NFL...Teams!

Well, it is of course early in the season and we've already sunk lots and lots of teams because of their week 1 suckiness, and we've buoyed lots of teams because of their week 1 better-than-suckiness.

It's an amazing stat that I heard the other day, talking about the last 3 Super Bowl winners have lost their opener. New England lost 31-0 to the Bills. I remember that, since everyone was very quick to jump on the stupidity of the Patriots for letting Lawyer Malloy go...and to the Bills no less, where he made some plays that suddenly put the Bills in charge of the NFL.

Tampa lost to New Orleans 26-20 on opening day 2002. And the 2001 Patriots lost to the Bengals 23-17. Not the modern-era Bengals who peek an eyelash above uniform suckiness. The 2001, can't get enough ribbing and joking about these, ahem, footballers playing in Cincy, Bengals.

I'll take week 1 with a grain of salt, since these things happen. They are teams barely out of preseason and haven't really seen what their team can do as of yet. I actually thought the Packers looked pretty impressive, considering that the Carolina defense is not exactly a bunch of slouches--they did get tired when the offense couldn't sustain a drive. But I reserve my judgment until halfway, sort of like a terse Bill Parcells after his team got waxed by the Vikings, who remember, started 7-1 last year and didn't make the playoffs...so you can't even know then sometimes, apparently.