NFL Week 1 Roundup

I'm keeping it simple. Here's what we can take away from each team after their first game of the season:

-Before the season started, no one was really talking about the Steelers. They've got the same team that won a Super Bowl last year, their defense is still ferocious (My Troy Polamalu DPOY pick was looking mighty good until he got hurt...seems like the Madden Curse lives on as well), and Big Ben can win them games when their running game is sluggish. How are these guys not at the top of the contenders list?

-The Titans look like they won't miss a beat without Big Al in the middle of their line. Held a good Steelers running game to 1.6 yards per carry. Justin Gage looks like a real reciever.

-The Falcons are prepared to back up their surprising success from a year ago.

-The Dolphins are not.

-The Broncos offense is pretty bad without Jay Cutler and a civilized Brandon Marshall.

-The Bengals offense looked even worse, even with all their guys in there. Ochocinco looks like he's back and that defense looks for real.

-It doesn't matter who the Browns quarterback is, their offense is terrible and their defense still can't stop the run.

-Adrian Peterson is a monster in pads (My preseason MVP pick looking pretty good right about now), and the Vikings are real contenders if they can keep their gunslinging quarterback calm enough to accept 85 yards of passing offense is good enough with a thoroughbred like Peterson running wild every week.

-The Jaguars still have trouble throwing the ball, but MJD will be just fine as the feature back.

-The Colts still can't run the ball, but the Manning-Wayne connection is still deadly (10-14, 162 yds, 1 TD). That defense looks good and can be great if Bob Sanders ever gets on the field.

-The Lions defense is still terrible. Matthew Stafford is going to take his rookie lumps. Calvin Johnson is still a beast.

-The Saints offense is still more explosive than 100 crates of dynamite. Reggie Bush is still not.

-Tony Romo will be just fine without that annoying, whining, drama-causing, reality TV-starring, diva of a partner. Ditching Jessica Simpson helps too.

-The Buccaneers are terrible this season. That running game will win them a couple surprising games though. Kudos to Cadillac on the comeback.

-Donovan McNabb has a nice game but gets hurt. What else is new? We may be seeing the Michael Vick era in Philly sooner rather than later.

-Jake Delhomme picks up right where he left off. In his last 2 games, he now has a passer rating of -57.3 (approximate), 0 touchdowns and 11 (ELEVEN!!!!) turnovers. I didn't think this was possible for a TEAM let alone a single player. My Steve Smith fantasy bust prediction also looking pretty good right now.

-Kansas City is still trying to get used to this new offensive system. That defense is still awful.

-The Ravens defense is going to miss Rex Ryan and the players he took with him. Joe Flacco is for real.

-The Jets defense benefits greatly from Rex Ryan and the players he brought with him as they hold a dynamic Texans team to 0 points on offense. Mark Sanchez may be this year's Flacco or Matt Ryan.

-The Texans defense looked pretty good until they wore down late in the game and let Thomas Jones break off a couple long runs. The time of possession killed them. Defense wore down and offense didn't have the ball enough to do anything. But I will admit I am worried about my Texans playoff prediction. Tennessee looked a lot better. That's going to be a telling game this weekend.

-Steve Smith looks like the most reliable target for Eli Manning. Mario Manningham looks like the offense's deep threat. Ahmad Bradshaw will be quite productive backing up Brandon Jacobs this year and that defense is still scary good.

-Jason Campbell is on the fast track to becoming the next Byron Leftwich; never lives up to the hype and goes from team to team hoping for another chance. That pass defense should have looked better against a mediocre quarterback with no proven receivers.

-The Curse of the Super Bowl Loser still exists. The Cardinals offense may take some time to work out the kinks without Todd Haley running the show, though Boldin was hobbled and Breaston didn't play. Larry Fitzgerald will get his no matter what you do to try and stop him.

-The 49ers have the defense to win this mediocre division. Frank Gore looked awful against a run-of-the-mill Cardinals run defense (22 carries for 30 yards). And the Niners as a team averaged 0.8 yards per carry. Did I mention the Cardinals don't have a good run defense? Isaac Bruce still has a pulse.

-The Seahawks are back after a terrible 2008 season.

-The Rams are not.

-The Packers look every bit the Super Bowl hopefuls I see them to be. That defense is for real, Ryan Grant looks healthy again, and Aaron Rodgers can make big plays when he needs to.

-Jay Cutler may be re-thinking his desire to leave Denver. He's halfway to Jake Delhomme with those 4 picks and sub-50 completion percentage. The Bears may be in for a long season, especially with Urlacher now out for the year.

-The Bills threw the ball to T.O. 3 times. Four other players got more targets and their leading receiver was their backup running back. Over/under 2 weeks before T.O. throws Trent Edwards under the bus? Buffalo should have won that game though.

-The Patriots are going to miss all those defensive players that have departed the last couple years. Brady to Moss and Brady to Welker hasn't skipped a beat (24-32, 234 yds) and Brady to anyone hasn't either (2 touchdown passes to Benjamin Watson). I'd be worried if I were a Pats fan. They were trailing by 11 in the 4th quarter at home against a team they had beaten 11 straight times.

-Chargers fans should be worried too. If it weren't for a Raiders touchdown being called back this game could have had a different result. LT finished the game on the sidelines again. That defense should not have let the Raiders outgain their own offense. Could this be the birth of the Curse of Tila Tequila?

-The Raiders are the Raiders. That defense looks good. Richard Seymour is going to be a big help this season. Jamarcus Russell can still bomb it out there, but don't ask him to actually aim his throws at a receiver (40% completion percentage, 47.6 QB rating). That running game can carry them though.