Recap of Week 1

The NFL season has concluded its extra long kickoff week finally. It all started with a spectacular sight in Pittsburgh on Thursday and ended in a shocker of a game in Oakland late Monday night into the early morning hours of Tuesday. A week full of uncertainties and questions that have and have not been answered as well new problems that have been risen. Many teams with new quarterbacks on display and others with veterans that have shown that they are getting up there in age.

In New York the Jets showed off prized rookie sensation Mark Sanchez against the Houston Texans. Sanchez lead the Jets to a victory in his NFL debut. He was not overall that impressive of a start but getting the win is what's most important to NFL coaches and owners. He did throw a touchdown pass and had a good running game to relax him and also protect him against a defensive stud Mario Williams. Sanchez looked alright and had a great start as a rookie in the league.

Drew Brees also had a fabulous start to the NFL season with 6 TD passes in a route of the Detroit Lions. It was against the worst team in the league but still 6 TDs in an opening game is nothing to take away from a Pro Bowl player. Brees will unquestionably have an MVP type campaign with the style of play the Saints play on offense and especially with all the speed and weapons around him.

Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens also looked very good in his start against the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Flacco, who did not have to do too much last season, but up good numbers as the Ravens defense did not play particularly well against an unproven team in the Chiefs. Flacco threw for over 300 yards and 3 TDs. He also had a good rushing attack led by Ray Rice to help propel the Ravens past the Chiefs at home.

Quarterbacks on the flip side of the coin who did not have a great start of the season include Matthew Stafford, Brett Favre, and Jay Cutler. Brett, three time NFL MVP, had an average start at best, was supported heavily from third year running back and All-Pro back in Adrien Peterson. Peterson racked up three scores and nearly 200 yards on the ground. Favre on the other hand had a hard time with timing and locating with his new receiving corp. Hitting on 14 or 21 throws and only five of which went to receivers on the day. He did have a TD and threw no interceptions but only had 110 yards. Chester Taylor, second string running back, lead the Vikings with five grabs on the day. Mr. Favre has a got to get into more of a rhythm with his new receivers to spread out the defense in order to force opponents defenses to respect the outside threat of the likes of Percey Harvin and Bernard Berrian.

Matthew Stafford, the number one pick in the draft, had it rough as it was to be expected. Not only did he only complete 43% of his pass attempts against the Saints defense, but he also threw three picks to them as well. He did complete three passes that went for 90 yards to Calvin Johnson, but he needs to be more protective with the ball. It was only his first career start in the NFL and he is on the Lions, but turnovers are unacceptable for a young team to be competitive in the NFL. Stafford is going to be highly criticized throughout his career because he was the first pick in the draft and he looks like he can turn this franchise around, but it will not be overnight.

Jay Cutler wanted out of Denver and got his wish, but after his performance on Sunday Night in Lambeau Field he may want out of Chicago now as well. In his first career start with the Bears Cutler threw four interceptions to the Packers and many of them were on Cutler. He did not look comfortable throughout the game except for the first few possessions of the second half. He threw his first pick going back into the middle of the field while rolling to his right, which in the NFL is a no-no. The Johnny Jolly INT in the red zone was an absolute gorgeous and a once in a lifetime type play for the defensive lineman. However, Tramon Williams and Al Harris' picks were also inexcusable throws by a multiple time Pro Bowl player. Despite the poor performance on Cutler's part, the Bears were still in the game with their defense. However, the loss of former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Brian Urlacher will cost the Bears significantly.

The NFL has officially begun and I cannot wait for next week's action to pick up where this week's left off. It will be nice to see how teams that looked much improved in week one from last year if they can keep it up or if week one was a fluke.