FOOTBALL

The NFL is back!  The Sundays we’ve all been waiting for finally arrived.

First up, since the Buffalo Bills have been so bad for over a decade now, everybody writes them off at the beginning of every season.  It just seems like a constant in the NFL.  They have a reputation for being a mismanaged organization.  But on Sunday, they marched into Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and put a beat down on the Chiefs.  Their quarterback Ryan Fitzgpatrick was fantastic, throwing for 208  yards and 4 TOUCHDOWNS!!  Fitzpatrick has had a full year working with new head coach Chan Gailey, and all that chemistry is now paying dividends.  This year, it was the Bills who looked great on opening day, and the Chiefs, well, their fans were exiting the stadium in the 3rd quarter.  They’ve definitely got some work ahead of them, but watch out for the Bills.  Buffalo 41, Kansas City 7.

And in Houston, we got our first look at a Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts franchise.  Could they thrive?  The answer:  Not even close.  They looked horrible out there, and replacement quarterback Kerry Collins looked just like an over the hill quarterback trying to learn a complete offense in just one week.  The Houston Texans stomped all over them, and got a big day on the ground from Arian Foster’s replacement Ben Tate.  He had 116 yards and a touchdown on the day.  You can bet that the Colts will spend a lot of time in practice trying to get Collins acclimated to the system.  And if he doesn’t work out, maybe they should consider calling David Garrard.  Then again, if the Colts tank the season, that would make them the winner of the Andrew Luck #1 draft pick sweepstakes, which could keep them a solid franchise for the next decade.  Houston 34, Indianapolis 7.

And in Baltimore, we were anxious to see how the Super Bowl runner-up Pittsburgh Steelers fared in the off-season.  Would they come out dominant?  Unfortunately, this Steelers team looked like a dead horse.  Baltimore came out with a healthy, ferocious offense that saw Ray Rice catch fire.  He had 107 yards and a touchdown on the ground.  And the Baltimore defense completely stifled the Pittsburgh offense, forcing 7 turnovers.  And remember, this is against a well-polished Steelers team.  A team that typically doesn’t make many mistakes.  This game was over before the Steelers even knew what hit them, and Baltimore might be taking the throne this season as AFC North champs.  Big Ben and the Steelers need to go back to the drawing board and ensure they don’t look this horrible in front of their home crowd.  Baltimore 35, Pittsburgh 7.

And finally, the moment everyone was curious about:  The debut of #1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy Winner Cam Newton.  Nobody knew what to expect.  After all, the preseason saw Newton squaring off against reserves.  This game was the real deal, plus… he was on the road in Arizona’s University of Phoenix stadium — a spot that’s becoming increasingly hard to play in.  Newton came with the confidence of a seasoned veteran and dismantled the Arizona defense — a D with a good rep by the way.   Newton threw for a remarkable 422 yards and 2 touchdowns — including some long bombs to Steve Smith.  The Panthers were clicking.  Unfortunately, their defense didn’t impress, and they fell behind late.  But they’ve gotta be happy with Newton’s performance.  They can nurture it, and possibly even sneak into the playoffs this year.  Arizona 28, Carolina 21.