Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisNFL Week 1
September 11th 2012 21:02
The first week of the NFL season has finally come and passed; what a great way to start. A national party convention pushed up the Cowboys v Giants game to Wednesday making us wait an extra day for the full slate. With the Giants being defending champs and facing division rivals, that was one of the games to look forward to. The other big game was between the best defense in San Francisco and a lot of people's favorites to win it all in Green Bay. This matchup did not disappoint. There were other great games that no one saw coming; Rams at Lions, Vikings vs. Jaguars, and Eagles at Browns.
Some players and teams struggled, Matthew Stafford and Michael Vick. We also had the 5 starting rookies where only one led his team to victory, RG3 over the Saints. Weeden had the worse outing throwing 4 interceptions while the others struggled as well. Then there were the teams and players that had a great showing, and I decided to do my top 5 most impressive teams from the first week.
1) San Francisco 49ers - They were so close to making it to the Super Bowl last year and came out just as strong to start this season. We know they have the best defense in the league, and they showed it against one of the top offenses led by MVP Aaron Rodgers. There offense looked great as well. Typically a running team, which they still did successfully, they had Alex Smith throwing to everyone. Last year it was mainly Vernon Davis, but with the additions of Manningham and Moss they receivers were the main targets. The game was close but it just looked like San Fran was in total control. I guess the kick return for TD that shouldn't have happened helped. On both sides of the ball the 49ers looked like the best team in the league in week 1.
2) Denver Broncos - Tebow helped them to the playoffs last year and win a game, but they way the looked Sunday night against Pittsburgh makes them a appear to be ready to fight for a ring. Peyton Manning's comeback was one of the biggest storylines in the offseason and will continue to be. He obviously didn't miss a beat, MVP maybe?? He took control of the offense and dominated one of the league's top defenses. I was more impressed with the Broncos defense. Going into the game I didn't know who the second corner was across from Champ Bailey (HOF). I know now that Tracy Porter maybe the best defensive pickup in the offseason, with Petyon being the best on the other side of the ball. Along with them Denver has Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil, Keith Brooking, and Joe Mayes in their front 7. They will be tough to beat the way that defense is capable of playing.
3) Baltimore Ravens - Another top defense facing a division rival in up and coming Cincinnati Bengals. Though Ray Lews and company are getting old they are still a fantastic defense, even without Suggs. Just like the 49ers I was really impressed with their offense. Joe Flacco gets talked about a lot negatively, people thinking he can't lead them to the promise land. Well last night, in that hurry up offense they want to run, he looked good. Ray Rice is a beast behind him in the backfield; maybe them 2 along with that vetern defense can make it a Harbaugh vs Harbaugh Super Bowl.
4) Atlanta Falcons - Just like Flacco, Matt Ryan is in that time frame where it's time to start winning the biggest games. Unlike Flacco though, Ryan hasn't won a playoff game. He has showed some flashes but the team hasn't been consistent. Against an injured KC defense he did put up the 2nd highest QB rating for week 1. Julio Jones is going to be a beast in his 2nd year, and along side him there's Roddy White, Michael Turner, and Tony Gonzalez (HOF). It might come down to their defense which added Asante Samuel but lost Brent Grimes for the year. Will see what Atlanta and Denver have when they face each other on Monday night.
5) New York Jets - This is one of the only games I did not get to see and that is why the Jets are only number 5. But they main reason they made the list is because how horrible the offense looked in preseason. I know those games don't count, but still 0 touchdowns until the 4th game with the 3rd string quarterback. Their defense was never a problem and all assumed to be a top 10 unit again. No one saw 48 points coming though, and they did it in every way. Sanchez through 3 td's along with a pick, while they also had a punt and interception return for six. Who knows if their offense can keep it going, but they have the best shot at is with leaving number 15 on the bench.
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