NFL WEEK 1 Takeaways
Week 1 is officially in the books and what a week it was! The Patriots got manhandled on their own field by the Chiefs. The Rams blew out the Colts. The Seahawks, Giants, and Bengals failed to score a single touchdown and proved that any team can only be as good (or bad) as their offensive line. Mix in a few good divisional rival games and that about sums up your opening weekend. I have a few thoughts regarding Week 1 and I’m sure some of them may be a bit premature but here they are nonetheless:
After watching Sunday night’s game from the sidelines, Odell Beckham Jr. has got to be the happiest man in football. Without him, the Giants offense barely mustered up 250 total yards with Eli going for zero touchdowns and one interception. Brandon Marshall is a nice complementary piece at this stage of his career but he is no #1 WR. Shepard and Engram are young but talented. However, these guys suffer without having the luxury of defenses focusing primarily on Beckham. An argument could be made that Beckham is the most valuable (non-QB) offensive player in the entire league. For those reasons, Beckham will surely strike gold with his new contract as long as the Giants organization realize who butters their bread.
What happened to Andy Dalton and the Bengals? I have been one of the biggest Dalton supporters throughout his NFL career but I’m not sure how much more I can take. Granted, he was sacked five times thanks to his depleted offensive line but four interceptions and a fumble? OUCH. But let’s look at some facts here — he was the second-most sacked QB last season and how did the Bengals go about that…by letting their starting left tackle and right guard walk through free agency. Sure, they added speedster WR John Ross and returned a healthy Tyler Eifert but where was the concern for Dalton’s well-being? All those weapons don’t mean a damn thing if you can’t protect the QB long enough to throw it their way. It seems as if he was set up for failure long before even taking a snap against the Ravens this past weekend. Perhaps Bengals fans would disagree with me here but Dalton deserves better than this.
I’m done buying the Cardinals’ hype. For the past few seasons, I have predicted them to at least be in the NFC Championship game for several reasons. Veteran QB, stud RB, loaded WR corps and a hungry, talented defense. Well, Carson Palmer looks old and couldn’t even handle a mediocre Lions’ defense (props to Matthew Stafford for his dominant performance). The defense has playmakers but overall they are not what they’ve been in years past. And now David Johnson is out for at least two months. Nail in the coffin. The Cardinals will probably finish closer to last season’s 7–8–1 record than the 10 or 11 wins that many people (myself included) had predicted.
How about that Raiders-Titans game? The Raiders put on a brilliant performance against a very solid Titans team. Derek Carr played smart football (no turnovers) and made some really nice plays throughout the game. Beast Mode had a solid return as he pounded his way to 92 total yards. The real MVP though has to go to the Raiders’ defense who held the versatile Mariota in check and completely took away the Titans’ potent rushing attack. What makes this road win all the more impressive is that Lynch had zero touchdowns, neither of their WR’s went over 80 yards and Khalil Mack had no sacks! Imagine how good this Raiders team can be truly be if they hit their full potential.
Nothing new here but is there a better, more exciting connection than Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson? By no means am I saying Nelson is the game’s best WR but rather that the chemistry built between these two is a thing of unmatched beauty. It’s incredible to see Rodgers move around the pocket, extending plays while Nelson breaks off his designed route to get to the exact spot that only those two know of. Watching these two reminds the audience of the good ole days of playing backyard football with all your neighbors and friends. Jordy doesn’t have elite speed but he always finds a way to get open and as a result, he’s become the #1 target for the NFL’s best QB. That’s one way for a WR to have 28 touchdowns over his last 33 games, which is just an insane production rate.
