Rakibul Islam, NY
Sep 10, 2008

Football returned to the American landscape this weekend as the NFL kicked off its 2008 season.  Following the dominance of the New England Patriots last season, along with their stunning defeat at the hands of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, it was difficult to predict what kind of encore the most popular sport in the country would have.  But as we saw over the weekend, the NFL reminded everyone of one of its key tenets:  injuries can and will happen.
The biggest injury, of course, was suffered by the NFL’s golden boy, Patriots QB Tom Brady.  After he led the New England offense to multiple records last year, including points and TD passes, many wondered what he would do for an encore, and more importantly, whether he would finish the job after coming within 35 seconds of a perfect season.  But all that came to a halt in the first quarter of their opener with the Kansas City Chiefs.  S Bernard Pollard came in on a blitz and rolled into Brady’s leg as he completed a pass to WR Randy Moss, and his knee buckled.  The stunning diagnosis came the next day:  Brady had a torn ACL, and was done for the year.  Coach Bill Belichick tried his best to downplay the effects of the injury after their narrow 17-10 victory and after the injury announcement the next day, saying that Brady was just one of 53 and they would rally around backup Matt Cassel and so forth.  But when you replace the reigning MVP and 3-time Super Bowl champion with a guy who hasn’t started a game since high school (yes, Cassel spent his USC days backing up Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart), and put him in command of your offense, your team is going to fall off.  To make matters worse, Cassel started all four games during the preseason with Brady nursing a foot injury (the least of his problems now) and was horrific, failing to lead the offense into the end zone and endangering his own roster spot.  Sure, Cassel was able to beat the Chiefs, but they barely escaped against a 4-12 team that’s clearly in rebuilding mode, and which had lost its own starting QB to injury during the game (though many would argue that was a good thing).  With little or no experience at QB, expect the Patriots to fall off without their dominant offense masking an aging LB corps and weak secondary.  Suddenly, QB Brett Favre’s gamble to go to the New York Jets looks a lot better, as the Jets will at the least contend for a division title and could go even further.
Brady’s high-profile status made his injury overshadow the other major injuries that all occurred in week 1.  Two other starters are now out for the season with torn ACLs: WR Nate Burleson of the Seattle Seahawks, and OL Vince Manuwai of the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Burleson’s injury will have a far bigger impact, as the Seahawks were already without 3 of their top wideouts.  Now they lose their leading TD receiver from last year, and until Deion Branch and Bobby Engram return, they will be forced to start unknowns such as Courtney Taylor and Logan Payne.  This could be a devastating blow to the perennial division winners, who are already reeling from a 34-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.  Manuwai’s injury isn’t as bad, as interior linemen are easier to replace.  But the Jaguars’ vaunted rushing attack was stuffed by the Tennessee Titans in a 17-10 loss, and losing a consistent starter won’t make matters any better.  In that game, Titans QB Vince Young suffered a sprained MCL, which will likely cause him to miss 2-4 weeks.  He wasn’t looking good before that either, getting booed mercilessly by his hometown fans after tossing his 2nd interception.  Family and teammates expressed concern about his well-being after he was inconsolable on the sideline and was late joining the offense on the next possession.  If backup Kerry Collins impresses while Young is out, expect the pressure on him to increase even more.  Finally, the San Diego Chargers learned that star LB Shawne Merriman will undergo surgery to repair ligaments in his left knee, and will miss the rest of the season.  His injury was diagnosed during the preseason, but Merriman made waves by trying to play despite multiple recommendations that he have surgery.  Unfortunately, after failing to show his usual explosive abilities during a heartbreaking 26-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers, he made the decision to shut it down.  For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, especially after Brady’s injury, losing their top defensive player will leave a huge hole.  Merriman was the voice of that defense, and his teammates fed off his energy and ability to attack the quarterback (NFL-high 39.5 sacks, 3 Pro Bowls in 3 seasons).  The defense will likely lose its dominance, as the inability to pressure the QB will allow the opponent to pass more effectively, which in turn will open up the running game.  While the Chargers still can be successful, this will make it much more difficult for them to fulfill expectations and finally reach the big game.
All the injury news overshadowed what was, as usual, another exciting opening weekend.  The Giants kicked things off with a huge celebration, and then scored a TD on the first drive of the season en route to a 16-7 win over the Washington Redskins.  The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the St. Louis Rams 38-3, as did the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 38-17 win over the Houston Texans.  QB Matt Ryan won in his debut as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Detroit Lions 34-21.  Ryan threw a TD on his first pass, then watched new Falcon RB Michael Turner run for 220 yards.  QB Joe Flacco also won in his debut, running for a 38-yard TD in the Baltimore Ravens’ 17-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, who got only one catch from Bengals WR Chad Johnson (it said that on his jersey, so I’m calling him that).  Brett Favre won his Jets debut 20-14, beating the rival Miami Dolphins and new QB Chad Pennington, whom Favre replaced.  The win was not without a little Favre magic, as he wildly flung the ball up for grabs in the end zone during the 2nd quarter, and saw WR Chansi Stuckey come down with it for a touchdown.  The New Orleans Saints returned to their hometown after evacuating for Hurricane Gustav, and defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 on RB Reggie Bush’s 42-yard TD reception.  The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 23-13, though I’m sure no one was watching.  The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Cleveland Browns 28-10, as QB Tony Romo and the Dallas offense picked up right where they left off last year.  The Chicago Bears surprised the Indianapolis Colts 29-13, as QB Peyton Manning’s return from knee surgery was topped by a dominant performance by the Bears’ defense and a 123-yard game for rookie RB Matt Forte.  QB Aaron Rodgers, who has the unenviable task of replacing Favre in Green Bay, won his starting debut 24-19 over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, as he threw for one TD and ran in for another.  Finally, the Denver Broncos saved the best for last, routing the Oakland Raiders 41-14 on Monday night and spoiling the debut of Oakland’s rookie RB Darren McFadden.
Week 1 left us with plenty of dominant performances, a couple of close and exciting games (Carolina literally won on the last play), and a couple of clunkers (why FOX didn’t switch off from Eagles-Rams still baffles me).  It also reminded us that football is a brutal sport that doesn’t hold back for anyone, not even the golden boy.  Some teams looked better than they are, some teams looked worse than they are.  Some teams had their Super Bowl dreams dashed, while others suddenly can start dreaming about them.  Week 2 should bring more excitement and more injuries, but just remember, we’re only one week in, so don’t make any judgments yet.