$.01--The big story all week was Peyton Manning and his neck surgery. Manning had another procedure on his lingering neck that will keep him out until at least Thanksgiving and perhaps the entire season. I happen to think we have seen the last of #18, however. Manning is 35 and has never been the most athletic guy. Although several other players have undergone the same cervical fusion procedure and returned to action, none of them have been of the age of Manning and none have been so heavily reliant on being perfect. That sounds trite, but for as much as Manning gets lauded for his mastery of the offense and superior preparation, he also happens to be one of the greatest throwers of the football of all time. That throwing motion stresses the neck, and if Manning has to alter his throwing motion because of the stress, he is not going to be the same. I strongly believe that because Manning is such a perfectionist and gets so obviously frustrated when he makes even the smallest error, having to alter his game and deal with the adjustment growing pains will be too much for him. If the Colts are as bad as they showed Sunday, they can forget about luring him back. Houston annihilated them, going up 34-0 at halftime in a score that did not adequately reflect the level of ass kicking. The Texans lost interest and went into self-preservation mode in the second half or else it could have been much worse. Indianapolis looked unprepared to play and completely lacking both talent and heart. Their offensive line was consistently routed by Wade Phillips and his new-look 3-4. The play calling was very predictable. But if I am a Colts fan, the thing I am most concerned with is the coaching. Jim Caldwell got outcoached by Gary Kubiak, a man nearly every person here in Houston thinks is the worst coach in the league--and they like Kubiak. Caldwell had no answers for anything the Texans did, and his team fed off his lackluster emotional display and milquetoast response to getting punched in the mouth. People want to criticize Jay Cutler for his body language and demeanor in the NFC Championship game last year, but to me Caldwell was much more egregious Sunday. When a team loses a great player, one of two things happens: either the team rallies around their fallen comrade and plays like gangbusters, or they curl up and take a beating. Which way they go depends largely on the coaching, and this coaching staff let them wallow in their Manning-less misery and gave them zero chance to win. Another coaching performance like that and the Colts will have little recourse but to fire Caldwell. $.02--The season kicked off Thursday night with a barn burner between the Saints and Packers. I could write a whole piece on that game, but in the spirit of brevity, here are some notes that I will try to decipher from my random chicken scratch writing during the game: A. The Saints are in trouble if Olin Kreutz is their center for 16 games. He looks done. B. Darren Sproles is everything New Orleans wanted Reggie Bush to be. C. Calling Jermichael Finley a tight end is like calling LeBron James a small forward; it might be his listed position, but he seldom actually plays it. D. Hard to figure out whether this was a case of great offenses or bad defenses. I think it was more of the former, but bad tackling appeared endemic. E. Love the Packers play calling. They saw right away Roman Harper could not cover, so they targeted him. That forced the Saints to go to a more vanilla scheme and keep their nickel back in the game. That nickel back, Patrick Robinson, is not close to ready to handle that and the Packers then attacked him relentlessly. Too many times coaches try to get cute and outsmart themselves by getting away from what is working. Mike McCarthy rides that horse all the way to the glue factory, and it got them a win. F. Very impressive debut for Randall Cobb, and he gives the Packers offense a new dimension that makes them even scarier. G. Interesting how Packers GM Ted Thompson botches so many first round picks but strikes so much gold later in drafts. His undrafted players are vastly better than his first rounders, just bizarre. $.03--In a weekend with many resounding victories, none rings louder than Baltimore pasting rival Pittsburgh in a vulgar display of power. The Ravens were the bigger, faster, stronger, better prepared team in all phases of the game, a rare lopsided outcome in one of the best rivalries in pro sports. The Steelers were not at their Sunday best, but this game was all about the Ravens playing at an extremely high level. Their impact players on defense--Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata--made several impact plays, appearing to know exactly what the Steelers were going to do before Pittsburgh did. Meanwhile, the vaunted Steelers defense looked old against a rejuvenated Ravens offense with fresh legs in Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. Against Ray Rice, Pittsburgh simply did not have a chance. I love the statement win by the Ravens, who desperately wanted to send a message to the national media that there are legit contenders in the AFC not named New England or New York or Pittsburgh. Consider that message received. As for the Steelers, I give them the benefit of the doubt that it was a bad day against a very game opponent. But that defense looked long in the tooth and unable to pressure a shaky Ravens line, and that could be a recurring issue throughout the season. Given their own offensive line woes--the left side was awful all day long--asking Big Ben to pull a lot of rabbits out of hats might be asking too much. $.04--I hope all the draftniks and doubters carefully watched the Carolina/Arizona game. Even though the Panthers wound up losing, Cam Newton put on arguably the greatest debut performance in NFL history. He shattered the old record for most yards by a rookie in Week 1 by putting up 422 yards with 24-for-37 accuracy and two touchdowns, plus a leaping touchdown of his own. Just as impressive was the way he controlled the team down the stretch; he was the unquestioned leader and he did not shrink from the responsibility in his first game. Newton showed poise, a solid command of the offense, and put a lot of throws exactly where his receivers needed it. Granted he made some mistakes--like throwing short of the first down on 4th and 5 from the 6, or taking a bad sack--but Carolina appears to have struck gold with Cam Newton. He was better than Kevin Kolb in this game and demonstrably better than Eli Manning or Donovan McNabb have been in years. There is still a lot of work to be done, but things are really looking up for Charlotte. $.05--There was another lopsided game, as Buffalo went into Kansas City and scorched the Chiefs 41-7. But this one had a different feel than Baltimore rolling Pittsburgh; this was as much about the ineptitude of the Chiefs as it was the awesomeness of the Bills. From fumbling away the opening kickoff to completely forgetting to cover TE Scott Chandler all game long (he could have had 5 TD receptions if Ryan Fitzpatrick looked his way more) to consistently sloppy tackling, the Chiefs looked awful. Not to discredit the Bills, because they were clearly fired up and played with an alacrity that has been missing for years now, but Kansas City had the look of a team that has quit on their coach. They were easily the worst team in the preseason and that has carried over, and Todd Haley has never been an easy guy to work with, or for. It had to feel sweet for Bills coach Chan Gailey, whom Haley fired two preseasons ago in a tone deaf classless act of cowardice. I watched some of the sideline interactions between Haley and the players and I saw exactly what I used to see in Cleveland when Mike Brown was coaching the Cavaliers. They were hearing him, but they most certainly were not listening. I had a professional bookmaker tell me earlier last week that he thought the Chiefs were the most overrated team in the league and would be a last-place team, and I just kind of let it slip aside. Now I think he might be onto something. $.06--Detroit and Chicago happily opened a season without facing one another, and both NFC North rivals put up impressive wins over quality NFC South opponents. The Lions kept up their strong preseason form and knocked off the game Bucs, withstanding a furious rally in the process. Matt Stafford made it through a complete game, throwing for 305 yards and three touchdowns while carving up what is supposed to be a strong Tampa Bay pass defense. The offensive line did not give up a sack, and the defensive line made life miserable (most of the day) for Josh Freeman while easily bottling up Legarrette Blount. More importantly, they pulled out the win over a good team on the road by making a defensive stop down the stretch despite some shaky moments. Lions teams of previous years would have found a way to lose games like this one, but these Lions have learned how to win. The Bears announced their presence with authority by beating the hyped Falcons into submission at Soldier Field. Brian Urlacher and the Bears defense were fired up and dictated the action from the opening snap to the final gun. They were physical, they were confident, and they were smart. The last of those has been a nagging problem, but against the Falcons they showed great positional integrity and cohesion. The Falcons offense still looks like one that tries to beat you with patience by waiting for a mistake they can exploit, but the Bears offered no help. Atlanta racked up lots of meaningless yards but never really threatened. Meanwhile, Jay Cutler looked firmly in command and Roy Williams dialed back the clock a few years, and the Bears attacked the Falcons defense by showing one thing and switching to another. The run-after-catch component to Chicago makes them very dangerous, as Devin Hester set up one TD while Matt Forte cashed in another. Chicago and Detroit have their work cut out for them trying to keep pace with the Packers, but both made strong statements today that they will be factors in the NFC playoff race. This is the first time in years these two teams have not met in the first two weeks, which means both could bring very good records into their Week Five matchup. $.07--5 NFL quickies: A. Kerry Collins is no longer an effective NFL quarterback, but I get a little tired of the old age jokes. Collins is 38, and I turn 39 this coming Saturday. While I am not a professional athlete, I am in better shape as I turn 39 than I was at 29 and I kind of resent the implication that people my age should just give it up. Maybe you should shave the grey beard, Kerry… B. Two young Bengals off to Pro Bowl starts: WR AJ Green and DE Carlos Dunlap. First round pick Green demonstrated why he went #4 overall, while Dunlap is a more physical young DeMarcus Ware. C. Donovan McNabb threw for 39 yards. Not in one quarter, not in one play, but for the entire game against San Diego. Meanwhile Rex Grossman was pretty darn awesome as the Ethnic Slurs downed the depleted Giants. Mike Shanahan, crazy like a fox. D. I will admit it: when the Vikings ran back the opening kickoff against the Chargers, I could not help but think Here we go again. Kudos to Norv Turner for keeping his team together and Mike Tolbert for scoring three times more than Adrian Peterson. San Diego ran 77 plays, Minnesota ran 43. The Chargers are 1-0 and might not lose until November. E. As my friend Glenn, a die-hard Steelers fan, pointed out, the Lions, Tigers (Bengals) and Bears all won. That got me thinking about how often that happens. Turns out, not very often at all but increasingly common. This was just the sixth weekend in the last 8 years where all three won, but the third time in the last four NFL weekends that it has happened. Bonus--I celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary this past week, but if Faith Hill shows up at my doorstep wearing that leather outfit, I am going home with her. Sorry honey. $.08--College/Draft quickies: A. I know he has played exactly two games, but South Carolina freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will be the first pick in whichever NFL draft he decides to enter. What an amazing talent, and he is not just some freak athlete either; he has legit skills and football acumen. I hope he keeps his head on straight because he can be special. B. Rice beats Purdue, Toledo takes Ohio State to the wire, New Mexico State upsets Minnesota, Iowa State bests Iowa, Nebraska had its hands full with Fresno State before an amazing kick return, Penn State was thoroughly outclassed by Alabama. I expected a down year from the Big Ten, but this is ridiculous. C. This one courtesy of NCAA Forum moderator Craig01: In their first two games, UCF (that is Central Florida) has outscored opponents 92-3 and outgained them 980-256. The victim Saturday was Boston College, a BCS program they routed 30-3. FIU (which shocked Louisville) will not be an easy win, but if they get past them next week there is a very good chance the Knights run the table and throw the latest monkey wrench into the BCS. D. Texas beat BYU thanks to McCoy throwing to Shipley. No, it is not 2008 again. The younger brothers of Colt and Jordan breathed much-needed life into a moribund Longhorn offense. We have seen the last of Garrett Gilbert under center for Texas. We have also apparently seen the end of any sort of passing proficiency from BYU, which has looked punchless in both games this year. E. Auburn might be 2-0, but they are easily the weakest defending national champ since the Ohio State team from 2002 lost 18 starters, 13 of which played in the NFL. A week after barely squeaking past Utah State (?!) they needed a tremendous goal line tackle by a backup safety on Mississippi State QB Chris Welf as time expired. $.09--The Sunday Night game featured two of the more intriguing teams in the league, Dallas and the Jets. These are two teams I admittedly do not have a great feel for; I can see both winning a playoff game or two, or both needing some good health to finish with eight wins. And their game reflected two teams with a lot of talent but also a lot of flaws. Both embattled quarterbacks, Tony Romo and Mark Sanchez, looked pretty sharp with the occasional wild pitch marring things. Romo and The Sanchize both had critical fourth quarter turnovers that are emblematic of why their respective fan bases are not completely sold. Both defenses brought a lot of pressure in various packages…with good reason, because neither secondary looked particularly adept at coverage. Neither team ran the ball with any sort of efficiency or effectiveness; the Jets did not record a first down via the run all night. Games like this one frustrate me just as much as they entertain me. It was indeed an entertaining affair, intense and packed with excitement and drama. But I feel like I learned very little about either team from their performances. To paraphrase Denny Green, They are who I thought they were. And maybe that is a good thing. One of the perils of analyzing games and making forecasts with just one week of baseline information is a tendency to read too much into what goes down in Week One. I have probably done that a couple of times in this very column. The Jets and Cowboys game does not really lend itself to outlandish dissemination and extrapolation, and that is something both Jets fans and Cowboys fans should probably embrace. Jets fans will embrace it a little more happily with the win. $.10--In light of 9/11, I thought I would take this opportunity to share my experience on that fateful day. It was my second day on the job as a 7th grade social studies teacher at Peabody Middle School in Petersburg, Virginia, statistically the worst middle school in the state. I cut my salary in half to take the job, trying to make better use of my college degree and give something to kids that most people write off from birth. Those kids dramatically impacted the prism from which I view 9/11. At the start of third period, a fellow teacher (RIP Ward Whyte, former Army punter and a damn good man) walked into my room and solemnly flipped on the television. The first tower had just collapsed. I went from trying to learn names and faces and maintain some semblance of disciplinary control to trying very hard not to cry. Some of my students were just as stunned as I, but it was the other kids that let me know just what I had gotten myself into. Of my class of 36 kids (that tells you right there what kind of school Peabody was), at least 10 could literally not care less about what was going on in New York or some 90 miles away in Washington. One girl proclaimed loudly that they better not be closing no mall cause of this sh**, while the two 17-year old 7th grade boys (as I was saying about the school..) were busy diagramming an ambush on a student from a rival gang after school. Several others paid little mind and ruthlessly mocked the kids that cared. After about an hour, the teachers in my pod decided to divide up our students. Those that cared were assigned to my room and two other classrooms with fellow rookie teachers to watch the events, while the others went to the classrooms with the veteran teachers who had a better grasp of discipline and simply wasted the rest of the day. I was moved by many of the kids in my room. They asked thoughtful, emotional questions and showed compassion, empathy, and a sincere desire to learn about what was going on. Many of these kids were connected to the military, be it the wonderful JROTC program at school or having a parent that served at one of the nearby military installations. They were scared and anxious and let their guards down around their peers for the first time. I will never forget the four hours I spent with those kids trying to sort out their emotions and my own as well. But it was the kids in the other room that really got to me. We could hear them rapping loudly, having profane arguments, and displaying a general disregard for both authority and humanity. I was appalled, and as I sat at home that night I could not help but think about how maybe all of those negatives about America that made those terrorists commit those disgusting actions had some real basis. Maybe we do not care much about our nation, maybe we are a divided state of apathetic youth and disaffected, media-obsessed zombies. I loathed those kids for ruining what should have been a great display of the human spirit and the wonder of youth that I saw in my classroom. America was imperfect and the kids in the other room were both a product of that and also a contributing factor. I had just given up a pretty materialistic job and was generally disgusted with the political process (hanging chads anyone?), so I was not exactly feeling great about America at the time. What unfolded in my classroom and my new school that day both invigorated me and disgusted me. So when I reflect on 9/11, I shudder at what happened in New York, and Washington, and Shanksville. But I also shudder at how America had failed with all those kids, all that wasted potential, and that most Americans never even consider them. Ten years later, and nothing has really changed for kids at Peabody Middle School. That deeply saddens me as much as thinking about all those brave souls that perished and the soldiers like Pat Tillman that died to avenge the hate and protect all of us. While I am very proud of all the people who risked their lives, many of whom gave their own in the process, I cannot help but still feel anger and disgust at how our country continues to fail so many of our own, particularly our children. 9/11 is a sober, somber reminder that as great a country as we are, we have a lot of work to do to get better. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com