NFL Week 1 Wrap-up

With Week 1 in the books, we had some surprises, some injuries, and some big returns.

Surprises:
The 49ers win in Arizona:

San Fran goes into the home of the defending NFC Champs and pulls out a 20-16 win. Are these guys for real? Probably not, but at this point it doesn't look like Arizona is either.

That TD catch by Brandon Stokely:

If you haven't seen it yet, you aren't a football fan and shouldn't be reading this post. Some fun facts about the play:

• It is the longest play from scrimmage and tied with Aaron Brown's 87 yard kick return for longest play over all this weekend


• It is the longest touchdown play so far this season


• It was Stokely's only catch of the day


• If the ball hadn't been tipped first, the play probably wouldn't have happened

And kudos to Stokely for running along the endzone before scoring to run out the clock a little more.

The Monday Night games:

Sure, the teams that were expected to win won. But who expected them to come down to plays made in the final 2 minutes of both games? Sure, the Pats had some question marks, but the Chargers should have had a much easier time with the Raiders in the late game. It has to be said, though, that the Bills and Raiders both looked better than expected in losing efforts.

Injuries:
Brian Urlacher, LB, Bears: out for the year with a dislocated wrist
Reggie Hayward, DE, Jaguars: out for the year with a broken leg
Troy Polamalu, S, Steelers: out 3-6 with a sprained MCL
Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Colts: out an unspecified amount of time with a knee injury
Josh McCown, QB, Panthers: out for the season with knee and foot injuries Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles: fractured rib, length of time yet to be determined

Returns:
Tom Brady:

After missing almost all of last season with a knee injury suffered in Week 1, Brady made his triumphant regular season return to Foxboro. He looked shaky for most of the game, but put together two TD drives in the fourth quarter, culminating in two TDs in the final 2:06 to squeak out a one point win.

Richard Seymour:

Seymour finally reported to Oakland on Sunday, and did, in fact, play in the Monday late game. He recorded 2 sacks in the loss.

Brett Favre:

Favre made his return to the NFC North after retiring to NY last season. The Vikings won, but Favre didn't do much more than manage the game and hand the ball to Adrian Peterson. He had one TD, to rookie Percy Harvin.

Fantasy Studs:

1. Drew Brees. Only a handful of people have thrown for more than 6 TDs in a game
2. Adrian Peterson. Theres a reason he was picked first in almost every fantasy draft.
3. Eagles D. 5 sacks, 5 INTs, 2 fumbles recovered, 2 TD. Some teams won't have stats like that after Week 3, let alone Week 1.

Fantasy Duds:

1. Willie Parker. Healthy and expected to get the bulk of the carries this season, Parker only managed 19 yards rushing.
2. Jake Delhomme. 73 passing yards, 0 TDs, 4 INTs. He was eventually benched, and theres some speculation he might not last the season.
3. Jay Cutler. At least he had a TD to go with his 4 INTs.

Week 1 Picks:
Straight up: 14-2
ATS: 11-5
o/u: 8-8

Questions for Week 2:
Who will start in Philly?:

With Donovan McNabb expected to miss at least this weeks game, the Eagles signed Jeff Garcia. Garcia says he'll be ready to play this week, since he'll be coming in with experience in the system and having spent the preseason with Oakland. But Kevin Kolb has been there the whole time and is expected to take over when McNabb is finallt done. Will Garcia be handed the start? Or will this be Kolb's time to show what he can do?

Which Jake Delhomme will show up?

Delhomme has been the guy in Carolina for a while and it's served Carolina well. They've made the playoffs in three of his six seasons with the team, including one Super Bowl appearance. But he's had 9 INTs and 2 fumbles lost in his last two games. Is this a new Jake Delhomme? Or can he get back to his old self before its too late?

Are the plug 'n' play Pats done?

Bill Belichick has made a career in New England out of taking his ofeensive and defensive system, plugging players into them, seamingly at random, and making them work. However, the starting defense lost five players that were on last years Week 1 roster. While the defense didn't look bad against the Bills, they didn't look like the defense the Pats are known for, either. Additionally, before the fourth quarter, Brady looked shaky, hesitating when he felt his surgically repaired knee would be in danger. Most are picking the Pats as the team to beat this year, but if they continue to look like they did Monday night, they'll become the team to beat up on.