The first week of the NFL season is over, but not without leaving a big impact on our now drastic changes in pre-season predictions, surprises and shockers, big wins and big stats, and entertaining and exciting football across the board. From the Packers and Saints air show to the Patriots and Dolphins big play battle.
While brash changes in our thoughts of players and teams shouldn’t be changed, it is a start to see how the 2011-2012 season will at least begin to follow through, and it’s added a lot more on the field storylines for fans and media to follow for the next 20+ weeks.
Cam Newton Silences his Doubters
A rookie quarterback hardly ever has an impressive game in his first start. Having that first start on the road is even tougher. If you can make it through that first start without your rookie making any huge mistakes, you’re generally happy. That’s what makes Cam Newton’s first start for Carolina so amazing.
Before the draft I was firmly planted in the camp that didn’t think Newton could succeed in the NFL. I knew he was a winner, but I didn’t like what was on tape. Iffy mechanics, all the off the field issues with the NCAA, and the dreaded transition from a college spread to NFL offense were enough to scare me away. Newton didn’t do anything to change my mind in the preseason either, where he completed only 40% of his passes and looked uncomfortable in the pocket.
But that version Newton was no where to be found on Sunday. Lined up across from the Arizona defense was a calm and collected quarterback, completing passes through small windows with surprisingly good mechanics. It was reminiscent of the Newton we saw at Auburn. Seemingly willing his team down the field at times, without yielding to the pressure of the stage he found himself on. As he threw for a NFL rookie debut record 422 yards, I couldn’t help but wonder where he’d been hiding this all summer.
It is of course, too early to send Newton to the Hall of Fame, or even a Pro Bowl. His detractors will point to an Arizona secondary that featured a rookie corner on one side and a corner with two games under his belt on the other. They will say Newton benefited from a busted coverage on Steve Smith’s long touchdown. And, to be fair, they are right. Is Newton likely to struggle against the Green Bay Packers’ defense next week? Of course he is.
But don’t let that take away from what Newton did Sunday. He’s going to have his ups and downs in his rookie year. He’ll make some more great plays and some agonizingly bad ones, too. Like Vince Young found out, it will get even more difficult for Newton when teams have several games worth of NFL film on him. But for now, Panther fans should enjoy the moment. In spite of the loss at Arizona, their future looks brighter than it has for years. Newton has shown how great his ceiling can be. Now he has to live up to it.
Surprise of the Week
Anytime Baltimore and Pittsburgh face off, you can expect a hard fought, emotional battle from both teams. On Sunday, however, only Baltimore brought the physicality it takes to win the game in this bitter rivalry. From the very first snap the Steelers looked outmatched, and the Ravens never let up. It was such a resounding defeat that it left many around the league wondering aloud if the window for Pittsburgh to be successful has closed.
In the Steelers’ defense, they came up against an incredibly motivated team in Baltimore. The Ravens had been looking to this game since the schedule was announced. Pittsburg has pushed Baltimore around for years, and the Ravens were ready to put a stop to it.
Still, this game has to be alarming to Pittsburg fans. The Steelers appeared to be caught off guard by the fire the Ravens were playing with, and they had no answers. It resulted in undisciplined play, where they were called for 6 penalties, and the ejection of Ike Taylor for unsportsmanlike conduct. They had seven (yes, SEVEN) turnovers, and could get nothing going on offense for nearly the entire game. It wasn’t the type of performance you’d except from a veteran team coming off another Super Bowl appearance. Week one is too early to start proclaiming division winners, but Baltimore certainly appears to have the edge in the AFC North.
Rookie Watch
It was a week of impressive debuts by several rookies, and it got started Thursday night. Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb made a name for himself as the whole country watched, turning a relatively harmless looking pass into a 32 yard touchdown. He wouldn’t settle for just one 
TD, and later took a kickoff back 108 yards for another score. It was an excellent start for the young wide receiver, and it will get him more chances in what was already a loaded Green Bay offense.
For most of the game, it appeared as though Bengal’s receiver AJ Green was going to go the whole 60 minutes without making an impact. He was held in check for almost the entire game by Browns cornerback Joe Haden. But Cincinnati was able to catch Haden and the rest of the Browns off guard, and turned Green’s only catch into a 41 yard touchdown. Still, the game showed that Green has a lot to learn about the NFL. Haden’s tight coverage appeared to get under Green’s skin at times, and he’s going to have to understand that at this level of play, he’s going to have to fight for every catch.
Rookie linebackers were a big talking point heading into the season, and for good reason. On Monday night, it took the Broncos Von Miller only a few minutes before he began to make an impact. He forced a fumble to set up Denver’s first points of the game, and continued to make life difficult for Jason Campbell through out the game.
In Philadelphia, Casey Matthews didn’t have quite as good of a start. He, like the rest of the Eagles’ linebackers, struggled to get off St. Louis’ lead blockers and gave up a ton of yards on the ground in spite of Steven Jackson being injured. Matthews struggled in coverage as well, but was bailed out as fellow rookie Lance Kendricks dropped a couple passes after beating Matthews down the field. It’s tough to rely on a rookie middle linebacker early in the year, and the Eagles may just have to learn that the hard way. Stat of the Week
It’s a cliché you hear at the beginning of every year: NFL defenses always have the advantage over the offenses at the start of the season. Heading into this season, the smart money was on a defensively dominated week one again. Coming out of the lockout shortened off season, the common thought suggested that the time away from team workouts would make it tough for offenses to have their timing down.
Week one was far from low scoring, however. In fact, it was quite the opposite. In 2009 and 2010, NFL offenses averaged 315 yards per game, and only 19 points an outing. It would have been reasonable to expect similar (or even lower) numbers this year. Instead, it was the offenses that put up good stats in week one. Across the league, offenses amassed 353 yards a game while scoring 23 points. Additionally, two teams (Green Bay and Buffalo) went over 40 points to open the year. That hasn’t happened since 2007. Quarterbacks fared especially well, and in 5 games both quarterbacks threw for 300 yards or more. Not only is that a first for week one, but that’s the first time that’s happened ever.
How do we account for this jump in production? Was it a matter of veteran offenses picking on inexperienced defenses, or is this a sign a trend of a new NFL that favors offenses over defenses? It’s impossible to tell just one week into the season, but this is something that will definitely be worth keeping an eye on over the course of the season. Fantasy Notes
There were some extremely concerning performances across the league for fantasy owners this week. Perhaps one of the most concerning was the game Chris Johnson had. There weren’t too many people looking for a huge game for him as he was coming off the holdout. It’s safe to say everyone was surprised with just how few touches he got, and how he struggled to do anything he the touches he got. He finished the game with 24 yards rushing on 9 carries, and added 25 yards receiving.
If you happen to own CJ2K, don’t panic. If you don’t have him on your roster, now is a great chance to make a trade and get him at a steep discount. The Titans have an extremely favorable schedule in terms of the rushing defenses they face, and Johnson still showed flashes of the speed that’s made him so successful in the past. As the offense gels, Johnson’s numbers are sure to go up.
A running back I was very high on this offseason was the Jets Shonn Greene. New York was feeding him the ball all preseason, and it looked like he was going to carry the load for the Jets. Well, I was wrong. Greene looked awful against Dallas, and couldn’t do anything as he split carries with LaDainian Tomlinson. It doesn’t look like there’s much upside in having Greene on your roster, and I’d say you’d be well suited to look for a replacement if you can. The guy I’d target is Houston back up Ben Tate. Arian Foster is likely to struggle with the hamstring injury for several weeks, and Tate has the homerun hitting capability that will make him worth a start in most leagues.
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