If Brady’s injury is serious, open up the floodgates of new found hope for a whole bunch of NFL teams.  And other NFL tidbits from week one!

SCOTT JACOBS

The sound was heard round the country.

In New England, it was the sound of potentially broken dreams. Everywhere else, it was the popping of champagne corks and the NFL’s red sea parting to allow everyone else through.

Matt Cassel is no Tom Brady. The Patriots are not a Super Bowl caliber team without the 2007 NFL MVP. In fact, if Brady’s injury (which I should stress is not known at this point) is serious, I’d be the first to argue that the Patriots aren’t good enough to even make the playoffs.

Of course, it will all come down to the extent of the injury. If it’s not too bad and he misses a game or two then no harm really done. But if he is on the shelf for a McNabb-esque 10-12 games, then the dynamics of the NFL landscape radically change.

Don’t jump off buildings yet Patriot fans. It could be nothing.

It could also be your season.

Welcome to the show Matt Ryan
His first pass was a 62 yard touchdown strike to former Ohio State great Michael Jenkins. That was far from the only highlight for the new look Falcons who put up an impressive (but not shocking, it is the Lions after-all) 34 points in head coach Mike Smith’s debut. I wouldn’t exactly start saving up for playoff tickets just yet, but if Ryan plays well, and Michael Turner rushes for 220 yards and two scores the Falcons will be a fun team to watch. The Ryan/Turner Era has begun in hot ‘Lanta, and for the fans of that dysfunctional franchise, it’s not a moment too soon.

Fly eagles fly, as they destroy the Rams
Never close, except when it was 0-0, the Eagles again showed why they are the great mystery of 2008. Donovan McNabb threw for 361 yards and three scores, and the Eagles were even able to get in ‘future guy’ Kevin Kolb. If McNabb stays healthy, the future is now for the Eagles, who are good enough to compete for the NFC East. As for the Rams, well maybe last year wasn’t just an abberation. Maybe 2007 marked the beginning of the end for high octane football in St. Louis.

0 for Florida
In a strange way, the Miami Dolphins put up the best effort amongst Florida’s three teams on this day. Miami lost, but came very close to stealing a win from Brett Favre’s heralded debut. Of course, like last year, Miami lost another close game. Then again, last year the ‘Phins lost every type of game imaginable. The Bucs played a fun back and forth thriller in New Orlean’s but Jeff Garcia’s interception ended any late hopes they had of taking home a win. And David Garrard and the Jags were pretty much awful. They lost 17-10, but Garrard was not good, throwing three picks, and the running game was invisible most of the game. Not exactly a Sunshine State start to be proud of for Florida’s three.

But wait, there’s more…

Buffalo flattened the now Shaun Alexander-less Seahawks 34-10 in arguably the most impressive win of the day. The Bills have a good team, and can end their playoff drought if Trent Edwards can make that leap from sufficient NFL QB to good QB. I don’t put it past the guy. He’s from Stanford. He gets it.

Joe Flacco’s debut as a Raven was also a success as the Delaware QB won his first start. Not flashy, not mind blowingly fast (did you see that one run, it was really at full speed) but efficient and strong armed, the new franchise quarterback in Baltimore did his job. The Ravens always good defense did their’s. And a 17-10 win was the result.

If the Texans plan on making that leap from ’should be good’ to ‘actually good’ this year, you won’t find evidence of the transformation in Pittsburgh. The Steelers put the hopeful Texans away early and pounded them often, building a 38-3 lead before letting the Texans tack on some meaningless scores. The point here is this: the Steelers ain’t dead, and the Texans ain’t that good. Not yet at least. And if Willie Parker can stay healthy look out for Pittsburgh as this season progresses.

Now that’s the Reggie Bush we all expected. Bush dazzled the Saints’ faithful against Tampa Bay, demonstrating his blazing speed and good hands. Bush ran for 51 yards, but more impressively led the team with 112 yards receiving and one nice looking score. The Saints have finally realized Bush isn’t an every play back, but he is one heck of an asset if used correctly. Today, Sean Payton and Co. used him to perfection. And the Saints, who started out 0-4 last year, are off to a nice start, 1-0, with a key win over a division rival to start the year. Will anyone ever win the NFC South two years in a row? Because it doesn’t look like it will happen this year either.

Finally, some stuff on the late games 

The Panthers (my NFC South pick this year) came back in San Diego to stun the Chargers on a 14 yard touchdown pass as time expired.  Carolina which has been very disappointing the last few years, and was riddled with injuries last year, took the ball down the field in the closing moments and stunned the mighty Bolts.  It’s a tough loss for the Chargers, but an even more impressive win for the Panthers, who could surprise a lot of people this year.

The Cardinals win a road game.  It happens once or twice a year, and Arizona got one out of the picture early, finally beating the 49ers 23-13.  Edgerrin James topped the century mark and the Cards played mistake free football to vault to the top of the NFC West with an incredible 1-0 record.  Yes it’s true.  Every other NFC West team lost today.  So today wasn’t exactly a good day to end the rap that the NFC West isn’t weak.

Finally, the Cowboys manhandled Cleveland 28-10.  TOny Romo had all the time in the world to throw and T.O. put on a show for Dallas which was never really threatened by the overwhelmed Browns.  And to think, the Browns have five dates on national television.  For their sake, they better hope the results are better then this one.

Again, today is all about Mr. Brady. Will we look back at this injury as the end of New England’s stranglehold on the league (at least for this year), or is this injury nothing more then a blip that will do nothing to slow down the mighty Patriots? That is the question being asked right now. And we’ll find out within the week.

Anyway you cut it though, the Patriots won again. The potential perfect season is still alive.

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