Baltimore Cruises, Payton Of Old, And RG3
With the first week of the 2012 NFL season in the books, we now take a look to see which teams are rising and which teams are falling. Scoring wasn't an issue in week one of the NFL as quarterbacks shined and defenses crumbled. Five teams put up 40 points or more, pretty impressive on opening day. Nine teams scored at least 30, so what gives? The NFL is pass happy and we have all the latest NFL notes that you will ever need. Week 1 rewind.
Since we are on the topic of defense, how about those Jets? The New York Jets only managed 1 touchdown during the preseason. In week one against Buffalo, the Jets put up 48. If you haven't heard it by now, the preseason doesn't mean anything! Everyone has been talking about how good Buffalo will be this year. After week one, they're not. I still don't know if the Jet offense is that good or Buffalo's defense is just that bad.
Speaking of defense, where were they in week one? I have to give credit where credit is due and that goes to the New England Patriots. The Patriots held the Titans to 13 points, a much improved defense from their 31st ranked defense last season. The Cleveland Browns held the high octane offense of the Philadelphia Eagles in check for the entire day, only giving up 17 points despite the yardage. You can't talk about defense without mentioning the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens held a good Cincinnati offense to just 13 points without their pro bowl linebacker Terrel Suggs.
Robbert Griffin III had a very successful debut on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints on the road. RG3 passed for 320 yards, two touchdowns, and completed 73% of his passes. He was the only rookie starter in week one without a turnover. A 40-32 victory over the Saints at home is never an easy task to accomplish.
The Payton Manning era in Denver began with a 31-19 win over the tough Pittsburgh Steelers. Payton looked like his former self and he played very solid against a top ranked defense. Payton was 19-26 with 253 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Manning in Denver, rookie Andrew Luck began his signal caller era for the Colts in Chicago. Andrew Luck only completed 51% of his passes in a 41-21 loss to the Bears. He did throw his first NFL touchdown, but also threw his first 3 interceptions. Interestingly enough, his touchdown and 3 picks matched Payton Manning's numbers in his rookie debut for the Colts. Talk about history repeating.
The San Francisco 49ers looked great in their game against the Green Bay Packers in all areas of the game. The 49ers took it to the Packers on Sunday, despite a close score of 30-22. The San Francisco defense only gave up 2 touchdowns and played very well even though Aaron Rodgers passed for 303 yards, Most of those yards was while the 49ers were in a nickel defense only rushing 3-4 players. The 49ers look like the team to beat in the NFC while Green Bay's defense played like their 32nd ranked defense from last season.
The Baltimore Ravens looked very impressive on both sides of the ball in a 44-13 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Flacco stepped his game up on Monday Night Football and everyone was quick to react. However, this game was very close half way through the third quarter. The Ravens only led 17-13 when it appeared the Bengals just threw in the towel after a Ray Rice touchdown extended the lead 24-13. We will see what they are made of this week when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles.
The biggest surprise of the 2012 NFL opening week has to be the referees. Note to the NFL commissioner, bring back the refs! This is just ridiculous. No offense to them, but they missed a ton of calls and called penalties when they were not needed. We all see the Green Bay/San Francisco game with the block in the back. Most of us seen the dropped pass by Baltimore in the end zone, even after an official replay. If they are not brought back, it is going to cost a team an earned win. Count on it.
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