Week One Observations

The NFL regular season has finally returned, and so have I. Because I work almost every Sunday, I'm not able to watch nearly enough football. This year, I bought NFL Game Rewind from NFL.com, which allows me to watch any game after the fact. And if I watch more football, I'll do more blogging (which isn't hard to do when I've set the standard at none during the past five months).

This week, I was able to watch the Colts-Jaguars and Packers-Bears live, and the Steelers-Titans and Patriots-Bills on delay. I also watched the NFL.com highlights for each of the other games. Here's some of my thoughts (I'm heavily biased toward the Patriots-Bills because I watched that game most recently):

1. Adrian Peterson (the Vikings version, of course) is the best offensive player in the league today. He had five runs of 10+ yards, including this jaw-dropping 64-yard TD. Running backs wear down quickly, especially when they have a lot of carries, so appreciate now what Peterson is doing in his third NFL season.

2. I'm shocked, and extremely thankful, that I haven't heard people clamoring for changes to overtime after the Steelers beat the Titans on an opening-drive field goal in the extra session. I'll assume people are still actually stupid, and simply felt Pittsburgh deserved to win after Hines Ward' heat-of-the-moment fumble in the final minute of regulation.

3. Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio made the wrong decision going for a two-point conversion at the end of the game. Not because the Jaguars missed, and lost 14-12, but because there was too much time remaining. Failing to convert with 5:30 left meant an Indianapolis touchdown would make it a two-score game. And only New England can overcome that deficit so quickly, right?

4. Three of the most athletic plays of the week came from defensive players in the Packers-Bears tilt. Green Bay defensive tackle Johnny Jolly sniffed out a screen pass and made a great diving interception that would make any cornerback jealous. Chicago safety Danieal Manning broke through the line to sack Aaron Rodgers in the end zone, using his strength to prevent a desperation heave. And Green Bay linebacker Brandon Chillar's hurdle of a running back to sack Jay Cutler was a thing of beauty.

5a. For all the furor over tennis players -- yes, tennis players -- swearing on television, I am surprised nobody noted that Wes Welker audibly dropped the f-bomb after dropping the first pass thrown his way. How can he get attention like Serena Williams and Roger Federer when saying naughty things? Lose?

5b. Randy Moss uses his lengthy arms to block with his hands, never putting his body into a defender a la Hines Ward. He also tries to block quickly and get to the next line of defense on running plays. Moss had three first-half catches on six targets and nine second-half catches on 10 targets, tying a career high with 12 receptions. Maybe Tom Brady, who only threw deep once (incomplete to Joey Galloway), just needed to get warmed up in his return from knee surgery.

5c. On Buffalo's second play from scrimmage, Terrell Owens was utterly confused. The Bills are implementing a no-huddle offense this season, and when Trent Edwards changed the play at the line, Owens threw his hands up in what-am-I-supposed-to-do fashion. After the snap, he jogged while watching the play develop, thankful it was a run.

5d. There were two things I never heard in all the coverage of Leodis McKelvin, who became the unwelcome center of attention after fumbling away a fourth-quarter kickoff return and allowing the Patriots to take the late lead. McKelvin fumbled on his previous kickoff return (although the Bills recovered), and actually took a touchback in a similar situation in the first half.

Snow in Buffalo? T.O. still a go

Amid all the hubbub about Terrell Owens being signed by the Buffalo Bills (as a transplanted western New Yorker, I was among those completely blindsided by the news), I found most interesting one online comment -- essentially, "Have fun dropping all those passes in the cold."

Owens, although a Hall-of-Fame caliber talent, is notorious for dropping passes -- according to the Washington Post, he led the NFL with 17 in 2006, tied for third with 10 in 2007 and finished fourth with 10 in 2008.

Because he's nearing the end of his career, nobody expects Owens to put up monster statistics in Buffalo. The assertion got me thinking, however, if it is harder for wide receivers to find success in cold, outdoor environments. And, yes, Buffalo certainly qualifies. It would be possible to do an in-depth study of this phenomenon (or lack thereof), but here's a quick one for simplicity's sake:

Approximately one-third of the 32 NFL franchises could be described as playing their eight home games in cold, outdoor environments. Those 14 unlucky teams? (Minnesota, Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis play in domes)

AFC East
Buffalo
New England
New York
AFC North
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Baltimore
AFC West
Denver
Kansas City
NFC East
Philadelphia
New York
Washington
NFC North
Green Bay
Chicago

Granted, only about three or four home games played in November and December should be affected by sub-freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow. But based on my best recollections, significantly less than one-third of the top NFL receivers have played with those franchises.

Of the 60 seasons in which a player has caught 100-plus passes, exactly one-third (20) came in cold-weather environments. None of the top 10 did, however, and eight of those top 10 came with teams that play in domes.

Of the 58 seasons in which a player has recorded 1,400-plus receiving yards, slightly less than one-quarter (14) came with cold-weather teams. None of the top 10 did, and seven of the top 10 came in domes.

Of the 45 seasons in which a player caught 14-plus touchdowns, slightly less than one-third (11) were from cold-weather teams. In this case, though, four of the top 12 came with cold-weather teams, including Randy Moss's record-setting 23-touchdown performance with the New England Patriots.

It looks like T.O. doesn't have too much to worry about, after all. Well, about the weather, at least. For the curious, Owens has one season of 100-plus catches (2002 with San Francisco), two of 1,400-plus yards (2000, 2001 with San Francisco) and four with 14-plus touchdown catches (1998, 2001 with San Francisco; 2004 in cold-weather Philadelphia; 2005 with Dallas).