Boston-Homer

Week 1 Whoa...

Well Week 1 of the NFL season is over and I just caught my breath. The Steelers and Titans kicked off the week with a smash-mouth game that included a lot of nerves and one big injury to Troy Palamalu that might slow down the defending champs for a while.

Sunday saw some surprises, like the Broncos Immaculate Deflection to kick off Josh McDaniels' head coaching career and Drew Brees flinging 6 TD passes against the hapless Detriot Lions. The NY Jets looked good against the Texans and the Brett Favre era in Minny started with a win.

Monday night was no different, its official, this year's NFL season is going to be amazing.

The Patriots played a lackluster game for 55 minutes of football. They were a little shaky on offense, Welker, Moss, and Watson all dropping passes.

I was shocked to see Welker not even turn for a ball on third and 3 when even I knew the ball was going his direction. Brady looked frustrated with his receivers and he was probably nervous about his knee. He had not been in a game in 12 months, he had played in barely a half of football in the past 18 months. THAT is the most shocking thing. People forget how long it truly has been since Brady played. He threw the ball 11 times last year. So his last full game was the Super Bowl in February 2008, that should put things into perspective.

Just in case you forgot....


Speaking of the Super Bowl, as I was watching last night I kept having to remind myself that last season actually happened. There was something in my head that kept going back to the Super Bowl. Somthing in my head that just skipped over last year and last year's team completely.

When the Pats scored the go-ahead touchdown I looked at the clock. "Too much time," I muttered to myself. I was waiting for that big play from T.O. I was waiting for some new linebacker to lose his coverage and allow the Bills to get into field goal range. I was waiting. And instead, the Pats were aggressive. They sacked Edwards, who played a very solid game to keep the Bills in the game all night.

As the game looked like it was going to slip from the Pats, especially when the Bills were marching down the field to grab an 11 point lead I had to keep telling myself that it is only week 1. The Pats lost to the Bills 31-0 before winning every other game that year to win the Super Bowl. Week 1 in the NFL is full of surprises.

There are the surprises that shock us in the moment. Brandon Stockley's crazy catch, the Eagles looking fantastic, Jay Cutler throwing 37 interceptions in one game, the Cardinals losing to the 49ers, and the Raiders and Bills pushing the Chargers and Patriots to the limit.
Once the season is over and we look back we might see other instances from this past week as surprises. What will they be? Its a surprise...its the NFL...