Week 1 projections revisited

What fun would picking every game of the NFL season before it started be if I didn't give a little peek into the results? Overall, I was pretty much right on with my predictions, going 13-3, which is comforting, since I made them just days before the games were played.

What did I learn from the games I missed?

Denver @ Cincinnati: I didn't learn anything so much as I was reminded of one of the bedrock principles of sports: the Bengals can lose games in ways that no one else could ever even have nightmares about, and they frequently do. Both teams still looked absolutely putrid all day long. I'm sure fans of both are talking about the impressive performances of their defenses, but let's be honest with ourselves, it's the Bengal and Bronco offenses they did it against. Not exactly the 2007 Patriots we're talkin about here.

NY Jets @ Houston: I'm hoping I didn't learn much from this game, because if I did it's that I was wrong about Houston finally putting all the talent together and taking the AFC South crown. The Jets' defense made what I expect to be a good offensive team look atrocious, which a Rex Ryan defense can do, though it was somewhat surprising with Shaun Ellis and Calvin Pace suspended. Offensively, the Jets looked essentially like you'd expect, more than happy to let Sanchez turn around and hand the ball off to Thomas Jones and Leon Washington with most of his throws coming off play action. Anyone expecting much different from a rookie QB starting week 1 probably hasn't watched much football. What happens when they get into a game Sanchez has to win is anybody's guess, but if their defense keeps shutting teams down, they're certainly a team built to win with a lead.

Eagles @ Carolina: Before I get to McNabb's injury, there was a lot to be learned from the action on the field, and shockingly, pretty much all of it good. First and foremost, I learned that Winston Justice may be an NFL tackle after all. The man didn't just play admirably, he played damn well, which is even more important because while I was writing this, the Eagles placed Shawn Andrews on injured reserve, ending his season and you'd have to think, at this point, his Eagles career. Just makes it seem that much more inevitable that Runyan will be signed.

I also learned that, as I suspected, the preseason was by no means a legitimate representation of how the Eagles will play defense under Sean McDermott. To put it simply, it looked like they were running the Eagles' defense we've all come to know and love, with all the bells and whistles and faked blitzes and on this particular day an absolutely ridiculous amount of pressure right up the middle of the Panthers' offensive line. If you can figure out a way to have free rushers blowing right by the center on just about every third down as the Birds did on Sunday, you're not gonna lose very frequently.

*cue the theme from "Maude"*

And then there's the quarterback situation, which certainly appears on track to give me every last bit of the drama I asked for. My gut tells me that we don't see Donovan again until after the bye in two weeks. Even if Kolb/Garcia/Vick/WildJack go out and turn the ball over 10 times in each of the next two games and lose to both New Orleans and Kansas City, they'll be sitting at 1-2, which has never in the history of professional football been an impossible hole to climb out of with all 6 of your divisional games still on schedule. I just don't see even a little bit of logic in all but guaranteeing his condition won't improve just for the sake of maybe putting yourselves a game up on the rest of the division.

So I'll be shocked if we don't finally get our first taste of a Kevin Kolb start on Sunday. I'd also be pretty shocked if by 4:10 PM Sunday afternoon there isn't a quarterback controversy over who should replace him against the Chiefs the following week. Whatever happens, the one guarantee is that it'll be fascinating to watch it play out. What more can a fan ask for after giving up hope for actual success?