While the Pittsburgh Steelers have been making cameos in the new Batman film and trying to recover from their Superbowl loss to the Packers, the Baltimore Ravens have been hearing that they will never beat the Steelers when it counts and that their franchise quarterback Joe Flacco will never lead them to a Superbowl.
So much for that b.s. In just four quarters the Pittsburgh Steelers went from Superbowl favorites to ESPN Insiders headline, "Is the Steelers defense too old?" I support the Ravens but promise to keep the next couple of sentences unbiased. The truth of the matter is the Ravens kicked the Steelers butt from opening kickoff to the final whistle, in embarrassing fashion. It was so embarrassing that the media and sports writers didn't know what to make of it. That is how you get headlines saying, "Is the Steelers defense too old?" This is the same Steelers defense that was number two in the league last year, and after one game we are questioning if they are too old. How about we question their desire or just give Baltimore credit for keeping their foot on the gas for an entire four quarters. The Ravens allowed just seven points. That is the same number of turnovers they caused. Flacco looked as efficient and calm as ever. You have to love his demeanor; he always has a blank creepy stare, similar to Showtime's Dexter. Ray Rice ran all over the Steelers defense that only allowed one 100 yard rusher last year. Guess who that was...yeah, Ray Rice. I am no where close to counting the Steelers out, but I am starting to rethink my idea of "the Ravens are that team that makes it to the playoffs every year but you know they won't do anything." Maybe they are on to something this year or maybe they couldn't wait to get on the field with the Steelers and played a perfect game.
The Buffalo Bills are not who we thought they were. The Bills have been ridiculed in the past for their poor quarterback play, lack of a pass rush, and lack of a desire by their owner to pay their stars big money. While Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't your ideal franchise quarterback, he did toss up four touchdowns in a surprising 41-7 beat down, against the Kansas City Chiefs. They went on the road and controlled the clock by rushing the ball 39 times to the Chiefs 18. They shutdown the Chiefs big play ability, giving up 23 yards as the largest gain of the day. They won the turnover battle 3-1, and really looked like a team that has improved a lot since last season. I don't want to jump the gun after one game, but it doesn't look like the Bills will be the league door mat this season.
The Colts appear to be in shambles and are ready to pass the division torch to the Texans. Most people will say, "Cut em some slack, they just lost Peyton," but that is no excuse for giving up 167 yards of rushing to a teams second and third string backs. Kerry Collins turned the ball over twice on fumbles which doesn't help but just 16 team rushing attempts will not win this team many football games. If this team is going to save face, they need to run the ball and stop the run on defense. Kerry Collins was retired less than a month ago. How do you go into a game depending on his arm in a new system and new receivers? Even as the Texans pulled away with the lead early, you still have to run the ball. Addai averaged 4.9 yards a carry. The Colts need to establish a new identity without Peyton and it shouldn't be a pass friendly offense.
Mike Shanahan knows what he is doing. Many people criticized Mike Shanahan for a few of his coaching decisions last season. It all started with the public circus with Albert Haynesworth. Then Donovan McNabb was benched for Rex Grossman. By the end of the season it was clear that McNabb would get traded, so it only seemed conventional for the Skins to draft their franchise guy in a loaded top-heavy draft for quarterbacks. Of course, they didn't draft a quarterback and instead had a quarterback battle between Rex Grossman and John Beck. Thats not exactly fireworks over the monument. On top of having average at best quarterbacks, they had no running backs and an aged Santana Moss at receiver. Naturally, we expected them to spend money in the free agency and over pay either a running back or a receiver...maybe both. Instead they did neither. This story is starting to run a pattern. During training camp they snuck in a trade that was brushed under the rug and acquired Tim Hightower. On any other team, that isn't anything to get excited about but for Redskins nation, they found their starting running back. So on Sunday the Redskins welcomed the New York Giants to Fed Ex Field and surprised many by winning in convincing fashion. Is it just me or does an offensive group that features names like Rex Grossman, Tim Hightower, Santana Moss, Anthony Armstrong, and Jabar Gaffney sound like the casting for the next Longest Yard movie? Regardless of how you feel about who is on the field, the Redskins got it done. Grossman looked great, throwing for 300 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense got after Eli Manning, sacking him four times and returning an interception for a touchdown. I realize the theme for this article is its just week one, but hey, looks like Shanahan has everything under control in Washington.
Cam Newton continues to amaze. Regardless of what you think of his personality, his character, his leadership skills, his throwing motion, his smile, his dad, his religion, his posture or anything else you can think of to criticize, Cam Newton is an entertaining football player and a legit NFL quarterback. On Sunday he did something that no other quarterback has done in the history of the game. He threw for 422 yards in his rookie debut. That is nothing short of spectacular. All week the Cam Newton "nay sayers" and even his supports said he would struggle, myself included. 24 for 37, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and an interception is not struggling. Outside of a win, just about any quarterback in the league would take those numbers every week. Don't get me wrong, by no means do I expect this from Cam every week or ever again for that matter but a lot was accomplished in this game. For one, any first game jitters he may have had, are long gone and now he is more confident in his game than ever. Two, he has won over the confidence of his coaches and teammates. As the quarterback he needs to be an effective leader and there is no way he could do that without the support of his teammates. Three, the media and "nay sayers" can back off of him, well at least for this week. It was strange to listen to sports television shows, listen to radio shows, and read articles and everyone was praising Cam Newton. It seemed like we had gotten to a point where no matter what he did, critics would always find something to dislike. For this week and probably this week alone, Cam turned heads and shut up his critics. As I said to a good friend on Sunday, I wish Cam the best this season...just not against the Bucs.
Quick Notes
- Donovan McNabb threw for 39 yards in a loss to the San Diego Chargers. On top of that he only had two yards passing in the second half.
- The Packers are poised to make another title run. Their offense is dangerous, the challenge will be staying healthy.
- Eagles still have a lot of work to do. They won decisively against the Rams, but they didn't have to worry about Steven Jackson for three quarters because he strained his quad early in the first quarter. Michael Vick looked great at times, but his numbers were average (14-32, 187 yards passing two touchdowns). I still have issues with them protecting Vick and stopping the run. It will be interesting to see them against the Falcons this weekend.
- We should not put our faith in the baby Bucs just yet.
- Cowboys will be much improved from last year but still have problems in the clutch.
