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.

NCAA Football All-Americans

As we begin the college football All-Star season, it seems as if it is the time to honor this season's We Make It Rain All-Americans. Although there are more than 11 offenseive and defensive players listed, the team is selected to account for the various offenses and defenses used around the country (trip receivers, spread, 3-4, 4-3, etc.). I also choose some backups to account for different styles of players. I chose to explain my picks in some instances, and not in others. Why? Because I feel like it. Now here are the Pepster All-Americans. Those in bold are those that I chose as Pepster Preseason All-Americans.

Offense

QB - Colt McCoy, Texas; Kellen Moore, Boise State - McCoy led Texas to the NCAA Championship game without much of a running game. Moore had huge numbers, and Boise State has to get some recognition.

RB - Mark Ingram, Alabama, Toby Gerhart, Stanford, Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech - The Heisman Trophy winner and runner up, and Ryan Williams is my preseason player to watch next season. What, no C.J. Spiller? Keep reading.

WR - Jordan Shipley, Texas, Mardy Gilyard; Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green; Golden Tate, Notre Dame - Shipley should have been a Heisman finalist, Barnes led the country in receptions (155) and receiving yards (1,770), and Tate is good, when he isn't complaining and campaigning for pass interference penalties.

TE - Aaron Hernandez, Florida - And nobody else was close.

T - Bryan Bulaga, Iowa; Russel Okung, Oklahoma State - Both big and strong, and keys to their respective offenses.

G - Mike Iupati, Idaho; ; Rodney Hudson, Florida State - Hudson did not give up a quarterback pressure all year.

C - Maurkice Pouncey, Florida - Definitely stood out this year, and for good reason.

Defense

DE - Jerry Hughes, TCU; Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech; Sergio Kindle, Texas - Hughes was simply dominating, and Morgan was remarkably consistent. Kindle gets this position simply by virtue of his work in the BCS Championship game. My humble apologies to Texas A & M senior Von Miller.

DT - Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska; Terrence Cody, Alabama; Brian Price, UCLA - Suh might have been the most dominating player in the NCAA, Cody anchored the NCAA's championship defense; Price had 22 1/2 sacks.

OLB - Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri; Eric Norwood, South Carolina - Norwood is a beast, while Weatherspoon just makes tackles. I have no reason whatsoever to change my preseason picks!

ILB - Rolando McClaim, Alabama; Greg Jones, Michigan State - If I have to justify McClain, you have not been watching college football this year. Jones had 153 tackles this season, good for fourth best in the country.

CB - Joe Haden, Florida; Javier Arenas, Alabama - Haden is the best cover corner in college, and Arenas, well, he just makes plays.

S - Eric Berry, Tennessee; DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson; Earl Thomas, Texas - Again, I do not have to justify Berry, and I shouldn't have to justify Thoimas. McDaniel, like Thomas, had 8 interceptions.

Special Teams

K - Leigh Tiffin, Alabama - Championship kicker. Can't really find a better criteria than that.

P - Drew Butler, Georgia; Zoltan Mesko, Michigan - Butler, because he averaged 48.8 yards per punt. Mesko, because you don't mess with the Zohan.

R - C.J. Spiller, Clemson - He had to be on any All-American team, and by placing him as my returner, I could choose an additional running back.

The Ole College Try

Here is this week's wrap-up of the college football season, told from a couple of days distance simply to let some of the stories simmer a bit and to gain a bit of perspective. Although you may have a different take on the past weekend, I can only truly comment on games that I have seen, and this is my perspective. I was at the Tennessee/Florida game this weekend, so I did not have the opportunity to watch as many games as normal. I still saw a good amount though.

Heisman Watch

Big 3 Edition (Since ESPN told me only 3 candidates exist)
Despite the World Wide Leader's belief, I am discontinuing this section as clearly, Bradford and Tebow should no longer be considered candidates given their early performances. I have no doubt they will play their way back into play by the end of the season.

Quarterback Edition
Jacory Harris - Miami - 656 yards and 5 TDs in only 2 games, against Florida State and Georgia Tech. 270 yards and 3TDs, against 0 interceptions against Georgia Tech alone, while completing only 80% of his passes. Looks like we could see our third straight sophomore quarterback Heisman winner.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - Jahvid Best - California - 131 yards and 5 TDs against Minnesota in a 35 - 21 victory last week. And on top of that, he is the third leading rusher in the country so far, only 35 yards behind Ryan Matthews of Fresno State.

Statistical Favorite - Still Taylor Potts - Texas Tech - 1,281 and 12 TDs, including 420 yards against the vaunted Texas defense.

Miscellaneous Position - LeRoy Vann, PR - Florida A & M - 2 punt returns for touchdowns in each of the first two games. He has 4 on the season already. The FCS (that's Division I-AA for those of you that refuse to make the jump into the present) record for a season is 5!

Defensive Leader - Eric Berry - S - Tennessee - His interception against Florida gave him 13 for his career. And, he was all over the field against Florida as well. He seemed to make every tackle around the line of scrimmage.

Sleeper - Ryan Mallett - QB - Arkansas - 717 yards, and 6TDs in only two games, including 408 and 5 against Georgia. The best part is 0 interceptions, in 61 attempts, for an ungodly 193.49 QB rating.

Rising - Case Keenum - QB - Houston - The NCAA's returning total offense leader has 725 yards, 7 TDs, 1 interception in only 2 games, which includes the upset of then number 5 Oklahoma State.

Falling - Tim Tebow - Only 540 yards passing in 3 games, and he has already been sacked 4 times (keeping in mind that his first two games were against Charleston Southern and Troy.

Player to Watch

Ryan Mathews - RB - Fresno State - The nations leading rusher carries a hefty 9.1 yards per carry so far this year, including 234 against Boise State.

My New Favorite Player

Eric Berry - S - Tennessee - I used to be on the Taylor Mays of USC was the best safety in the country bandwagon. After seeing Berry play, that is no longer the case.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Aaron Corp - QB - USC - OK, so picking on a backup quarterback and calling them a goat may not be completely fair, but backups at USC are not your normal backups, and Corp was the starting entering fall practice. He went 13 - 22 with 1 interception in USC's loss at Washington (who won exactly as many college football games last year as I did). Each of the 9 incompletions looked horrendous.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Urban Meyer - Florida - Was whispering around town about scoring 100 against Tennessee. He should start by trying to score 24. He should also start by trying to stop the run. Blaming the flu on Sunday is not classy at all Coach. Not at all. If you think that the flu is going to be an issue, be up front about it, don't sneak it in after a lackluster effort. You insult your opponents by doing that.

Predicted BCS Championship Game Matchup
Texas v. Florida - No reason to change it yet, but Alabama is starting to look real strong. We will see what Miami has these next two weeks.

RANT OF THE WEEK

Not one person in the media has come out against Urban Meyer this week (see above). I understand the the entire sports-media complex wants to see Tim Tebow in the championship game, but that does not excuse Meyer's antics this week before and after the Tennessee game. At least one legitimate national columnist or commentator should have brought it up.

Congratulations of the Week

Zac Robinson - QB - Oklahoma State - Not only bounces back from the Houston loss to defeat Rice, but his two touchdowns set the Oklahoma State record for career touchdown passes.

Under Performance of the Week

USC - I understand that Corp is your backup quarterback, but a loss at Washington is not a good way to follow the huge win at Ohio State.

Game of the Week

Georgia 52 - Arkansas 41 - Georgia QB Joe Cox threw for 375 yards and 5 TDs, and he was the least productive quarterback on the field. Just an outstanding aerial show by both offenses (and/or pathetic display by the defenses).

Play(s) of the Week

Texas's Sergio Kindle sacks Texas Tech's Taylor Potts, and separates Potts from the football, AND HIS HELMET, to lead to Colt McCoy's final touchdown pass and to preserve the Texas victory.

Trivia Questions of the Week

As stated above, Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson set the Oklahoma State career touchdown record. Whose record did he break?

Tim Tebow's 30 consecutive game streak with at least 1 touchdown pass was ended by Tennessee. Who holds, and what is, the record for most consecutive games with at least 1 touchdown pass?

Last Week's Trivia Answer

Last week's question was, "Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour set the MAC Total Offense Recor. Whose record did he break?" The answer is Marshall's Byron Leftwich.

Matchup(s) to Watch

4. Iowa v. Penn State - I have no doubt that Penn State remembers last year's heartbreaking loss to the Hawkeyes. I also have no doubt that Penn State has looked beatable this year. I am sure they win at home, but it looks like it is going to be a great game to watch.

3. Texas Tech v. Houston - Should be another offensive juggernaut with around 1 million passing yards.

2. Arkansas v. Alabama - It's time for Ryan Mallett to show us if he can play against a real strong defense. It's time for Alabama to show that it is ready to take on the Gators.

1. Miami v. Virginia Tech - As stated previously, the Hurricanes are my favorite team. But, this this is also a potential conference championship game. Could the Canes be 3-0 heading into Oklahoma week?