Today was kickoff Sunday in the NFL. There was the Thursday night opener where the Packers beat the Saints 42-34, even though some experts still lamented that "Drew Brees had a better game than Aaron Rodgers. . ."
It doesn't matter. You see a lot in the NFL, when there's a pretty good quarterback who happens to play for a team with a bad defense, that the quarterback will rack up a shit load of passing yards over the course of a season. Because when you're losing by four touchdowns, all you do is pass. When the Patriots are beating my Chiefs 28-0 after the first quarter this season, it seems logical Todd Haley will have Matt Cassel air it out almost every down. Drew Brees had more touchdowns, more yards, more completions, and more attempts than Aaron Rodgers, because the Saints were in dire straights from the third quarter on.
Along with when March Madness gets going around my birthday--the first day of spring--this specific Sunday is typically one of the best sports days of the year. This year it sucked.
Around 10:00 I made it to my friend John's house, although I was there for the football connection I share with his younger brother, Josh. Early on, the Chiefs were getting manhandled by the Bills. While their offensive line stretched gaping holes for Fred Jackson to run through, we had clogged running lanes for Jamal Charles. Their receivers and tight ends made all the catches. Our offensive line couldn't protect Matt Cassel; he himself couldn't help his own cause at all, often looking bewildered in the pocket. It was a bad game on both sides of the ball. Before the game, I preached ad nauseam: If we can't beat the Bills at home, who will we beat this year?
With our schedule, having to face the Steelers and Packers and Bears and Vikings and Patriots and Jets, maybe no one.
The Chiefs' struggles this first week really sap me of enthusiasm, because my childlike optimism has yet to leave me in wondering, Could this be The Year the Chiefs win it all? Last year they started 3-0 before their first loss, and even made the playoffs. The only thing worse than liking an NFL team having a shitty season is having a professional baseball team that does the same. My whole life, from when I started religiously following the Texas Rangers at age 10, the Rangers have fielded one of the worst teams in baseball. Only last year did that change.
My neo-pessimism of the Chiefs season is compounded by having to actually sweat out a playoff race which I didn't at all expect to exist with the Rangers. Today, they beat the A's 8-1, and, with the Angels loss to the Yankees (which my mom and younger brother went to), the Rangers' lead in the division grew to a mere 2.5 games. There are only a few weeks left in the season. About a month ago, I was ready to kick my feet up, leading 7 games with a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning. Since the Angels won that game 2-1, we haven't really seemed to have the same momentum.
Virginia Tech beat East Carolina yesterday. They are 2-0 now, but they still have a lot to work on. Their starting quarterback, Logan Thomas, needs to get his shit together before the conference season starts.
ER
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