NFL Thoughts Week 1: Chicago Bears and Beyond

Woo Hoo! Football is back! And with week one in the books it's time for me to dust off the old gray matter and tackle some of my always intriguing Thoughts for another season. And with many of our readers schooled in all things NFL, my Thoughts post, as per the usual, will delve into more than just our beloved Chicago Bears.

The first week of the NFL season always has some surprises and great story lines, and this past weekend of games was no different. After the jump we'll get down to business...

1) That pick 6 that Jay Cutler threw was about as bad a pass I've seen thrown in an NFL game. He assumed that the linebacker would have been held by Brandon Marshall running the slant/curl, but the LB ran straight to cover the flat. Cutler should have hit Marshall for an easy completion.

2) Henry Melton sure does love season openers. After last years big 2 sack game vs. the Falcons, he added 2 sacks again this year against the Colts. Now Bears fans just have to hope he can have a more consistent year than 2011.

3) How good can the Broncos be now that they have an actual NFL offense?

4) There has much debate the last few days about whether or not the debut from Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III was the greatest rookie QB debut in the history of the NFL. Last year Cam Newton had a phenomenal 1st game, but I think RGIII, by leading his team to a win in New Orleans, had the best debut ever. Plus his "Griffining" is all the rage...

5) I did not expect the Jets offense to explode like that. I know it's only one week, but my prediction of the Bills making the playoffs and the Jets missing the post season looks bad.

6) The importance of the Long Snapper is always brought into light when one is injured. Raiders fans will be pining for a quick recovery for their guy, Jon Condo. On a related note, it's good to have Patrick Mannelly back in Chicago.

7) Around these parts there's been a lot of chatter about Jay Cutler taking that step up as a QB, but Joe Flacco of the Ravens may be ready to break out too. The Ravens looked very good with their new souped up offense.

8) But I still think the class of the AFC resides in New England. If the young guys on their defense can make an impact they could be in yet another Super Bowl.

9) Way back on Wednesday (not a fan of the Wed Night opener btw) Tony Romo, Kevin Ogletree, and DeMarco Murray put the entire NFC East on notice. The Cowboys look like a legit contender for that division.

10) And I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the Packers losing at home to the 49ers. A friend of mine pointed out that the Packers lost to a 13-3 San Fran team, while the Bears beat a 2-14 Colts team. So I pointed out to him, since he wanted to talk about last seasons stats, that the Colts in '11 had a better year defensively than the 32nd ranked Packers. So if the Bears dropped 41 on the Colts, I wonder what they could conceivably do to the Packers D...

Those are a few of my thoughts, what do you guys got from week 1...