Week 1 Reactions and Observations

Michael Vick proved again that he doesn't need to complete a high percentage of passes to beat an elite defense (10-22, 140 yards). As long as he has room to run, the Falcons will be a tough team to beat. What was even more suprising was how bad they made the Panthers' offense look(although i t must be pointed ut that the Panthers were playing without their primary offensive weapon from 2005, Steve Smith). The Falcons had four sacks and shut down Carolina completely. The acquisitions of John Abraham and Lawyer Milloy have shored up a defense that was horrible against the run in 2005.

Donovan McNabb showed that he is healthy and back to his old self with three touchdowns and 312 yards, although the Texans are not a good measuring stick. The Eagles also showed a more balanced attack, running the ball 30 times(for 130 yards) and passing 36(for 312 yards) times. If the Eagles continue to run the ball effectively and stretch the opposing defense with deep balls to newly acquired Donte Stallworth, the Eagles will continue to roll up easy wins, although the competition gets tougher in week 2 with a home matchup against the Giants. Don't look now, but the Eagles are the only NFC East team that escaped week 1 with a win..

I wish ESPN and the NFL Network would stop showing Trent Green's head bounce off the turf over and over in slow motion. He is lucky that the injury wasn't a lot worse, although "severe head trauma" doesn't sound too minor. I think Trent Green is going to miss a lot more than the projected 2 games that is being reported.

After being picked by several commentators to make the Super Bowl, the Cowboys flopped in week 1. TO did have a good game (at least in terms of overall numbers, 6 catches, 80 yards, TD), but he disappeared for much of the second half, when the Jaguars took charge. Drew Bledsoe looked terrible, showing once again he can't handle consistent defensive pressure. The Cowboys need to get him time to throw the ball, or TO is going to blow up soon as the losses pile up.

Lastly, if I have learned anything from previous week 1 openers, it's that we can't jump to conclusions based on one game. So just because Chad Pennington had a good game against a horrible Titans team or Steve McNair helped lead Baltimore to a shutout of Tampa Bay on the road, it was only one game, and not necessarily the begging of a new trend. Both players will surely get injured as they always do, putting both their teams in a precarious position.