10 Things That I Took Away From Week One in The NFL

  It's officially in the books, we are through our first week of NFL action and there were a lot of things that you could take away from what we saw in the games played. There were some injuries to key players, some teams looked like they were still in the preseason and other teams looked like they were in mid-season form.

I watched a lot of the games and I was able to take away some things during the games that I saw that really intrigued me. I'll give you 10 of those things.

1. The Rams aren't to be played with - The St. Louis Rams recorded six sacks against the Seattle Seahawks... yes, six... and I really saw Russell Wilson under pressure like I haven't seen since he's been in the NFL. Most of all, I was impressed with the Rams finishing the game in the fourth quarter and overcoming some early, critical mistakes that they made throughout the game. The NFC west is going to be a tough division, the best division, in my opinion.

2. The Bengals' defense looks to be the real deal - I saw Adam "Pacman" Jones do a lot of really good things against the Raiders. Recording 10 tackles and forced fumble. Yeah, I know it was just the Raiders. However, I believe that the Raiders receiving core is actually legit. Amari Cooper is NFL ready and  Michael Crabtree is a very good veteran receiver to have in your organization. The Bengals proved a lot about their defense in week one, getting after the quarterback early and often, attacking the ball and they didn't seem to let up like in past years. Hopefully they'll continue to play that way through the season.

3. The Carolina Panthers might be in trouble - After losing running back DeAngelo Williams to free agency and Cam Newton losing his no.1 receiver, last years first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin, the Carolina offense seemed to be struggling to move the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars. All due respect to the Jaguars, the defense looked very much improved with all of the additions. But they're still the Jaguars. Cam Newton had to do entirely too much by himself and if it goes that way through the remainder of the season, it won't be good for the Panthers. Even though the Panthers won, I still feel this game showed Carolina's biggest weakness. Cam Newton can only take so much punishment before he gets seriously injured. I mean Superman has Krytonite, right? He had 14 carries on the day for 35 yards, that's less than three yards per carry.

4.The Falcons look dangerous, but not where you think - Everyone knows that the Falcons offense can be explosive, especially at home. But, the defense of the Falcons is what really stood out to most people that watched the game against the Eagles. It seems that linebacker Justin Durant, the former Cowboy, made a lot of crucial plays, as well as the Falcons' secondary unit. One thing I did notice is the defense seems to swarm to were the ball is on every play. I guess new head coach Dan Quinn brought the Seahawks' philosophy with him when he came. If Vic Beasly can get a little bit of extra help from the defensive line, we could see Atlanta back in the playoffs.

5.Carlos Hyde is a true talent - As I watched the 49ers play the Vikings, I was looking for two things: 1.What would Adrian Peterson look like on the field after being away from football for almost a full season?
2. What will Colin Kaepernick look like in this new offense?
I saw that Kaepernick was reading the defense better, making better decisions in the pocket and has a slightly quicker release; Adrian Peterson should've gotten the ball more, early on in the game, and the offensive line got dominated on most places. But it was the other 28, running back Carlos Hyde, that made the biggest impact of either team. In his debut as one of the main parts of that offense he had 26 carries 168 yards and two touchdowns... I'm sure his fantasy owners were praising him via social media... if Hyde continues to play like he did on Monday night, San Francisco might forget about Frank Gore leaving or even thank him for doing so.

6. Alex Smith might not need receivers to catch a touchdown for another year - The Kansas City Chiefs rolled straight through the Houston Texans and just like all of last season, no wide receiver saw the end zone. Tight end Travis Kelce found the end zone twice on six receptions for 106 yards (his longest play of the day went for 42 yards). It's almost safe to say that the Chiefs have finally found a play maker to complement their all-pro running back Jamaal Charles. I believe Travis Kelce is the real deal and he could evolve into one of the premiere tight ends in the league.

7. The Pressure could be building for Mariota in Tennessee - Marcus Mariota had an incredible debut as the quarterback for the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, when they took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and no.1 overall pick Jameis Winston. It really looked like Mariota was a pro bowl player in his first game. He made all the right throws, he didn't force passes and he even didn't even have to throw that many times... This is where I see a down fall going forward. After completing 13 of 16 passes attempted, throwing 4 touchdowns and almost having a perfect game, you're expected to keep it up or at least close to it. The Titans' next three games are against the Colts (Andrew Luck is currently 6-0 in his career against the Titans), Bills and Dolphins. It won't be an easy road for Mariota and he'll see JJ Watt twice this season, at least. Mariota is an exceptional player and seems to have a great football IQ, I just hope expectations don't get too astronomical in his rookie season.

8. Aaron Rodgers won't miss a beat without Jordy Nelson - Aaron Rodgers went into Soldier Field and took on his division rivals, the Chicago Bears, and walked out with a victory after passing for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns. I guess it's safe to say that Rodgers is the "real" MVP after that performance without his no.1 wide receiver. But it's great to see that they went out and got a familiar face for packers' fans, signing James Jones to a one-year deal and he poses as a huge red zone target and should be able to help this teams immensely.

9. It looks to be another long year for Browns fans - The Cleveland Browns have an exceptional defense and could have one of the best secondary's in the NFL. The downfall of the team is that they don't have an offense to complement their defensive unit. The teams leading rusher on Sunday was Johnny Manziel and he had 35 yards rushing, he was also the leading passer. With Josh McCown going down with what looks to be a concussion, which could sideline him for at least another week, I think it's time to see what Manziel can do as the starter in week 2. If Manziel looks like he did in the games he played in last season it might just be another long season for the Browns and their fans.

10. The AFC east will be a tough division to win - With the Bills looking like one of the superior teams in the AFC now and the Patriots still looking like the Patriots it'll be exciting to see these two teams going head-to-head in week two, but they weren't the only two teams from the division that impressed in week 1. The Dolphins looked physical, like I haven't seen in a while, when they were playing the Redskins; the Jets defense looked as good as anticipated. With all teams starting the season 1-0, I wonder if this could be one of the closer divisions towards the end of the season.

With week 1 behind us, it's now time to prepare ourselves for what looks to be an amazing week 2. It all starts on Thursday night with the Kansas City Chiefs facing off with the Denver Broncos. Is Peyton on the decline or will he show that he can still play at an elite level? I think playing against the Kansas City defense we'll find the answer.