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Favre, Brady back on field as NFL opens season
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Welcome back, Brett and Brady.
The two NFL star quarterbacks couldn’t have had more dissimilar offseasons. Or 2008 seasons, for that matter.
Brett Favre went from New York Jets retiree to eagerly sought employee by the Minnesota Vikings. For most of the summer, Favre either spurned offers from Vikings coach Brad Childress to climb aboard, or had a clandestine arrangement to eventually join the team once his arm felt somewhat sound — or training camp was about to end.
Brady spent hours and hours rehabbing his left knee after tearing ligaments in the season opener last September. There was no question where he would be playing once he recovered, and little drama surrounding his whereabouts or his preparation once the Patriots reported to camp.
On Sunday, Favre makes his true debut in purple — gnaw on that one, Cheeseheads — when the Vikings visit Cleveland and the man who coached Favre with the Jets, Eric Mangini. New York fired Mangini, who immediately was scooped up by the Browns, and the Jets released the 39-year-old Favre, setting up his courtship in Minnesota.
If Favre comes anywhere close to the form that’s made him the NFL career passing leader, and avoids the sore arm and poor decisions that wrecked the Jets late last season, the Vikings will be a fashionable pick for Super Bowl contention. Their All-Pro running back, Adrian Peterson, has ramped up the optimism.
“I feel like we’re definitely jelling,” Peterson said. “I feel like we’re there, but there’s always room to improve. We’ve still got some polishing. Just shine it up and buff it up a little bit and I think we’ll be OK.”
The Patriots expect to be a lot more than OK with Brady at the controls again. During the preseason, he looked sharp and focused — how often has the 2007 league MVP look anything but? When he leads New England against visiting Buffalo on Monday night, it will be the most anticipated return to the NFL by a quarterback since, well, the previous day in Cleveland.
“Personally, I’m excited like all the guys are excited,” Brady said. “I’ve played a lot of games, so it’s not like it’s the first game of my rookie season, that type of excitement. I think there’s just an excitement for a new season and to see what kind of team we have and to see what kind of mental toughness we have and what kind of character we have. We’re going to be faced with plenty of adversity this year and I want to see how we respond to that.”
While Brady returns, Buffalo unveils T.O. The wide receiver, cut by Dallas earlier this year, could be the focal point of the Bills’ offense. In the preseason, that offense was so invisible that coordinator Turk Schonert was canned and replaced by Alex Van Pelt.
“This is going to be a little bit of a transition for us,” said Owens, bothered in preseason by a sprained toe. “We have to take accountability, we have to go out there and jell with one another and go out there and play.”
Ben Roethlisberger’s 20th career comeback led the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers to 13-10 win over the Tennesse Titans in overtime in the season opener Thursday night.
In games involving new head coaches on Sunday, Kansas City (Todd Haley) is at Baltimore; Denver (Josh McDaniels) at Cincinnati; the New York Jets (Rex Ryan) at Houston; Jacksonville at Indianapolis (Jim Caldwell); Detroit (Jim Schwartz) at New Orleans; Dallas at Tampa Bay (Raheem Morris); St. Louis (Steve Spagnuolo) at Seattle (Jim Mora).
A pair of coaches who finished last season as interims, then got the full-time gig, also begin their first full schedules in charge: Mike Singletary with San Francisco, which visits Arizona, and Tom Cable with Oakland, which hosts San Diego on Monday night in the second game of ESPN’s doubleheader.
Also, it’s Miami at Atlanta, Philadelphia at Carolina, Washington at the New York Giants, and Chicago at Green Bay in the Sunday night game.
Detroit at New Orleans
The Lions try to get off a historic slide with a rookie quarterback, top overall pick Matthew Stafford, and a new coach, Jim Schwartz, with a terrific resume as a defensive assistant in Tennessee. After becoming the only 0-16 team in NFL history, the Lions can’t fall any more — unless the league adopts soccer’s relegation system.
New Orleans has serious chops on offense with prolific passer Drew Brees and his stable of impressive receivers. If the defense improves, the Saints could sneak off with the NFC South crown.
Chicago at Green Bay
The oldest rivalry in pro football has a nice twist to it this year: both sides are pretty good. The Bears and Packers have not had winning records in the same season since 2001, but Jay Cutler brings talent to the quarterback position that Chicago has lacked for decades. Does he have the receivers to lift the offense beyond mediocrity?
Green Bay’s attack should be far better than mediocre, considering the maturity of Aaron Rodgers, who no longer has Favre’s shadow surrounding him. Unlike Cutler, he has excellent pass catchers, but the defense is switching to a 3-4 and could have some early season issues.
Miami at Atlanta
A juicy interconference matchup of surprise 2008 playoff squads that can make an early statement about their credentials.
The Dolphins brought back 2006 Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor, and he could have a major role early on as a linebacker in the 3-4. How well Miami has upgraded its pass defense, 25th in the league last year, could be answered at the Georgia Dome.
Atlanta never has had successive winning seasons, a streak that dates back to the late 1960s. That’s a sad fact these Falcons should erase behind last season’s top offensive rookie, Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner and star TE Tony Gonzalez, acquired from the Chiefs.
Philadelphia at Carolina
A pair of teams coming off unsettled preseasons. Injuries damaged the Panthers, particularly on defense, while the signing of Michael Vick thrust the Eagles into the spotlight, even though he can’t play until Week 3.
Carolina was hamstrung by the franchise tag it placed on DE Julius Peppers, whose $18.2 million cap figure takes up about 14 percent of available salary space. That has led to little depth.
Philly has plenty of depth, but needs RB Brian Westbrook to be healthy and productive.
Washington at New York Giants
Million-dollar DT Albert Haynesworth makes his debut for the Redskins and gets an immediate test against one of football’s best blocking units. Washington must overcome its inconsistencies on both sides of the ball to contend in the ultracompetitive NFC East.
The Giants won the division a year ago, but faltered late after WR Plaxico Burress shot himself at a nightclub and was suspended for the final four games and the playoffs. New York will run first behind bruising Brandon Jacobs, who could collide often with Big Albert.
San Diego at Oakland (Monday night)
The Raiders put on a pitiful show in losing 41-14 at home to Denver in a Monday nighter to open last season. Not much more is expected from them against San Diego after yet another dysfunctional offseason and awful preseason. Tom Cable, who replaced fired Lane Kiffin after four games in 2008, will be on a short leash, too.
The Chargers have a dynamic offense and powerful defense, if they play up to their skill level. They, too, have had non-football issues, most notably Shawne Merriman’s recent arrest.
Kansas City at Baltimore
The new tandem of Haley and GM Scott Pioli, who helped build the Patriots, should succeed in KC — in time.
That time has not arrived, especially against the stingy Ravens D. Baltimore went on the road to make the AFC title game last year and wants to stay home this winter. To do that, Ray Lewis and company will try to make early statements, and this is a perfect place to start.
New York Jets at Houston
Rex Ryan coordinated that nasty Baltimore defense before taking the Jets’ top job this year. He brought along LB Bart Scott, S Jim Leonhard and DE Marques Douglas, and the Jets could be tough without the ball. Whether they can move it in the air with a rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, is highly questionable.
If the Texans are ready for their first winning record — and possibly a playoff spot — they also needed big performances from the defense. In Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans and Antonio Smith, the building blocks are in place.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
This used to be the marquee game in the AFC South, but the Jaguars have hit some hard times and have a hobbled RB, Maurice Jones-Drew, their best threat on offense. The defense lost its intimidating physicality a year ago; has that been recaptured?
Of all the new head coaches, Caldwell might have the most intimidating job succeeding Tony Dungy. But he’s well prepared after seven years with the team. And he does have one Peyton Manning, a three-time MVP, running the offense.
Dallas at Tampa Bay
The Buccaneers were 9-3 last season, went into a four-game nosedive, then saw just about the whole organization overhauled. The 33-year-old Morris steps in to a hornets’ nest, with little leadership on either side of the ball.
Dallas opens on the road before its first regular-season game in the billion-dollar palace built by Jerry Jones. The Cowboys need to discover if their receivers can balance what should be a versatile running game featuring rugged Marion Barber and explosive Felix Jones.
St. Louis at Seattle
A pair of new coaches, although Mora guided the Falcons for three seasons. He’s already seen some key injuries to a team ravaged by them in 2008, and any lost time for star left tackle Walter Jones could be devastating.
Spagnuolo was a mastermind for the Giants’ defense. He doesn’t have nearly those kind of players in St. Louis, and he’ll need RB Steven Jackson to be healthy and productive to keep the D off the field.
San Francisco at Arizona
Singletary’s debut as interim coach came against the Cardinals, and if not for some clock mismanagement at the end, the Niners probably would have won. He was impressive enough (5-4) to get the full-time job, and an early win over the NFC champs could provide a big boost in the NFC West race.
Arizona will be exciting to watch again, particularly if it gets on track with the running game. The defense showed up in the playoffs and needs to build off that, while Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the offense are having their fun.
Denver at Cincinnati
The Bengals once held the crown of most dysfunctional NFL franchise, although the Raiders always have channeled them for that, uh, honor. Now the Broncos seem ready to leave both Cincinnati and Oakland in their wake — while also falling below them in the standings.
The two NFL star quarterbacks couldn’t have had more dissimilar offseasons. Or 2008 seasons, for that matter.
Brett Favre went from New York Jets retiree to eagerly sought employee by the Minnesota Vikings. For most of the summer, Favre either spurned offers from Vikings coach Brad Childress to climb aboard, or had a clandestine arrangement to eventually join the team once his arm felt somewhat sound — or training camp was about to end.
Brady spent hours and hours rehabbing his left knee after tearing ligaments in the season opener last September. There was no question where he would be playing once he recovered, and little drama surrounding his whereabouts or his preparation once the Patriots reported to camp.
On Sunday, Favre makes his true debut in purple — gnaw on that one, Cheeseheads — when the Vikings visit Cleveland and the man who coached Favre with the Jets, Eric Mangini. New York fired Mangini, who immediately was scooped up by the Browns, and the Jets released the 39-year-old Favre, setting up his courtship in Minnesota.
If Favre comes anywhere close to the form that’s made him the NFL career passing leader, and avoids the sore arm and poor decisions that wrecked the Jets late last season, the Vikings will be a fashionable pick for Super Bowl contention. Their All-Pro running back, Adrian Peterson, has ramped up the optimism.
“I feel like we’re definitely jelling,” Peterson said. “I feel like we’re there, but there’s always room to improve. We’ve still got some polishing. Just shine it up and buff it up a little bit and I think we’ll be OK.”
The Patriots expect to be a lot more than OK with Brady at the controls again. During the preseason, he looked sharp and focused — how often has the 2007 league MVP look anything but? When he leads New England against visiting Buffalo on Monday night, it will be the most anticipated return to the NFL by a quarterback since, well, the previous day in Cleveland.
“Personally, I’m excited like all the guys are excited,” Brady said. “I’ve played a lot of games, so it’s not like it’s the first game of my rookie season, that type of excitement. I think there’s just an excitement for a new season and to see what kind of team we have and to see what kind of mental toughness we have and what kind of character we have. We’re going to be faced with plenty of adversity this year and I want to see how we respond to that.”
While Brady returns, Buffalo unveils T.O. The wide receiver, cut by Dallas earlier this year, could be the focal point of the Bills’ offense. In the preseason, that offense was so invisible that coordinator Turk Schonert was canned and replaced by Alex Van Pelt.
“This is going to be a little bit of a transition for us,” said Owens, bothered in preseason by a sprained toe. “We have to take accountability, we have to go out there and jell with one another and go out there and play.”
Ben Roethlisberger’s 20th career comeback led the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers to 13-10 win over the Tennesse Titans in overtime in the season opener Thursday night.
In games involving new head coaches on Sunday, Kansas City (Todd Haley) is at Baltimore; Denver (Josh McDaniels) at Cincinnati; the New York Jets (Rex Ryan) at Houston; Jacksonville at Indianapolis (Jim Caldwell); Detroit (Jim Schwartz) at New Orleans; Dallas at Tampa Bay (Raheem Morris); St. Louis (Steve Spagnuolo) at Seattle (Jim Mora).
A pair of coaches who finished last season as interims, then got the full-time gig, also begin their first full schedules in charge: Mike Singletary with San Francisco, which visits Arizona, and Tom Cable with Oakland, which hosts San Diego on Monday night in the second game of ESPN’s doubleheader.
Also, it’s Miami at Atlanta, Philadelphia at Carolina, Washington at the New York Giants, and Chicago at Green Bay in the Sunday night game.
Detroit at New Orleans
The Lions try to get off a historic slide with a rookie quarterback, top overall pick Matthew Stafford, and a new coach, Jim Schwartz, with a terrific resume as a defensive assistant in Tennessee. After becoming the only 0-16 team in NFL history, the Lions can’t fall any more — unless the league adopts soccer’s relegation system.
New Orleans has serious chops on offense with prolific passer Drew Brees and his stable of impressive receivers. If the defense improves, the Saints could sneak off with the NFC South crown.
Chicago at Green Bay
The oldest rivalry in pro football has a nice twist to it this year: both sides are pretty good. The Bears and Packers have not had winning records in the same season since 2001, but Jay Cutler brings talent to the quarterback position that Chicago has lacked for decades. Does he have the receivers to lift the offense beyond mediocrity?
Green Bay’s attack should be far better than mediocre, considering the maturity of Aaron Rodgers, who no longer has Favre’s shadow surrounding him. Unlike Cutler, he has excellent pass catchers, but the defense is switching to a 3-4 and could have some early season issues.
Miami at Atlanta
A juicy interconference matchup of surprise 2008 playoff squads that can make an early statement about their credentials.
The Dolphins brought back 2006 Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor, and he could have a major role early on as a linebacker in the 3-4. How well Miami has upgraded its pass defense, 25th in the league last year, could be answered at the Georgia Dome.
Atlanta never has had successive winning seasons, a streak that dates back to the late 1960s. That’s a sad fact these Falcons should erase behind last season’s top offensive rookie, Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner and star TE Tony Gonzalez, acquired from the Chiefs.
Philadelphia at Carolina
A pair of teams coming off unsettled preseasons. Injuries damaged the Panthers, particularly on defense, while the signing of Michael Vick thrust the Eagles into the spotlight, even though he can’t play until Week 3.
Carolina was hamstrung by the franchise tag it placed on DE Julius Peppers, whose $18.2 million cap figure takes up about 14 percent of available salary space. That has led to little depth.
Philly has plenty of depth, but needs RB Brian Westbrook to be healthy and productive.
Washington at New York Giants
Million-dollar DT Albert Haynesworth makes his debut for the Redskins and gets an immediate test against one of football’s best blocking units. Washington must overcome its inconsistencies on both sides of the ball to contend in the ultracompetitive NFC East.
The Giants won the division a year ago, but faltered late after WR Plaxico Burress shot himself at a nightclub and was suspended for the final four games and the playoffs. New York will run first behind bruising Brandon Jacobs, who could collide often with Big Albert.
San Diego at Oakland (Monday night)
The Raiders put on a pitiful show in losing 41-14 at home to Denver in a Monday nighter to open last season. Not much more is expected from them against San Diego after yet another dysfunctional offseason and awful preseason. Tom Cable, who replaced fired Lane Kiffin after four games in 2008, will be on a short leash, too.
The Chargers have a dynamic offense and powerful defense, if they play up to their skill level. They, too, have had non-football issues, most notably Shawne Merriman’s recent arrest.
Kansas City at Baltimore
The new tandem of Haley and GM Scott Pioli, who helped build the Patriots, should succeed in KC — in time.
That time has not arrived, especially against the stingy Ravens D. Baltimore went on the road to make the AFC title game last year and wants to stay home this winter. To do that, Ray Lewis and company will try to make early statements, and this is a perfect place to start.
New York Jets at Houston
Rex Ryan coordinated that nasty Baltimore defense before taking the Jets’ top job this year. He brought along LB Bart Scott, S Jim Leonhard and DE Marques Douglas, and the Jets could be tough without the ball. Whether they can move it in the air with a rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, is highly questionable.
If the Texans are ready for their first winning record — and possibly a playoff spot — they also needed big performances from the defense. In Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans and Antonio Smith, the building blocks are in place.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
This used to be the marquee game in the AFC South, but the Jaguars have hit some hard times and have a hobbled RB, Maurice Jones-Drew, their best threat on offense. The defense lost its intimidating physicality a year ago; has that been recaptured?
Of all the new head coaches, Caldwell might have the most intimidating job succeeding Tony Dungy. But he’s well prepared after seven years with the team. And he does have one Peyton Manning, a three-time MVP, running the offense.
Dallas at Tampa Bay
The Buccaneers were 9-3 last season, went into a four-game nosedive, then saw just about the whole organization overhauled. The 33-year-old Morris steps in to a hornets’ nest, with little leadership on either side of the ball.
Dallas opens on the road before its first regular-season game in the billion-dollar palace built by Jerry Jones. The Cowboys need to discover if their receivers can balance what should be a versatile running game featuring rugged Marion Barber and explosive Felix Jones.
St. Louis at Seattle
A pair of new coaches, although Mora guided the Falcons for three seasons. He’s already seen some key injuries to a team ravaged by them in 2008, and any lost time for star left tackle Walter Jones could be devastating.
Spagnuolo was a mastermind for the Giants’ defense. He doesn’t have nearly those kind of players in St. Louis, and he’ll need RB Steven Jackson to be healthy and productive to keep the D off the field.
San Francisco at Arizona
Singletary’s debut as interim coach came against the Cardinals, and if not for some clock mismanagement at the end, the Niners probably would have won. He was impressive enough (5-4) to get the full-time job, and an early win over the NFC champs could provide a big boost in the NFC West race.
Arizona will be exciting to watch again, particularly if it gets on track with the running game. The defense showed up in the playoffs and needs to build off that, while Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the offense are having their fun.
Denver at Cincinnati
The Bengals once held the crown of most dysfunctional NFL franchise, although the Raiders always have channeled them for that, uh, honor. Now the Broncos seem ready to leave both Cincinnati and Oakland in their wake — while also falling below them in the standings.
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