Week 1 - Cin/Min, Cle/KC, LA/Chi Notes

 

If I have one takeaway from Week 1, it's that I could not have been more wrong about so many of these games. And the one game I could not have been more right about was also my own personal football hell scenario.

I won't have much to say about most of these games. The plan is to do the thing I've been doing and stick to what I see, and to try to keep from repeating the same things you'll hear and read everywhere else.

So let's get to it.

I listened to the first half of the Buf/Pit game on the radio before we were able to get the games working on the TV. Then I switched to the Cin/Min game. Cincy was already up, 24 – 14. I got to watch as Minnesota scored, making it 21 – 24. And then as Cincy went on to do nothing with the ball; they punt, get the three-and-out; and then the screaming started.

That is, I started screaming.

Because Zac Taylor demonstrated on that last drive of the fourth quarter, with time dwindling and a win on the horizon, exactly no desire to win his game. They cut to him on the sideline on 3rd and 4, wondering whether he's going to try for the first down or just kill the clock and punt it back to let his defense win the game. And he looks just over being there anymore. I am thinking that he's setting up a field goal to make it a six-point game, effectively daring Kirk Cousins to march against his defense and score the tud.

That isn't what they're doing. I figure this out when they run into the teeth of the defense, effectively kneeling on 3rd and 4. Not even playing for the field goal. Playing for the punt. What the hell?

They give Cousins the ball with :61 on the game clock, and all he has to do is go 40 yards and kick the field goal. With :02 left, he's made it exactly 40 yards. Maybe not exactly, but he took all the time he could to go the bare minimum distance he needed for a hold-your-breath field goal.

Kirk Cousins football, everybody.

I gave up on this game after the Bengals' third Overtime possession.

My heart couldn't take running for one yard on first and second downs in Overtime. If neither of these teams wants a win badly enough to go get it, give them a Tie and let's get the Hell out of here. I guess the Bengals won, eventually. A saccharine victory if I've ever heard of one.

From there we went to the Cleveland/Kansas City game. And I'm glad for it.

My other option was Green Bay's shellacking at the hands of the Saints.

What do I have to say about that game that won't already have been said? It was a great game. Gregg Rosenthal is right – we didn't need that game Week 1 – but we got it. And I'm glad for it.

Tony Romo said it better than I could. The gameplan for Cleveland was to get on top and stay there. And they were so close. I was trying to explain to my girlfriend the difference in a quality football team and one that isn't. And it really comes down to mental errors and penalties. Teams that lose, and do so regularly, in big spots or otherwise, are the teams who make mistakes.

The Patriots didn't just beat everybody for 20 years because of Tom Brady. Bill Belichick has his players prepared for any conceivable situation – and is someone you don't want to disappoint with a mental error in a big spot.

The Browns made mental errors in big spots, and the Chiefs didn't. But that doesn't tell the whole story of the game. Because that wasn't the case in the first half. It's only when the third quarter started dwindling and the Browns had to be perfect that things started slipping. And that marks them where they are right now – the same place they were last year. But that's excellent news for Browns fans: there hasn't been any year-to-year regression. This team is only going to get better. Better than losing the AFC Championship?

They better do it before Baker's next contract starts.

And what is there to say about the Chiefs? The defense looks improved, and the Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce connection just isn't fair.

Then came the Sunday Night game.

It played out about the way we thought it would, didn't it?

It feels, on looking back on it, that it was a really quick game. But that's probably an artifact of my absolute disinterest in the game when Andy Dalton was behind center. I tweeted it, and I'm saying it here: I don't see anything worth watching with Dalton. He's Dalton. We already know what he is. At least with Fields under center I don't know what I'm watching. The outcome isn't as obvious.

So let's try to think about why Nagy would make the choice he has, disregarding that he might just not be cut out of the job. He really might not, though.

What if he didn't want to get the guy killed, didn't want him to come out and look like Dalton did or worse? What if he felt that he could script Fields to find some success against the Rams' defense? Boost the kid's confidence while also keeping him healthy. Get him through the first month of the season, hopefully without also being 0 – 4, then maybe re-evaluate? I don't know. Doesn't make sense to me.

You can see how hot his seat is all over his face on the sidelines. Matt Nagy is a guy who knows his noose is already around his neck – and he's walking toward a cliff.

What is there to really say about the Rams that wasn't said during the game?

It's all working the way we thought it would. Stafford looks... as advertised. I feel silly for doubting him. He does look really good on those bootlegs, though, doesn't he? And with a running game?

Watch out, folks. The Rams are going to be better than I thought.

Now I'm going to spend a few hours and dive into the rest of the games and see if there's anything I might have to offer. Expect another post later today. Then I'll probably be back tomorrow to talk about Monday Night Football. And then we'll figure out a schedule for this stuff as we go.

Football's back!