Wednesday Morning QB (NFL Week 1)
The NFL has become a passing league in the last few years, although still with a love for the run game, and in turn has made the NFL a quarterback’s league. In the NFL the most important position has become the man under centre and without a good QB that can at least manage a game you cannot win. This is why teams go all out to try to get that QB they think will lead them to the Super Bowl. QBs are some of the most scrutinized picks in the NFL Draft and are the highly recruited free agents in NFL Free Agency. This year there were plenty of QBs coming into the season with a lot of questions surrounding them. These questions would be answered with week 1 getting underway and all of these QBs getting their chance to show what they had and what we can expect this year. It would all start with a living legend and future hall of famer Peyton Manning who would kickoff the season on Thursday Night. Manning would put together the performance to remember throwing an NFL record 7 TDs in the game and dominating the opening game of the season. Manning would show that the Broncos are here to stay with a potent offence that may overcome their lack of a pass rush. The QBs making an impression would not stop there though as second year starter Colin Kaepernick would also impress. Many people were wondering what Kaepernick could do in the Read-Option now that it would not surprise anyone and with only 10 starts under his belt would he be an effective QB. Without using much of the Read-Option Kaepernick would lead the 49ers to a win against the Green Bay Packers throwing for over 400 yards and 3 TDs. Much like Kaepernick another QB would get his shot as a starter. Pryor would not get the win but would impress many as he would rush for 112 yards and throw for 217 yards in what seemed to be the breakout performance of the week and one that would show that the Raiders may not have much else but they found a QB. Three sophomore QBs also had their chance to answer questions in the offseason as Terrell Pryor would get his first start in the NFL. The sophomore slump was a major storyline last year when Cam Newton fell in his second year and now Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson all would have to deal with it in their second year. Griffin would look tentative to start his Monday Night game but would find his groove eventually and show that he may take his time to get back after playing no games in preseason but he is on his way back. Andrew Luck would show that he is not worried about the sophomore slump leading the Colts to the win with two passing TDs and one rushing TD. Russell Wilson would follow suit with Luck throwing for 320 yards and one TD in a win over the Carolina Panthers. The sophomores were up and down in their first week but for the best rookie QB class there is plenty of time. Following in their footsteps comes a new class lead by two rookies who would get their shot in week one. EJ Manuel and Geno Smith would represent the new class of rookie QB that was looking to impress this year. Manuel and Smith would do just that as the doubts would be quashed as they would lead their teams in surprising fashions. Manuel would help the Bills take the Patriots down to the wire throwing for 150 yards and 2 TDs in his first game. Geno Smith would also help his team throwing for 256 yards and a TD in a Jets win. The rookies would not have the most impressive starts to the season but they would look better than most thought. As the rookies began their careers the rest of the QBs in the league began their season and showed why they are considered the most important positions in football. The QBs answered a lot of questions in week one but there are a lot of questions remaining as they have only started their season. With plenty more season to go the QBs in the league are looking to continue to take over the league as many of them look to continue their good start to the season.
Fifth Quarter:
(Four Quick Thoughts on Week 1)
Giants Looking
With David Wilson dropping the ball twice in their opening game the Giants immediately began looking for another running back bringing in Brandon Jacobs and Willis McGahee to tryout for the team and trying to provide a great comeback story
Massive Mistakes
Week 1 would see a lot of crucial mistakes as Clay Matthews and Lavonte David would change the game for their teams after earning 15 yard penalties at critical points in the game that would let the opposing teams score important TDs
All-Pro Out
The Pittsburgh Steelers would not have a great game in week 1 and it would start bad for the team too as they would lose Pro Bowl centre Maurkice Pouncey in the first quarter leaving a massive hole in the line for the Steelers
Rivalry Brewing
The Packers 49ers game would highlight Sunday’s action as the talk before the game and after the game would be another chapter in a rivalry that seems to be building into something great in the NFC
NFL Standings
American Football Conference
AFC East:
1. New England Patriots (1.00)
2. Miami Dolphins (1.00)
3. New York Jets (1.000)
4. Buffalo Bills (.000)
AFC North:
1. Cincinnati Bengals (.000)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (.000)
3. Baltimore Ravens (.000)
4. Cleveland Browns (.000)
AFC South:
1. Indianapolis Colts (1.00)
2. Houston Texans (1.00)
3. Tennessee Titans (1.00)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (.000)
AFC West:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (1.00)
2. Denver Broncos (1.00)
3. San Diego Chargers (.000)
4. Oakland Raiders (.000)
National Football Conference:
NFC East:
1. Philadelphia Eagles (1.00)
2. Dallas Cowboys (1.00)
3. Washington Redskins (.000)
4. New York Giants (.000)
NFC North:
1. Detroit Lions (1.00)
2. Chicago Bears (1.00)
3. Green Bay Packers (.000)
4. Minnesota Vikings (.000)
NFC South:
1. New Orleans Saints (1.00)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (.000)
3. Carolina Panthers (.000)
4. Atlanta Falcons (.000)
NFC West:
1. St. Louis Rams (1.00)
2. San Francisco 49ers (1.00)
3. Seattle Seahawks (1.00)
4. Arizona Cardinals (.000)
Key Scores:
Denver Broncos 49 – 27 Baltimore Ravens
– Peyton Manning would throw 7 TDs against a Baltimore defence that lost a number of their best players in the offseason and clearly had nothing for the QB they beat in the playoffs last year putting their title defence in harm’s way
New York Jets 18 – 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
– Geno Smith would lead the Jets in his first NFL game and would do a great job but it was Lavonte Davis and his late hit on Geno Smith that would change the game giving the Jets the chance to kick a game winning field goal which they would cash in on
San Francisco 49ers 34 – 28 Green Bay Packers
– The Packers would speak a lot about how they wanted to hit Kaepernick in the Read Option but he Niners wouldn’t use the Read-Option much and the Packers had no pass rush which when added to a major referee mistake would help the Niners to the win
Philadelphia Eagles 33 – 27 Washington Redskins
– Chip Kelly would introduce his style of offence to the NFL in his first game as the Eagles head coach and would put the NFL on notice as his up tempo style would dominate in the first half while the defence would hold off the comeback by the Redskins
Next Week:
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots (Thursday September 12th; 8:35 pm ET)
– The Patriots did not look like themselves in their first game and the Jets are hoping that continues as they look to build on their first win with rookie Geno Smith leading the way against the Patriots who will play their second rookie QB of the year
Washington Redskins vs. Green Bay Packers (Sunday September 15th; 1:00 pm ET)
– RGIII looked better as the game went on in week 1 and he will look to keep improving in a short week against the Packers who are looking to recover from one mobile QB to take on another mobile QB
Denver Broncos vs. New York Giants (Sunday September 15th; 4:25 pm ET)
– Peyton Manning had a great week 1 and now looks to do the same against the Giants who did not look to have a defence that can stop him and an offence that may give him plenty of opportunities to get the ball
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks (Sunday September 15th; 8:30 pm ET)
– The rivalry begins once again as the Niners take on the Seahawks in the first of two games that could go a long way to determining who wins the NFC West even though it is only week 2 and there is plenty of football to play
The Sport Addiction 