Kurt Warner shook off a five-interception performance last week in a loss to the Panthers to throw for 261 yards and an eye-popping five touchdowns in a 41-21 rout of the Bears on Sunday. Warner didn’t throw any interceptions while completing 22-of-31 passes for 261 yards.

Warner did all this without Anquan Boldin, who sat out with an ankle injury. Larry Fitzgerald seemed to enjoy the spotlight, because he hauled in nine passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The 83-year old Warner (I’m kidding) is now on pace for 32 touchdowns and 4,350 yards.

Of course, Warner and the Cards racked up these gaudy stats against a Chicago secondary that couldn’t cover Fat Albert and the gang. The Bears thought that Charles Tillman could cover Fitzgerald one-on-one, which was incredibly smart on their part. Remember Boldin didn’t play, so why Lovie Smith and his coaching staff thought Tillman could (or even should) go one-on-one with Fitzgerald was questionable to say the least. Speaking of questionable, the Bears also decided to throw the ball seven straight times to open the game. Apparently the words “offensive balance” mean nothing to Smith and Ron Turner.

Not to kick dirt in the faces of Chicago fans, but many Bear-lovers thought this would be a Super Bowl team after they traded for Jay Cutler. I’m fully aware that they’ve had injuries on the defensive side of the ball, but even if Brian Urlacher were healthy, the offensive line and secondary are still a mess and Matt Forte has dropped off the face of the earth (part of the reason is because the O-line hasn’t opened any holes). He only had 33 yards on five carries today, but when you’re trailing 31-7 at halftime you’re not going to get many carries.

Their 30-6 win over the hapless Browns gave the Bears some false confidence. But this loss today proves how far Chicago is from being a legitimate contender.

Kurt Warner set the single-game mark for completion percentage in the Cardinals’ defeated the Jaguars 31-17 on Sunday. Warner completed 24 of his 26 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, breaking Vinny Testaverde’s completion rating of 91.30, which he set with the Browns in 1993.

Warner was excellent on Sunday, throwing passes to nine different passes and finding Jason Wright and Larry Fitzgerald on touchdown passes of 5-and 22-yards, respectively. Warner also set a team record by completing his first 15 passes in a row, which was set by Jake Plummer on November 8 of 1998.

I hate to crap on Warner’s day but I’m going to do it anyway because I’m a jerk. While his completion percentage of 92% was impressive, he was facing one of the worst defensive backfields in the AFC. The Jaguars couldn’t generate any kind of a pass rush and Warner had a day and a half to throw the ball every time he dropped back.

Remember when the Jaguars used to give teams fits by living in the opponents’ backfields? What happened to Jacksonville’s defense? Oh yeah, it’s in Atlanta with Mike Smith and Mike Peterson…and Buffalo with Marcus Stroud…

Even though Jacksonville’s defense isn’t what it used to be, the record set by Warner couldn’t have happened to a better person. Warner remains one of the classiest players in the league and he needed this performance after last week’s disappointing loss to San Francisco. In fact, the entire Arizona team did.

Who would have thought that Jay Cutler’s debut for the Bears would go so poorly? How about Jake Delhomme picking up right where he left off in last year’s playoffs? The 49ers beat the Cardinals on the road?!

Below are 10 surprises from Week 1 in the NFL. Feel free to add what surprised you in our comments section.

1. Cutler’s atrocious Bears debut.
When Chicago acquired quarterback Jay Cutler from the Broncos this offseason, fans immediately started believing that their Bears were a legitimate Super Bowl contender. After all, the only thing that had held this team back over the years was not having a franchise quarterback. Now that the Bears had one in Cutler, the sky was the limit. Given the lofty expectations that fans had for the Bears, Cutler’s debut Sunday night in Green Bay was startling. The numbers were bad enough: 17 of 36, 277 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs. But it was Cutler’s demeanor during the game that was most troubling. He constantly threw across his body into traffic, was rarely on the same page as his receivers and it appeared as though he flat out stopped trying after throwing his third pick of the night. Granted, there’s still a lot of time left. But nobody expected Cutler to get off to this bad of a start.

2. Miami shoots itself in the foot.
Even though Atlanta’s defense rose to the challenge on Sunday, it was still quite surprising to see the Dolphins routinely beat themselves with costly turnovers and dumb penalties. Early in the second quarter, Miami drove to the Falcons’ 16-yard line only to have tight end Anthony Fasano fumble after receiving a bone crunching hit from Mike Peterson. Cornerback Brian Williams returned the gift 53 yards and Atlanta capitalized with a Jason Elam 36-yard field goal. Midway through the third, the Dolphins again drove into Atlanta territory, but quarterback Chad Pennington didn’t see Peterson waiting in the flats and was picked off by the linebacker. The Falcons again capitalized, this time on a Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez 20-yard touchdown pass to give them a 16-0 lead. On Miami’s very next series, Fasano fumbled again, only this time Elam missed a 38-yard field goal. Later in the fourth, the Dolphins had a touchdown taken off the board after offensive lineman Vernon Carey was called for holding. This was a Miami team that won the AFC East last year because they did all the little things right. They never hurt themselves with mistakes and always capitalized on their opponents’ miscues. But the opposite happened on Sunday and considering Tony Sparano’s team isn’t talented enough to overcome turnovers and penalties, the Dolphins can’t have what happened in Atlanta become a routine occurrence.

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The Cardinals raised their 2008 NFC Championship banner on Sunday before their game against the 49ers, and then promptly saw their potent offense neutralized in a disappointing 20-16 loss.

Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner threw for 288 yards and a touchdown, but he also finished with two interceptions and failed to get receiver Anquan Boldin (who had just two receptions for 19 yards) involved in the passing game. Warner did hook up with Larry Fitzgerald six times for 71 yards and a touchdown, but San Fran did an outstanding job mostly limiting the veteran signal caller to underneath passes and dump offs (which is why running back Tim Hightower racked up 121 yards on 12 receptions). Cornerbacks Nate Clements and Dre’ Bly did an outstanding job blanketing Fitzgerald and Boldin all game.

The 49ers’ offense struggled to get into a rhythm for most of the day. But quarterback Shaun Hill delivered when it mattered most by leading San Fran on a 15-play, 80-yard drive, which was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown reception by Frank Gore.

While it certainly isn’t panic time for Arizona considering this is only the first week, it must be worrisome for head coach Ken Whisenhunt that he lost playcaller Todd Haley this offseason and the Cardinals only mustered 16 points. Arizona’s offense wasn’t anemic by any means, but it’s interesting that when they absolutely needed to march down the field and score in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t muster more than one first down in each of their final three drives.

Peter Schrager of FOXSports.com ranked the top 99 players for the 2009 season. (Get the “9” theme? That Peter Schrager, he’s so creative…)

Here’s top 9 (Get it? Do you get? Yeah, you get it…):

9. Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers: One of the best defensive ends in the game, Peppers was the force behind the Panthers’ magical ‘08 season. Still playing his very best, he’s one of the rare defensive players that can singlehandedly will a team to victory. With a new defensive coordinator, Carolina needs him in camp sooner rather than later. That deal needs to get done.

8. Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings: An absolute beast and arguably the NFL’s best pass-rushing defensive end since Michael Strahan, Allen made an already strong Minnesota defense even stronger in ‘08. A nightmare for offensive tackles and an inspired leader in the locker room, he’s emerged from a career riddled with off-the-field mishaps to become one of the league’s very best players.

7. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints: Is No. 7 overall a little high for a player who hasn’t played in a postseason game in two years? Perhaps. But there’s no doubting Brees’ skills, leadership and ability. Brees is a top-five quarterback in the league, and with some defense — just a little tiny bit — the Saints could be a top-five team in this league.

6. DeMarcus Ware, DE/LB, Dallas Cowboys: A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Ware is only getting better with every passing year. The loss of free-agent DE Chris Canty could hurt, but the addition of former Falcons LB Keith Brooking may actually free up Ware even more.

5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings: A.D. had an incredible sophomore season, tossing the Vikings on his back down the stretch and carrying them to an NFC North title. There’s no player in the league who has greater big-play potential, and he brings that big-play potential 25 times a game. Hands down the best running back in the league, he will be in the MVP conversation over the next decade of his career.

4. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the league. When it’s all said and done, he might end up being the best wide receiver to ever step on a football field. Yeah, I wrote it. If ‘08 was his breakout campaign and the Super Bowl his “Hello, America” game, I can only imagine what he has in store for us in ‘09. Gifted with superhuman hands, an uncanny skill set and leadership qualities of a field general, Fitzgerald is the single-most valuable non-quarterback heading into the 2009 NFL season.

3. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Say what you want about the strength of the Super Bowl champions’ defense, but Big Ben is unquestionably the true leader of the Pittsburgh Steelers. With two Super Bowl rings and three AFC championship game starts in just five NFL seasons, he’s one of the top three quarterbacks in the league. Win another one and he could be No. 1 on this list next year. Kick and scream all you want about it — Roethlisberger’s the real deal.

2. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Without Brady in ‘08, the Patriots had an impressive 11-5 season, just missing the playoffs by a nutty tiebreaker scenario. The ‘08 season was a testament to Bill Belichick, backup quarterback Matt Cassel and offensive guru Josh McDaniels. Two of the three won’t be back in ‘09. But Brady will be. That fact, alone, makes the Patriots the no-brainer favorite in the loaded AFC East.

1. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts: Though not the best in a statistical sense, Manning’s ‘08 campaign was arguably the most impressive season of his decorated 11-year career. Working behind a makeshift offensive line with injuries scattered across the depth chart at just about every position for much of the year — Manning led the Colts to the playoffs and another 12-win season after an uninspiring start to the season.

I don’t think you can argue much (okay, so there’s always room for arguing in sports) with his top 9, although he certainly didn’t go out on a limb in his top 5 did he? I don’t know about Peppers at No. 9 either. I know he’s in a contract year and could step it up a notch, but that’s an awfully high ranking for a player that takes his fare share of plays off during the season.

Schrager also has Shawne Merriman rated No. 19, which I think is a reach. He’s got John Abraham (who is often a one-man wrecking crew when he’s healthy) and Adrian Wilson (a massively underrated stud in Arizona’s secondary) rated No. 92 and No. 95, respectively, but he’s got Merriman (a player doctors believed may never play again after having knee surgery last year) at No. 19? Yikes.

He has several players rated way too low (No. 83 Calvin Johnson, No. 77 Chris Johnson, No. 56 Roddy White, No. 41 Reggie Wayne), and others way too high (No. 30 Ray Lewis, No. 24 Jordan Gross, No. 22 LaDainian Tomlinson, No. 16 Philip Rivers). But as with any player rankings, you can nitpick this to death.

Last week we looked at the top 10 fantasy quarterbacks from 2008 with a look toward 2009. This week, it’s about those who catch passes. Wide receivers have become almost as valuable as running backs, so it’s important not to overlook that when you’re preparing for your fantasy draft. And you are preparing, right? Or will you cram on Labor Day weekend? If you’re like me, you’re reading this stuff now because these long months without football suck. So, about those receivers….and keep in mind this Top 10 is based on scoring from one of my own fantasy leagues, and stats may differ from league to league:

1. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals—There should be no question remaining as to who has the best hands in football. In fact, I’ll just say it — that Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football, and one of the best since the days of (dare I say it) Jerry Rice, or Lynn Swann. Yeah, he’s that good, and he’s just getting started. In ’08, Fitzgerald had 96 catches for 1431 yards and 12 touchdowns….and that’s with Kurt Warner having two other legitimate targets in Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.

2. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions—This poor bastard put up huge numbers last year for an 0-16 team—78 receptions for 1331 yards and 12 scores. It’s difficult to draft anyone on the Lions, though.

3. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans—This guy is just a beast. I mean, a freaking beast. Johnson had SIX games of over 130 receiving yards, and wound up with 115 catches for 1575 yards and 8 TDs…all usually with two guys covering him. Like I said, a beast. Now what would he do with a real QB?

4. Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals—Q wants the ball, and he may not get it in Arizona this season. But his numbers and skills have every other GM salivating. Last year, despite missing four games with injuries, Boldin caught 89 passes for 1038 yards and 11 scores. He even rushed 9 times for 67 yards.

5. Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers—Jennings has been on the verge of fantasy superstardom for a few years now, and I think the next two seasons may be peak years for him — especially with Aaron Rodgers coming into his own and Donald Driver losing a step or two. His 2008 numbers? 80 catches for 1292 yards and 8 touchdowns. This year, I’m saying 100-1500-12.

6. Randy Moss, New England Patriots—The fact that Moss still had a 1000-yard season catching passes from the yet-unproven Matt Cassel says a lot about Moss. Dude is a sick receiver. He had just four 100-yard games, but was consistent over the season with 69 receptions for 1008 yards and 11 TDs. He gets his boy Brady back in 2009, so look for 2007-ish numbers again.

7. Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys—He had one game over 200 yards, one more over 100, and every other game below 100. Owens managed 1052 yards on 69 catches with 10 scores, but by his standards the season was a bust. In Buffalo, I can’t imagine his numbers will be much better.

8. Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints—Marques Colston was never quite right after coming back from an injury, but Drew Brees kept throwing the ball to this guy, to the tune of 79 catches for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns—with three 100-yard games.

9. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers—He was suspended for the first two games in 2008, but still racked up 1421 yards on 78 catches with 6 scores…and a whopping eight 100-yard games. Steve Smith is just money, and he should be a Top 5 receiver in every fantasy league.

10. Antonio Bryant, Tampa Bay Bucs—Bryant had his best season as a pro last year after missing the entire 2007 campaign, catching 83 passes for 1248 yards and 7 TDs…and he gets bonus points for doing it with the Tampa Bay Bucs!

Remember when we were instructed to draft running backs with our first two, and in some cases, our first four, fantasy football picks? Yeah, that was so 1999. Heck, that was so 2004 or 2005 when LT and Shaun Alexander were dominating the gridiron. But a funny thing has happened. Running backs by committee are not only keeping legs fresh, they are wreaking havoc on fantasy rosters. Also, a recent trend toward pass-happy offenses is making quarterbacks and receivers more valuable. Last season, QBs were dominating — here is how the Top 10 QBs finished fantasy-wise in 2008 (your league may have scored differently than mine) and what you can expect from them in 2009:

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—Brees fell 15 yards short of Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record, finishing with 5069 yards, along with 34 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Is he going to match that? There’s no reason to believe he won’t.

2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—I had LT last year and one of the reasons his stats suffered was because this guy kept throwing the damn ball. Rivers threw for 4009 yards with 34 TDs and just 11 picks. This year, will they go back to more of a run-first offense? Probably not — not with LT a year older.

3. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals—Ah, the Fountain of Youth is a beautiful thing. Warner drank from it often, and of course when you have guys named Boldin and Fitzgerald to throw to, it can make you look good and feel ten years younger. Still, who expected 4582 yards and 30 touchdowns with 14 picks and a trip to the Super Bowl? Not me. This year, Warner may not have Boldin, who just keeps whining about his contract, but don’t think the QB’s numbers will suffer all that much.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Brett who? You certainly won’t hear anyone blaming the Packers’ 6-10 season on Rodgers. It was in fact their defense that failed them, because Rodgers passed for 4038 yards with 28 TDs and 13 interceptions. And just for kicks, Favre’s numbers with the Jets were 3472 yards, but 22 TDs and league leading 22 picks. Going into 2009, Rodgers’ stock has to be even higher.

5. Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos—On what planet does 4526 yards and 25 touchdown passes get you run out of town? In Denver, where new coach Josh McDaniel screwed up and tried to trade for Matt Cassel. Oops. Cutler is now in Chicago, so that means his fantasy stock automatically drops a few notches.

6. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—The Colts got off to a horrible start and in fact didn’t win the division for the first time in years. But Manning finished strong, with 4002 yards, 27 TDs and just 12 picks. Marvin Harrison is no longer catching his passes, but that doesn’t mean Manning doesn’t have weapons.

7. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles—It was a roller coaster season in 2008, but the Eagles came within about a quarter of reaching the Super Bowl. Somehow McNabb held it together (what, they have ties in the NFL?) and wound up having a great season, passing for 3916 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 picks. He only had 147 rushing yards and 2 rushing scores, but that’s what Philly has Brian Westbrook for. McNabb is getting long in the tooth, but he’s smarter and as accurate as ever.

8. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys—Okay, so there may be trouble in paradise and there is no T.O. anymore, but Romo is still a very good fantasy QB. His 3448 yards and 26 TDs were a bit off his 2007 pace (4211, 36 TDs), but part of that is because he missed a few games with a thumb injury.

9. Matt Cassel, New England Patriots—With zero pro experience and almost zero college experience, who would have thought Matt Cassel could come in for Tom Brady and have the season he did? Okay, so he is no Brady, but Brady is in a class of his own anyway. Cassel’s 3490 yards with 21 TD passes and just 10 interceptions were good enough to land him the starting job in Kansas City. How that will affect his fantasy stats remains to be seen, but don’t expect too much of a drop-off on an improved Chiefs’ team.

10. Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins—You know Chad is still gloating after being pushed out of New York by Brett Favre, and then leading his Dolphins to the division title. Pennington is always risky as a fantasy QB because of injuries and inconsistency, but 3653 yards and 19 TDs is not shabby, nor was his microscopic total of 7 picks. If he stays healthy, Chad should have another good season.

The other name you’ll have to consider in 2009 is Brady. He missed the final 15 ¾ of the season after getting knocked out of the opener against Kansas City, but early reports are that Brady is looking and feeling great and will be at full strength in 2009. Randy Moss is salivating, and so will fantasy owners, though they will do so skeptically.

Are you ready for some football? I know I am and feel great just talking about it!

(Next week: Wide Receivers)

- UNCOACHED combined Photoshop with some pictures of Roger Clemens and the end result was spectacular.

- SPORTSbyBROOKS.com has the disturbing story of Bills’ fullback Corey McIntyre, who decided to play the skin flute in front of a 59-year-old woman’s house during his morning bike ride.

- THE LOVE OF SPORTS compiles a list of the top 10 most unique pitching deliveries in baseball.

- DEADSPIN says that Malcolm Gladwell should stick to being wrong about dog trainers and Enron after wrapping up his three-part series with ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons.

- YARDBARKER ranks the NFL’s top 20 players and rationalizes why Cards’ wideout Larry Fitzgerald is the No. 1 player in the league.

- SPORTSBYBROOKS has the story of a hot New Jersey Nets dancer who claims to be a direct descendant of one Abraham Lincoln.

- If you didn’t catch the Pro Bowl (and really, who would?), Larry Fitzgerald dissed Chris Cooley in the end zone. CHRIS COOLEY’S BLOG has the first hand account, and YARDBARKER has the video.

- Female DEADSPIN writers deconstruct the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

- THE LOVE OF SPORTS has a great list of the one-hit wonders of the NBA All-Star Game. You know, guys who made the team and didn’t really deserve it.

- DEADSPIN comments on Mitch Albom’s comments on bloggers who comment on…whatever it is that bloggers comment on. (I wouldn’t know.)

Could the NFC Champions considering hiring the “Mad Scientist” to run their offense in 2009?

File this one in the rumor category . . . but I’ve heard that the Cardinals called the 49ers on Friday to ask for the cell number of Mike Martz, whom Singletary fired two days after the season. I have not been able to confirm this happened, so take it for what it’s worth.

So might Whisenhunt seriously consider Martz as the man to take over the offense? Might that help convince Kurt Warner to go ahead and sign a two-year deal to remain with the Cardinals? Certainly, the Cardinals’ talent on offense would seem to be a better fit for Martz’s offensive style than what he had last season with the 49ers.

Even though it’s only a rumor it’s certainly a viable one. Warner and Martz have worked together before and considering the Cardinals don’t have much of a running game for Mad Martz to ruin, this could be a nice match.

Could you imagine what Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston and Anquan Boldin (assuming he’s still in ‘Zona next year) could do in Martz’s offense? Wow.