Make no mistake, Week One of the NFL season is the perfect time to overreact. Many times the sky really is falling the worst really is happening. It doesn’t matter if you’re paranoid if someone is actually chasing you.
Since 2002 only 22.7 percent of teams that dropped their opening week game made the playoffs. With Week Two on the horizon, this crop of losers better turn it around. If a team starts 0-2 those playoff chances drop to just 11.3 percent.
RIP 19-0
It feels just like a week ago that pundits, writers and doofuses (doofi?) all over the country were touting the New England Patriots as a super team that could run the table and go 19-0. Then, sometime around 10 p.m.-ish eastern time I felt a great disturbance in the Force. As if millions of Massholes suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Somebody, and I don’t have to say who, predicted that the Patriots would not only miss out on Super Bowl 52, but that Tom Brady would have the worst year of his career and retire at the end of the season. I won’t say who it is, but his name rhymes with Adam Greene.
#PatsNation #GoPatriots Tom Brady is last in the NFL in completion percentage through Week One #Patriots #Pats https://t.co/RAbZ5IjwDe
— Patriots Fans (@PatriotsViews) September 12, 2017
Brady, without Julian Edelman last Thursday, completed 16-of-36 passes for 267 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He posted a quarterback rating of 35.1 and didn’t even complete 50 percent of his passes.
The vaunted Patriots defense looked downright pedestrian, especially in their depth when anyone of not had to head to the sidelines. Kareem Hunt ran for 148 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Tyreek Hill, who New England was supposed to “take away,” only caught seven passes for 133 yards and a score. It was an ugly thing to watch for Patriots fans. For the rest of us in America, it felt pretty good.
Now, am I saying I’m picking New England to lose when they travel down to New Orleans to take on the Saints? No. Hell, I didn’t pick the Patriots to lose this game. New Orleans looked like so much ass against Minnesota Monday night Kanye is posting the double eyes emoji on its Instagram. But it wouldn’t surprise me to see Drew Brees light them up at home. Frankly, it’s what I’ll be rooting for.
JARED GOFF MIGHT BE OK
Here’s the final stat line for Goff in the Los Angeles Rams‘ 45-9 blowout of the Indianapolis Colts Sunday afternoon; 21-of-29 for 306 yards and one touchdown. Goff was sharp, accurate and deadly downfield, especially to his new rookie toy Cooper Kupp who will be snagged in your fantasy football league’s waiver wire today.
https://twitter.com/LeadingSports_/status/907729841398493184
I was down on the Goff pick last season because I could tell from his game film he wasn’t ready for the NFL. Few rookie quarterbacks are, but Goff isn’t a rookie anymore. It can’t be stressed enough how competent and professional coaching can affect a player and Goff is getting this season. He most certainly wasn’t last year.
Up next for Goff and his new head coach is a match up with Sean McVay’s former team, the Washington Redskins and his former pupil, Kirk Cousins. They’ll be a little different challenge than the hapless Colts.
SEATTLE STILL HAS OFFENSIVE LINE ISSUES
The Seahawks legitimately tried to improve their offensive line this off-season through the draft and free agency, but if Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers is any indication, they’ve got a long way to go.
https://twitter.com/TheKitchenSink7/status/907715300463972352
Seattle’s starting five are Rees Odhiambo, Germain Ifedi, Luke Joeckel, Mark Glowinski and Justin Britt. Don’t expect it to stay that way if the the Seahawks perform as poorly as they did Sunday. On the bench, Seattle has Ethan Pocic, who could take over at guard or center and allow the team to move Britt to one of the guard positions. After that, there’s really not a lot of moves they can make unless they work a trade or find some gem in free agency. The Seahawks game up three sacks Sunday and was harassed all day.
The problem is, even with facing the San Francisco 49ers this week, their defensive front is probably the strength of their defense. Add a blitzing Navarro Bowman and now what should be an easy win looks like it could be a slog.
JACKSONVILLE AND HOUSTON, WHAT THE HELL?
I expected the Houston Texans to suck this season, but maybe I was giving them too much credit. The Jaguars absolutely destroyed Houston and didn’t need anything other than a mediocre performance from Blake Bortles to win going away.
And this was supposed to be a celebration of the city after Hurricane Harvey, for God’s sake. Leonard Fournette didn’t play a lot in the preseason, but he made up for it against the Texans, carrying the ball 26 times for 100 yards and a score.
.@Jaguars play for 2 names:
Name on the chest ✔️
Name on the back ✔️WATCH Week 1 highlights on #InsideTheNFL TONIGHT 9p ET/PT. pic.twitter.com/VyrTnWmFm3
— Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) September 12, 2017
The Texans had the best defense in the league last year and did not record a turnover or a sack and just had three tackles for a loss as a team, and I have to repeat this, AGAINST THE JAGUARS.
Meanwhile, I was completely wrong about the impact Calais Campbell would have on the Jacksonville defense. The guy recorded four sacks and, as a team, the Jaguars sacked Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson 10 times and forced three turnovers.
I don’t remember the last time the Jags were 1-0 and I’m not going to look it up. I don’t know how many seasons I’d have to sort through to find it.
What does this mean for Jacksonville this season? I have no idea. They’re a complete mystery, but I’ll tell you this. If they beat the Tennessee Titans Sunday at EverBank Field in Jacksonville (And it could happen. Mike Mularkey is on that other sideline), they’ll become the favorites to win the AFC South.
As for Houston, all of head coach Bill O’Brien’s support for Tom Savage at quarterback meant jack shit when the rubber met the road. Savage was terrible and O’Brien benched him for Deshaun Watson in the second half which led to the only Texans’ scoring drive of the game.
Let it begin… ⚡️ “Deshaun Watson will start against Bengals”https://t.co/Nny8WXimII
— Hot 95.9 Austin (@Hot959Austin) September 12, 2017
O’Brien has already made it clear that Watson will start their Week Two contest against the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night.
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