What an incredible first Sunday of the 2011 NFL season. To know that we came so close to not even having an NFL season this year, makes it all even more enjoyable.
On a Sunday that showcased a lot of entertaining and somewhat surprising games, I have decided to give the top five things I liked from the first Sunday of the 2011 season.
•Number 5: The Houston Texans’ throttling of the Indianapolis Colts.Sure, the Colts did not have Peyton Manning. That’s not what I like. I just like the fact that I did indeed pick the Texans to win the AFC South and this week they took the first step in doing that.
Peyton or no Peyton, this was a huge game for the Texans and the city of Houston. For so long the Colts have dominated that division.
Well, not anymore, the Texans torched the Colts 34-7 on Sunday, I will be looking for similar results from the Texans throughout the year.
•Number 4: Bills running wild through Kansas City. Hold on, did the Buffalo Bills just go into Kansas City and roll the defending AFC West Champions?
Wow, I guess the only thing that could make it better is if I called the Bills to win — oh wait, I did.
Yes, the Bills over the Chiefs was my upset pick of the week. I knew the Chiefs were going to have a rough time this year, and a lot of people are sleeping on the Bills. Good job Buffalo.
•Number 3: Cam Newton’s first game.
Well, everyone wanted to say that Newton couldn’t be an NFL quarterback, that he wouldn’t be able to generate any type of success at the QB position in the NFL.
Newton finished the game with 422 yards passing, going 24-for-37 and picking up two touchdowns with one interception.
Not too bad for the kid’s first NFL start.
Now I am in no way a Cam Newton fan, but I love nothing more than a guy that seems to be hated and doubted by the entire country and then goes out in his first game and torches the Cardinals for 422 yards.
Good job Cam, hope to see a win next time though.
•Number 2: The Georgia/Georgia Tech connection up in Detroit.
Where to start. What don’t I like about the Detroit Lions?
Not only do I have Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson on my fantasy team — five touchdowns between the two of them just in case you were wondering.
But I also picked the Lions to finish second in their division this year and just barely reach the wild card.
Detroit went down to Tampa and took care of business. If Stafford can stay healthy and connect with Johnson regularly then, not only will my fantasy team thrive, but the Detroit Lions will thrive as well.
I look forward to watching the Lions this year, it should be fun.
•Number 1: 9/11 remembrance throughout the NFL
Ten years ago our great nation was shaken, and football served as a reminder of hope and freedom. It was so fitting for the first Sunday of the NFL to be played on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
Plus, the NFL did a spectacular job of having all the games in sync with one another as they did the remembrance. Showing players from all the stadiums across the league as the NFL paid tribute to those that died ten years ago.
Good job NFL, it was truly remarkable.
Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to
trollason@yahoo.com.
