NFL - Random Opinions

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Lots of young QB's doing their thing, lots of close, nail biting games with a few blow-outs and all kinds of sloppy in some of the stuff I watched. Refs had a tough day also and the new booth replay guys in New York need a tutorial or two.

It was all kinda wild... some surprises also. Sunday had a bit of everything. All in all, I got my fix of football, my heart crushed (typical), fist pumped a few times and walked away shaking my head, lol. Love this game.

 

Let's do some surprises and confirmations coming out of week 1 -

Eagles 32
Falcons 6

Maybe not much in the way of shocking revelations in this one, other than the Eagles offense looks to be a step ahead of where I imagined them beginning 2021. Jalen Hurts played a solid game but the storylines that are sure to come out of Philadelphia are likely going to scream that he was nothing short of otherworldly in the opener. Such is the nature of a hyperbolic sports media, but I would prefer they shot it straight so that when he faces a much stronger defense in week 2 the reality of his play would be met with no deflation coming off of too much adulation. The ground game is going to be a major strength for Philly this year, so if the defense can continue to play at a high level the Eagles should be in more games than not.

The Falcons actually had some positives come out of this embarrassing start, but Arthur Smith has his work cut out for him in getting this offense to fly. Cordarelle Patterson may actually be a threatening weapon out of the backfield, so getting some mix of Patterson with Mike Davis, Patterson lining in the slot than motioning into the backfield with Davis, and preferabbly some 20/21 personnel in the pro-set with Patterson and Davis at RB together combined with Pitts in the Slot, Ridley and Gage on the outside would be something that I think could pay big dividends.

Of course, the Atlanta defense will need to show up for any of that to matter...

The surprises here for me would be the play of Cordarelle Patterson and what looks like a secure role for him in this scheme, and the clean, efficient play of the entire Philly offense.

The confirmations would be that Devonta Smith is clearly the WR1 in Philly, and the Falcons have the continued look of a team that will likely run hot/cold for the majority of the season.

 

Steelers 23
Bills 16

Pittsburgh pulls off the upset and the Bills look a little flat will probably be the two main story lines to come out of this game. The Steelers didn't exactly set the world on fire with the type of play they produced on offense, and it took a SPTs TD to get enough on the board to beat a Buffalo team that only put up 16, but it's a positive for Pittsburgh fans that Ben was able to navigate the new offense enough to get it done. Najee Harris struggled to find lanes behind an offensive line that is going to take some time to gel but the receiving group looks solid. However, it's the defense that should keep the Steelers in most of their games.

If week 1 is any indication of what Buffalo's offense is going to be like, Josh Allen is going to need a weekly IV of horse tranquilizers in his right arm post game. The Bills offense looks like it's going to flow through its franchise quarterback, with the ground game being a secondary consideration. The defense in Buffalo played good enough to secure the win, and without the SPTs touchdown from Pittsburgh the Bills are 1-0 to start the season. Still, the offense needed to get another score on the board and failed to do so. I expect that to be the exception for Buffalo in 2021, and not the norm.

The surprises here would be Pittsburgh managing to secure the win despite struggling to move the football, on the road as 6.5 point underdogs, and that the Bills offense looked very flat in their home opener.

The only real confirmation out of this match-up is that the Steelers defense should be really good in 2021.

 

Vikings 24
Bengals 27

It was the kind of game that gives a young team confidence in the ability to win, something that Cincinnati has to believe in order to get into the mix for a division title in the AFC North. Joe Burrow played an extremely efficient game, Ja'Marr Chase gave a glimpse of what he could be as a pro, and Joe Mixon was the workhorse back that head coach Zac Taylor expects him to be. All in all, the Bengals offense gave people reason to put some faith in Cincinnati in 2021. The defense did a solid job of stymying the run, but there were far too many completed passes and open receivers given to a constantly harassed Kirk Cousins. It was a good win with a couple of question marks still lingering, but I like what I saw from the Bengals yesterday.

For the Vikings, without a strong presence on the ground to threaten opposing defenses, some of what they expect to do well on offense is never going to unfold. Thielen and Jefferson are at their best when they get the benefit of play-action, and while the defense is capable the ability to stay fresh throughout the game is going to be dependent on clock management. It was an even split yesterday, but having Dalvin Cook clip off yardage while eating up clock is going to be a necessary component of a successful 2021 Vikings campaign. Minnesota got to Burrow 5 times yesterday but needed that extra bit of explosion to close it out and didn't have it at the end.

The biggest surprises were the inability for the Vikings to get the ground game rolling, and the Bengals ability to be sound in the front 7 throughout the majority of the game.

Some confirmations would be that Mike Zimmer's seat is probably a helluva lot hotter than what most believed coming into this year, and Joe Burrow looks healthy and ready to rock into this season in grand fashion.

 

49ers 41
Lions 33

Not a lot to be shocked at when it comes to the scoreboard, but there are a few things about this game that I found extremely interesting, one of which happened before the kickoff. Trey Sermon being a coaches decision to be scrubbed is something that may need to be monitored for the next few days. This feels like Shanahan either trying to motivate Sermon or perhaps being a stupid genius, but after Mostert's injury this week it's likely that Trey will be on the field to prove Kyle right or wrong in week 2. As for the rest of the 49ers offense, Eli Mitchell played well enough to be the confident starter in Mostert's place, but it was Deebo Samuel that stole the show with 189 yards receiving with a TD. He outpaced the entire offense by a wide margin, though how much of that is going to be a trend is a huge question mark considering the week one competition. The defense for San Fran looked solid, but it wasn't the dominant unit that people expected to start the season. It will be interesting to watch the 49ers morph into their identity on both sides of the ball as I expect them to make a deep playoff run in 2021.

For the Lions, it was a mixed bag of good and bad. The scrutiny of Jared Goff is going to reach a fevered frenzy status in certain media circles, but the truth is that the had the kind of game that I was expecting. He displayed the ability to command the offense while struggling at times to find a rhythm with a group of receivers that are not only new to him, but new to the team and, in a couple cases, new to the league. Hockenson is going to have a monster year, but St. Brown, Williams and Cephus are going to need time to get it right with their signal caller. D'Andre Swift looked solid, as well as Jamaal Williams, and the offensive line is going to be a strength for this team down the stretch. The defense is going to be a work in progress, but they had moments where it looked like they could be a decent unit. For the most part, the Lions played how you should have expected them to in week 1.

The one positive from the Lions you won't find on any stat sheet is how they never looked like a team that was accepting a loss.

Some surprises here would be Deebo Samuel being the clear choice in the passing attack and how good D'Andre Swift looked to start the season.

A couple confirmations would be that Jimmy G can still be the kind of passer that the 49ers can ride to the playoffs and that the Lions receiving group has potential but little polish.

 

I gotta handle some business but I'll try to get in some more later today.

 

Agreed. When I saw his stats I was pleasantly surprised. He played a good game. Now he needs to show some consistency.

 

This was a big surprise to me. Not that Pittsburgh won, but how. Steelers D was impressive and Ben and the Offense were just ok (Ben needs to learn how to slide).

Harris was predicted to have a good 1st game... I thought he wasnt bad for a rookie against a good defense and he is only going to get better. If Harris controls the ground game that should be a huge blessing for the offense as far as Ben's passing game goes. But, I agree with you Tim, the D was stout and the special team play was special. Going into Buffalo as a dog and pulling out a W in any fashion is a huge deal and should really set the momentum going into week 2... plenty for both teams to work on and improve on.

 

This game really had me on the edge all 4 hours of it. Penalties, penalties, penalties and more penalties... they wernt ready (Vikings)... and thats on Zim, in my opinion. The Bengals actually deserved the win and a tip of the cap to the fans in Cincy also as they were really the 12th man during that game.

Cincy has momentum to build on and the experience for the Bengals secondary will only make them better as they were picked on all day by Cousins, they bent, but didnt break when needed.

A surprise to me was the kicking game also. Joseph and McPherson both did well for their clubs... big time deliveries when it was on the line. I wonder why, when kicking is so important in the outcome of a lot of ballgames, that more emphasis is not placed on that position. Oh well, the Rodney Dangerfields of the NFL, for sure.

Vikings defense still is a concern when it comes to stopping the run... they have a long ways to go, but definitely improved over last season, but not sold on it being enough.

How does Dalvin Cook get contained like that... offensive line play must get way better, but the blame is heavily on Cousins too as he must be a lot faster. He (Cousins) would hang on to the ball way to long as if he was trying to always make the 'perfect' play. I think if he has that much time given him by the line he should not take advantage of that, but still speed things up a bit.

Hell of a game... nail-biter for sure. I think my TV/Monitor was very lucky to survive the game, lol.

 

I don’t think that anyone watched the Steelers game here because the Steelers defense dominated the bills offense, the only reason Buffalo even scored in the first half was because the refs wouldn’t stop them from holding egregiously. The kickoff return at the beginning of the game was sprung by a egregious block in the back. The oline of the bills should enter the hog tying contest at the rodeo because that’s what they were doing every play against the Steelers pass rush. The refs were only calling about one out of every ten egregious holding calls against the bills. The bills could have easily had 30 penalties in the game but the refs just ignored most of it.

 

Cardinals 38
Titans 13

Easily one of the biggest upsets of the day and one that may go a long way towards determining the future of both franchises. Sound like hyperbole to you? Yeah, I can be guilty of it at times, but hear me out. The scuttlebutt around Arizona all offseason is that Kliff Kingsbury may be on the warmest barstool in the league. Getting a big time road win against a team that many (including yours truly) figures will be in the mix come AFC playoff time goes a long way towards shutting all of that media noise down for at least a week. Being able to focus on the task at hand with a strong wind behind your back is a positive that a young core of players, with a still learning HC, can build off of. Kyler Murray is an absolute stud, Chase Edmonds is one of the better dual dimension runners in the league and the receiving group may be the deepest and most talented in the NFL. If the OL can continue to build off of their week one performance than we will be talking about the Cardinals having a shot at winning the NFC West. And the defense, you ask? Arizona nabbed 6 sacks, held the Titans to under 250 total yards of offense and forced 3 turnovers. This has all the earmarks of a breakout campaign for the Cardinals in 2021.

For Tennessee, you could not have gotten off to a worse start, but they are in a division where they can have this kind of game early in the season and still bounce back to win the AFC South title. Tannehill had a hard time dealing wth the pressure. His best weapon, A.J. Brown, could only reel in 50% of his 8 targets, but there was little he could do to bring in some of what was winged his way. The offensive line for the Titans simply has to improve their play quickly or Tennessee is in for a long season of poor rushing lanes and Ryan running for his life. The defense didn't fair much better as they couldn't force the Cardinals off the field, yielding 35 minutes of possession to the away team.

It was surprising to see the Titans offensive line play that poorly to open the season, and Chandler Jones was unstoppable in week one (5 sacks).

Kyler Murray is a confirmed high level NFL quarterback.

 

I watched it. Good game. Steelers DL was indeed dominant. But the Bills strategy of 4/5 wideouts and just pick it apart would've worked if not for Josh Allen who was surprisingly inaccurate. He was off target numerous times on what were relatively simple short throws. His completion % should've been 70-75% in this game, instead it was less than 60%. Thats piss poor.

Also, it was only a 7 point ball game. The ST play was ultimately the difference. Put those two together and i'd think you would just be grateful for the win not coming on here crying about officials.

 

My random thought for today is that i fucking HATE this college jersey numbers bullshit. Absolute amateur hour.

 

I don't like whining about officiating but I don't think Steelers fans need to feel grateful for anything. The Steelers were the better team Sunday. They deserved to win the game.

 

Replace grateful with "satisfied" if it makes you feel better.

But since we seem to be splitting hairs, putting it politely "deserved" is a subjective characterisation. They won a close game, neither team "deserved" shit. The Steelers were by far the better 2nd half team, in the 1st half they did F all squared. They were fortunate that Allen missed a wide open TD pass that he very definitely makes most of the time. He makes that pass and the Bills are out of sight at halftime.

As it was the Bills owned TOP and outgained the Steelers by a wide margin. But they allowed the Steelers to hang around and paid for it. My subjective take is I don't see any deserve in there either way frankly, at least not in terms of winning. Congrats on the win tho, very good to go to Buffalo and come out with a W.

 

Josh Allen is overrated.

Just want to put that out there.

 

EV your full of shit. The first buffalo TD should have been called back because of an egregious holding of Watt. The kickoff return that set up the first FG for Buffalo had an egregious block in the back. Take those two scores back like the refs should have and Buffalo is staring at a humiliating loss of 20 points or more.

 

Holding and blocks in the back happen every single play. Deal with it. Don't cry after a win. It's barely allowable after a loss. It's definitely weak after a victory.

 

Fixt it for Ya.