NFL Truths After Week 1

There are gonna be a lot of people jumping to conclusions after just one week of the NFL season. I am not one of them. Instead I will give you some NFL truths (as well as some opinions) as we enter week 2.

• First, I loved that the Dolphins sent out two kickers for the on-sides kick. Seriously, how the hell have I never seen that before? It is brilliant. (and I wonder why tackle football purists think seeing that it is so close to what happens in soccer)
• The Steelers will be fine. Their line is pretty terrible and might get Big Ben killed out there, but they have too much talent and experience not to make the playoffs. It won't be a Super Bowl year, but playoffs for sure. The 35-7 beating looks bad, but I doubt they will be turning the ball over 7 times anytime in the near future.
• The Ravens (and Anquan Boldin specifically) are going to benefit from having Lee Evans in the passing game.
• Cam Newton is going to break a lot of people's hearts. I'm not suggesting that he won't be good, but anyone who thinks that they can plug him into their fantasy lineup are going to have a rude awakening. The fact is that all rookie QB's will have up and down seasons. One week they will throw for 400 yards and the next they will throw 4 INT's. You have to take the good with the bad...and I know for sure that Newton got his A+ game out of the way early.
• The Giants are another team that I don't think will be terrible. For how much I don't like Tom Coughlin, the guy knows how to coach. Even with all the injuries, I think they will win somewhere between 7 and 9 games. I think Washington caught them on a bad week and road the emotions to a win.
• I like Tony Romo as a fantasy guy, but still dont think he has what it takes to win when it counts. Shoddy performances aside, I don't see how you can trust a 31-year old guy who still wears his hat backwards (ok, I wear my Sounders hat backwards and I'm 31, but I'm not the QB for America's Team)
• Donovan McNabb's terrible performance (7-15, 39 yards, 1 TD) was of epic proportions - he will undoubtedly be a little better...but notby much. I think he is done and Christian Ponder will be under center by week 10.
• Don't be fooled by Rex Grossman. He is still the same guy. Washington is going to wish that they had decided to Suck for Luck because neither Grossman or John Beck are the answer. It's gonna be another losing season in the Nation's Capital.
• I think Ryan Fitzgerald is for real. I don't think Buffalo will win more than 6 games, but I think Fitzgerald will put up great fantasy numbers. The dude has got a killer arm.
• The Colts streak of playoff appearances will come to an end. Without Peyton, they are as bad as the score indicated. If you're a Colts fan, you have to be pissed at the lockout. Word out of Indy is that Peyton didn't want to see anyone else besides the Colts team doctor, but wasn't allowed to during the lockout. So he waited all summer and didn't have the surgery until the pre-season. Now after his third surgery in a year, he might miss the entire regular season AND because it happened so late in the game, they have no other options besides Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter. They are in trouble.
• The announcers of the Carolina/Arizona game talked about how the trio of Beason-Anderson-Davis were playing for the first time since like 2008 or 2009. They spoke highly of the unit, syaing it was one of the league's best...So what happens? Jon Beason injures his ACL and is out all year long. Tough break for that up and coming defense.
• KC isn't as bad as their 41-7 home loss, but they are a fraud. I was a fan last year, but they had the advantage of playing a last place schedule and they got lucky. I think this year they get exposed.
• Regardless of their opening week win, this Cincy team still stinks. They will be competing for Andrew Luck this year.
• This just in - Tom Brady is good. Chad Ochocinco may not have gotten involved in much of his 511 yards and 4 td's in Week 1, but I am not worried... I think he will have a fine season. Brady spreads the ball around too much for him not to get 900+ yards and 6 td's.
• Chad Henne is the one QB who I don't know what to think of after one week. He might actually be good, but then again he might actually suck. I do know that the Dolphins are not going anywhere however.
• The Reggie Bush as full-time RB idea is not a good one. The guy is already banged up and only gained 38 yards and 11 carries. That being said, he is still the most dangerous open field runner in the game.
• Chris Johnson will be fine. Guaranteed he blows up for 150 and 2 td's sometime in the next 2 weeks. As for Matt Hasselbeck and the rest of the Titans? I think 8 wins will be generous. Here's hoping Coach Munchak realizes that Locker needs a little more seasoning before pulling the veteran. However, if they sit at 2-6 after 8 games, he might need to rethink it.
• Oakland will finish second in the AFC West. They will finish with a winning record for the first time since Rich Gannon stood under center.
• Denver fans, please stop calling for Tim Tebow. I know that you just lost to Oakland and that Kyle Orton didn't have a great game, but it's week 1. You finished with the second worst record in football last year for a reason - you don't have a good team. You're not losing because of Orton...so give him at least half a season before you jump off a cliff. If Tebow does become the starter and he sucks like most think he will, then where do you turn? Brady Quinn? Yikes.
• Green Bay is the best team in football. However, I'm not ready to crown them the champions yet. Last year, after week 3 I went with the defending champs, the Saints, to make it back to the Super Bowl. It turns out it is very very hard to repeat. Green Bay got super lucky when Tampa Bay couldn't beat the Lions on the final day of the season and snuck into the playoffs with a 9-7 record. They then went on to run over everyone in their way. This year the Pack look really really solid (man, that offense is awesome) but they are going to need some luck again to repeat.
• Finally, the NFL is in a good spot. I'm not talking about revenue and what not - no, they are in a good spot with all the young talent coming into the league. There are still some terrible QB's out there, but this young group of under-25 gunslingers (Bradford, Stafford, Freeman, Flacco, Ryan, Newton, Sanchez) are really ready to step up and take over for Brees, Manning and Brady when they retire (oh, and of course, Aaron Rodgers, the veteran 27 yeard old of the bunch). The NFL will be in good shape with any of these guys becoming the face of the league.

Oh, and a quick update on my NFL Fan Free Agency. I officially am supporting Cleveland, Oakland, Detroit and Buffalo this year. As for exciting players I am interested in - Sam Bradford, Matt Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, AJ Green, Jamaal Charles and Colt McCoy.