Week 1 Review: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly—The Inaugural Edition

The highly anticipated 2011 NFL finally kicked off and lived up to the high expectations. Check out the Week 1 Review below with this inaugural version of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

The Good

1. Baltimore Ravens: Absolutely remarkable play from the offense (Rice looked like a stud and Flacco made a huge statement with his first win against Big Ben) and the defense (forced Ben into one of his worst professional games). Impressive win and great way to start the season.

2. Cam Newton: Are you kidding me? The beauty about Sundays is that players can perform, underperform or simply fail to execute for their team. There was more pressure on Newton this week than any other quarterback in the league—first pick, Heisman winner and Clausen sitting on the bench. Beyond the 422 passing yards he ran when he needed to and rejuvenated Steve Smith. Most importantly, he had remarkable poise down the stretch in albeit a losing effort. Great work.

3. Chicago Bears: The Falcons have an awesome set of offensive talent and have made a series of improvements on the defensive end to catapult them as the favorites in the NFC. The Bears obviously had none of that in mind. They came out and pressured Matt Ryan while Jay Cutler executed a mistake-free game. Urlacher looked like the Super Bowl Urlacher, and Peppers proved his worth as one of the best front-seven defenders in the league.

4. Green Bay Packers: Opening Thursday night game, ring ceremony, banner unveiling and the Saints are in town. Talk about pressure. Aaron Rodgers had more touchdowns (3) in the first quarter than every quarterback on Sunday (except Ryan Fitzpatrick…yeah, that same ole Ryan Fitzpatrick). A strong performance from Brees down the stretch was not enough for the Saint—great way to begin the championship repeat.

5. USA: Goosebumps and chills throughout the opening ceremonies with the American flag being proudly waived by security personnel, military services and the players. An incredible site of patriotism, loyalty and unity on a day of remembrance. USA! USA!! USA!

The Bad

1. Tony Romo: He played a remarkable game for 50 minutes—he was finding receivers, eluding defenders (most of the time) and managing the game to perfection. Then, it all fell apart from the 1-yard line. In a span on five minutes, he fumbled the ball, led a three and out and threw one of the most ridiculous interceptions in recent memory. Most people do not dare to throw the ball against Revis while even playing Madden—regardless of his success early in the game, there is no reason to not pick on Revis Island. His play let the entire team down during an evening where the Cowboys looked like a fantastic team.

2. Kansas City Chiefs: Last season ended at home when they got annihilated by the Ravens. They opened up this season against one of the worst teams and got an even worse beat down. This was an embarrassing performance for the entire team. Although some credit does go to Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Chiefs had no business losing this game. Maybe this team is too young to handle last year’s success and momentum. To add insult to injury, they lose their stud Eric Berry for the year.

3. Chris Johnson: Nine carries for 24 yards, and if you take away his 9-yard carry, he was eight carries for 15 yards. All against a subpar Jaguars defense. Embarrassing performance from an elite running back. The Titans must be hoping that he begins to live up to his recent contract demands. 

The Ugly

1. Injuries. Not just “ouch that looked painful,” but the season-ending kind. Eric Berry for the Chiefs. Jon Beason for the Panthers. Nate Kaeding for the Chargers. Not to mention the Rams whose season could change for the worse pending Bradford’s nerve injury and Jackson’s injured hamstrings. You hate to see players go down, but hopefully it gives other players an opportunity. Mike Vick style.

2. Seven out of seven. One of the most impressive statistics I have seen in a long time. The Steelers had a 1:1 ratio going with the points they scored and the number of turnovers they had. Kudos to the Ravens for a remarkable performance. All this being said, the Steelers are still the Steelers—expect a bounce back next week.

3. Kerry Collins. Just based on the Colt’s performance against the Texans, it is clear that Peyton Manning should have had many more than four MVP awards. It is rare in football that a single player can have that kind of impact on a team, to transform them from a 3-4 win team to an elite contender for over a decade. Makes you wonder if the Colts are due to some Luck…Andrew Luck.

Love it? Hate it? Comment below, look forward to continued dialogue. Thanks for reading!