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About the Author

T Roz
I've lived in Massachusetts for essentially my whole life, and I'm a home town fan.

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NFl Week 1: Thoughts and Burning Questions

by T Roz
created September 09, 2008, last edited July 22, 2009
9
Vote
The biggest story is obviously Tom Brady’s injury, which of course will end his season.  The Patriots have already contacted Tim Rattay and Chris Simms to come in and work out, which is great because these are quarterbacks that the Niners and Bucs had on their teams and said “No, thanks”.  (Hang on, I need to go talk some friends off the Tobin). 

Here’s a thought, Daunte Culpepper just retired, is now the perfect time to reunite the Culpepper-Moss connection?  I mean, he’s no worse than Rattay and Simms…(hang on while I stand on the ledge and look down)

Matt Cassel played pretty well, orchestrating a 98 yard touchdown drive which included some nice passes and a fantastic Randy Moss touchdown grab.  The running game looked strong also, which will help Cassel.  If the Patriots have to go to a more conventional style offense to protect him, rather than just spreading the field, things might be okay.  On the other hand, they played the Chiefs, so we’ll check back in on the Patriots when they play a real team.

I don't think the hit on Brady was "dirty" as Randy Moss said, but I do think a rule needs to be implemented. It happened to Carson Palmer and other quarterbacks before, and it will happened again. If a player is blocked to the ground, he should have to get up and tackle the quarterback at thigh level or above. If you're blocked to the ground, you don't deserve to be able to make a tackle anyway, so I don't see any problem with it.

Carolina scored the game winning TD as time expired against San Diego, yet they go on to kick an extra point to extend a one point lead to two.  They could have lost the snap, or had the kick blocked, and the Chargers could have ran it back and regained the lead, all after time had expired!  Can a team waive the extra point?  The safest play there is actually to keep the first team offense on the field and kneel it down.

Kurt Warner displayed why nearly everyone in my salary cap league picked him for week one.  He is penciled in to start every week (because of his low dollar value) for the rest of the year until further notice.

Atlanta is either much better than expected, or the Lions are even worse than expected.  We’ll have to check back in when the Falcons play a team not named “The Lions”, and Tampa Bay should be a reasonable test next week.

Brett Favre is still the same old player.  He makes bad decisions, heaves the ball and hopes.  Somehow this works out better for him than everyone else.  (See Grossman, Rex)

And speaking of the Bears, it’s amazing what that team can do with an average QB performance.  Orton provided 150 yards and no turnovers, the defense kept the rusty Colts in check (noted by Peyton’s two timeouts during the first drive), and a strong debut from Matt Forte helped the Bears shock the Colts last night.

[[Joe Flacco[[ is slow.

The Bengals are overrated yet again.  At this point I’m pleased to have ranked Carson Palmer and Chad Ocho Cinco so far down in my Fantasy rankings.

Someone needs to let the San Diego Chargers know, it’s the regular season, not the playoffs.  It’s okay to win the close games for a few months.  Also, how do all the people who took their defense in the 7th round of their drafts feel this week?  In how many leagues is the Atlanta defense just sitting there?  As always, draft defenses second-to-last.

Dallas looks to be the sharpest team in the league right now, very solid in their first win offensively and defensively.  The Browns have some work to do if they want to be in contention for a playoff spot this year.

In 36 minutes of football, Willie Parker scored more touchdowns that he did all of last season.  I hate fantasy football sometimes.  A lot of the time, actually.

Drew Brees and the Saints are looking sharp.  Nothing like their 0-4 start of last season.  David Patten is looking comfortable also.

The Giants defense still looks pretty solid.  Eli Manning still looks like a below average quarterback who focuses on one above average target.  Brandon Jacobs ran well (and hard) but nine carries from Derrick Ward can’t make all the Jacobs owners happy.

Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn split the carries, nearly 50/50.  That’s not good news for anyone who drafted Graham early this year.

The Rams are either still in a lot of trouble, or Philadelphia is poised to fight the Cowboys for the NFC this year.  I’m hoping the Rams bounce back for my Bulger/Holt predictions, yikes.

The Seahawks certainly weren’t able to hide how banged up they are, and the new injuries didn’t help any either.  The Bills absolutely dominated them, and we’ll see if they can bounce back to form.

Chris Johnson looks pretty electrifying, which is great news for my salary cap league, and the Jaguars looked pretty horrible, which is why I drafted neither Maurice Jones-Drew nor Fred Taylor in any leagues this year.  David Garrard already has only one less interception than he threw all of last year.

Adrian Peterson seems to have distanced himself from Chester Taylor as the number one in Minnesota as he carried most of the load.  I still would have handcuffed him because of this injury concerns.

The Raiders and the Packers both seemed to want to protect their young quarterbacks last night with “Trent Edwards-like” performances, meaning lots of short makeable passes, and few difficult vertical ones.  Building confidence is important though, so maybe this will work out. 

Andre Hall did most of the rushing work for the Broncos, but Selvin Young and Michael Pittman got the touchdowns, so you know, that’s just great.  With Brandon Marshall out I was right to look for a different passing weapon in Denver this week, sadly I chose Tony Schefler instead of Eddie Royal.

The season is still early, so there were lots of surprises, and maybe some flukes.  We’ll see if teams like Seahawks and the Rams bounce back, and if teams like the Falcons and Bills can keep it up.  As always, looking forward to next week.

This article also posted at www.sportsfanalysts.com

Enable Comment Auto-Refresher
CheezerAll-Star
425 days ago
Score 1+-
"Carolina scored the game winning TD as time expired against San Diego, yet they go on to kick an extra point to extend a one point lead to two. They could have lost the snap, or had the kick blocked, and the Chargers could have ran it back and regained the lead, all after time had expired! Can a team waive the extra point? The safest play there is actually to keep the first team offense on the field and kneel it down. "

I do not believe a team can return a missed/blocked PAT. It's just a dead ball. A bad snap on the other hand...
Permalink | Reply
JuTMSY4Legend
425 days ago
Score 0+-
You can in college (for 2 points) but not the pros. Even if you block it, intercept a 2 pt conversion etc, you can't do anything...the play ends
Permalink
T RozJV Squad
425 days ago
Score 0+-
Ah, ok. Fair enough. I was also remembering a time in high school when I blocked a PAT and we ran it back for two points. Oddly enough in that game our only other first half points were a safety, and we went into the half losing 6 to 4.
Permalink
Anonymous Fanatic #1
425 days ago
Score 0+-
We once lost a game 2-0. One safety being the only scoring. It was a slug-filled mudfest.

The fans loved it. (/sarcasm)
Permalink
CheezerAll-Star
425 days ago
Score 0+-
that was me
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
425 days ago
Score 2+-
There is no need for a rule change to protect the quarterbacks any more. QB's need to start being aware of their surroundings and facking move. They are already protected heads and tails above any other position on the field. At some point they have to just man up and play the game. O-linemen get their legs rolled on (a la Carson Palmer) way more often than QB's, should we make a rule to protect them? I don't know where QB's and fans get this idea that the QB can just sit back in the pocket and throw the ball without the threat of being hit. Before the rules put skirts on the QB's, they were aware of the danger and moved around in the pocket. It's a 300 pound lineman and he wants to hit you, MOOOOOVE.
Permalink | Reply
T RozJV Squad
425 days ago
Score 0+-
There's already a rule in place where players aren't supposed to hit QBs below the knee. If you're on the ground, your chances of hitting the QB at the knee or lower are obviously a lot higher. They changed the horse collar tackle rule because players were getting hurt. They should chnage the rules to protect players when particular actions are repeatedly causing injuries, and please if everyone could spare me the "repeated actions that cause injuries, like tackling, or playing football" I'd appreciate it.
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
425 days ago
Score 2+-
I agree with ST, QBs are already overprotected by the stripped ones.

tackling below the knees is illegal no matter the position, but the d-lineman rarely have the malicious intent of taking out folks knees (unless their denver broncos), no different than the cases of Palmer or Brady.

Its called playing football and these things happen. Until you play at that speed, you really have no idea what's happening there
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
425 days ago
Score 1+-
It is the rules that are causing the problem. QB's think they are free from any sort of compromising hit. BS. If they knew that a low hit could be coming then they would move, but instead they expect the rules to make up for where the offensive line has failed them. There is no such thing as "pocket presence" or "poise" if the rules eliminate any sort of consequeses for standing in the pocket TOO LONG.
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
425 days ago
Score 0+-
wow, I'm an idiot "They're Denver Broncos"*
Permalink
CheezerAll-Star
425 days ago
Score 2+-
Mark me with the JuT and ST here. The QBs have a certain responsibility to ensure that they don't get hit. Move your a$$.

Anyone remember last season when Vince Young (?) got away with a long run because the defender thought he was throwing the ball and pulled up as to not get a late hit penalty and Young just tucked the ball and ran (I think that's how it went). another example: Brady juked out Urlacher because Urlacher was afraid of a penalty. The QBs are already taking advantage of the fact that they are "protected". The last thing the NFL needs to do is make it more difficult to play defense.
Permalink | Reply
JuTMSY4Legend
425 days ago
Score 0+-
Mattias Kiwanuka and I'm laughing just thinking about it...
Permalink
The PipDiv-I Stud
425 days ago
Score 0+-
The Patriots are upset over a similar incident with Vince Wilfork last season, week 3. He blocked to the ground and hit a QB below the knee. He was flagged and fined as a result.
Permalink | Reply
The PipDiv-I Stud
425 days ago
Score 0+-
Read more here.
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
425 days ago
Score 1+-
The problem isn't that Pollard should be fined, it is that Wilfork shouldn't be fined.
Permalink
The PipDiv-I Stud
425 days ago
Score 0+-
I agree, but there is still a problem. They need to fine Pollard, apologize to Wilfork or change the rule.
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
425 days ago
Score 0+-
Agreed Pip, but the root cause is the fact that Hypocracy (sp) is synonymous with NFL lately.
Permalink
AmphibiousSportsDuoVarsity
425 days ago
Score 2+-
A HUGE difference is Wilfork would've missed Losman if he hadn't stuck his elbow out. If its similar to any play it would be the Carson Palmer hit, which Kimo von Oelhoffen was not fined for. I understand that you're bummed out, but I think you're grabbing at straws.
Permalink
Manny StilesMajor Leaguer
425 days ago
Score 0+-
ASD... did someone steal your login? That was serious and clearminded and eloquent! It was smart without the ass.

They've gotten to you, haven't they??

WHAT DID YOU BASTARDS DO WITH ASD?!?!?!?


or.... "I'd give you more plusses if I could"

Your choice.
Permalink
Free betSoccer Kid
424 days ago
Score 0+-
to be honest, Im still shocked Brady is out man....unbelievable....
Permalink | Reply
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Categories: Opinions | Opinions by User T Roz | September 9, 2008 | September 2008 | NFL Opinions | Fantasy Opinions

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