The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Week 1 Edition

Another weekly segment by a poster from our football community, hope you enjoy.

The Good
Carolina – Call it a homer pick, if you like. I think my past posts would indicate I am even-handed, though. A win, in San Diego, without Steve Smith, on a great TD pass on the last play of a solid game warrants a listing here.

Buffalo – A 2 point win maybe raises eyebrows. A 24 point win against the NFCW favorite raises glasses.

Philadelphia – St. Louis may well stink, but 38-3 is still 38-3.

Arizona – This is the type of game they should win if they are going to actually make a run at the playoffs this year. For once, they won this type of game.

New Orleans – If they are indeed back, they need to win home games against teams like Tampa.

Atlanta – This is still a team in transition, but to grab a sound win out of the chute is a gem. Even if it is against the Detroit Millens.

Chicago – The recipe for Indy to beat Chicago probably has not changed since their Super Bowl matchup two seasons ago. If anything, da Bears should have been hurt by the fact that it was not pouring this time. Whether they were good or the Colts were just off can be debated, but Chicago still walks out with an impressive win either way and I’ll give them the credit here.

Denver – Skeptics abound and slapping the Raiders around has not proven to be any great feat for teams, but 41-14 on the road against a team hyped as improving is nothing to sneeze at. Let’s face it: if the Broncs are going to make a statement, winning 1 of the 4 divisional games that is infinitely winnable in the Oakland Asylum by halftime is a good start.

The Bad
New England – Not the team, the Brady injury. The Pats are not a one-man team, but losing Brady is probably the biggest blow they could suffer.

Jacksonville – 189 yards of offense in a road game that had to be considered winnable. That is, if they are really going to challenge the Colts

Tennessee – Despite a win, they wait for word on Young’s knee…..and head.

Cincinnati – If I had any expectations of the Bengals at all, they would be in the Ugly category. The good news is they “only” gave up 358 yards. The bad news is that was to the Ravens offensive machine. The worse news is they generated a whopping 154 yards of offense on their own. This is not good.

The Ugly
Seattle – Exactly what the hell happened here? I think Buffalo is a team that could find themselves in the playoff discussions until late, but this was an old-fashioned butt whipping. I’ve heard of teams arriving but their equipment being delayed in transit, but in this case the equipment made it and the team did not.

Detroit – I do not have any sort of expectations of the Lions, but the Falcons? With all due respect to Leroy I do not expect Atlanta to be in any discussion other than #1 draft choice at the end of the year.

Houston – Every year we hear “this is the year.” Losing to the Steelers by itself is no slap in the face, but being run off the field is no way to start if “this is the year.”

St. Louis – Opinions differ about what chance the Rams have, but they should not differ after this performance.

Cleveland – Another “this is the year” team. Granted, they lost to the team thought to be the NFC’s best Super Bowl candidate. But it wasn’t just a loss, it was a butt-whipping.

Oakland – I have fewer expectations from the Raiders than the Bengals but they deserve a slot in the Ugly. ESPN’s Three Stooges broadcasting team got at least one thing right when they characterized this as a big game for measuring the Raiders development. Put away the yard stick and get out the micrometer. The fact that this loss took place at home, in the loony bin, and included the usual meltdown personal fouls pushes it beyond Bad to Ugly.