Cardinals 17, Rams 13
Cardinals: The Warner less Cardinals looked very average against the St Louis Rams. Derek Anderson was the same old Derek Anderson. He was widely inaccurate only completing 22 of 41 passes for 297 yards and 1 TD. The good thing is that he didn't throw a INT but lost 1 fumble. Tim Hightower got the start after Beanie Wells who was a game time decision was inactive. Hightower took advantage of that and rushed 13 times for 54 yards and socred a 1 yard TD. He also hauled in 4 passes for 40 yards. Surprising was the play of LaRod Stephans-Howling he rushed the 9 times for 49 yards and added 3 catches for 16. Stephans-Howling is only fantasy relevant if there are injures to Hightower or Wells. Steve Breaston was the leading receiver for the Cards catching 7 balls for 132 yards. Larry Fitzgerald missed the majority of the preseason with a knee injury. Fitzgerald was targeted multiple times but because of Derek Anderson's inaccuracy only caught 3 passes for 43 yards and 1 TD.
Rams: Sam Bradford's first career NFL start resulted in him throwing the ball 55 times and completing 32 for 253 yards and 1 TD along side 3 INTs. Bradford battled all game and looks to have a bright future in the NFL. Newly aquicred wider receiver Mark Clayon lead all Rams with 10 receptions for 119 yards. Laurent Robinson's only catch was a 1 yard TD but tweaked an ankle in the game that slowed him down. Denny Amendola had a okay game hauling in 6 passes for 67 yards. Amendola looks to maybe be emerging as the Rams #2 wide receiver. Stevan Jackson is probably one of the best running backs in the league but on a horrible team though the addition of Bradford and Clayton should help. Jackson ran 22 for 81 yards and caught 4 passes for 6 yards. After the game it was mentioned that Jackson banged up his knee and that it slowed him down in the game. It is yet to be determined the extent of the injury.
Packers 27, Eagles 20
Packers: The biggest news from the Packers side is that Ryan Grant appeared to suffer a bad ankle injury, From replays it looks like he could have suffered the dreaded high ankle sprain. Before the injury Grant was running well rushing the ball 8 times for 45 yards. Brandon Jackson replaced Grant and ran the ball 18 times for 63 yards and added in 2 catches for 12 yards against a tough Eagles D. Aaron Rodgers had an amazing preseason but it didn't carry over to the first week of the season. Rodgers completed 19 out 31 for 188 yards and 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Greg Jennings who is looking at having a bounce back season scored a TD from 32 yards out and hauled in 5 passes for 82 yards on the day. It seems like Donald Driver has been around forever but the guy can still play. Driver caught 6 yard TD and finished the day 5 catches for 30 yards. If you watch enough Packer games you know that Driver is the red zone wideout and Jennings rarely scores inside the red zone. Jennings rarely is on the field when the Packers get inside the redzone and close to the endzone. Hyped tight end Jermichael Finaly had 4 catches for 47 yards.
Eagles: The Kevin Kolb era began in Philly on Sunday but it ended with Kevin Kolb getting knocked out at halftime with a concussion and Michael Vick taking over. Kolb before the concussion was 5 for 10 and 50 yards. Michael Vick took over in the 2nd half and its was vintage Michael Vick. Vick was scrambling and running like his days in Atlanta. Vick nearly lead the Eagles back for Victory but it came up short. Vick was 16 for 24 with 175 yards and 1 TD. He also rushed 11 times for 103 yards. Lesean McCoy was touted as the next Brian Westbrook in Philly but last season he didn't show it. On Sunday he only had 12 touches (7 carries, 5 receptions) and gained a total of 82 yards and 1 rushing TD. McCoys TD came on a 12 yard scamper. McCoys stock went up some with backup Mike Bell not even touching the ball once and FB Leonard Weaver tearing an ACL. Desean Jackson was non exsistent until Michael Vick took over and he only managed 30 yards on 4 catches. Jeremy Maclin hauled in Vicks only TD pass and he finished the day with 38 yards on 4 catches. Tight end Brent Celek finished with a measly 2 catches for 32 yards. Look for the Eagles to have a better game next week when the go against the Detroit Lions.
Seahawks 31, Niners 6
Seahawks: What a game from the Seahawks. They took advantage of Niner mistakes and made them pay for it. Matt Hasselbeck was 18 for 23 and 170 yards and 3 TDs (1 rushing) with 1 INT. Hasselbeck's leading receiver was former USC wideout Mike Williams. Williams hauled in 4 balls for 64 yards on the day. Deon Branch caught 1 of Hasselbecks TDs and ended the game with 3 catches for 11 yards. Deon Butler caught the other TD from 13 yards out and that was his only catch of the day. John Carlson added 3 catches for 36 yards. The Seahawk's backfield is a mess. Justin Forsett (10 touches) Julius Jones (8 touchs) and Leon Washington (6 touches) all saw playing time in the backfield. Forsett lead in rushing with 43 yards on 7 carries most of it coming on a 32 yard run. Forsett also had 3 catches for 17 yards. For now none of the Seahawks are starter worthy.
Niners: This was a horrible and unexpected game from the Niners. Alex Smith didn't look like the Alex Smith that took over the starting QB job last season. Alex Smith threw 2 costly INTs. He ended the game 226 yards on 45 attempts and no TDs to go along with the INTs. Frank Gore was poised for a great matchup in this game. But he didn't take advantage only rushing for 38 yards on 17 carries. He did have 6 receptions for 45 yards. Vernon Davis was the only good thing in the Niners passing game. Vernon hauled 8 passes for 73 yards and looks to be poised for another good season. As for Michael Crabtree he only had 2 receptions for 12 yards. Reports after the game said that head coach Mike Singletary called out Crabtree and Alex Smith for there poor play. Lets see how they react next week against a tough New Orleans team.
Redskins 13, Cowboys 7
Redskins: Donovan McNabb began his 12th season with a team that wasn't named Eagles. Coming into the game McNabb was bother by a bad ankle but he didn't show any signs of it last night. McNabb was 15 for 32 with 171 yards and no TDs and no INTs. McNabb was had a run of 17 yards. McNabb doesn't have the weapons like he did in Philly so his expectations should not be so high. The biggest benefactor of McNabb's arrival is tight end Chris Cooley. Cooley hauled in 6 McNabb passes for 80 yards. Santana Moss added 6 receptions for 77 yards but can not be considered no more than a WR4 in fantasy terms. It was to be seen how the Redskins backfield would pan out and it looks like Clinton Portis will remain the main back there. Portis ran for 63 yards on 18 yards and backup Larry Johnson only carried the ball 3 times for a lowly 9 yards.
Cowboys: Its Super Bowel or bust for Dallas and its not off to a great start for the Cowboys. Tony Romo played well throwing for 282 yards and 1 TD. Romo's main target was Mile Austin who caught 10 passes for 146 yards and 1 TD. Rookie Dez Bryant's debut in Cowboy blue was average at best. Bryant had 56 yards on 8 receptions. Jason Witten only managed 3 catches for 27 yards and Roy Wiliams ended the night with 3 catches for 21 yards. The Cowboys backfield was evenly split between Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Both backs had 10 touches (8 carries for both) and Barber finished with 39 yards on the ground and 1 yard receiving while Jones finished with 38 yards on the ground and 26 through the air.. Tashard Choice also carried the ball 5 times for 18 yards and 2 receptions for -2 yards. Choice also fumbled a reception with under 5 seconds left before the half that was returned for a TD and was the deciding play of the game. Though Choice isn't the only one to blame head coach Wade Philips should shoulder the blame for running meaningless play and not taking a knee and running the clock out.
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