Patriots @ Seahawks (-3.5)
Seahawks haven't really changed much from last year so far in their opening drive. I'm sure Brian Fleury's direction over the offense will eventually show changes from what was a pretty conservative (but efficient) unit from last year.
Uchenna Nwosu with an impressive run stop on a 2nd down. That opened up a long 3rd down that gave the Seahawks the freedom to run a jailbreak blitz that forced Drake to throw the ball away.
Twice has AJ Brown been used to give Drake Maye an escape outlet against Seattle and their wild blitzing.
Once again, carrying over from last year, Drake Maye's mobility has been majorly productive in this game.
Nick Emmenwori not being in this game is hurting Seattle.
New England doesn't have a single penalty in the first half. Impressive.
Josh McDaniels has adjusted nicely against Seattle's constant blitzing. To be fair though, it's easier to do so when Seattle is missing the services of its blue-chip safety in Nick Emmenwori.
The Patriots interior run-blocking has been admirable through the whole game, especially considering it's Rhamondre Stevenson running the rock instead of TreVeyon Henderson.
Mack Hollins coming up with three clutch catches to keep the Patriots alive on their last-gasp drive.
Byron Murphy has had a few notable moments tonight, one on a run stuff and another on a quick pressure that eventually led to a sack.
49ers vs Rams [Melbourne] (-3.5)
Mike Evans has been critical early in the game. Purdy and him have already developed quite a rapport.
Stafford looks unsettled and uncoordinated in the pocket. Maybe the late overseas travel from the Rams was ill-advised? UPDATE: Never mind, the Rams were able to round into form on their next drive. It seems like any jet lag Los Angeles might have had was short-lived.
San Francisco's linebackers have flashed repeatedly so far, especially Fred Warner.
Deebo Samuel looks to be at home in this offense.
It's worth noting San Francisco's new defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, used to once work for Sean McVay and the Rams in the same capacity. Perhaps Raheem is using some of his knowledge on the Rams offensive tendencies to help his defense overperform here…
Myles Garrett hasn't been much effective at all today, likely as a result of his ongoing leg issues from the summer.
Saints @ Lions (-7)
The Saints were just sloppy and disorganized offensively in the first half. Early season jitters are very much a real phenomenon.
Kellen Moore incorporates blitz reads into his offense. Should the defense blitz, certain receivers are usually trained to break off their routes early to give Tyler Shough a quick outlet pass.
Ravens @ Colts (+3.5)
This Baltimore team is operating surprisingly efficiently under new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. I suppose this shouldn't be much of a surprise. When you combine Doyle's recent experience as Ben Johnson's fastidious and detailed assistant along with this culture of a hard work ethic championed by Jesse Minter, Baltimore should have been expected to start strong.
Lamar Jackson has been very sharp early in the game. The Colts attempt to throw blitzes at him, but Lamar has read them and still managed to pass the ball successfully while remaining composed.
Derrick Henry has been incredibly on some of his runs. Event hough Baltimore rebuilt the interior of their offensive line, their ground game still remains very much alive.
Defensively for the Ravens, the players that have stood out are largely in their coverage units - Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Kyle Hamilton, and Marlon Humphrey. Nobody along the defensive line has made a lasting impression yet. I noticed Trey Hendrickson came close a couple times to impacting plays, but he otherwise didn't do much.
Zay Flowers has been sensational so far.
Laiatu Latu has flashed on tape as a pass rusher on a number of occasions for the Colts. Likewise, Arden Key made a few smart decisions as well.
Chris Moore is a speedster. If he could develop better rapport with Lamar, Baltimore may have yet another vector on offense.
If this game is any indication, Indianapolis has a poor secondary. Even Sauce Gardner was burned once or twice.
Declan Doyle schemes open cutback runs by having skill players run across the formation first to drag defenders away from the cutback lane. Interesting little concept.
Falcons @ Steelers (-4.5)
I do not like this Steelers team, at least on offense. Aaron Rodgers seems a bit unsettled behind an offensive line that wasn't necessarily asked to block against juggernauts here. Outside of Gervon Dexter, the Falcons have nobody notable rushing the passer. And yet Rodgers still seem plenty bothered in this game.
T.J. Watt has reminded us yet again why he's a blue chip pass rusher - in this game, he recorded multiple sacks, multiple pocket disruptions, and even a pick-six.
Bijan Robinson had a fantastic game - the man put the offense on his back today.
Browns @ Jaguars (-8.5)
As if the Browns had a hard enough time selling themselves on the viability of Deshaun Watson as a starting-caliber quarterback, the humidity on top proved way too much of them. Jacksonville blew them out from kickoff onward.
Cardinals @ Chargers (-8.5)
Khalil Mack with a solid sack.
Commanders @ Eagles (-5.5)
Jayden Daniels has less than 100 yards passing going into the fourth quarter. Yet the Eagles are only ahead by one point. Something is dangerously off with this new Philadelphia offense under Sean Mannion. Either that or Jalen Hurts has regressed back to bad habits. So far, I do see him holding the ball longer than usual.
Tape review has been….interesting. Jalen Hurts is holding the ball longer than usual. He's not making the quick timing passes that would keep the ball moving down the field. If his first read isn't there, he's going to wait a few ticks before deciding on a new target.
The Eagles offensive line has taken a step backward. Two years ago, they were such a dominant unit in the trenches. Now it seems that multiple players in that unit are struggling, notably the interior players. Landon Dickerson in particular is a major point of failure on this line. The way he played in this game, I'm ready to designate him a green-chip player. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland retiring from the organization after 13 years may be too big a loss for this organization to stomach.
I underestimated Washington's rebuilt defense as well as the coaching staff. The defensive line did fantastic work containing Jalen Hurts in the pocket. Credit to Dan Quinn and Daronte Jones for training the unit well.
Rookie linebacker Sonny Styles is flashing blue-chip potential with the way he played in this game. I thought the Commanders would dearly miss Bobby Wagner, but maybe I'm mistaken - not only did Styles did well in run support, but he showed up on tape on a number of blitzes.
While no one player on Washington's defensive front clearly stood out, I thought Charles Omenihu and K'Lavon Chaisson looked the most impactful.
If it wasn't for the Commanders defense blowing contain on one play and then getting distracted by some (borderline) illegal pre-snap movement on another play, Washington should have won this game.
As the game progressed, Jayden Daniels looked more and more comfortable. It makes sense too, considering he spent most of last season sidelined, so he needed some time to settle back into a groove. Considering the new offensive coordinator was a senior staff assistant to Kliff Kingsbury, I'm assuming there's not many new concepts that he needs to learn either.
Cowboys @ Giants (+2.5)
Jaxson Dart's maturity impressed me. Whether it's the way he has taken to sliding and going out of bounds now whenever he runs for yardage or the fact that he gave the game ball to Malik Nabers for playing through serious knee pain, the kid is taking serious strides forward under the tutelage of John Harbaugh, Matt Nagy, and Greg Roman.
I'll eat crow here - I might be wrong about my initial assessment of the offensive coaching staff. I thought (informally) splitting the coordinator role between Matt Nagy and Greg Roman would result in discord and an inconsistent philosophy on offense. Instead, the two men seemed to have put aside their egos to formulate an offense shaped by the better parts of their respective philosophies. I see Roman has incorporated some creative rushing plays centralized around Dart's ability to take off and run while Nagy has grounded Dart in a west-coast style passing attack. It's only been one game so far, but the results have been spectacular.
This Malachi Fields kid has some serious potential. His speed is particular remarkable for a receiver his size. He could develop into a reliable vector for theser Giants.
The Dallas defense is lacking attention to detail and it shows. Repeatedly throughout the game, New York leveraged the same few tactics against them and the Cowboys simply could not adjust. Christian Parker is doing a poor job so far as defensive coordinator, although I expect him to adjust once he finally settles into the coordinator role. Is it possible the Cowboys were simply not expecting intermediate/long passes outside the hashes from Dart?
When Demarvion Overshown went down with injury in the second half, Jaishawn Barham did solid work filling in as replacement.
If there's one weakness on this Giants defense, it's the coverage personnel. The Giants were corners were getting torched all game and got way too many penalties called against them.
CeeDee Lamb once again demonstrated why he's a blue chip receiver. George Pickens has that same potential too, but his drops keep reminding me how sloppy a catcher he can be. Blue-chip players are chiefly defined by their consistent production game in and game out. Pickens hasn't shown that yet.
Isaiah Likely is making a case for himself as a blue-chip tight end in this offense. The number of clutch catches he made in this game is quite surprising. I'm willing to bet no other skill player posted a higher EPA than Likely in this game.
Broncos @ Chiefs (-2.5)
Bo Nix played horribly. Slow processing, bad decisions, sloppy handling of the ball…he failed in just about every aspect of quarterbacking play. It remains to be see whether Davis Webb graduating from quarterbacks coach to offensive play-caller was a smart move. The early returns so far have not been promising considering the way Nix played.
Patrick Mahomes wasn't that sharp either, but he hasn't played meaningfully in a much longer time span compared to Bo Nix. His ceiling will be high once he returns back into form.
If Kenneth Murray continues chewing off yardage like he did in this game, consider him a blue-chip runner of the ball behind this Kansas offensive front.
The Broncos have serious issues guarding the run. It was obvious that the Chiefs were going to run the ball heavily in this game and yet the defense seemed powerless to stop a ground game. Credit to Kenneth Murray for his patience and his toughness, but the Chiefs offensive line absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage against what was supposed to be a vaunted Denver defensive front.
Not having Jonathan Cooper hurt them, but consider Cooper is a pass rusher first and foremost, it's doubtful that the Broncos become much better defending against opposing rushers with him present on field. I suspect Denver's defense is overrated in both rushing defense and personnel. Last year, the Broncos ranked as one of the top run defenses from a yards per rush perspective, but their EPA numbers tell a slightly different story.
Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, and Mahomes can be vectors on this offense.
It's worth noting that this Sean Payton offense likes to make use of receiver screens to matriculate the ball down the field. Probably smartly so, given that Nix played terrible when relegated to playing as a dropback quarterback.
Kansas City might have a promising new pass rusher in Mason Thomas. He flashed multiple times tonight.
It's worth noting that Steve Spagnuolo does not seem to have changed his defense up most, despite all the youth he's now fielding. It's still a defense that prioritizes man-to-man coverage in order to open up blitzing opportunities.
