Killing Time: Thoughts on Week 1

Man, it's nice to have the NFL back for real, after the tease that was the Thursday night game. And I say that despite having my options consist of the Rams-Eagles blowout, the overhyped Cowboys-Browns game and a game involving Brett Favre. This week, it didn't matter--I was glued to my couch. I'm sure most of you felt the same way (and can't wait until tomorrow night when we finally get to see the new Purple People Eaters in action for real). A few thoughts on the first Sunday:

• Tom Brady's season ending knee injury opens up the AFC in a way it hasn't been in a long time. The road to the Super Bowl has gone through the Patriots almost every year since 2003, but it won't this year without Brady. The Patriots' offense is still loaded, but Matt Cassell won't be able to run it as well as Brady (Duh), which is a problem, because the Patriots defense is good, but its got holes that need a top offense to cover up. Then again, if Matt Cassell is smart, he'll just throw it Randy Moss every play. It worked today.

• I couldn't tell if the Rams were that bad, or if the Eagles were that good. Probably both. Either way, the Eagles, assuming that McNabb and Westbrook stay healthy (which is a big if) have Super Bowl talent. DeSean Jackson looks like he'll provide McNabb with his best deep threat since Terrell Owens. He was all over the field today and made an impact in a way few rookie receivers are able to.

• The Browns showed flashes of the team they could be today, but didn't seem ready for the opening game. They were dropping passes, missing blocks and were unable to put any pressure on Tony Romo (except for a few plays where Shaun Rogers decided he didn't want to be blocked--Rogers is your classic disengaged player, able to dominate one play, but disappear the next five. He's not going to be the answer to the Browns' problems). They have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL this year, and they can't afford to start slow because they aren't executing at the same level as their opponent.

• I am not happy about my first two fantasy picks right now--Stephen Jackson and Carson Palmer netted me exactly 9 points this week and both of their teams looked lost. Needless to say, I didn't win this week.
  

• If Micheal Turner (220 yards) and Jerious Norwood (93 yards) can rack up 313 yards on the ground against Detroit, Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor are going to really enjoy the Vikings' two games against the Lions.

• The Steelers had the most impressive win of the week so far, absolutely destroying the Texans, a trendy pick to make the playoffs this year (I still expect them to, but they got destroyed). The Steelers are a team I expected to miss the playoffs because of its hard schedule and porous offensive line, but if their line plays as well as they did today, they are going to be a Super Bowl favorite.

Tomorrow, I'll have a preview of the Vikings' opening game. Just a few short hours until the season is finally here.