NFL: Week 1 Overreactions

Weird weekend. Here’s what we knew going into the season:

The Pats were going to throw up 40 on the Bills.

The Raiders were a joke.

The Chargers were the most talented team in the AFC.

The Panthers had learned not to rely solely on Jake Delhomme. The Vikes were going to have trouble convincing Favre to be a game manager.

Jay Cutler had made the Bears an instant Super Bowl contender. The Eagles defense was going to be a liability without Jim Johnson and Brian Dawkins.

The Texans were ready for prime time.

After week 1 we can scrap all of that. Here is what we’re thinking heading in to week 2:

• Don’t read too much in to one week of football. A lot can happen in a 16 game season. The Raiders, Jets, Ravens, Bills, and Cowboys aren’t quite as good as they looked this weekend. Only the Bills played a team that had their “A” game. It’s a long season people, let’s not call for Norv Turner’s head just yet. The Bills no-huddle attack looks good, they’re going to have to stay healthy to keep playing at this level.
• LT looks finished. We’re not saying that LT is finished, only that he looks finished. The Chargers OL looks like a hot mess and Sproles is more capable of making defenders miss if there isn’t a hole to run through.
• Green Bay is going to be good. It didn’t take long for Dom Capers to solidify the defense and Aaron Rodgers seemed willing to rely more on his running game this season than last. If the Packers can consistently run the football and the defense can stay healthy, they could really be a contender.
• No team is more snake-bitten than Philly. First, they lose Donavan McNabb. Now OL Shawn Andrews is done for the year. How many times has Andy Reid lost McNabb or Westbrook (or McNabb and Westbrook) during a given season? We loved the Vick signing. The Jeff Garcia signing could leave too many chefs in the kitchen. The Eagles defense is going to have to continue to play at or near last week’s level to keep this team in contention.
• The Cards aren’t winning the AFC West. We picked Seattle, but the Niners could be in contention. If that team wins 8 games Singletary should win coach of the year.
• All of the elite teams in the AFC look massively flawed. The Steelers, Pats, and Chargers OLs all looked suspect. The Titans don’t have playmakers, and the Colts just look plain old. Could the Ravens be poised to fill the void?
• It’s going to be a crap shoot in the NFC. The Giants look like they were coasting. The Eagles need McNabb healthy to do anything. Carolina is lost. Everyone else played bad teams this week. No telling how this one turns out. The team that stays the healthiest may take it all.