Ah yes, the NFL is finally back. Never thought I would see the day. With the opening week in the books, I have jotted down some initial thoughts that will likely all be overreactions and then turn into me venting about my trash ass fantasy teams. For those wondering, because I know how much everybody loves hearing about other peoples fantasy teams, I lost in all 3 of my leagues this week. Anyways, here we go:

The no crowd factor did not bother me as much as I thought.

People have mixed feelings about the fake crowd noise. I like it way better than no noise at all. If you you are at a sports bar or restaurant where you dont even hear the broadcast, there is really no difference. And until they show the empty stadium, you kind of forget for a second that nobody is there. Also, the hits pop a lot louder. I know we need people back in the stands ASAP, but its tolerable for now.

The Browns still suck ass, and they probably always will.

Did the Browns hire another terrible coach? Is Baker Mayfield not the guy? I cant figure out what the deal is. They were very, dare I say it, shitty out there. Cleveland has way too much talent on offense, it cant be that hard. I am not gonna lie, I drank the “Ravens will digress this season” Kool Aid. Lamar Jackson proved the “he cant throw it” haters wrong once again this week going 20-25 for 275 yards and 3 TDs. They are going to run the table again, arent they?

The Aaron Rodgers “Fuck You” tour is underway. Get your tickets now.

A lot of narratives contributed to the plummeting stock of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers over the offseason. First, it was coach Matt LaFleur and Rodgers “not seeing eye to eye”. Then, LaFluer came out and talked about how they were going to focus on establishing the run this season. THEN, the Cheese Pack drafted QB Jordan Love in the 1st round instead of getting Rodgers a much needed weapon. This marked the first skill position player that Green Bay drafted in the first round since….Aaron Rodgers 15 years ago. Rodgers was obviously pissed. An absolute disaster was brewing in that locker room. That is until he trotted out there and and slung it for 364 yards and 4 TDs against the Vikings. This man was going on average in the 10th round in fantasy drafts this year. Might become the steal of the century.

Never change, Philip Rivers.

New team, same bullshit, different day for Philip Rivers. Tell me if you have heard this before: Trailing by 1 score late in the 4th quarter, on a drive to tie the game, annnnnd cue the terrible interception. The Colts were set up for a cakewalk against the apparently tanking Jaguars, and they blew it. Maybe the Jags wont be so awful after all, and maybe the Colts are going to be the Chargers 2.0.

Is Mitch Trubisky going to turn it around?

At first, it looked like the Bears were going to be in for a long year and Mitch was done in Chicago. They trailed 23-6 going into the 4th quarter. Then Mitch grew some nuts and threw 3 TDs including a dime from 27 yards out to Anthony Miller with 1:54 remaining. However, they should not have won this game. I have to give a shout out to Deandre Swift, doing what a Georgia Bulldog does: Choke in the big moments to lose the game. Dude dropped a wide open perfect pass in the endzone from Matthew Stafford with seconds left that would have won the game. Georgia gonna Georgia.

The NFL done fucked up letting Bill Belichick get Cam Newton.

It only took Cam Newton 1 game to break the previous record for rushing attempts by a New England QB in a game with 15. It proved to help as two of those attempts were for touchdowns. Adding this element to an offense that has a smart, creative OC in Josh McDaniels and a team that week in week out, year after year, always finds ways to win, will create some problems for opponents. The Patriots arent going anywhere, Brady or no Brady.

Speaking of Brady, his debut with Tampa Bay was a little rough.

Aside from the first drive where Tom Brady looked flawless, it was not smooth sailing for him and the Bucs. He had 2 interceptions, one which was a pick 6. The people on the “Brady is too old” and the “He is nothing without the Patriots” trains are feeling pretty good about themselves. Gronk was nonexistent having two catches for 11 yards. The Saints as we all know are still a very good team and a wagon on offense, so lets not jump the gun too quick on Tampa Bay.

Welcome to Cincinnati, Joe Burrow!

Joey B almost pulled off a last minute game winning (or tying) drive in the final minute against the Chargers. Unfortunately, he forgot he was in Cincinnati. In classic Bengals fashion, they call back the game winning TD pass to AJ green for offensive pass interference. Then, kicker Randy Bullock pulls his calf and misses the game tying field goal to force OT by approximately 4 miles. Burrow looked pretty decent and had a great 23 yard touchdown run, but he better get used to running because he will be running for his life due to the fact that the Bengals O-Line is total ass cheeks.

Matt Ryan puts up big numbers, Falcons lose anyway. Rinse and repeat.

Poor Matt Ryan. He throws for 450 yards and 2 TDs and he gets completely overshadowed by Russel Wilson and the Seahawks. Their offense looks more than competent as they should with 10 first round picks out there. Not sure what the excuse for the defense will be this year since their whole defense isnt hurt. Seattle looked scary good, maybe Pete Carroll finally figured out the key to winning was to let your MVP caliber quarterback throw the ball and stop trying to run it 30 times a game. Might catch them making a late playoff run this year in the NFC.

What the hell, Philadelphia?

Washington started out looking like Washington as the birds went up 17-0. Then thanks to a couple bad interceptions by Carson Wentz helping shift the momentum, Washington scores 27 unanswered. I think everybody is still shocked. I love Riverboat Ron though. After getting diagnosed with cancer in the offseason and still going out there and coaching this Washington team while getting treatments every week AND getting the week 1 dub against the Eagles, you cant help but root for him. Unless of course youre a scumbag Philly fan.

What the hell part 2, 49ers?

The only thing worse than a Super Bowl hangover is the Super Bowl runner-up hangover. Fun fact: teams who lose the Super Bowl are a cool 3-17-1 against the spread in the following season opener. Arizona and Kyler Murray started out a little slow but rallied from behind to win 24-20. I think its safe to day adding Deandre Hopkins was a nice move, he only had a career high 14 receptions for 151 yards. Bill O’Brien is such a dumbass.

People are going to have their opinions and jump to drastic conclusions about their teams following week 1, but hey its what we do. The fact of the matter is that these teams had no preseason, limited training camp, and not nearly as much practice time leading up to the season. The one thing is for sure is that teams are going to look a lot different by the end of the season. Buckle up and lets ride.