4-DOWN TERRITORY
1. What a weird opening week in the NFL. While that’s not a surprise in light of the lockout, you could throw out pretty much everything you assumed in the preseason about every team. And the same goes for the biggest rules change the league implemented this year – moving kickoffs up to the 35-yard line. Critics said it would cause the number of sleep-inducing touchbacks to explode, and it did – 80 of the 162 kickoffs in Week 1 were downed in the end zone (49.4 percent), a dramatic drop from a year ago when nearly 80 percent of kickoffs from the 30 were returned. But on the flip side, three kickoffs were returned for touchdowns, the most since the opening week of the 1998 season. And all of those returns were longer than 100 yards. A theory to explain the TD returns prevalent among scouts and coaches is that players running downfield on kickoff coverage are instinctively relaxing, expecting the kick to be downed, and then are getting caught off guard when it’s returned instead.
2. Defenses are usually ahead of offenses early in the season, but last weekend trashed that NFL truism, too. Tom Brady (517 passing yards) and Cam Newton (a rookie-record 422 yards) were the standouts, but they had plenty of company as 14 quarterbacks threw for 300 or more yards in Week 1 – smashing the all-time NFL record for any week. Teams also combined to throw for a net of 7,842 yards, which is another league record for any week. Blame the lockout – not as many quarterbacks changed teams as defensive players and defensive coordinators did, and the work stoppage left the defensive side precious little time to get on the same page and adapt to new systems.
3. It was only one week, but this is already shaping up to be a sensational draft class – a designation made even more remarkable by the fact this group had less time to learn their new system than any class before it because of the lockout. Newton, Packers wideout Randall Cobb (two TDs, including a 108-yard kickoff return), defensive back Patrick Peterson of the Cardinals (an 89-yard punt return for a TD) and Redskins defensive tackle Ryan Kerrigan (a pick-6 against Eli Manning) all had smashing debuts, as did extremely impressive Patriots offensive tackle Nate Solder.
4. It looks like it’s going to be a horse race between Kansas City’s Todd Haley and Tony Sparano of the Dolphins to be the first head coach fired. Haley is firmly on the hot seat after that humiliating 41-7 home loss to the Bills, but he probably has a little more of a leash as the hand-picked choice of Chiefs GM Scott Pioli than Sparano does in Miami. Dolphins ownership already openly tried to replace Sparano last winter with Jim Harbaugh, and Sparano hardly helped his case by giving up nearly 700 total yards to the Patriots at home in Week 1.
HERO OF THE WEEK
Tom Brady, QB, Patriots: How does a quarterback get better in his 11th and 12th NFL seasons? Brady has always been terrific, of course, but last season (36 TD passes against just four interceptions) and Monday night’s 517-yard masterpiece against the Dolphins are just out of hand.
GOAT OF THE WEEK
Dick LeBeau, defensive coordinator, Steelers: LeBeau is among the most highly respected defensive coaches in NFL history, but Week 1 was a disaster for the legendary mastermind. LeBeau’s unit let Joe Flacco throw for three TDs and Ray Rice run for 107 yards in a 35-7 Baltimore rout – unthinkable numbers against a Steelers D.
LOOKING AHEAD
1. Eagles (1-0) at Falcons (0-1): Michael Vick makes his much-anticipated return to Atlanta, where the quarterback who replaced him – Matt Ryan – is 20-2 at home in the regular season as a starter.
2. Bears at Saints (0-1): Huge game for New Orleans, which is trying to avoid a potentially ruinous 0-2 start while digesting the loss of wideout Marques Colston.
3. Chargers (1-0) at Patriots (1-0): Brady faces the defense that ranked No. 1 in the league in total yards last season while trying to keep the Patriots (9-0) unbeaten in openers at Gillette Stadium.
HUBBUCH’S TOP 10
1. Packers (1-0)
2. Ravens (1-0)
3. Patriots (1-0)
3. Eagles (1-0)
4. Jets (1-0)
6. Bears (1-0)
7. Texans (1-0)
8. Saints (0-1)
9. Chargers (1-0)
10. Steelers (0-1)
Follow Bart Hubbuch on Twitter at NYPost_Hubbuch