| Week 1 View from the Bench | ||||
|
|
Week 1 of the 2009 NFL season is in the books. Some of the outcomes wouldn’t be what a normal fan would expect, but the fact is, it’s that time of year again. So what did we learn?
1. The Patriots’ offensive line has some questions
to answer The last time we had seen Tom Brady, he was being helped off the field en route to missing nearly the entire 2008 season with a torn ACL. Before that, Brady had been punished in the Super Bowl by the Giants time after time. Monday night was no different. Brady was throwing off his back foot most of the night, trying to evade the pass rush put on by the Buffalo Bills, and the New England offensive line seemed overwhelmed. Even in Brady’s absence last season, Matt Cassel took more sacks than anyone else in the league. It wasn’t until late in the 4th quarter against the Bills that Brady finally had some time to throw, also with the help of a short field due to a Leodis McKelvin fumble on the kickoff return after a Patriots score. This line has some serious questions to answer if the Patriots hope to go where everyone thinks they will, and that’s to another Super Bowl. 2. The Dallas defense has some holes Watching the Cowboys play the Bucs on Sunday, I wasn’t really sure what to make of the situation. All offseason I had heard gloom and doom coming from Tampa, but here they were torching a Cowboys defense for 450 yards. Also telling was the fact that Tampa Bay had the ball for nearly 7 more minutes than the Cowboys. Now, part of that is due to some quick-strike big plays from the Dallas offense, but it’s also due to the fact that the Cowboys’ defense had some trouble getting off the field. They got pressure on Byron Leftwich in the 2nd half, but not a single sack. It marked the first game since Wade Phillips took over the reins that the team didn’t record a sack. The secondary also looked suspect. Phillips should consider running a little less zone coverage, because players like 2nd year corner Mike Jenkins have inherited the “he did it” syndrome from Roy Williams, who now plays for the Bengals. Jenkins was nearly burned for several big plays if not for Leftwich overthrowing his target, all this despite the fact that Jenkins had an interception that was nullified by the weakest of all illegal contact penalties you’ll ever see. This all culminates with my final point about this defense: Cadillac Williams, who returns to the NFL off of two knee surgeries in 14 months, looked like a Pro Bowl back. He gashed the Cowboys, along with other Tampa backs, for 174 yards on the ground. A good portion of this was due to the Cowboys having an inability to tackle, much like last season. Wade Phillips continues to make the decision to not practice tackling in practice, but the Cowboys continue to show an inability to wrap up. It could get better with more game experience, but it’s definitely worth noting and keeping an eye on. 3. Jim Zorn will need to learn to manage a
game and call the correct plays Redskins’ coach Jim Zorn was to blame for a good portion of confusion seen on Jason Campbell’s part on Sunday. He continued to call head-scratching plays throughout a game the Redskins still had a shot at winning in the 4th quarter against the Giants. There were a few key situations where Zorn was playing not to lose, instead of trying to win. One that stuck out like a sore thumb was a 3rd and 18 play late in the first half, where instead of passing the ball, Zorn attempted a run, which the Giants were ready for due to bringing some pressure on the play. Even a screen play would have worked better in that situation. In his defense, he did dial up a fake punt that got the Redskins a touchdown in the 1st half, but Zorn needs to be a little more aggressive in his play-calling. If not, he could be seen as if he doesn’t know how to run the team and be sent packing by season’s end. 4. The Bears are(‘nt) who we thought they were Talk about an unimpressive debut with a new team. Jay Cutler threw 4 interceptions in his first game of meaning in a Bears uniform. Granted the last pick was the receivers fault, but that brings up another point. The Bears aren’t going anywhere until they finally go out and get someone to catch the ball. Whether Rex Grossman or Jay Cutler is throwing the ball, there has to be someone there to make a play on it, and while Devin Hester is a nice player, he’s far from a polished receiver at this point. The Bears are going to need to score some points this season, especially within the next few weeks. The Bears have two starting linebackers out for at least a few weeks, including Brian Urlacher, who is lost for the season due to a dislocated wrist. He has already had surgery and will go on injured reserve, thwarting the hopes of the Chicago faithful that he might try to make it back for a potential playoff push. The secondary was already suspect, so with a patchwork mid-field crew on defense, don’t expect this defense to be the same as many of us expected heading into the season. I know we’re only one week in, but I think it’s fair to say the three-team race we expected for the NFC North has been narrowed down to two. 5. The Vikings are Adrian Peterson’s team Peterson doesn’t mind if Brett Favre comes along for the ride though. Favre was mostly unimpressive in his Vikings debut, but Peterson was lights out. Favre’s most impressive plays were screen passes and handoffs to Peterson, who single-handedly took the ball and shoved it down the throats of the Browns’ defensive players. Peterson ended the day with 180 yards rushing, and will easily be the favorite to take home the rushing title this season. The real question might be, can he reach 2000 yards? If there is anyone in the league to do it, it would be Peterson, and that kind of production could go a long way in deciding the NFC North.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’d like to point out a few things that caught my eye this week. Craziest Play of the
Week: This one has to go to the Broncos’ Brandon Stokley, who led the Broncos in receiving this week with one catch for 87 yards against the Bengals. Problem for the Bengals was that this one counted… big time. The Bengals had just driven down the field to take a one point lead, and Kyle Orton came onto the field with 34 seconds left. After nearly throwing an interception (that we’ll never know since the great NFL officiating crew decided it wasn’t important enough to review), Orton attempted to throw a pass to Marshall. Cornerback Leon Hall tipped the pass, and Stokley was waiting down below, all alone. He sprinted to the end zone for an improbable game-winning score. Even Carson Palmer said he’s never seen anything like it. Impressive Catch of
the Week: I’m giving this one to Troy Polamalu. Polamalu, before leaving the Steelers-Titans game due to injury, made a one handed grab for an interception, and even had the wits to get up and run with the ball some. Although the blame lies square on the shoulders of rookie receiver Kenny Britt for not getting position to contest the ball at least, it was nonetheless an impressive catch by the All-Pro safety. Most Gut-Wrenching
Play of the Week: The Bills had a 24-13 lead late in the 4th quarter, right before Tom Brady hit tight end Benjamin Watson for a score to bring it to 24-19. The Patriots had their timeouts and elected to kick the ball deep. Leodis McKelvin decided to bring the ball out, and although he says he’d so it again, I’m sure coaches will be working on a drill with a name such as “get down” this week with McKelvin. McKelvin fought for extra yardage after getting hit on the return instead of getting down, and the result was a fumble that gave the Patriots the ball back in prime scoring position. Gut-wrenching for Bills fans indeed. Boneheaded Play of
the Week: This one is actually going to be pinned squarely on the referees of the Raiders-Chargers game Monday night. Just before halftime, JaMarcus Russell hit Louis Murphy for an apparent touchdown. Since there were under two minutes in the half, the officials reviewed the play, and overturned the call. What many fans are wondering is, on what basis? "By definition in our rule book, he's going to the ground and has to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire act of the catch," said Carl Cheffers. Alright Carl, what defines “the entire act of the catch?” If catching the ball, landing on both feet, getting hit, then landing on the ground, with the ball starting to come loose as the guy rolls over on his own power isn’t considered a catch, then there has never been a successful catch in the NFL. The rule leaves too much room for interpretations, and in this case it possibly cost the Raiders the game. They had to settle for a field goal instead, so the overturned play cost them a net of 4 points. Anyone remember how many points they lost by? I rest my case.
Powered by !JoomlaComment 4.0 beta1
!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved." |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 September 2009 12:28 ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
