NFL Week 1 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

September is a wonderful time of month. The heat from a sweltering summer begins to fade, the colors come alive as the trees begin to change in preparation for the winter that awaits us, and most importantly...the NFL season returns.  

Yes the regular season has arrived at last and I couldn't be happier, especially since every single NFL game provides an incredible story of its own.  So I thought today would be a good opportunity to take a look at some of the more important story lines from Kickoff Weekend, so without further ado, here is what we learned from Week 1. 

1. The Seattle Seahawks are still REALLY good. They made the Packers look like a practice squad on opening night and that's a big deal for the rest of the league. Their offense is still as potent as ever with Wilson at QB and Lynch at RB and the defense looked just as stout.  There's a good chance they will have another great year, and every team that goes up against them will need to bring their A game. 

2. The Dallas Cowboys are still REALLY bad. This was just ugly to watch. Tony Romo is clearly not quite back from his injury and it shows. He made many a throw that seemed to lack power and that's a sign he has more healing to do.  But more importantly, their defense is going to cost them a lot of games.  It looks like it is going to be another looooooong year for Cowboys fans.  

3. The Denver Broncos are already running away with the AFC West.  Sure it's only been one game, but the Raiders, Chiefs and Chargers all suffered losses this weekend.  While it will take a few more wins to officially hand Denver the AFC West crown, there are reasons it's looking pretty good.  The Raiders still look lost and certainly are by no means settled at Quarterback, the Chiefs basically imploded and the Chargers completely melted down on Monday night, if any of these squads plan to take the division, they have a lot of work to do.  

4. The Buffalo Bills may have a solid season. Have to admit, this was the surprise story of the week, seeing as how Buffalo is often written off at the start of every single season.  But instead they came in and shocked the Chicago Bears by pulling out the win and well...they did it with some impressive football. One has to wonder if this is just the beginning and maybe just maybe, the Bills can have a year to be proud of.  

5. The New England Patriots might be in decline. It's rare that one has to write about a Patriots squad, that just did not look that great.  Tom Brady only threw a single touchdown and only managed to complete 52% of his passes.  But he was not the only problem for New England. The defense was porous and let Knowshon Moreno run wild and the offensive line was cause for concern as well.  It really has been a long time since I've seen the Patriots look so average and one has to wonder if this is a one off, or a hint of things to come. 

Either way my friends football is back and already there is plenty of intrigue to keep me hooked, I can't wait to see what happens in Week 2 and we'll be here to discuss it all next Tuesday. 

---