This marks the 11th NFL season where I’ll be writing this particular column on a weekly basis. Before I get to the football week, I must thank all the fair readers who have helped support, promote and continue to stick with this endeavor throughout the years. The readership has exploded lately, much to my shock and my eternal thanks to those who were with me when this space was seeing less than 100 eyeballs per week. You know who you are, but more importantly I know who you are too. Thanks! 

$.01--There were a lot of interesting games on the opening weekend. For me, the most important game was Buffalo’s domination of the presumptive AFC favorite, the Indianapolis Colts. The Bills kicked off the Rex Ryan regime by fully embodying the principles of their new coach.

Buffalo didn’t just beat Indianapolis, they beat up the Colts. The Bills' defense looked like they were moving at double time compared to their counterparts. When Andre Johnson ran a slant, Stephon Gilmore beat the very aged Colts wideout to the spot. When Indy’s line slid its protection, Buffalo’s line still got through, around or over. They made Andrew Luck make mistakes, too. He threw two INTs, both underthrows on deeper routes where he didn’t fully step into his pass. They mixed coverages behind mixed rushes, keeping the one-dimensional Colts (17 runs, 49 passes) off guard. Buffalo defenders recorded 12 PDs, 3 more than in any game a year ago.

Proving they are a total embodiment of Ryan, Buffalo’s offense definitely carried the ground-and-pound mantra. Tyrod Taylor, making his first start after years as Baltimore’s backup QB, threw just 19 passes. He ran the ball 9 times, including a 31-yard scamper. The Bills posted 147 rushing yards on 36 carries. The run game wasn’t always effective in accruing yardage but they ate clock and wore down the Colts thin depth.

More importantly, Buffalo avoided the crippling mistakes which have plagued this franchise for years. There were no turnovers, not even a single fumble. The special teams were outstanding; punter Colton Schmidt pinned the Colts deep twice and the coverage units were swarming. Colts rookie WR/KR Phillip Dorsett instead made the mistakes, fumbling twice. Given T.Y. Hilton’s knee injury, that’s not a good start for a player who figures to be a more integral part of the offense going forward.

For a team like the Bills, where the playoff drought extends into the last century, opening with such an impressive win was an imperative. Ryan’s teams feed on vibes like no other. It’s nothing but good vibrations in Buffalo, which has quickly established itself with a much-needed air of credibility. 

$.02--The Giants and Cowboys squared off in the primetime affair Sunday night. And as typically happens when these two teams get together, the ending proved a thrilling nightcap to opening day. Dallas escaped with a gift of a 27-26 home win.

The Cowboys continually violated one of life’s great axioms: when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. They just couldn’t put the shovel down. There were turnovers, the excavator of football hole digging, but it went beyond the fumbles and interceptions.

- Cole Beasley fumbling, scooped up by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for a long TD return

- Dez Bryant dropping an easy third-down conversion

- Beasley unable to field a punt because a teammate got in the way, costing them 21 yards on the roll

- Jeremy Mincey earning a 15-yard personal foul to keep the Giants driving late

Just when it looked as if the Cowboys were buried, the Giants decided to put a stick of dynamite under their own feet. In one of the stupidest decisions in modern NFL history, the Giants opted to fill Dallas’ hole with some manure of coaching inadequacy.

1:43 left on the clock. New York is up 23-20 with 3rd and goal at the Dallas 1. The Cowboys are out of timeouts. Instead of realizing the clock was the real opponent instead of the Cowboys, the Giants' brain trust opted to call a rollout pass. A simple halfback dive, even if unsuccessful, leaves Dallas 99 yards away with no timeouts and about 50 seconds. Eli Manning scrambled a bit and threw the ball away instead of taking a sack. The clock stops, as do the hearts of every New York fan with half a brain.

The next New York decision isn’t any better. They opt to kick a field goal to go up by six instead of going for it on fourth down, a play that would eat even more clock and once again leave Dallas with 99 yards to go and no timeouts. In that situation the Cowboys aren’t trying for a game-tying field goal, they’re going for the touchdown anyway. The points are meaningless. The ensuing kickoff return spares Tony Romo 27 yards to gain, and he took full advantage. Romo picked apart the Giants' defense, hitting Lance Dunbar twice for 40 quick yards. A strike to Jason Witten moved the ball to the New York 19. At this point, the clock would have expired if New York had not been stupid. Instead, there was still enough time for Romo to hit Witten at the goal line--after briefly bobbling the snap--and score the game-tying TD. Dan Bailey’s extra point was true, and Dallas prevailed.

My take here is simple: Eli Manning absolutely should have taken the sack, but it never should have been in his hands to begin with. You simply cannot call a pass play in that situation. Too many variables come into play, and none of them favor the offensive team with the lead. Earlier in the same drive, the Giants snapped the ball with 20 seconds left on the play clock and the game clock running. That is inexcusable game management from Tom Coughlin and his Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo. It surely reflects terribly on Manning as well, and he deserves the scathing criticism that will be lobbed his way in the coming days too.

$.03--The World Champion New England Patriots opened the 2015 NFL season with a win, knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21 in a game that was not as close as the final margin indicates. Since volumes have been written about DeflateGate, we’ll keep the focus on the field here.

There are two conclusions that are easy jumps to make even after just one game.

- Gronk is really, really good

- Pittsburgh’s defense is really, really bad

Those two points, neither of which are surprising developments, often fed upon one another. Rob Gronkowski caught three TD passes, two of which he appeared to be uncovered…by design. Pittsburgh’s defense was continually late to the party, slow to recognize routes develop and unable to generate any sort of pass rush. They sacked Tom Brady twice, one on a great delayed blitz, but only pressured him a handful of times the rest of the night.

New England’s own defense was hit and miss. They struggled to pressure Ben Roethlisberger and gave up serious chunks of yardage (127 yards) to DeAngelo Williams, a 32-year-old backup RB who hadn’t topped 100 yards in a game in almost two years. Antonio Brown also proved he’s really, really good, again something we knew already but is still fun to see.

Pittsburgh fans will not want to see much of this Steelers' defense. The talent drain on the unit is very real over the recent years, and that includes freshly departed and legendary coordinator Dick LeBeau. There were fits of competence, even from 2013 draft bust Jarvis Jones, who played arguably the best game of his two-plus seasons. Even when they did make great plays, such as safety Mike Mitchell’s gorgeous strip near the goal line, the ball bounced right back the Patriots’ way.

Because it’s the Patriots, there must be scandal involved. It’s like trying to talk about Donald Trump and ignoring his hair. The Steelers' coach-to-coach headsets were dysfunctional in the first half. Instead of Coach Mike Tomlin hearing his guys in the box giving him info, they were all hearing the Patriot radio feed. Of course. As is the case with their other “Gate” headaches, this issue happens all the time to just about everyone. But because it’s in New England and because these sorts of shady competitive advantage manipulations keep happening with a team everyone suspects of everything, this will be all you will hear about this game for the next few days. It’s the path Bill Belichick has chosen for his team, and he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks as long as his Patriots keep winning. 

$.04--The other participant in last year’s Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks, had a different sort of debut. Seattle dropped a hard-fought contest in St. Louis to the rival Rams in overtime. It was a disappointing end to a furious comeback by the reigning NFC champs, who trailed most of the second half and sputtered offensively against the fearsome Rams defensive front. How the game ended is perhaps the biggest slap, however…

 

You might recall the Super Bowl, where the Seahawks lost by not giving Lynch the ball at the goal line and instead seeing Malcolm Butler pick off Russell Wilson. The Rams were clearly ready for Lynch on this one, silencing a seemingly indecisive Beast Mode and building major confidence to begin the season. Of course that decision came after the ponderous one to open overtime with an onside kick, a move which apparently caught the coaching staff by surprise. It didn’t catch the Rams off guard, as bizarre as the light floater looked.

Seattle’s offense slogged all day. Don’t be fooled by the 31 points. Tyler Lockett ran a punt back for their first TD, and CB Cary Williams returned a fumble for another one. Russell Wilson set a career-high in pass attempts with 41 but netted just 251 yards, struggling with efficiency against a fired-up Rams defense.

The first look at Nick Foles in St. Louis was generally positive. He threw for 297 yards on 27 attempts (compare that to Wilson for efficiency). He threw for one TD and rushed for another, though he did also lose two fumbles. Foles kept his eyes down the field and did a good job playing against the Seattle rush, which did well from the perimeter but had nothing up the gut. Nice beginning for the Rams, but not at all panic time for Seattle fans even though that Seahawks offensive line doesn’t look like it’s going to be good anytime soon.

$.05--The Jameis Winston era in Tampa Bay got off to an inauspicious start. His first-ever NFL throw was picked off and returned for a touchdown. The only other QB to suffer that exact fate is none other than Brett Favre. The No. 1 overall pick wasn’t good in his debut--they had 3rd and 42 at one point--but that’s not the story emanating from Tampa.

The bigger story is the sterling debut performance by the man taken one pick later, Marcus Mariota. The poised rookie from Oregon was fantastic for the Titans. He became the first debutante in the Super Bowl era to ever throw four TDs in his first game, a feat Mariota accomplished before halftime.

 

It really was one of the most impressive games for a quarterback in a long time, rookie or otherwise. His QB Rating was a perfect 158.3…which brings up an interesting point of who would ever design a system where perfection equals 158.3, but I digress…

These two quarterbacks will forever be judged against one another, fair or not. This is what happens with the first two picks in the draft and there was no general consensus on who was better coming out. Because these two couldn’t be more different people, the prism of judgment will be even more severe. The fascinating thing here is that most folks--myself included--believed Winston was the more NFL-ready passer and Mariota might struggle as he adapts to a pro-style offense.

Give credit to embattled Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt for tailoring a game plan to highlight what Mariota does well--making quick decisions and throwing accurate passes to well-spaced windows. It also helped Mariota that Tampa Bay’s defense was flat and passive, allowing Titans wideouts too much room and playing with the enthusiasm of, well, a Lovie Smith press conference. Smith continues to prove he’s just not an effective coach. For his young team to come out with such a lack of urgency, leadership or cogent game plan, that’s on the coach. Not to take anything away from Mariota and the Titans, but curb the enthusiasm on just how awesome they were until we see them play a team with competent safeties or an idea of how to handle an agile quarterback. 

$.06-- In a decided letdown of a potentially great matchup, Denver beat Baltimore 19-13 in a defensive struggle. In fact, neither team scored an offensive touchdown.

Baltimore managed just 173 yards and 11 first downs. Their only TD came on a Jimmy Smith pick-six off Peyton Manning. Baltimore’s first 12 plays resulted in 7 yards. Their hopes ended when Joe Flacco threw a terrible INT, baited into a hot read into double coverage. This came just after star wideout Steve Smith dropped the potential game-winner. Even worse, the Ravens lost Terrell Suggs for the season with a torn Achilles. Suggs is the most important player on the defense, the catalyst to the entire front working. They’ll have trouble overcoming his loss if the offense doesn’t get better real fast.

The Broncos eked out just 219 offensive yards, a total which prompted Talib to say on national television, “you know what, they could have done better”. Their first 15 plays of the second half netted 19 yards before a 17-play, 81-yard drive which swallowed most of the fourth quarter ended in a field goal. Manning’s arm strength looked weaker, but he also had some trouble making the right reads under pressure. He was sacked four times and looked discombobulated at times, bouncing a couple of throws and wildly missing the rare downfield looks. Give the Ravens defense credit here for now, but there are surprising growing pains going on in this new Gary Kubiak offense. It’s one which is predicated on long drives and balanced control instead of taking shots at the big plays where Peyton has always thrived.

The best offensive player on either team was Denver kicker Brandon McManus. Yes, it was that kind of game. McManus nailed four FGs, including 56 and 57 yard bombs. If your fantasy team awards bonus points for long field goals, congratulations. For the Broncos, relying on a kicker tying an NFL record for most made FGs beyond 55 yards in a game is not a sustainable way to keep winning.

$.07--A summer of some promise in Oakland came crashing back to earth quickly, as the visiting Bengals mauled the Raiders 33-13. The score was 33-0 in the third quarter before the Raiders began to resemble an actual NFL team.

This one was over on the first two drives. The Raiders went 3-and-out. The Bengals marauded for 59 yards on 11 plays, with Jeremy Hill easily sauntering into the end zone around left tackle on 4th and goal. Andy Dalton led the Bengals to points on four of five first-half drives, while the Raiders failed to cross midfield until the first play of the fourth quarter.

Even worse for Oakland, young QB Derek Carr injured his hand and left. Early indications are he will be fine, but it’s never encouraging to see the young leader leave and not return. Venerable Charles Woodson also left the game later with an injury.

The Raiders had no answer for Bengals TE Tyler Eifert, who might be the answer to Andy Dalton’s consistency woes. Cincinnati missed him after the 2013 first-rounder injured his elbow in the season opener last year. Dalton found him nine times in 12 targets for 104 yards and 2 TDs, tearing apart the giant holes in the middle of the Oakland defense. That’s a defense, by the way, which cut starting LB Sio Moore last week. Their struggles today were not a coincidence.

Bengals' fans have to be thrilled with how their team performed. Other than an ugly incident from Adam Jones, who deserves a suspension for ripping Amari Cooper’s helmet off and then slamming his head into it, Cincinnati was in firm control of every facet of the game. This is the sort of win that great teams have, blowing out inferior competition and leaving no doubt from the opening drive. I still consider the Bengals a potentially great team, albeit one with a quarterback who can be awful at times. The Dalton of this game, and really the entire Cincinnati team on display here, is eminently capable of a deep playoff run. Will we see them again? 

$.08--NFL quickies

--Carolina beat Jacksonville 20-9 in a game that nobody should ever watch again. It might be a costly victory, however; star LB Luke Kuechly left the game with an apparent concussion. He came up dazed and confused after a hit and did not return.

--Chicago hung tough with Green Bay but just didn’t have enough to vanquish the visiting Packers, who won 31-23. Looking for a reason why Green Bay won? How about this…

 

--Johnny Manziel took over for an injured Josh McCown and guided the Browns on a great scoring drive in his first action. It led to consternation that perhaps Mr. Football might actually be competent. Then reality came crashing back and Manziel turned the ball over three times, helping the Jets cruise to a 31-10 home win.

--More from the Browns: McCown and Manziel combined to rush for 58 yards on 8 carries. The running backs netted just 46 yards on 20 carries. For a team devoid of playmaking wideouts, the inability to run the ball from standard formations behind what’s widely considered a great offensive line is really troubling.

--Great win for Arizona over New Orleans, but just as importantly a resounding successful comeback game for Cardinals QB Carson Palmer. He threw for 307 yards and 3 TDs as the Cardinals rolled 31-19. They might have lost starting RB Andre Ellington, however, a bad blow for a team that has historic struggles running the rock.

--I’d write more about San Diego’s resounding comeback win over Detroit, but I fired all those angry bullets on Twitter during and immediately after the game. San Diego thoroughly outcoached Detroit on both sides of the ball. It would have been a serious blowout if not for the Lions three takeaways. Bad loss for my Lions, but an impressive display by the Chargers as well.

$.09--College/Draft Quickies

--The temptation here is to pile on the SEC and the misperception of its dominance after a Saturday where Auburn needed overtime to beat Jacksonville State, Alabama sleepwalked through the first 25 minutes against Middle Tennessee and Toledo shocked Arkansas and silenced blowhard coach Brett Beilema. But that is too shallow and flies in the face of my larger mantra that it’s all about individual teams and not conferences.

While I am an Ohio State fan and generally root for the Big Ten (my heart is with the MAC however), to ignore the overrated, flawed teams in that conference would be hypocritical. Bowling Green put up 6 touchdowns in the second half at Maryland. Rutgers lost at home to a Washington State team that lost to lowly Portland State one week earlier. Even the Buckeyes underwhelmed against Hawaii, perhaps distracted by the visitor’s awesome throwback uniforms.

You can pick and choose disappointments in every conference, every week in non-conference play. It’s even true of Notre Dame, a team without a conference, as they barely squeaked past ACC bottom-feeder Virginia. I’ve found it’s better to take each team as an individual entity instead of lumping an entire conference together. Does the perennial struggles of Vanderbilt and Kentucky really impact LSU? Does Purdue’s woes make Michigan State any less of a team? It does matter somewhat in strength of schedule, but the fluffing of wildly speculative preseason rankings created by folks with defined agendas holds greater influence on that variable.

--Over the summer I wrote about what improvement I wanted to see from several prospects, including Notre Dame defensive tackle Sheldon Day. Here’s what I opined in June…

This year, I want to see if Day can develop more as a pass rusher. It’s not something he’s shown much of in the past, with just four sacks in his three seasons in South Bend. But I’m optimistic he will spike upward for the Irish in 2015. I got a chance to talk with Day recently and he told me he’s been working more as the attacking piece in their defense, even playing some rush OLB in a package. The knee injury from late last year is fully healed. Positional versatility will give Day a chance to show his value.

Through two games, mission accomplished. Day has shown explosion off the line but also the ability to finish plays in the backfield. After tearing apart Texas, Day had another strong game against Virginia. True to his word, he lined up several times at rush end and looked dynamic in doing so. Day definitely looks both quicker and stronger. If I were doing a mock draft right now--the next edition won’t come out until October--Day would definitely be in the top 30.

--Michigan State held off Oregon in the prime weekend matchup, the only one pitting two ranked teams. The Spartans defense stopped Oregon four separate times on fourth down, including a critical goal-line stand.

My focus in this game was on DE Shilique Calhoun, who was not very impressive a week earlier when I saw Michigan State in person at Western Michigan. Calhoun was pretty quiet once again, but he did a good job impacting the Oregon offense despite a lack of productivity numbers. No. 89 did fine work setting a hard edge versus the run. He was very quick to react to a couple of screens, just missing a leaping INT on one. His backside containment was excellent all night.

That’s all great and important for winning football games, but it’s not the kind of juice as a draft prospect NFL teams want to drink. For the second week in a row, Calhoun showed a decided lack of pass rush arsenal or effectiveness. His hands are slow, if he even uses them at all. There just isn’t much twitch to his movement. That was a big point made to me in Kalamazoo by a veteran AFC West scout, who vehemently pushed back against the senior as a potential first-round pick. If Calhoun doesn’t start showing more explosiveness or pass rush repertoire, he’s not going to be a top 50 pick.  You can write that in permanent marker.

--BYU has won two games, both on Hail Mary throws from backup QB Tanner Magnum. Or is it Hail Joseph Smith because it’s a Mormon school? Anyhow…This week’s prayer wasn’t of the walk-off variety like last week in Nebraska, but once again the desperate throw produced an unexpected victory in upsetting Boise State.

 The Cougars did earn a black eye for yet another act of gross misconduct, as a defensive lineman was caught red-handed deliberately punching a Boise player where no man wants to get hit. Note the related videos in the linked piece here. BYU as the dirtiest team in the nation seems akin to Donald Trump being a wallflower, but the brawls and ball(s) don’t lie.

--It’s always tricky to judge character without knowing the full details, but talented Rutgers wideout Leonte Carroo is certainly sending the wrong flag up the pole. As Pro Football Talk reports, Carroo has been suspended for the second time this season by the Scarlet Knights coaching staff. This suspension is indefinite, though details are scarce at this point. Carroo is a legit top 50 prospect on the field, but he’s got a lot of hard questions to answer to actually get drafted anywhere close to that high.

$.10--The tenth cent is typically devoted to something non-football related, or tangential to the game. This week’s final topic is women’s tennis.

Flavia Pennetta won the US Open on Saturday, beating fellow Italian Roberta Vinci. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t watch the match. Once Vinci stunned the world by upsetting Serena Williams in the semifinals, my interest was basically done.

While flipping between football games Saturday afternoon, I did stumble upon the very beginning of her acceptance speech. I’m so glad I stuck around to watch it.

Pennetta was engaging. She was funny. She was very respectful to her opponent, countrywoman and longtime friend. And just as Robin Roberts was ready to send it back to the booth, the first-time major champion interrupted to say one last thing. She said goodbye to tennis.

Going out on top is something, as Pennetta noted, which most athletes dream about. Very few actually get the chance to do it. Fewer still seize that opportunity. Instead of leaving the fans with the lasting memory of one last shining moment, the lure of one more try or one more rich paycheck often proves too tantalizing.

Watching Pennetta wave goodbye from the top of the world brought up a long-standing division between myself and my wife. I have always maintained that if I ever accomplished something great in athletics, I would be done. My first hole in one will be the last golf shot of my life. If I ever win my age group in a 5K, my running shoes are going in a case, never to be worn again. We darn near accomplished this feat together, as we did win our last co-ed beach volleyball tournament we entered. My retirement from that sport was not anticipated, however.

My wife, on the other hand, cannot grasp this concept. She is adamant about always striving for more in whatever life pursuit is involved. Accomplish one goal, keep building off it and moving forward. I fundamentally diverge from this mindset. Reach a big goal, revel in it and move onto something else.

We are curious how this will play out with our children, both budding athletes. It’s pretty easy to see already though. Our son is hyper-competitive and dwells on the negatives to his performances…just like his mother. Even in victory, they both focus on what they could have done better. Our daughter basks in the moment and looks back on the game and what she did great, or how much fun she had. That’s me, as anyone who has played basketball or volleyball with me in the last 15 years can tell you. File the bad points away, for work in the next practice, and take pride in what we did well.

Congrats to Pennetta, and may your view from the top never get old.