Week one of the NFL featured disappointing starts for the Bears and Ravens, two heavily hyped teams. Both teams' offenses looked pathetic. The Ravens are still crying they were robbed by a suspect pass interence call on TE Todd Heap while he was catching the would-be game winner. Bottom line though was they couldn't punch it in from the 5 yard line with the game on the line. Critics are having a field day second-guessing Coach Billick's decision to throw five times in the zone instead of riding their prized offseason addition, RB Willis McGahee.
The other Monday night contest featuring SF and Arizona was another exercise in frustration. Matt Lienart looked very ordinary and no doubt had some of the GM's who passed on him last year heaving a sigh of relief. Niner QB alex Smith was only marginally better, but did display a surprisingly big arm and some nifty running. The Niners are on many analysts' list of teams to keep an eye on, after several years of clever drafting and patient roster-building.
My featured game, the Redskins-Dolphins matchup, was marred by dropped passes from both teams and overly active officials. The Dolphins lost a shot to win the game, with a first and goal from the Redksin 8 with three minutes to play, on a questionable intentional grounding penalty. The'Skins power running game came alive in the second half and OT and let them escape with a victory they didn't totally deserve.
The Giants have to be disappointed after losing to the Cowboys in a game that saw their once-proud defense shredded by Romo and co. QB Eli Manning turned in a good performance but may have suffered a serious shoulder injury. The Giants are a team to watch. Coach Tom coughlin has a way of wearing his welcome out with players. If things get tough for the Giants, look for them to quit on him.
Another surprising result was Philly's loss to GB. Two muffed punts cost the Iggles severely. Still, they have to be concerned. You would have thought they had enough O to overcome even two gift scores against GB, but i guess not. Now they have to face the Redskins rejuvenated defense in a key Monday night matchup.
SD has to be pleased with the beating they put on the Bears. The Bears D stiffed LT, but the Bolts still generated offense. The zebras stole another TD from them with a no call on an obvious offsides by the Bears in the shadow of their goalline that lead to a Rivers fumble. This one was not as close as the score indicated. It will be interesting to see if this team is as successful under the laidback Norv turner as they were under Marty Shottenheimer's whip.
Atlanta and Cleveland looked terrible and are clearly teams in big trouble. The Steelers looked good, but let's see how they fare against tough competition.
The other Monday night contest featuring SF and Arizona was another exercise in frustration. Matt Lienart looked very ordinary and no doubt had some of the GM's who passed on him last year heaving a sigh of relief. Niner QB alex Smith was only marginally better, but did display a surprisingly big arm and some nifty running. The Niners are on many analysts' list of teams to keep an eye on, after several years of clever drafting and patient roster-building.
My featured game, the Redskins-Dolphins matchup, was marred by dropped passes from both teams and overly active officials. The Dolphins lost a shot to win the game, with a first and goal from the Redksin 8 with three minutes to play, on a questionable intentional grounding penalty. The'Skins power running game came alive in the second half and OT and let them escape with a victory they didn't totally deserve.
The Giants have to be disappointed after losing to the Cowboys in a game that saw their once-proud defense shredded by Romo and co. QB Eli Manning turned in a good performance but may have suffered a serious shoulder injury. The Giants are a team to watch. Coach Tom coughlin has a way of wearing his welcome out with players. If things get tough for the Giants, look for them to quit on him.
Another surprising result was Philly's loss to GB. Two muffed punts cost the Iggles severely. Still, they have to be concerned. You would have thought they had enough O to overcome even two gift scores against GB, but i guess not. Now they have to face the Redskins rejuvenated defense in a key Monday night matchup.
SD has to be pleased with the beating they put on the Bears. The Bears D stiffed LT, but the Bolts still generated offense. The zebras stole another TD from them with a no call on an obvious offsides by the Bears in the shadow of their goalline that lead to a Rivers fumble. This one was not as close as the score indicated. It will be interesting to see if this team is as successful under the laidback Norv turner as they were under Marty Shottenheimer's whip.
Atlanta and Cleveland looked terrible and are clearly teams in big trouble. The Steelers looked good, but let's see how they fare against tough competition.
