The first Sunday (and Monday) of the season are finished and we can all agree on one thing… The new Sunday Night Football theme song with Carrie Underwood is TRASH! T-R-A-S-H!
OK, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, time to talk about actual football. The first week of the season always brings new excitement, an almost Christmas Day-like feel. This season’s first week offered that and much more. From political statements to the New England Patriots marching along, to Andrew Luck’s great drive only topped by Matthew Stafford’s even better drive.
The NFL is back and we are so blessed to have it return.
There’s no big Week 1 overreactions, for once.
When you scan the landscape of the NFL in the seasons first week, there’s really nothing to go overboard about. Nothing that even First Take or whatever those Dollar Store knockoff shows are on FS1 could complain about. Everything went according to plan really. The teams what were supposed to win won and the teams what were supposed to lose lost. Aside from the Lions late win over the Colts, nothing really has us overreacting.
This feels weird, and we know it won’t last long because with the NFL things usually end up coming back around. So get ready for mass overreaction in Week 2.
The AFC West is going to be fun.
So let me get this straight.
In Week 1, we saw the Denver Broncos pull one off one of their 2015 performances and still beat the Carolina Panthers again. The Raiders pulled off one of the week’s best wins and had the stones to win it on a two-point conversion in the final seconds to beat the New Orleans Saints. Then we have the Kansas City Chiefs who were down 21 points down in the second half to beat the San Diego Chargers, who’ve lost yet another game in the division.
There’s still time for things to pan out, but seeing the Raiders with their young talent compete with the Broncos and Chiefs for the AFC West is going to be something. Maybe there’s hope for the Chargers but after Sunday’s meltdown, the Chargers find themselves with Jacksonville, Indy and New Orleans coming up. Those aren’t easy games and we may be looking a a triple threat match for the AFC west crown when it’s all said and done.
No Gronk. No Brady. No Problem.
Things were going to be interesting without Tom Brady for the first four games due to his suspension, then you had Rob Gronkowski go out just days before the Patriots headed to Arizona. That left Jimmy Garoppolo (or as most of us call him, Jimmy G) with just a few weapons going up against what many thought could be one of the best defenses in the league.
When it was done, Garoppolo and the Patriots left Glendale with a one-game lead on everybody in the AFC East. This is typical New England. Hand the Patriots adversity, they prove you wrong and walk right out of the building. Every single time. Now what happens when No. 12 comes back in a few weeks and New England is 4-0? Run and hide, kids. Run and hide.
The Browns are still the Browns
New year, same old Browns. This time, the bad fortune happens in the first game of the season instead of teasing you for the first few weeks. So that was nice of them.
What makes this latest venture of Browns ineptitude so hilarious is that they faced off against the quarterback that they could’ve drafted but instead traded the pick. All Carson Wentz did in his first NFL start was go 22-of-37 for 278 yards and two touchdowns. How did Robert Griffin III do in his first start with the Browns? Well, not great. It got even worse on Monday.
Browns' QB RGIII has a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder and he will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks. Could be out for season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2016
The movement is growing
Near the end of August, Colin Kaepernick thrust himself and his beliefs into the worldwide spotlight by sitting out (and then kneeling) during the national anthem. Leading up to the season’s first week, many wondered who would join him and what teams would do when dealt this issue. Some players raised a fist, others took a knee. The Seattle Seahawks publicly planned something before locking arms in a gesture that some thought fell flat in it’s initial message.
With it being the 15th anniversary of 9/11, there were plenty of people on high alert and worried that something “radical” might take place but it never happened. Look at that, respectful athletes! Who would have thunk it?
Next: 2016 NFL season: Epic season preview
One thing is clear, support for Kaepernick and the movement itself is growing around the NFL. It’s also clear it makes some people uncomfortable. The NFL has done a great job with letting players do this because it’s been respectful and not taking anything away from the message that’s behind it (and no, it’s not the flag). We’ve gone from the fear of players being blackballed by the league to see them express their first amendment right without incident.
All in all, a successful Week 1 is in the books and we’ve got 16 more to go. Strap in.