The Denver Broncos Are Even Better Than We Thought
Any doubts that lingered about the Denver Broncos prospects this season were put to rest after their 49-27 opening night dismantling of the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. Peyton Manning shredded the Ravens defense to the tune of 462 yards and an NFL record-tying seven touchdown passes, while the entire offense clicked as a whole. New addition Wes Welker’s nine catches and two touchdowns proved that his success in New England was not the product of any system, but rather his natural ability and gritty style of play (though going from Brady to Manning doesn’t hurt), while stud receiver Demaryius Thomas and talented tight end Julius Thomas both went over 100 yards and grabbed two touchdowns apiece.
Additionally, the Broncos defense rose to the challenge better than anyone had any right to expect them to. After losing Elvis Dumervil thanks to the off-season “fax-gate” fiasco and pass-rushing machine Von Miller to a six-game suspension, the Broncos’ found themselves without the services of shutdown corner Champ Bailey who was nursing a foot injury. In spite of these notable absences, the defense picked off Joe Flacco twice, and effectively shut down the Ravens’ elite running game. It’s ridiculous to imagine how good the Broncos can be when Bailey and Miller return to the lineup. A statement was made, and as of right now, the path to an AFC championship runs through Denver. Next week’s much ballyhooed “Manning-Bowl” between the Bronco’s and the New York Giants could be one for the ages.
Tony Romo Deserves More Respect Than He Gets
In the wake of the Dallas Cowboys’ 36-31 victory over the New York Giants, much is being made over the ridiculous six turnovers committed by Tom Coughlin’s bunch. In all honesty, both teams made numerous mistakes and as is often the case, the winner of the game ended up being the team that made fewer. To channel legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross, the game was “bowling shoe ugly”.
With that said, I’d like to take a moment to give some credit to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Put simply, the guy can take a hit and keep on coming. Just before the half, he was sandwiched by charging Giants defenders Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. After being helped off the field and missing just one offensive snap, Romo returned in the second half visibly still in pain, and led the Cowboys to an all-important divisional victory. There is much debate over whether he is truly one of the game’s elite signal callers, and while I’m certainly not qualified to settle that argument any more than you, but one thing that Romo has proven time and time again is how tough he really is. Romo takes his fair share of blame when the Cowboys play poorly, but on days like today, he needs to be lauded for his gutsy contributions to the team’s success.
If The Lions Can Play Mistake-Free Football, They Are Legitimate Contenders
The Detroit Lions opened up the 2013 NFL season at Ford Field with a 34-24 victory over their divisional rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. It was the Lions’ first regular season win since Week Nine of 2012. While the score board displayed a ten point margin of victory for the home team, the contest was nowhere near this close. The Lions dominated every aspect of this game, but numerous little miscues kept the Vikings in it until the very end.
After an effective first drive, the Lions missed out on a field goal opportunity due to a botched hold. On the Vikings first play from scrimmage, reigning NFL MVP Adrian Peterson ripped off a 78 yard touchdown scamper. Numerous penalties (including a personal foul call on Ndamukong Suh that will lighten his wallet by $100,000) and a couple of turnovers kept this game much closer than it had any right to be. With that said, Detroit fans should be very encouraged. Their team vastly outplayed a ten-win squad from a year ago, and has the look of a very talented NFC contender. If the little errors can be reduced, there is no telling what this team is capable of. It’s shaping up to be a very interesting season in Motown.
The 49ers Don’t Need to Run to Win
If 49ers fans had been told last week that Colin Kaepernick would have his first 300-yard passing day on opening weekend, they would have been thrilled, right? Well, San Francisco, your third-year sensation did you one better than that, roasting the Green Bay Packers secondary for 412 yards and three touchdowns thought the air. The Niners run game was stifled by an improved Packers run defense (Kaepernick himself only rushed for 22 yards), but it didn’t matter. All Kaerpernick has done since he took over for Alex Smith last year is make plays and win big games. With an absolute rocket launcher of an arm and elite running ability, Kaep can do it all. It is scary to think of how good this young man can be, and even scarier to imagine how dominant the 49ers can become as he matures as a player. Oh, and one more thing: Anquan Boldin. Enough said.
Chip Kelly’s Offensive First Half Spoils RGIII’s Return
Robert Griffin III completed his improbable comeback on Monday night as Washington played host to the Philadelphia Eagles. While Griffin’s comeback was a mixed bag, he shook off a pair of early interceptions and found his rhythm in the second half, tossing a pair of touchdowns to go along with 329 passing yards in a 33-27 loss. With that said, the real story of this game was the NFL debut of Chip Kelly’s wide-open offense. Any questions about how seamlessly Kelly’s college game plan could translate to the pros were answered immediately as the Eagles unleashed an exciting, up-tempo offense from the very onset of the game. Running a nearly unprecedented 53 plays in the first half alone, the Eagles’ rookie head coach silenced even his most vocal critics. While the second half was an entirely different matter and there is still much work to be done, it appears that the 2013 Philadelphia Eagles will be a vastly improved club this season, tightening up an already competitive NFC East.
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