Plenty to write about in Week 1. Here’s my take and how I see the road ahead.
Week 1 is in the books, and what a week it was. There were a lot of close games and upsets to start the season. If there was any doubt that the Chiefs Kingdom wouldn’t stretch to the West Coast again this season, it’s gone now. Andy Reid did a fantastic job of prepping his team for this season. While other teams in the NFL struggled with simple mistakes (I thought Russell Wilson was high with how unaware he was of the game clock), the Chiefs looked like a solid Week Ten contender.
The Chiefs look strong to dominate the AFC West once again (Who knew?), and I have them beating the Chargers Thursday by at least a touchdown.
As I reviewed depth charts before the week, I noticed that the Steelers had the best defense in the NFL. That didn’t stop me from being fooled by the spread and losing several parlays. After watching them, I believe this team is built for close games; they have excellent defense and a great kicker. Some may say I’m getting a little carried away, but I think Mike Tomlin is creating a similar style to the 2000 Super Bowl-winning Ravens. The comparisons in their roster and the fact that they run a 3-4 defense gave me flashbacks to the Super Bowl champs.
The Steelers look to finish around 11-6 with some challenging games on the schedule, but this week a 2-0 start will be a big boost if they can get it done against the Patriots, who didn’t look good at all against the Dolphins.
My locks for parlays this week are the Chiefs, Browns, Packers, and the Bengals. Take the spread with the Seahawks; I don’t know how a team that won is playing a team that lost to the bears and getting a +8.5 spread but take advantage of it. Speaking of the 49ers, I wonder what would have happened if Jimmy G was playing. Easy win? Maybe.
With an injury to Dak Prescott, speculation is now growing on a move to put the Super Bowl contending quarterback in a Dallas uniform. I know he hasn’t won a Super Bowl as a starter, but hey, at least his team got there. And that is something that Dallas has only dreamed of for far too long.
If Jimmy G does get traded to the Cowboys, it will mark a huge turning point in the 30-year-old’s career as he gets ready to turn 31 in November. Could he turn around a franchise that hasn’t won a Super Bowl since Troy Aikman? The Dallas Cowboys are always considered contenders when you look at the amount of talent they have. But then you watch them play, and well… Sunday summed it up.
Whatever they decide to do, the Cowboys need to act fast because this season already looks like a wash if the quarterback situation isn’t rectified.
I remember growing up in Kansas, and everyone was either a Chiefs or Cowboys fan. Nowadays, the younger generation has never seen a championship Dallas team. Any kid growing up in Dallas born past 1991 doesn’t remember the greatness and the feeling of supremacy over the football world that many Dallas fans keep in their hearts through the years.
How much more can these fans take? How many young kids watching football want to be like the Dallas Cowboys? If this franchise doesn’t make a move to address the quarterback situation, we will watch another 6-11 “There’s always next year” season that they’re all too familiar with.
