NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 1 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I was not at my usual bar(s), so I did not see as much as usual, but still!

Game of the Week

Atlanta Falcons 37 v. New Orleans Saints 34.  This game had lots of action, tons of offense, and Atlanta's Matt Bahr kicking a 51 yard field goal at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime and then winning it with a 52 yarder.  Drew Brees and Matt Ryan threw for a combined 781 yards to 16 different receivers.  Plus, it was a divisional game in Week 1.  Great way to start the season for the Falcons, and the fans.

Best Team Performance

Seattle Seahawks. They decimated the NFC North champions and Aaron Rodgers.  Granted it was at home, where the Seahawks could go 8-0, but this team has no flaws.  Smart quarterback, they can run, they can pass, they can stop the run and they can stop the pass.  Wait, they do have a flaw - they need a punt returner.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Washington Whatever their new Name is Going to Be - They were horrible.  Plain and simple.  Is it too early to start the chant for Kirk Cousins?

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Julius Thomas, TE - Denver- 7 receptions, 104 yards and 3 TDs.  I wanted to choose Matt Ryan for his 448 yards passing, but Thomas was so uncoverable that it was not even fair to the Colts that he was on the field.  His 35 yard TD reception - in which he out ran the linebacker in coverage, then outmaneuvered the rest of the defense into the end zone was special.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Eric Berry, S - Kansas City Chiefs. 15 tackles, including 14 solo tackles and a pass defensed, against a team that ran the ball 38 times and threw 33 (with 22 completions).  That is 1/4 of the tackles the Chiefs made were from Berry.  Cameron Wake and his 2 sacks and overall mayhem that he created also deserves mention.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Matt Bahr, K - Atlanta Falcons.  A 51 yard field goal as time expired to to tie the game, and a 52  yarder in overtime to win.

Goat of the Week

Robert Griffin, III, QB - Washington Whatever their new Name is Going to Be - Horrible.  Passing numbers not too bad (19/37 for 267 yards), but for a guy whose legs are supposed to be a weapon, being sacked three times and 2 yards on 3 rushes is not good.

Hit of the Week

Antonio Brown, WR/KR - Pittsburgh Steeler.  OK, so maybe it was a penalty, but his karate kick to Cleveland punter Spencer Lanning was downright funny to watch, and spawned its own internet meme.

Breakthrough Performance

Derek Carr - QB - Oakland Raiders. No the Raiders didn't win - but they covered (and as a west coast team playing the early game on the east coast, that seems next to impossible), and no Bradford did not play like a star.  he was 20-32 with 2 TDs and no interceptions.  But, he looked like he belonged in the NFL as a QB, especially given that his team ran for 25 total rushing yards.  He has a chance to really be good

Finally

Ray Rice, (Former) RB - Baltimore Ravens

Yes all of this came out on Monday, but it deserves mention.  Maybe it took the video for Baltimore to release him and the NFL to suspend him indefinitely, but as far as I am concerned, better late than never.

Impact Injury

Robert Mathis, DE - Indianapolis Colts/Derrick Johnson, LB - Kansas City Chiefs.  The best players on their respective defenses, and both are out for the season with torn Achilles.  Tough to see Indianapolis stopping anyone without Mathis to provide a pass rush.  At least the Colts might have the offense to outscore opponents.  Derrick Johnson is the heart and soul of a potential playoff defense, and the Chiefs do not have the same offensive firepower as the Colts.

Team Rising

Minnesota Viking - New coach; utilizing Adrian Peterson but not overusing him; solid defense; breakout by Cordarelle Patterson.  This team has the ability to challenge in the tough NFC North against the likes of Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago.

Team Falling

Dallas Cowboys/New York Giants/Washington Whatever their New Name is Going to Be - The Eagles may clinch this division by the end of October.

Best Teams

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Detroit Lions

Worst Teams

32. Washington Redskins
31. St. Louis Rams
30. New York Giants
29. Kansas City Chiefs
28. Dallas Cowboys

Middle Teams

15.  Arizona Cardinals
16.  New York Jets
17.  Bufffalo Bills
18.  Houston Texans

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night would normally make this list just for the hard-hitting (literally) rivalry, however these two teams are both down a bit, and the history of the last couple of years has definitively shown that Thursday night games stink.  So, this game does not make the top 4.

4. Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals - Two super exciting offenses, and does anybody really believe that the Falcons were as bad as their record last year.  The loss of LT Sam Baker could really hurt against a very underrated, yet spectacular, Cincinnati front 7.  AJ Green and Julio Jones continue to battle for supremacy from their recruiting class.

3. Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers - Despite the loss against Buffalo, the Bears gained an absolute ton of yards.  Although I do not expect that many yards against the Niners, this game should promise to be fun to watch, with San Francisco's offensive line proving to be the difference.

2. Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers - The classic strength versus strength match up, with the Lions vaunted offense going against the stellar - yes stellar - Panthers defense.  With Cam Newton coming back and Kelvin Benjamin to emerge as a go-to-receiver, the Panthers offense can control the game, and conversely, DeAndre Levy might be the most underrated defensive player in football.

1.  Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts - If you asked 1,000 analysts and experts, 1,000 would say this is the game of the week.  If they do not, they should be fired as an analyst and they are not an expert.

Trivia

With Denver's victory over the Colts on Sunday night, Peyton Manning has now defeated all 32 franchises during his storied career, making him the second to do so. Who was the first?  Yes this is pretty easy, but this is week 1.

Sports Bar Review of the Week

As stated earlier, I did not watch the games at a Sports Bar to watch this week's games, so I will review one that I attended recently.

Taps Bar and Grille, 220 County Road 210 West, Jacksonville (St. Augustine, really), FL

Taps is more restaurant than bar, but has plenty of televisions and the casual atmosphere necessary for a good sports bar.  They had several games on the televisions (this day was actually college), and a general congenial atmosphere given that the staff and most of the patrons were wearing shirts of different rivals (primarily Florida and Florida State, but a smattering of Michigan State/Ohio State and others).  One guy even requested the Georgia Tech game.

The service was friendly and good, with both the bartenders and wait staff being incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, both beer and food.  They would, from time-to-time, become distracted, but nothing to ordinarily complain about if I was not writing this review.

As the name suggests, the bar concentrates serving a clientele that favors beer, particularly and almost exclusively of craft beers.  Your attention is immediately attracted to the digital board showcasing the craft beers in draft and bottle.  Our party partook of a local beer, the Intuition I-10 IPA, the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, the Tucher Hefeweizen, Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier and a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA.  All delicious, although the bar did run out of the Tucher during our relatively short stay.

For food, the bartender recommended to try the smoked wings, which were on special at $.25 per, available in groups of 10.  We had the dry rub, foregoing the buffalo sauce, and this was a good cal as the flavor was delicious.  We also had the fried pickles appetizer, which were very good.  Now, as a caveat, I love pickles, but I find the fried pickle rend a little disturbing as some places do them well and some taste horrible.  Taps is in the former, luckily.  As an entree, we split the wedge salad and jambalaya.  The wedge was good, but nothing special, and the jambalaya was good, but not as spicy as I would prefer.

As a plus, the bar, restaurant and the restrooms were all extremely clean.

Overall, a very good experience, I would recommend Taps.

Service - NFC North
Drinks - NFC North
Food - NFC South
Cleanliness - NFC West
Overall - Detroit Lions (2nd or 3rd in the NFC North) - Pretty Darned Good

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC North, AFC West, AFC South, AFC East, NFC East

Trivia Answer

No question as this was Week 1.  Look for the answer to the previous week's question here each week.