. Arian Foster is good.
If there was one question people had about the Houston Texans offense coming into the season, it was at the running back position. For one week, Foster did more than provide an answer. He completely gashed the Indianapolis Colts defense to the tune of 231 yards and 3 TD.

4. Dallas continues to be it's own worst enemy.
Seriously? You can a play other than taking a knee at the end of a half with only 4 seconds left? And you're inside your own 40? Wade Phillips took some of the blame and passed a bit of it onto Tashard Choice saying that one Choice caught "the ball with 4 seconds left, you don’t need to make an extra yard or two". Should have left it when you shouldered the blame, Wade. Nothing like throwing a player under the bus.






Vick showed the NFL he can still play.



5. There is a QB controversy in Philly.

Andy Reid will avoid this to the bitter end. Kevin Kolb was knocked out due to a concussion and Michael Vick not only stepped in, he stepped up. We were privy to catching glimpses of what was once thought to be the most dynamic offensive weapon in the NFL in Vick. Despite dropping a 27-20 contest to Green Bay, Vick was the player of the game for both teams.

6. Alex Smith continues to struggle in San Fran.
Sometimes people forget that Pete Carroll is a defensive coach because of the offensive success during his days at USC. It was the Seahawks defense that made the 49ers look lethargic. Frank Gore went nowhere (17 carries, 38 yards) and Smith threw a pick-six to Marcus Trufant while posting numbers of 26-45, 225 yards and 2 INT.

7. The Jets offense is offensive.
1-for-11 on third down conversions. That one conversion was in the fourth. Six total first downs and one of those was due to a penalty. 176 total yards. Mark Sanchez was 10-21 with only 74 yards. I know the guy is in only his second season. Sanchez did appear to not allow enough time for plays to develop. It's hard not to when the Ravens are coming at you. Yes, the J-E-T-S played against a dominant defense...more dominant than their own.

8. The Chiefs are exciting...in the return game.
KC still has a ways to go from an offensive standpoint, but what about Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas? McCluster returned a punt 94 yards for a TD (a franchise record). In fact, the combo of McCluster and Arenas had 219 total return yards. The Chiefs offense had 197.

9. The Charles Johnson non-TD call.
Detroit could claim conspiracy here...or is the city of Detroit just jinxed? Remember the Armando Gallarraga non-perfect game? In the letter of the rule, the correct call was made. I don't like it because Megatron did have possession of the ball despite using the ball to prop up himself. This exact rule was visited in the off-season. I;m sure it will be again...soon.

10. Seven teams that made the playoffs last season lost their opener.
Cincinnati, Dallas, New York Jets, San Diego, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Minnesota. Go a bit deeper. The losers in the both conference finals (Minnesota and New York) and the Super Bowl loser (Indianapolis) all lost.

Weird how this week went.