Week 1 Preview

In roughly 24 hours from now, most of you reading this blog are going to plop down in your chair with a beer and a big plate of meat and watch some football that actually means something for the first time in about a year. In that year, many things have changed on the field and off of it.

People get new jobs, they have new places to live, and on the field new faces are in different places. No, don't worry, I'm not about to write a song for Pink here, but I'm just saying that this year has that same new car smell, but it feels a little more special. Just think of how we got to this point.

After the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl, the NFL went into a mode of secrecy. The typical scenes of a new quarterback working with his new receivers at Organized Team Activities (aka OTAs) were replaced with big, hulking men in suits ready to engage in a verbal fist fight with their owner counterparts.

When the collective bargaining agreement was finally ratified, the NFL decided to give fans a "Merry Christmas on steroids" aproach to free agency. Where normally, teams would wine and dine players to convince them to sign with their teams, the coaches threw the prospective player a playbook, quickly ran them through McDonalds and then begged them to consider.

It was for fans too. Most offseasons it was "Oh, what's this??? A TERRELL OWENS! I ALWAYS WANTED ONE OF THOSE!!!" But this year it was, "Oh..it's...oh another....what the...STOP THROWING PRESENTS AT ME!!!"

After all the talk and preseason games, we finally have football that counts on Thursday night. It will be a bit of a different experience for yours truly, as I won't have the aid known as NFL Sunday Ticket to give a complete list of happenings around the league, but I'll try my best to preview each week in the NFL.

FIVE STAR GAMES:
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers Thursday 7:30 pm NBC
A couple weeks ago when I was watching professional wrestling, John Cena came out and beat the tar out of new WWE champion Alberto Del Rio. What does this have to do with football? Well, it was what Cena said to the new champion: "You are NOT a champion! YOU'RE A TARGET!"

This is what the Green Bay Packers will put up with the rest of the season. Defending your championship is one of the hardest things in sports. You could say that with all the guys on injured reserve, the Packers may have snuck up on teams last season. Not this year. The Packers will get everyones best performance all year long and it starts with a test against the high powered New Orleans Saints.

History is on the Packers side here, as the Super Bowl champion is 11-0 in their opener during the past 11 seasons. However, early in that streak teams A) didn't play on Thursday night in front of a national TV audience and B) may have gotten cupcakes to open their season. That is not the case now.

I don't think the Packers will be affected by the pressure, I mean, they just won a Super Bowl! But, the Saints are not slouches. I'm sure that Saints coach Sean Payton has shown the Marshawn Lynch "Beast Mode" run over and over again this offseason, and they will be hungry to get back to the Super Bowl.
PREDICTION: Packers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens Sunday 12:00 pm CBS
Do you like violence with your football? Well, do we have a game for you!

The Steelers and Ravens will meet in their bi-annual steel cage match on Sunday, a rematch of the divisional playoff matchup from last season. Both teams hit hard. Both teams love to run the football. Both teams have coaches who are pretty good at what they do, but there is one difference between the two teams.

There's a question that's starting to spring up when the Steelers are getting mentioned these days. "Is their defense getting too old?"

There are great players on the Steeler defense, but some of them are getting up in age. Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Casey Hampton, etc. all have been around for a while, and in the NFL it is the survival of the fittest. It makes you wonder if they can keep up...especially after their dismal Super Bowl performance.

For the Ravens, they'll want to see improvement from Joe Flacco. This will be his fourth year at the helm of the Ravens, and they're hoping that he improves with the addition of burner Lee Evans to compliment Anquan Boldin's possession skills. Ray Rice will also be a valuable target to aid Mr. Flacco.

This is a hurdle the Ravens must clear to win the AFC North and advance further into the playoffs. With them being at home, I think they're up to the challenge.
PREDICITON: Ravens

FOUR STAR GAMES

Atlanta Falcons at Chicago Bears 1:00 Sunday FOX
I would really wish that FOX would give us the Detroit game, but anyway...

Jay Cutler will appear in a meaningful game for the first time since channeling his inner Joe Mauer in the NFC Championship Game. The Bears will need Good Cutler instead of Bad Cutler to show up this season, or else the addition of Roy Williams to the passing game will be irrelevant.

The Bears also added FS Brandon Merriweather from the Patriots last week. This move should add a little bit of youth into the Bears secondary and could be a good move down the road if Merriweather re-ups after this season.

The Falcons were supposed to be the class of the NFC last season, but we already know what happened there. They will look to rebound and they added Julio Jones to an already potent offense. Their defense got stronger too with the addition of Ray Edwards, and the Falcons look stacked to repeat their 14-2 season from '10.

This will be a test for the Falcons as they go into the ripped up turf of Soldier Field. The Falcons were able to handle most of their challenges last season, and should be able to handle this one.
PREDICTION: Falcons

Philadelphia Eagles at St. Louis Rams 1:00 Sunday
So you want to be a contender, St. Louis? The "Dream Team" will make their debut Sunday and they added a ton of talent...but you already knew that.

The biggest storyline here is not only how the Dream Team looks in regular game action, but if Sam Bradford and his up-and-coming Rams can knock off one of the top teams in the NFL at home. This should be a fun game to watch.
PREDICTION: Eagles

Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets 7:30 Sunday NBC
The Foot Fetish Bowl! Brothers Rex and Rob Ryan square off in New York on Sunday Night. Emotions will be flying high due to the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

On the field, the Cowboys will bring a high-powered offense to go up against one of the best defenses in the league. To be honest, these are two teams that I can't stand. However, there must be a winner. Actually, there could be a tie, but that's boring to predict and Donovan McNabb wouldn't think I'm right.
PREDICTION: Jets

THREE STAR GAMES

Minnesota Vikings at San Diego Chargers 3:15 FOX
This game may have been moved up a star for homerism, but there are a lot of interesting elements that will be on display for the Vikings.

They have a new quarterback, new coaching staff, new offensive playbook, and a new defense that vows to be more aggressive than it was in the preseason. Their first test? Go to San Diego and upset the Chargers.

It may look like a mismatch on paper, but the Vikings may have a chance in this one. The Chargers always seem to start the season slow, and if the Vikings are prepared enough, they could score the first "official" victory in Leslie Frasier's coaching career.
PREDICTION: Chargers

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans 12:00
This matchup opened the season last year. If you don't remember last years opening matchup, it's the one where Texans running back Arian Foster said to the Colts, "HELLO, SIR! HOW DO YOU DO???"

The Colts got their butts kicked by the Texans new found running attack, and this year they'll have to stop it AND win offensively with a quarterback who was sitting on his couch retired a couple weeks ago...I know what you're thinking...stop...it's Kerry Collins...

The Colts defense has looked attrocious, and I think this will mark the beginning of the end of the Jim Caldwell era in Indianapolis...I'll get to it later this season.
PREDICTION: Texans

Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12:00 Sunday
Two teams that believe that the best way to win in the NFL is to have a bad ass defensive line. Also, these are two of the most promising teams in the NFL.

The Lions have added Nick Fairley to their already potent line, and he might not even play. If he doesn't the Lions still have Corey Williams to plug in as a stop gap. If you don't believe the Lions are a contender, watch the third preseason game where they repeatedly knocked Tom Brady senseless. I'm telling you, this team is for real.

The Bucs are a solid team on the line too, as they added DeQuan Bowers and Adrian Clayborne to go along with Gerald McCoy and Brian Pryce. Yikes.

If the Lions protect Matt Stafford from getting slammed to the turf again, it'll be a great season for the Lions, but short-term, it'll mean an opening week win.
PREDICTION: Lions

New York Giants at Washington Redskins 3:15 Sunday
Why do I love the fact the Vikings are on the West Coast this week? NO JOE BUCK WILL BE ON MY TELEVISION!

Another 9/11 ceremony will take place in Washington on Sunday, and on the field will be a matchup of two of the most overrated teams in the NFL.

Maybe the Redskins aren't overrated, but they're not the typical NFC East super team that Troy Aikman and Buck will try and make the nation believe Sunday afternoon. However, this game to me screams upset special.

Most people would pick the Giants here, but they're a very depleted group after losing Terell Thomas and Prince Amukamara in the secondary. It will be a long season for Big Blue.
PREDICTION: Redskins

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins 6:00 Monday ESPN
I don't think this game will be very good, but all the new parts in the rivalry make me interested. Plus, it's Monday Night Football! What's not to love?

The Dolphins will unveil Reggie Bush as their feature back on Monday night. This is something that Sean Payton never did in New Orleans. I think in this situation, we will really be able to see if Bush can be an every down feature back in the NFL. I don't think we're looking at the second coming of Barry Sanders with Bush, but I think that in this situation, Bush could end up as a LeSean McCoy type back who can get the job done on the ground or in the receiving game.

The Patriots will also be throwing out Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth. Ochocinco intrigues me more than Haynesworth because he could turn out to be the Randy Moss that the Patriots have needed. Since being dealt to "heaven" (as he puts it on his Twitter account), Ochocinco has struggled picking up the offense, but I'm sure with Tom Brady throwing you the football, you're going to do OK.
PREDICTION: Patriots

TWO STAR GAMES
Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals 3:15
Two new quarterbacks debut here. Cam Newton, the number one pick in the 2011 draft, will start for the Panthers, and Kevin Kolb start for Arizona.
PREDICTION: Cardinals

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers 3:15
The Seahawks may be the better team here, but I really can't bet on Tarvaris Jackson in any situation. This game will be very important in the NFC West race too, as the team that gets off to the fastest start may be able to coast to the finish.
PREDICTION: 49ers

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos 9:15 Monday ESPN
Holy late games! This game should probably be classified as a one star game, but it's the fantasy football implications that I'm watching. The last time Darren McFadden faced the Broncos, he ran all over the place. It may be a new regime in Denver, but I don't think the Broncos have the talent to stop a run oriented team like the Raiders.
PREDICTION: Raiders

ONE STAR GAMES
Cincinatti Bengals at Cleveland Browns 12:00
Ugh...I wouldn't recommend watching this game, let alone analyzing it...
PREDICTION: Browns

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars 12:00
Luke McCown, huh? No wonder nobody ever goes to Jaguar games...
PREDICTION: Titans

Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs 12:00
I like the Chiefs, but with the way they looked in the preseason it's hard to get excited for THAT...
PREDICTION: Chiefs (Hey, the Bills are still worse!)