NFL Week 1 Review

NFL Week 1 Review

Offensive Player of the Week
Arian Foster, RB, Houston

The former philosophy major at Tennessee didn't do a lot of thinking Sunday -- just running. He ran 33 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns, personally putting the game out of reach in the second half. Foster ran the ball 23 times for 191 yards in the last 30 minutes. There's no question the Texans have the free-agent find of the last several years in Foster, who could have left Tennessee early in 2008 and been a high draft choice, but chose to stay in school -- and then got platooned and injured and was forgotten in the 2009 draft. He's not forgotten anymore.

Defensive Players of the Week
Clay Matthews, OLB, Green Bay

Against two different styles of quarterback -- a more stationary Kevin Kolb in the first half and the mobile Mike Vick in the second -- Matthews played a brilliant game in defensive coordinator Dom Capers' aggressive scheme. Matthews had seven tackles, two sacks, one pass deflected and a forced fumble. His sack of Vick on the last Eagle drive of the game helped clinch the 27-20 victory for the Packers. I still think Matthews should have won the Defensive Rookie award last year.


Peter King's Fine Fifteen
1. New Orleans (1-0).
There wasn't a flawless team in Week 1 and I don't think one was close. So the Saints take the top spot because of a very good defensive performance and because we all know Drew Brees is going to play like Drew Brees for the next four months.

2. New England (1-0). I have one word for Randy Moss: clueless. And I like him.

3. Green Bay (1-0). One thing I worry about -- that line might get Aaron Rodgers hurt. Where'd all those leaks come from?

4. Tennessee (1-0). I don't know if the Titans can keep it up, but I will make this prediction: Albert Haynesworth will play for Tennessee by the trading deadline.

5. New York Giants (1-0). If Kenny Phillips can play 16 games, he's going to Hawaii. All expenses paid.

6. Pittsburgh (1-0). The defense snuffed out Matt Ryan, which is the way the Steelers are going to have to play to stay afloat -- and go at least 2-2 by the time Ben Roethlisberger returns. Decent day for Dennis Dixon. Just decent. Tremendous days for Hines Ward and Head&Shoulders Polamalu.

7. Houston (1-0). Could this finally be a 60-minute team? Sure looked like it Sunday.

8. Indianapolis (0-1). They lost, and they may have lost Bob Sanders, who, as I said on NBC Sunday night, has now played 48 games in his career and missed 49. It's sad. When I talked to him in training camp, he was happy and healthy and anticipating this season with excitement because he finally felt good. If he'd got a serious arm or elbow injury because of a fluky injury in the first quarter of the first game, I'd feel sorry for him.

9. Baltimore (0-0). Interested how the great cornerback question is answered tonight in New Jersey. I'll answer that for you...... just fine, although they were playing against Mark Sanchez!

10. New York Jets (0-0). Interested how the quarterback they hope will be great plays tonight in New Jersey. Let me fill this in for you Peter, Sanchez is not the answer, never was and never will be!!! I don't care if they were playing the Browns.

11. San Diego (0-0). I just never thought it would come to Marcus McNeill sitting out. Vincent Jackson, yes, because the Chargers have decided internally to move on without him. But a top-eight left tackle? Mind-boggling.

12. Seattle (1-0). Matt Hasselbeck, 34, played like Mr. Peabody put him in the Wayback Machine on Sunday. He was a little colt out there.

13. Washington (1-0). Any team that plays defense the way the Redskins did will be in most of their games this year, no matter how long it takes the offense to be competent.

14. Minnesota (0-1). Vikes should be fine. Imagine if they get Vincent Jackson, and for the last eight games of the year, you've got to face Jackson, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin in three-receiver sets. Yikes.

15. Dallas (0-1). Here's what happened on the idiotic Dallas play at the end of the first half that gave Washington its only touchdown of the night: The Cowboys had the ball at their 36 and had one final play to call before halftime. The play called by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was a Hail Mary pass from Tony Romo into the end zone. But Dallas was called for a hold.
At first the Redskins declined the penalty and then, a moment later, told Tony Corrente they were accepting it. In the ensuing confusion, coach Wade Phillips said he never communicated to Garrett to call off the Hail Mary. "We needed to call it off and we didn't do it,'' Phillips said. "Tony should have just taken a knee.'' Romo didn't, of course, and got pushed out of the pocket. He flipped the ball sideways to running back Tashard Choice, who, obviously, should have gone down at the first sign of pressure. But he fought for yards, DeAngelo Hall stripped it, and Hall ran it in for a touchdown.
Phillips took the blame, but Garrett, obviously, should have known to call a kneel down. Romo should have known to audible to a kneel down if it wasn't called from the sideline. Choice should have known to lay on the ground ... Just a stupid, stupid play all around that showed disorganization on the part of the Cowboys.





Wes Welker's just fine.
In January, Welker shredded his ACL and damaged his MCL in a game at Houston. Thirty-one weeks ago, the NFL's receptions leader since 2007 had the ACL repaired. And Sunday, he caught two touchdown passes from Tom Brady in the Pats' decisive win over Cincinnati. "It's not heroic,'' he told me. "Rod Woodson once had an ACL early in the season and came back to play in the Super Bowl.''
He might get an argument from the Foxboro crowd about the heroic part. Welker's legend grew as he went in and out of cuts effortlessly Sunday, with his same elusiveness. "It's not sore at all,'' he said of the knee. "Just a little stiff.''


The return of Vick the Quick.
It's not possible the Kevin Kolb Era opened and closed on the same day, is it? With trusting coach Andy Reid in charge, no chance. But the last time Michael Vick both threw and ran for 100 yards in one game was Oct. 1, 2006, against Arizona; he did it Sunday in two-plus quarters, running for 103 and throwing for 173 in the 27-20 loss to Green Bay. "Michael was magnificent,'' Reid said. With Kolb knocked out of the game with a concussion, Philly's starter for next week at Detroit isn't certain, though Reid said it'd be Kolb if he's able to go. Good thing it's not a home game.






Click Here to take a tour of New Meadowlands Stadium



Week One Power Rankings
Posted by Mike Florio on September 14, 2010 7:42 AM ET
With one week in the books, it's time to reconfigure the Power Rankings.

For those of you who think that a win by your favorite team guarantees a spot in the top 16, think again.

And for those of you who review these in the Rumor Mill, click again.

1. New Orleans Saints (No. 1 last week; 1-0): It wasn't pretty, but the fleur-de-lis are still kings of the hill.

2. Baltimore Ravens (No. 3; 1-0): Less than two years after spoiling the Texas Stadium swan song, the Ravens screwed up the Jets' coming-out party at the new Meadowlands Stadium.

3. New England Patriots (No. 8; 1-0): Sending the Jets to 0-2 could be as satisfying for the Pats as any of their Super Bowl wins.

4. Minnesota Vikings (No. 4; 0-1): The schedule doesn't get much easier, but losing by only five on the night they raised the banner in New Orleans is no cause for panic.

5. Green Bay Packers (No. 7; 1-0): Despite handing out multiple concussions to Eagles players, the Packers need to learn how to deliver a knockout blow.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 10; 1-0): If Troy Polamalu stays healthy, the Steelers could be at No. 1 by Halloween.

7. Houston Texans (No. 13; 1-0): If the Texans don't get too carried away with a possible changing-of-the-guard win over Indy, this could be Houston's year to make some real noise.

8. Tennessee Titans (No. 17; 1-0): Why do we have a feeling that the team that used to play in Houston is on a collision course with the team that currently plays there?

9. Indianapolis Colts (No. 2; 0-1): Since starting the 2009 season with a 14-0 record, the Colts are 2-4, with an average margin of defeat in excess of 15.

10. New York Jets (No. 6; 0-1): Giants fans finally have forgiven the Ravens for Super Bowl XXXV.

11. Miami Dolphins (No. 12; 1-0): A much tougher test than Trent Edwards comes on Sunday, when the Fins get a full dose of Favre.

12. New York Giants (No. 14; 1-0): What better way to open the new stadium than winning there on Sunday, and then watching the Jets lose there on Monday?

13. Washington Redskins (No. 19; 1-0): Albert Haynesworth has volunteered to be traded to the Cowboys and play right tackle.

14. Dallas Cowboys (No. 5; 0-1): It could be a long year for Wade Phillips. Or maybe it will be a short one.

15. Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 18; 1-0): Kassim Osgood made the most of his chance to finally play offense by delivering a game-winning touchdown reception.

16. Kansas City Chiefs (No. 25; 1-0): The Chiefs gave Philip Rivers a much-needed "Code Red."

17. San Diego Chargers (No. 9; 0-1): Another year, another slow start for the Chargers.

18. Cincinnati Bengals (No. 11; 0-1): Maybe Batman and Robin left the field early at halftime because they thought the Commissioner had activated the Batsignal. (Hat tip to PFT reader who put that either in the comments or on Twitter, or both.)

19. Atlanta Falcons (No. 15; 0-1): If Matt Ryan wants to be a top-five quarterback, he needs to deliver late wins on the road against tough teams.

20. Philadelphia Eagles (No. 16; 0-1): Some Eagles fans already want to know if the Redskins maybe would trade Donovan McNabb back to Philly.

21. Chicago Bears (No. 23; 1-0): Needing a fluke to beat a team that had won only two games in two years is not the ideal way to start the season.

22. Denver Broncos (No. 21; 0-1): The Broncos are now 2-9 since starting 6-0 last year.

23. Carolina Panthers (No. 22; 0-1): In anticipation of his first start, Jimmy Clausen will spend extra time working on throwing . . . his receivers under the bus.

24. Seattle Seahawks (No. 26; 1-0): The Seahawks won their opening game by 25 points. And last year they won it by 28. And then they lost 11 of the next 15.

25. Arizona Cardinals (No. 24; 1-0): Unless the Rams have gotten a lot better, the Cardinals could be in for a long year.

26. San Francisco 49ers (No. 20; 0-1): Mike Singletary could be thanking a lot more opposing coaches this year.

27. Detroit Lions (No. 29; 0-1): Over the next few weeks, Shaun Hill gets a chance to prove that the Niners kept the wrong guy.

28. St. Louis Rams (No. 30; 0-1): Sam Bradford will need another shoulder operation after throwing more than 50 passes on Sunday.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 32; 1-0): Quietly, the Bucs have won three of their last four games.

30. Cleveland Browns (No. 27; 0-1): Jake Delhomme's redemption had a much shorter shelf-life than his disintegration.

31. Oakland Raiders (No. 28; 0-1): It's a good thing the Raiders have improved so much since last year.

32. Buffalo Bills (No. 31; 0-1): It's a good thing the Bills hired an offensive genius.