NFL: Week One Full of Good and Bad Surprises

Finally the NFL season began after four long weeks of preseason games, and it began with a bang. We saw many surprises in week one both of the good and bad variety, which should worry or make fans excited about their teams.

Bad Surprises:

New England Patriots: This has to be the biggest problem in all of football this year and it happened with 7:33 left in the opening quarter. Tom Brady was hit in the knee during a pass to Moss and was instantly heard screaming by team mates and was not seen again.

The report out of New England is that Tom will have to have season ending knee surgery this week which leaves the Pats with a huge question mark at quarter back. Matt Cassel came in and played well going 13/18 for 152 yards and 1 score, he was sacked twice in the game as well.

Now you cant really get a good judge of if Cassel can be a asset to the offense or a problem. He should be tested this week against the Jets, as the defense will be better then Kansas City and will get pressure on him.

The other quarterback on the roster is rookie O'Connell who played better then Cassel in the preseason. Behind an offensive line who has two starters out this could be a interesting 2008 now.

St Louis Rams: Now i knew that they would not beat Philly, who had a heck of a day, but they played terrible and showed no improvement from 2007. The Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" only scored three points, got 166 total yards (130 passing and 36 running) and allowed four sacks.

Steven Jackson might have needed training camp after all as he rushed for only 40 yards, with his long being nine yards. He looked confused as soon as he took the ball, but that could have gone with the lack of blocking by the line.

Four of the five offensive linemen got penalties called on them, only one not being Orlando Pace. The Eagles just constantly confused the offensive line with their stunts, and Cole just bullied the offensive tackles all day.

The Rams play the Giants next, who's defense is even better then the Eagles, and offense is close to if not the same as the Eagles. It could be a long season for the Rams, and they might be looking for another head coach.

Detroit Lions: This was my surprise team for 2008 as they looked improved and ready to make a run at it. Well they played terrible against the rebuilding Falcons allowing 21 points in the first quarter as they fell behind 21-0.

The rushing attack just did not materialize as they picked up a total of 62 yards, most by rookie Kevin Smith who picked up 40. The offensive line allowed three sacks on Kitna, and only converted 2/9 on third down.

The defense was the downfall of the team by far. They allowed 21 points in the first quarter, and would allow the Falcons 34 total. The Falcons picked up 471 total yards on the Lions, including 316 rushing yards.

You think they miss Rodgers in the middle? They not only couldn't stop the Falcons rushing attack, they could not get pressure on Ryan as they only sacked him once in the whole game. They play Green Bay next so the proper corrections will need to be made.

Indianapolis Colts: The Colts have Super Bowl hopes this year, but if they played like they did in the opener then just getting a winning record will be challenging. I'm a huge Manning fan, but he did not play like himself in this game.

Manning went 30/49 for 257 yards and one score but he looked confused at times and lost his cool. He was under constant pressure as he was sacked twice, once for a safety. The offense scored just 13 points which is very un-Colt like.

The lack of a rushing attack is what killed the Colts as they picked up only 53 yards total, Addai picked up 44. The offense looked lost at times, and the line with out center Jeff Saturday was just not as dominate. The defense was again questionable as they allowed the Bears to convert 10/16 third downs, and 319 total yards (most of which was rushing).

Now, hopefully this was just opening day jitters as Manning did not play all preseason but week two has the Colts traveling to Minnesota which should be a win.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags again were though to be a team which could compete for a deep playoff run. Well in week one they could not get past the Titans as they lost 17-10. Offensively the Jags could not get on track as they only gained 189 yards (156 passing and 33 rushing).

The Jags offensive line allowed two sacks, and they only converted 5/14 third downs. Fred Taylor, and Jones-Drew just could not find anything as they both picked up under 20 yards for the whole game.

The Jags are a run first team and if the rushing attack fails then they are in huge trouble. The defense was the real reason this team lost week one. (How often do you ever hear that) The Jags allowed 309 yards (172 passing).

The Jags only got to Young one time in the game, when they praise themselves as getting to the QB. The Jags have a chance to make a splash this year if the Colts keep struggling but they need to pick up the defense.

Good Surprises:

Atlanta Falcons: Who's rebuilding? With a new coach and quarterback coming into week one, many though the Lions would run over the Falcons. Well, that was just not true. On his very first NFL pass, Matt Ryan threw a touchdown pass to get the Falcons up fast. Ryan would finish the day with 161 yards and one score.

The Falcons went out and got running back Michael Turner from the Chargers and what a pick up that was. Turner gobbled up 220 yards and 2 scores and really took the pressure off of Ryan to win this game.

The offensive line protected Ryan very well only allowing one sack all day and helping the offense jump to a 21-0 lead in the first. The defense will need to pick it up however as they allowed 308 yards.

Carolina Panthers: Many people thought that this game would be a blow out, and i was one of them. Well the Panthers showed that they might be a sleeper team this year as they scored on the final play of the game for the 26-24 win over the Chargers.

Jake Delhomme picked up 247 yards and the winning score and helped guide the offense to 388 yards. The offense controlled the ball for five minutes and some change more then the Chargers, keeping LT off the field.

Baltimore Ravens: Same situation as the Falcons in this week one match up as the Ravens have a new coach and quarterback and was going against a very good team in the Bengals.

Rookie Joe Flacco surprised me with his composure in the pocket as he picked up 129 yards through the air, and even a 37 yard rushing day with a 38 yard score. He showed the composure of a veteran. The offense picked up 358 total yards on the day and controlled the ball for 12 minutes and change more then the Bengals keeping "Ocho Cinco" off the field.

The line only allowed one sack on the day as well. On defense many people had questioned if the unit would show its age this year. Well, at least in week one they proved they are a force. The Ravens only allowed 154 total yards (65 rushing and 89 passing), and recorded two sacks and only allowed 2/13 conversions on third down.

OUTSTANDING PLAYERS IN WEEK ONE:

QB:

Pitt—Roethlisberger: 13/14 for 137 yards and 2 scores

Baltimore—Flacco: 15/29 for 129 yards and a rushing score

Miami—Pennington: 26/43 for 251 yards and 1 score

NYJ—Favre: 15/22 for 194 and 2 scores

Dallas—Romo: 24/32 for 320 yards and 1 score

GB—Rodgers: 18/22 for 170 yards and 1 score

Philly—McNabb: 21/33 for 361 yards and 3 scores

RB:

Pitt—Parker: 138 yards for 3 scores and a 5.5 yards a carry average

Atl—Turner: 220 yards for 2 scores and a 10 yard a carry average