What’s in a week?

BOZ-Observations from the 1st week of NFL games

Sunday provided a brief glimpse into the teams in the NFL and where they may be headed. Year after year there are teams that have statement games that writers and pundits hang onto for over a week until the team they rejoiced gets clocked the next four weeks in a row. In 2014 the Patriots got whipped up by the Dolphins on opening day and eulogies were being written for the Pats dynasty. Yada, yada, yada 24 weeks later they won the super bowl against the Seahawks. There are however observations from the first week that we witnessed and wonder about though they should be taken with a grain of salt.

Saquon Barkley is the REAL deal. This kid can just flat out play. A running back who can hit the home run play if you are not careful. Barry Sanders comes to mind when watching him. A simple run up the middle can turn into a home run.

Eli Manning: He looks shot. Might have to call in Colin Kaepernick or see if Jeff Hostettler or Kurt Warner wants to come out of retirement. He cannot play consistently well enough when his team needs him to come up big. Admittedly, he did not get much help from his struggling offensive line .As a veteran he is now unreliable. Those Super Bowls are becoming a distant memory.

Mike Tomlin: I was able to watch most of the Steelers vs the Browns and I am just shocked that a team with this much talent can so consistently only play to their opponent’s level. Big Ben has become a statue and stands in the pocket waiting to be leveled.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: The Amish wonder from “Duck Dynasty” was the leading scorer in all of Fantasy Football (no, that was not a joke or a misprint) and had the game of his life. He probably scored more points in the Bucs win than he scored in his career with the Jets. I give him credit, but don’t go scrambling to add him to fantasy rosters. Trust me; we have seen this movie before.

Patriots: The Pats had an off season with strife, talk of Gronk retirement, distrust and whispers about who is in control and yada, yada, yada you can book the Pats for the AFC title game in 20 weeks.

Vikings: I may have to take a better look at this group. I thought they would struggle with a new coordinator and new QB and maybe come back to the pack but they look solid on both sides. Kirk Cousins looked comfortable and the defense is solid top to bottom.

Aaron Rodgers: Is there a more valuable player in the NFL? When he went out with injury, the Pack looked like the Browns. He comes back in after halftime and shreds the Bears defense and unlike Eli Manning, when his team was down with 2 plus minutes in the 4th there was no doubt the Pack would win. He makes throws that are awkward, off balance and of course perfectly on target.

Cowboys: Our “Head Bozo” made mention of Jason Garret being on the hot seat with a tongue in cheek jab last week (click here to read). This is no longer a joke and Garret better make sure they win next week or he could be sitting in a booth with Tony Romo broadcasting games by October 1st. No run game, no pass game and no offense for a team that some idiot who looks a lot like me, predicted to be a contender. They better fix this quick. Meanwhile Dez Bryant is openly mocking the team, which may be yet another reason he is unemployed.

Dolphins: We have no comment on the Fins vs Titans because last I heard the game is still going on and heading into day 3 of trying to play. Jokes aside, it was actually a nice win when they finally took the field 7 or so hours later, especially against a playoff team like the Titans.

Week Two will begin to start showing team’s true identity and truthfully, many teams looked unprepared to take the field. 28 penalties on Thursday night and many more in opening week, shows that perhaps instead of having minimal play during preseason, it may be better to get in synch in August.

-BSB