Week One: For Whom the Bell Tolls

First of all, solid weekend of NFL action - you had a nail-biter with the Jets, an "upset" by the Bills, a stunning loss for the Chargers, and 75% of the NFC East living up to their hype. Some thoughts from this weekend's action:

1. Thanks to Parcells and few pickups on defense, the Dolphins are significantly better than last year. Joey Porter, in particular, makes this defense nasty, and the Jet's o-line is certainly no joke with Faneca and Damien Woody (awesome name, by the way). Although Jones had a good day, the Dolphins defense kept it close and gave Pennington a chance to win. I expect 7-8 wins for the Dolphins this year due to this improved defense and easy schedule (minus the Pats).

2. The Eagles, assuming they stay healthy, are nasty this year. Did anyone see what they did to the Rams? That was brutal. And they did all of this with their second best receiver injured. Watch out Cowboys.

3. The Redskins looked like crap. No surprise here. Zorn is probably the worst coach we've had since Spurrier and that's saying a lot.

4. Marion Barber proved to us why Parcels wouldn't give him full carries in the first game -- he's too injury prone due to his running style which is fun to watch, but nonetheless reckless.

5. Patriots fans will try to be positive about Brady's injury, but deep down inside they're panicking. Like Strahan said on Fox, now we'll get to see how creative Belichek is. Hate to say it, but sorry Patriots fans, the ride is over. Welcome to mediocrity where there's always room for more.

6. Was anyone else surprised by Joe Flacco and Mat Ryan? Last time I checked, it's not very common to see two rookie Quarterbacks starting Week One. It's even more uncommon to see them both play well, but of course that can change in a heartbeat.

7. Michael Turner is going to turn some heads this year. Having had Ladanian as your mentor certainly helps.

8. What's with all the injuries to major players this week? Vince Young goes down, Brady tears an ACL..looks like pass-protection will be a premium in the league this year.