RSSThe More Things Change (NFC)
Sep 10
Sports Football, NFL Comments Off
Week 1
1. Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre is tied with John Elway for most victories for a starting quarterback after his team’s 16-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. The win wasn’t authoritative, but for the Packers, who have been back and forth between winning and losing seasons, this season appears to be an upswing.
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy made it clear that he was going to rein in the wild west ways of his starting QB, but restraint has never been Favre’s cup of tea. It would be nice if the Pack didn’t have to live and die by Favre’s arm, and that appears to be what we learned from Sunday’s game.
The Packers won because of special teams play and on the shoulders of their defense. Favre was mostly the same gunslinger he always is, 23/42, no touchdowns and one interception. But by keeping the Pack in the game, the defense squashed Philadelphia’s mostly tepid offense, they were able to win on 3 field goals and a fumble recovery in the end zone.
That’s not a great recipe for the postseason, but for now, I’ll take it.
2. Minnesota Vikings
Was it just by virtue of playing the disheartened Atlanta Falcons, or are the Vikings ready to make a legitimate chase for a playoff berth, the first since 2004? Things could have been shaky under Tavaris Jackson, who is only in his first year as a full-fledged starter and only his second year in the league overall.
But his first game stats were decent. He finished with 75.1 quarterback rating, one touchdown and one interception and 13-23 passing attempts for 163 yards. The defense for the Vikings really stepped up their game, and hey, playing against Joey Harrington probably didn’t hurt either.
It’s disingenuous, though, to put the win on the Falcons poor play instead of giving credit to the Vikings. They suffocated Harrington and exposed an offense that wasn’t clicking. And Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson earned his keep, rushing for 103 yards on 19 carries. He also showed some nimble fingers.
In a crowded NFC North, where even the Lions are showing signs of life, the Vikings are going to succeed if they can get consistent production from week to week.
3. Carolina Panthers
I’m rooting for a good season from the Panthers. Last year, they finished 8-8 and were bounced from playoff contention in week 15 so that their last win against the Saints was meaningless as far as the postseason was concerned.
But it’s nice to see a resurgence of Steve Smith, who sealed the victory in the third quarter with a 68-yard dash to the goal line. And Jake Delhomme was one of the better quarterbacks in Sunday’s match-ups, with three touchdown passes and 18/27 for 201 yards. With a nice compliment of players around the superstars, it was refreshing to see the Panthers return to form.
More Notes from the Cheap Seats
I can’t let a week 1 column go by without mentioning the Chicago Bears. They don’t really fit in this column because, let’s face it, yesterday’s game against San Diego was more of the same. You can talk about the enormous expectations because of the Super Bowl appearance, or how they faced the San Diego Chargers, who legitimately had a case to make the Super Bowl themselves last season. But the bottom line is this: they gave away Thomas Jones to rely on Cedric Benson and the other Adrian Peterson (you know it’s bad when you’re a six-year veteran and you’re only getting noticed as “the other guy.”) And no matter what you say about the Bears, their starting quarterback is Rex Grossman. Here’s an snippet I wrote about Grossman back in January. The assessment today is virtually unchanged.
The key sequence in the New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys match-up last night was the 80-yard Giants possession that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Ward. Then after a horrible interception that probably had Dallas fans cocking a pistol to their foreheads, the Giants scored again bringing the score within 3 points in the fourth quarter with four minutes of game left.
Dallas QB Tony Romo redeemed himself with the final scoring drive of the game which sealed the win. What shouldn’t pass unnoticed, though, was that Giants quarterback Eli Manning showed some of the poise that makes his brother, Peyton, the outstanding quarterback that he is. The younger Manning still looks a little rough at times, but it is easy to forget he is only playing in his fourth season. If he can even bring half of what Peyton does to the field, the Giants are going to major contenders in the NFC East for years.
Tonight’s match-up of the Arizona Cardinals at the San Francisco 49ers is notable because both teams have the potential to improve their game tremendously. The Cardinals are their own worst enemy, but they have the players, and now the coach, to make a successful play-off run.
Last season was all about transition. They swapped starting QBs, benching Kurt Warner who was washed up three years ago, for rookie Matt Leinart, and shipping out head coach Dennis Green for a great hire in Ken Whisenhunt. But the fans are tired of transition and want to see some wins and maybe a playoff appearance. The postseason dry spell is verging on a decade.
Probably the biggest change is Ken Whisenhunt who will bring some creativity to the offense and hopefully some consistency to a generally inconsistent team. Leinart is starting is first full year as starter and he could establish himself as a splashy phenom if he can bring success to Arizona. It’s hard to put all the pressure to succeed on one QB, but Leinart is going to have to produce because Arizona is starving for something positive.
