DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

- According to every NFL analyst in America, there was a better chance of Cam Newton putting his pants on backwards than resembling anything even close to a quarterback. But lo and behold the kid can play a little. He completed 24-of-37 passes for 422 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, setting a record for most passing yards in a NFL debut. He also rushed eight times for 18 yards and scored on the goal line in the Panthers’ 28-21 loss the Cardinals. Thanks to Newton, Steve Smith looked rejuvenated after spending a year in NFL hell last season. Obviously the former Auburn product isn’t going to throw for 400-plus yards every week but even his biggest critics have to be impressed with how he performed in his debut. And hey, the young man even put his pants on straight, too.

- The Steelers, the Falcons and the Chiefs: What are three teams who apparently forgot that the preseason was only four weeks long, Alex? Give credit where credit is due – the Ravens, Bears and Bills were dominate on Sunday. But it’s not like any of those teams used black magic to fool the Steelers, Falcons and Chiefs, who were absolutely shocked that they had to suit up today. Those three teams, who all won their divisions a year ago, mind you, managed to make flying to the moon look easier than playing football.

- Speaking of the Bills, this team isn’t a pushover any more. Forty-one points on the road? Good grief, man. Ryan Fitzpatrick is just good enough to be dangerous and they have some offensive weapons in Steve Johnson, Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Given how bad the offensive line looked in preseason, Chan Gailey has to be thrilled with his team’s performance. And the best part about the Bills today? They acted as if they expected that outcome. I dare say they were fun to watch.

- Not many people had the Bengals beating the Browns in Cleveland today, which is why they wind up in the “DIDN”T SEE THAT COMING” section. But I’m telling you, if Andy Dalton can play mistake free and just mange games in his first year, Cincinnati won’t be as bad as everyone expects.

AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM…

- Tell me Pete Caroll isn’t playing to win the Andrew Luck sweepstakes this season. I want to see him look someone in the face and tell them Tarvaris Jackson is a starting quarterback in the National Football League.

- Nobody told me it was Halloween today at Solider Field. It was cute the way Atlanta’s entire offensive line dressed up like revolving doors.

- Atlanta HC Mike Smith has received praise over the years for resting his veterans throughout the week so that they’re fresh on Sundays. But maybe if those vets practiced more they would actually know how to tackle somebody. The Falcons’ defenders might as well have ushered Matt Forte and Devin Hester to the end zone like they were walking bridesmaids down the aisle of a wedding. Because they had zero interest in tackling either player today.

- Wait, I’m not done with the Falcons. During the game, I watched Roddy White run directly into the backfield at the snap, turn around, and run right back to the same sideline in order to catch a pass for a 1-yard loss. I hope for the Falcons’ sake White ran the wrong route because if that was actually how the play was designed then this team is in for a long year with Mike Mularkey at the controls. I want to know who that play was supposed to fool: the Bears, or Falcon fans for believing their team actually employs an offensive coordinator.

- Jim Brown couldn’t have run behind the Giants’ offensive line today.

- Methinks this could be the second straight season Donovan McNabb will be benched for his ineffective play. How the Vikings managed to keep things close in San Diego despite McNabb only throwing for 39 yards is beyond me.

- Fort knox wouldn’t have stood upright behind the Steelers’ offensive line today.

- If anyone questions whether or not Peyton Manning has been one of the best on-field generals this game has ever seen, pop in the film of the Colts’ loss to the Texans on Sunday. Outside of Reggie Wayne’s ridiculous touchdown grab, there was nothing positive about Indy’s offense on Sunday. The Colts looked absolutely befuddled without Manning calling the shots. It’s simply a different team.

- A.J. Green’s touchdown may wind up going down as the easiest score in NFL history. Hey Cleveland defense, this isn’t T-ball. The officials don’t ask if everyone is ready before play can begin. Break the huddle and get into position so you don’t allow opponents to walk into the end zone.

- How long before Cleveland fans start ramping up the complaints that Mike Holmgren should have stayed at No. 6 last April and taken Julio Jones? Greg Little: 1 catch for 12 yards today in his debut.

- Speaking of the Browns: at no point should this team ever be 6.5-point favorites over anyone. Ever.

- Pretty slick of Mike Munchak and the Titans to give everyone the impression that Chris Johnson was going to be a big part of their offense in Week 1. After holding out throughout the preseason, the Titans barely used Johnson but because of Munchak’s deceiving words, the Jaguars still had to game plan for him anyway. Of course, that strategy did absolutely nothing to help the Titans on the scoreboard, but it was slick nonetheless.

- Mostly because of their ridiculous first-half schedule, the Rams were already in for a bumpy ride this season. And that was before Sam Bradford and Steven Jackson suffered injuries right out of the gates.

- Hey Carolina, next time a player suffers an Achilles’ injury, give him time to actually recover. If Jon Beason is lost for the season, and he may very well be, the Panthers have nobody to blame but themselves.

- Talk about adding injury to insult: Eric Berry’s knee injury could be serious. The Chiefs’ secondary is in for a long year.

“CHAMPIONSHIP…”

- This was the game that Raven fans have been waiting to see for a while out of their team. A good Pittsburgh squad came to town and instead of Baltimore toying with them for a couple of quarters and losing in the end, the Ravens beat the Steelers’ ass up and down the field. Joe Flacco threw some of the best passes of his career and Ray Rice played like a man trying to prove a point against a defense that has shut him down over the years. If the Ravens play with this kind of consistency every week, they’re going to be tough to beat.

- Pass me some of that Lions Kool-Aid because damn it that stuff tastes fantastic. Detroit fans have waited a long time to see their team dominate anyone on the road like the Lions did today against the Bucs. And who was responsible for the majority of their success? Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew and Jahvid Best – four players that should help transform this team into a contender soon (if not very soon).

- I’m not going to ramble on about the Texans’ victory because it came against a downtrodden Indianapolis team that’s about to suffer its worst season in over a decade. But I will say this: The Texans are the clear favorites to win the AFC South with Peyton Manning out of the way. They showed up today and did exactly what they were supposed to in crushing the will of a team that has tormented them for years. Now let’s see them play with that same fire every week.

- The Eagles house more weapons than the United States’ military. On every play Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy could take one to the house. The only drawback to Philly’s offense is its O-line, but otherwise this team looks every bit as good as people thought they would in preseason.

- On Sunday, the Bears’ defense resembled the same unit that took them to the Super Bowl back in 2006. They were relentless, they swarmed to the football, and they pressured Matt Ryan for all four quarters. Everyone expects the Bears to drop off this season after reaching the NFC Championship Game a year ago. But if they play as well throughout the season as they did today, then it’s going to be a battle royal in the NFC North this year.

- Courage this: Jay Cutler is now 22-0 in his career in games when he finishes with a 100-plus passer rating. His offensive line is still shaky but the dude played his ass off today and didn’t give his critics much to write about.

- Cedric Benson rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the Browns. And he was in jail last week.

- The answer is “yes,” as in yes Mario Williams can play linebacker.

- Bruce Gradkowski is a terrible starter but man can that guy come off the bench and lead come-from-behind victories. I swear his record as a reliever is 44-0.

- Don’t be fooled by his overall stat line: Michael Vick was incredible this afternoon in St. Louis. The Eagles’ offensive line has little to no cohesion but Vick still managed to dazzle. How pumped do you think he’s going to be next Sunday night to play on his old carpet in Atlanta? And he’ll deserve to play well there, too. It’s not like he screwed that franchise out of millions of dollars and precise time by making them watch Joey Harrington play quarterback for a full season. No, yeah Mike, you deserve this moment…

- Hey, there’s Beanie Wells!

- Granted, it came against a shaky Carolina defense but the Cardinals couldn’t have asked for a better debut out of Kevin Kolb (18-of-27, 309 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs).

- The most underrated defense in the league? Jacksonville. The additions that team made in the offseason have already paid dividends.

- Wade Phillips is going to face bigger challenges than Kerry Collins in the upcoming months, but he’s already made a difference for Houston’s defense.

- Dating back to last season, for the first time in 17 weeks C.J. Spiller actually showed glimpses of the special player he was at Clemson.

- Congrats on your first win, Jim Harbaugh. They don’t get much easier than that.

- Rex Grossman: 21-of-34 passing for 305 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. Maybe wily ‘ol Mike Shanahan does know what he’s doing. Nah, he’s still bat-sh*t crazy…

Colts @ Texans, 1:00PM ET
I realize Peyton Manning isn’t playing today but everyone just expects the Colts to stay in the locker room and take a loss. Kerry Collins is nothing more than a short-term stop gap but he knows how to run an NFL offense. With Arian Foster out (which is huge for an Indy defense that has had trouble stopping the run the past 16 years), I like the Colts to keep it somewhat close. The Colts are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games as an underd and 5-1 ATS in their last six games as a road dog.
THE PICK: COLTS +9

Titans @ Jaguars, 1:00PM ET
This games comes down to the quarterback position. Matt Hasselbeck’s better days are behind him but he’s a veteran that knows how to get the ball into the hands of his best weapons. Luke McCown, on the other hand, just found out he was starting earlier this week. The Titans are 4-0 against the spread in their last four games in Week 1 and 11-3 ATS in their lat 14 games in September.
THE PICK: TITANS +1

Eagles @ Rams, 1:00PM ET
Everyone is high on the Rams this season, and for good reason. But they’ve got a tough matchup against an Eagles team that will give Sam Bradford plenty of issues. The Rams’ secondary will also have its hands full with Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and the fast Eagle offense. The Rams are 1-9-1 against the spread in their last 11 games in Week 1 and 15-33-3 ATS in their last 51 games in September.
THE PICK: EAGLES -3.5

Bengals @ Browns, 1:00PM ET
The Browns are on the upswing while the Bengals are seemingly headed for disaster. But this is a division rivalry and if Andy Dalton can at least resemble a NFL quarterback, the Bengals are better than people think. The underdog is 7-1 against the spread in the last eight meetings between these two teams, while the Browns are 0-4 ATS in their last four division games.
THE PICK: BENGALS +6.5

Check out Bullz-Eye.com for a complete list of NFL Week 1 odds.

Oddsmakers have released the point spreads for Week 1 in the NFL. Along with a complete list of odds, here are a couple of games that jump out at me as we head into the opening week in the NFL.

Saints @ Packers, 8:30PM ET, Thursday
The action gets kicked off this season with a matchup between the 2010 Super Bowl champion Packers and the 2009 Super Bowl champion Saints. I envision a rebound year for Drew Brees and the Saints, who added solid depth on both sides of the ball this offseason and drafted a running back in Mark Ingram that could help restore balance to Sean Payton’s offense. The Packers, meanwhile, are coming off a Super Bowl win and will have tight end Jermichael Finley and running back Ryan Grant back from injury. Aaron Rodgers is an absolute stud and should be talked about among the league’s elite. In terms of the odds, the total is set high for a reason but I see this game falling under. In four of the last five season openers the total has fallen under and even though both of these teams can both light up the scoreboard, I don’t think we’ll see either of the Saints or Packers’ best offensive efforts this Thursday. Don’t forget it was a short offseason in terms of season preparation.
ODDS: PACKERS –4 (47)

Colts @ Texans, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
Personally, I think this is the Texans’ year. They went a long way to improve their horrendous defense by hiring Wade Phillips as coordinator and signing free agent corner Jonathan Joseph. Phillips has a knack for turning teams around quickly and I don’t think Houston will be an aberration. Peyton Manning will likely miss Week 1 and that means Kerry Collins will get the nod. If Manning is healthy the Colts are liable to go 12-4 but without him, they could just as easily fall to 4-12. The Texans usually start off the season on fire before fading in the second half. Maybe this year will be different. I see them getting off to a good start and without Manning, this one could be a blowout.
ODDS: TEXANS –9 (45.5)

Steelers @ Ravens, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
The schedule makers didn’t do fans any favors by making these teams play each other so early in the season. It’s Steelers-Ravens, so the game is going to be physical and exhausting. But the weather is going to be nice, most times these early-season games are sloppy and even though it’s a divisional game, each team still has 15 more to go after this. I would have rather seen these teams play later in the year but nevertheless, get your chinstrap on tight, folks. The Steelers seem like a bargain here, especially seeing as how they’re 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven games against the Ravens and the road team is 3-1-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these two teams.
ODDS: RAVENS –1 (36)

Cowboys @ Jets, 8:20PM ET, Sunday
The Sunday night matchup figures to be a good one between two potential playoff teams from separate conferences. I think this is a big opening test for the Cowboys, who are coming off a horrible year and need to prove to the rest of the league that last season is behind them. On the other side, the Jets opened up last season on Monday Night Football and put together an embarrassing display versus the Ravens. Don’t think Rex Ryan isn’t reminding his team of that throughout the week. The Cowboys are 5-0 against the spread in their last five games as an underdog and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games overall. I see a bounce back year for the ‘Boys, so I like that they’re getting 4.5 points in this one.
ODDS: JETS –4.5 (40.5)

Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Orleans Saints +4 (47)
Green Bay Packers –4

Sunday, September 11, 2011
Pittsburgh Steelers +2.5 (36)
Baltimore Ravens –2.5
Detroit Lions +1 (41)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -1
Atlanta Falcons –2.5 (41)
Chicago Bears +2.5
Buffalo Bills +5.5 (40.5)
Kansas City Chiefs –5.5
Indianapolis Colts +9 (45.5)
Houston Texans –9
Philadelphia Eagles –4.5 (43.5)
St. Louis Rams +4.5
Cincinnati Bengals +6.5 (36)
Cleveland Browns –6.5
Tennessee Titans +3 (38.5)
Jacksonville Jaguars –3
New York Giants –3 (38)
Washington Redskins +3
Carolina Panthers +7 (37)
Arizona Cardinals –7
Seattle Seahawks +6 (38)
San Francisco 49ers -6
Minnesota Vikings +9 (40.5)
San Diego Chargers –9
Dallas Cowboys +4.5 (41)
New York Jets –4.5

Monday, September 9, 2011
New England Patriots –7 (45.5)
Miami Dolphins +7
Oakland Raiders +3 (40)
Denver Broncos –3

Check out Bullz-Eye.com for the most updated NFL lines for Week 1.

“We’ve got to go back and look at it. I think we’re still going to be a good football team, there’s no need to panic.” – Bears QB Jay Cutler following Chicago’s 21-15 loss to the Packers on Sunday night.

Cutler’s right – there is no need to panic. For all we know, Chicago will run the table to finish 15-1 and win the Super Bowl this season.

But even still, Cutler needed to show more than he did on Sunday night in Green Bay. Bad games are going to happen, but his four-interception night was trumped by only his poor attitude during and after the game. His receivers and his pass protection certainly didn’t provide him any help (a fact I’m sure isn’t lost on Cutler, who doesn’t mind dishing out blame), but Chicago’s defense gift-wrapped a win for this team and he did everything in his power to ensure that Green Bay would walk away with a victory.

Cutler played like a rookie tonight. On multiple occasions, he threw against his body and into coverage. He had a screen pass intercepted by Johnny Jolly because he didn’t show enough awareness to see that the 325-pound defensive tackle had stayed home on the play. On Tramon Williams’ 62-yard interception, Cutler flat out threw the ball in the direction of a receiver, but clearly had no idea where the pass was going.

If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that Cutler had money on Green Bay tonight. And yet after the game what does he say?

“There’s no need to panic.”

When Florida lost to Ole Miss in Gainesville last year, Tim Tebow held a press conference in which he said that no quarterback would work harder than he would to rectify the loss. Yet after one of the worst debuts for a quarterback on a new team, Cutler smugly reminded people that it was only the first game. Not that every quarterback has to say what Tebow when he has a bad outing, but the difference in attitude between the two players are staggering and Cutler is supposed to be the experienced one.

“There’s no need to panic.”

Thanks, Jay. Try telling that to a Chicago fan base that immediately had thoughts of contending for a Super Bowl after their team finally acquired a franchise quarterback. Again, bad games are going to happen. But Bear fans deserved more than what they got from Cutler tonight. More passion, more desire and more poise.

As for the Packers, they need to do a better job of protecting quarterback Aaron Rodgers if they intend to compete for a division title. The Bears’ front seven was constantly in Rodgers’ face and never allowed him to get comfortable in the pocket. But give credit to Rodgers for withstanding the rush and throwing a 50-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings with under two minutes remaining. When Green Bay needed a big play at a crucial moment, Rodgers delivered.

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.