NFL Week 1 Notes
September 14th, 2009 at 9:38 am by Displaced Cleveland FanThese are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 1 game here.
Wow. NFL fans are never going to believe this one.
Brett Favre has come out of retirement and is the new starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He made his debut in the season opener against Cleveland. Browns fans were privleged to see one of the all time great quarterbacks of all time lead his new team to victory.
Most NFL fans outside of Minnesota and Cleveland don’t know Favre is back. The media hasn’t said anything about it. It’s almost as if they don’t like Favre. Even after this game, no one is talking about his return. It is a pity that more people have not heard so that they can appreciate the latest unretirement and return of #4.
(One of the announcers of todays Browns/Vikings game actually did say that Favre was “one of the all time greatest quarterbacks of all time.”)
The Philadelphia Eagles crushed Carolina 38-10 to start the season. Unfortunately for them, they also lost their starting QB.
Donovan McNabb was injured on a 3-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter. He suffered a cracked rib. No word yet about how long he’ll be out.
Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea for the Eagles to sign Michael Vick during the offseason.
Mark Sanchez is being hailed for his debut with the Jets. The rookie QB led the team to a 24-7 victory over the Houston Texans.
Many wanted the Browns to take Sanchez in this year’s draft instead of trading down like they did. With the “great” debut of Sanchez and the “mediocre” performance by Brady Quinn, no doubt there will be some saying “I told you so.” But let’s compare their numbers first.
Sanchez - 18/31 (58%), 272 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 84.3 rating
Quinn - 21/35 (60%), 205 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 74.1 rating
Sanchez only has a slight edge in terms of stats. But Quinn was also playing against a much better defense. So Browns fans should not despair and wonder what might have been after just one game.
In the Division:
The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the NFL season Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans. They hung on to win in overtime, 13-10. The big news though is that safety Troy Polamalu sprained a ligament in his knee and will be out 3-6 weeks.
Are the Baltimore Ravens possibly the best team in the division? Usually they win by combining a tough defense with a good enough offense. Today they scored 38 points on 501 total yards of offense. I hope this was a fluke. If not, they’re going to be a scary team for their opponents.
Cincinnati was nice enough to keep Cleveland company in last place. They thought about leaving the Browns alone in the AFC North cellar after going up 7-6 with 38 seconds left in the 4th quarter. But they had second thoughts and let the Broncos score on a 87-yard touchdown with just 11 seconds to go. Thanks Cincy.
Quick Hits:
- Drew Brees - 6(!) touchdown passes for the Saints
- For those wishing the Browns traded for Jay Cutler, he threw 4 interceptions in his debut for the Bears.
- Speaking of the Bears, linebacker Brian Urlacher injured his wrist and is out for the season.
- The Cowboys were on the road, so no worries about punts hitting the monstrous scoreboard over the field.
-dcf
Tags: Brett Favre, Brian Urlacher, Donovan McNabb, Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Mark Sanchez, Michael Vick, Troy Polamalu
