NFL Week 1 Interview

Hello, sports fans. This is the first installment of what we hope will become a weekly Sunday night NFL recap with our resident sports analyst, Henry.

Q. Well, Week 1 is in the bag, and there were quite a few surprises, both good and bad. Let's start with the good. What team really exceeded your expectations this week?

A. The Panthers and the Bears. The Panthers somehow managed to beat the Chargers on a last-second touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Dante Rosario, but actually, the Chargers had needed a comeback anyway. The Bears beat the Colts by 16 points. The ridiculous, mind-numbing, short-pass-obsessed Colts offense didn't help them win at all. The Falcons also exceeded expectations, with Matt Ryan's first NFL attempt being a 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins.

Q. How about the unpleasant surprises of Week 1?

A. So much for the Browns and their five nationally televised games. They got blown out by Dallas. The Texans also were supposed to do well, but they got destroyed by Pittsburgh.

Q. All the talk is about Tom Brady's injury. What are you hearing?

A. It's supposedly an ACL injury, but we've never known if Tom Brady has had a groin injury, or a foot injury, or some kind of injury. Now he has another injury to add to the list.

Q. How are the Patriots set for backups?

A. It was an up and down preseason for the backups. Matt Cassel did terribly. Matt Gutierrez was really good at some points. And Kevin O'Connell, the draft choice, didn't see much playing time (or at least I didn't see much of his playing time). Gutierrez was the odd one out and got cut. But Cassel looked good in his relief time against the Chiefs.

Q. How about these Chris Simms rumors? Could he be the answer?

A. Chris Simms has been looking for someplace other than Tampa Bay for a while. He got cut, then lost out in a free agent tryout along with Joey Harrington for the Ravens. Todd Bouman was signed. Also, the Cowboys were looking at him for a while. Since the Patriots already have two backups, it would be weird for them to sign Chris Simms, but he probably has a better chance of leading them to win games than Cassel or O'Connell.

Q. What did you, as a sports analyst, learn from Week 1?

A. Injuries are getting a lot more common. Two starting quarterbacks were knocked out of the Patriots-Chiefs game (Brady and Brodie Croyle), and Dallas Clark also left the Colts-Bears game with an injury.

Q. Big individual performances in Week 1?

A. Matt Forte, the Bears' rookie running back from Tulane, definitely. Against a Colts defense that had Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the line, he got a ton of rushing yardage. Reggie Bush, who has been rather disappointing, had a really good game catching passes and running the ball.

Q. Let's look at our favorite teams. I know your Raiders don't play 'til tomorrow. How about the Falcons? Are they for real?

A. Well, they were against a Lions team that, while being pretty good, was coming off a 1-7 streak to end 2007. Also, they somehow squandered a 21-point lead, and the Lions cut the lead to one touchdown at one point. As many people have been saying, Matt Ryan and Michael Turner did pretty well.

Q. Seattle -- what happened? They looked awful.

A. Maurice Morris was knocked out of the game with an injury at one point. So much for the running back tandem. Also, how did they allow Roscoe Parrish to get that punt return touchdown? It was ridiculous.

Q. How about the Jets-Dolphins game? Did Brett Favre look good?

A. He did, but the Dolphins nearly won the game. What CBS focused on right after the half, during the television broadcast, was the many miscues. The Dolphins had a decent chance to win the game, but Chad Pennington somehow lost his ability to complete a pass.

Q. Does today change your impressions about the top teams?

A. A little. The Eagles looked great against the Rams. And the Redskins didn't look so good against the Giants, losing by 9. As a matter of fact, the Giants didn't play so well, either. But that's just the NFC East. I don't think that Chargers and Jaguars fans should be too worried by the opening-day losses. They still have the ability to contend for the Super Bowl. Also, my Super Bowl prediction may not work now. Despite Cassel looking pretty good, Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Q. Play of the day?

A. Brett Favre's touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey on 4th and 13. He had to escape an intense pass rush. But give some credit to Stuckey. I don't think that pass was intended for any receiver.

Q. How do you think your Raiders will fare tomorrow night against the Rat Coach (a.k.a. Denver)?

A. Well, Darren McFadden isn't officially the starter yet. Justin Fargas is the actual starter. The Raiders' defense has been recently famous for not stopping the run well. The Broncos have many running backs they can use. An example of the bad run defense was when they allowed then-rookie running back Kolby Smith to tear apart their defense.

Q. Final thoughts on Week 1?

A. It'll be interesting to see how the season plays out.

Q. Now, I turn the keyboard over to Henry to type a final line saying absolutely anything he wants.

A. Matt Cassel is probably glad now that he got to sit behind two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks at USC.