Hi everyone, hope everyone had a great time watching some football after Week 1. The first and last games ended up being the best two which will make for an everlasting jolt of twitter conversation. I would say the water cooler, but I don’t even know if that exist anymore in our new World. Here is the Rankings below. I will try not to overreact to Week 1, but sometimes we cannot help ourselves.
32. Jaguars 0-1
Sometimes I cannot help myself as I expected the Jags to be a surprise competitive football team. But in Week 1 they looked like a diabolical mess and there is rumors about their NEW head coach leaving to go back to college. Not a good look in Duvall County. At least Trevor Lawrence threw three Touchdowns??
31. Lions 0-1
The Lions showed some fight late but you could certainly tell that they just do not have enough talent to compete in games against the better teams. The biggest Questions for the Motor City in 2021 is Dan Campbell the right coach and Jared Goff the right Quarterback. Positive start overall in those columns.
30 Falcons 0-1
How can we not put the Falcons this low in the Rankings. What the hell was that? Matt Ryan looked like an aging Quarterback. Both lines got pushed around the line of scrimmage all day. I do not believe the Falcons are going to be this bad but if they have a couple of more clunkers coming up maybe they are bad.
29. Jets 0-1
Mixed reviews from Zach Wilson in his first NFL Start. One thing is for certain, the kid has great arm talent. The bigger question will be can he excel at making the right reads, and can he keep his confidence up. Losing his left tackle is an absolute killer. He is going to get hit a ton this season.
28. Giants 0-1
With how the Giants and Jets began this season it certainly appears that both of these teams are going to be have another long season. With the Yankees and Mets both flailing in baseball who does New York have to cling onto for sports these days? The Islanders? The Nets? Nets to NY is like Chargers to LA currently.
27 Bears 0-1
I could put the Bears lower but I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt because of the quality of opponent and the spot they were put in Week 1. The Bears were able to shockingly move the ball somewhat well in Week 1. The biggest Question moving forward is going to be when is Justin Fields going to start.
26. Texans 1-0
Let’s not overreact to the Texans blowing out the Jags in Week 1. It appears I was dead wrong on the Jags and team Texas is still almost a two touchdown Dog to a team that was handing out free coolers of beer for just winning a football game less than three years ago. Likely is still going to be a long year in H Town.
25. Vikings 0-1
Are the Vikings a bad football team? I loved them to win in Cincinnati in Week 1 but they laid an egg. They have a winnable game at Arizona this Week (don’t overreact to Week 1), but if they lose that game Mike Zimmer will be on the clock with the Seahawks and Browns with a potential 0-4 start looming.
24. Titans 0-1
The may be an overreaction ranking but what did the Titans do well in Week 1. They couldn’t rush the passer. They couldn’t protect the passer. Derrick Henry was bottled up all day. I know Falcons fans are saying that the Titans can keep Arthur Smith but I think the Titans missed his creative play calling on Sunday.
23. Eagles 1-0
I am not going to overreact to the Eagles winning in Atlanta. But there were encouraging trends. #1. Jalen Hurts looked like a solid NFL Starting Quarterback, making smart decisions with the football throughout. #2. The defense looked more than competent. If the defense plays lights out all year, could surprise.
22. Bengals 1-0
We will keep the Bengals at 22 for now but Joe Burrow showed some great progress in Week 1. He certainly wants to compete with Carson Palmer for the best Bengal ever to wear the number 9. The impressive part of the game was the Bengals defense standing up in overtime, after the Vikings came all the way back.
21. Panthers 1-0
Sam Darnold looked more comfortable in Week 1 against the Jets then he did in most of his career playing for the Jets. But let’s not get all giddy quite yet. The Panthers did only score 19 points and Darnold missed some easy throws. But the defense played great and this looks like a competent football team.
20. Colts 0-1
The Colts have to be put this low after the dud they put out on the field in Week 1. I still think the defense is fantastic and they made great halftime adjustments to hold Seattle’s offense to only 7 second half points. But the offensive line was a surprise concern and Carson Wentz looked shaky.
19. WFT 0-1
The WFT Quarterback situation is very dire at the moment. Taylor Heinicke played well in the playoff game and showed great poise against an outstanding Bucs defense but is a career journeyman QB for a reason. There has been some great QB stories in NFL History though (Rich Gannon, Kurt Warner) so well see.
18. Cowboys 0-1
The Cowboys on Thursday night proved what I expected the to be all along. A team that can sling the ball all over the football field. I love the Justin Herbert passing yards title prop but a great bet if you got it before the season is Dak Prescott’s overs for yards and TD’s. As long as he’s healthy he is putting up stats.
17. Raiders 1-0
I cannot in my right mind put the Raiders above the Ravens in the Rankings even though they beat them. Two positive signs came from this game. #1. Was the defense, they played faster then last season. #2. Is Derek Carr, he has been awful under pressure in his career but was unbelievable against the blitz last night.
16. Dolphins 1-0
Same with the Raiders goes 2 fold for the Dolphins. They did to the Pats what the Pats have done to teams for years. Let them beat themselves and not get in their way. Tua still looked very limited to me and I’m still concerned about their running game. The secondary though is filthy, an opportunistic defense.
15. 49ers 1-0
The very positive sign for the 49ers was that Jimmy G looked really sharp in his first game of the season. Kyle Shanahan put on a play calling clinic giving Jimmy many easy throws, just looked so easy. The 49ers defense while still very dangerous up front is thin now on the back end with Jason Verrett out for year.
14. Patriots 0-1
The Pats are still a better team than the Dolphins in my opinion but that Week 1 outcome was a game that Patriots would never lose with Tom Brady under center. They do have a great defense and good running game. Mac Jones also looked the part playing very well, this team should still win a lot of games.
13. Saints 1-0
Let’s not completely overreact to the Saints winning in Week 1 in the fashion they did but we do have to give credit where it’s due. This defense is still unbelievable, they are just nasty up front and bully offensive lines. My concern is in third and long when they have to throw, weapons are still lacking.
12. Packers 0-1
I am putting the Packers above the Saints because I still believe the Packers will win more games than the Saints by seasons end. However, even though this team is going to win 12-13 games this season the game in Jacksonville proved how soft the Packers are against physically imposing teams, nothing’s changed.
11. Steelers 1-0
I may be dead wrong on the Steelers. I thought they would be a regressing team but Mike Tomlin is still one hell of a coach and this is still one hell of a defense. My biggest concern is the offense. The offense just looks bad overall. I am not sure if it because was the Bills defense is really good or not, tbd.
10. Ravens 0-1
I’m not quitting on the Ravens quite yet but offensive coordinator Greg Roman called a bad game on Monday. The Ravens are built around a multiple concepts running game and Lamar Jackson utilizing his ability to create with his legs. Way too many plays on early downs where Lamar was dropping back, adjust please
9. Broncos 1-0
I absolutely love this Broncos team. This is just a team with a ton of blue chippers all over the field. It also appeared that they made the right call making Teddy Bridgewater their Quarterback. Could Teddy manage games and let an awesome defense and great skill position players lead them to 11 wins, absolutely.
8. Browns 0-1
The Browns have to be considered the favorites in the AFC North after Week 1, even in defeat. I will continue to say that Baker Mayfield is going to hold them back from winning a championship but they are fantastic up front and the defense looked to be improved from last year. They should win a lot of games.
7. Chargers 1-0
Man was Justin Herbert impressive. Starting next season when the Chiefs lose some guys due to Mahomes starting to have huge cap hits the Chargers have a small window to compete for the division before the duck gets paid. They could compete this season but I still think they aren’t quite there yet, still growing.
6. Cardinals 1-0
The most impressive win in Week 1 outside of the Saints has to go to the Cards. They showed the football world that they can rush the passer (Chandler Jones oh my!) and Kyler Murray is ready to take a step into the elite of the game. Or they could have beat a suddenly bad Titans team and are a 4th place team still.
5. Bills 0-1
I’m not overreacting to the Bills losing at home in Week 1. Their defense surprisingly looked really good and that is a good sign for a team that is still going to score a lot of points this season. Josh Allen was erratic in Week 1 and has to clean that up but T.J Watt and Company is going to make a lot of teams struggle.
4. Seahawks 1-0
My Russell Wilson 20-1 MVP Candidate has some legs after he threw 4 touchdowns against a team that is certainly going to finish in the Top 10 in defensive metrics this season. Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett certainly have good chemistry don’t they. The defense showed well also in Week 1, a great early sign.
3. Rams 1-0
I know Colin Cowherd put the Rams at #1 and many other pundits want to do the same. Let’s pump the breaks for a minute. The NFL set up the Rams for a golden carpet entry into the Matt Stafford era. One positive sign was that the Rams offense looked incredibly explosive, which is a step up for sure.
2. Bucs 1-0
Tom Brady down 1 point needing 50 yards to get into comfortable field goal range with 1:24 and 1 timeout left. Last time he had that scenario he failed and thought he should have a 5th down. What a difference a year makes. I guess Tommy Touchdowns is a real life Benjamin Button indeed.
1.Chiefs 1-0
This first game was actually one of the few games I thought the Chiefs could lose this year and they instead did what they always do and came back and won. The defensive front got pushed around but they won’t face any team this year with offensive line of the Browns. If they beat a hungry Ravens team a long winning streak could be imminent to start the year. The Chiefs and Bucs are still the top 2 teams in football as of right now and my mind hasn’t changed yet.