Sep 12, 20235 min read

Gridiron Talk

The NFL is back like it never left with a LOUD opening week of games to lite the flame of the 2023 season. Week one was fast and furious with drama. The action we saw had many surprises; elite defensive performances; and officiating that had you rippin' your eye lashes out.

Every week I'll start things off with a quick no huddle offense to give you a quick tune up on what went down on the gridiron. Ten of the most important headlines; takebacks; that kinda juice. Let's move the chains:

MR. 150: Justin Jefferson records his 9th 150 yard receiving game. Most of any WR under the age of 25 in NFL History (surpassing Randy Moss)

Cowboys defense drop a SCARY statement with an unforgettable shutout

Eagles' O struggles without Shane Steichen

Steve Spagnuolo had excellent adjustments w/o star DT. Chris Jones returns to team for remainder of season after signing 1-YR deal after KC loss

Lions' O-line stays stout and elevates Detroit to opening win

Rams thrive in all fashions on the road versus Seattle (30-13)

Baker Mayfield's grit powers Bucs' win

Tua x Hill = Vick/DJax on 'roids

Dolphins and Bolts electrify the gridiron in Founder's Game of the Week

Aaron Rodgers tears Achilles on 4th snap. Jets prevail in a thriller that saw a walk-off touchdown that will be played for years (click arrow):

The 2023 rookie class was on full showcase in week one as several players had excellent games, making impact plays for their squads, and not waiting to have their first career touchdowns.

Rookie Toudys:

Several rookies found themselves in the endzone in their first career games. Both in the air and on the ground. Jaguars' RB Tank Bigsby and Bears' RB Roschon Johnson both pounded the rock in on the ground for touchdowns. There was four receiving toudys by rookies with RB Bijan Robinson (ATL); WR Jordan Addison (MIN); WR Trey Palmer (TB); and WR Rashee Rice (KC) catching touchdown passes. Bijan's touchdown was a HIGHLIGHT as he took a set of ankles to go with his 1st career toudy ball for the mantle:

Defensive Introductions:

It wasn't just the offensive rookies making their name known. The defensive end saw some big-time performances. Detroit's Brian Branch took a tip for a house-call that was a decider in the opening game against the Chiefs. Branch's squad-mate, LB Jack Campbell, was excellent as well as he showed promise in the coverage game with key plays in the middle of the field. This diving pass deflection was superb, a trait draft scouts didn't think Campbell had:

Not Here To Take Part:

Three rookies not only made the most of their reps, but they were KEY contributors to wins. WR Zay Flowers (BAL); DT Jalen Carter (PHI); and WR Puka Nacua (LAR) were stellar in week one. Not a single person predicted Nacua to surpass 100 yards receiving in week one- Puka was stellar and Matt Stafford's favorite target. Stafford targeted the BYU alum 15 times for 10 receptions and 119 receiving yards. Now we see if it was a fluke, or if Stafford found a new weapon in the passing game.

Zay Flowers showed elite elusiveness; footwork; and route running within 20. He had a few highlight plays and showed to be extremely difficult to take down even in a swarm. Zay is going to be a problem for corners this season as well as all tacklers. Speaking of being a problem on the field- Jalen Carter was a FORCE for the Eagles and may have been the reason they won with how he broke the barriers of the Patriots o-line. Carter led all defensive tackles with 8 pressures, as he recorded one sack and had a 32% pass-rush win rate.

The three day-one rookie starters all struggled at points, and all lost their debut games. The fourth pick, Anthony Richardson, showed the most potential of the three as he had a few good moments and kept the Colts close with the Jags until the 4th quarter. Richardson's prototype is certainly NFL worthy as he used his legs and strength to rush for his first career touchdown. Stroud and Young were just plain awful in most aspects. Here's the stats for all three:

Anthony Richardson vs JAX (L): 24/37 - 223 YDS - 2 TDS (1 RUSH) - 1 INT (23.7 QBR)

CJ Stroud vs BAL (L): 28/44 - 242 YDS - 0 TDs - 1 FUM (21.4 QBR)

Bryce Young vs ATL (L): 20/38 - 146 YDS - 1 TD - 2 INTs - 1 FUM (14.7 QBR)

The four star QBs in the above graphic cost a combined billion plus, that I'm sure you already knew. So, how did the stars play in their first games since their paydays? Well... not that great.

To be honest, "not that great", is WAY to nice. They all played horrible. You wouldn't think any of these guys were top paid QBs with how they played in week one. A theme they don't want to continue. Here are the main stats for the four:

Justin Herbert vs MIA (L): 22/33- 228 YDS - 2 TDS (1 RUSH) - 51.4 QBR

Jalen Hurts vs NE (W): 22/33- 170 YDS - 1 TD - 1 FUM - 36.4 QBR

Joe Burrow vs CLE (L): 14/31- 82 YDS - 0 TD - 20.3 QBR

Lamar Jackson vs HOU (W): 17/22 - 169 YDS - 0 TD - 1 INT - 1 FUM (13.6 QBR)

Just awful play from all four. I will give Herbert and Hurts some understanding with them both having new offensive coordinators and not playing in pre-season. Nonetheless, these guys are paid to be elite enough to help their team out of any trench. Not playing guys in pre-season has to stop. Fear for injury makes no sense. Herbert and Hurts were way to cold and new in those offenses. Burrow and Jackson have no excuses. Play better, plain and simple. 13.6 QBR in a 25-9 win is mind blowing. You ask me? That shows NO value for LJ. These guys are all way better than how they played. With the contracts they now have, people won't be quiet on speaking degrade towards each QB. Prove your value post payday, fellas.

It's quite pathetic that the NFL hasn't addressed the Jawaan Taylor debacle that transpired during the OPENING game of the season. Caps to show how ridic it was. For almost the entirety of the game- the officials allowed Kansas City, Jawaan Taylor in particular, to go away with formations and the rule book in whole. Taylor was either lined up illegally or moved to soon on damn near every snap of the first half with no penalties. It was embarrassing to experience.

I don't have a problem with Taylor trying to time the snap in the motives he did. Even if a handful of them were false starts. That technique is what has made the Eagles LT Lane Johnson the best in football. The problem is the cat wasn't anywhere near the line of scrimmage. Chris Collinsworth continued to joke in the booth about Taylor being a "slot receiver", but that's exactly what it looked like! When you find cats agreeing with Chris Collinsworth- that's when you know there was a debacle. Video below shows a small montage of where he was lined up:

"It's legal with his helmet crown being aligned with LOS and ball"... the hell it is! That is an illegal formation, and sorry we aren't rewrittin' formation rules as we go. Go ahead and look at how Lane Johnson does it (which is illegal sometimes). NFL needs to take responsibility or throw away their rule book. Glad the Lions won, or this situation would have far more dialogue.

Founder's Players of the week:

Power Rankings After wk1:

Week one brought some surprises as the AFC's top three teams going into the season got beat with the Bengals; Chiefs; and Bills falling. The Cowboys; 49ers; and Browns all won with AUTHORITY and claim themselves in the top 4. Lions start the season by beating the defending champions in their backyard. Expect week 2 to change the entire top 10. Here are my rankings after week one of the season: