Monday 2014 NFL recap - Week 1

Quarterbacks, kickers, interceptions, oh my! Week one got off to a great football start and the sports media took a deep breath of relief. Are you ready for some football?

Steelers:

• First half - 27 -3 at halftime with the Steelers offense smoking. I haven't seen that much yardage perfection in years. But as usual the Steelers got lazy, considered the game over, and got a rude awakening when the Browns tied the game at 27 all.
• Ben Roethlisberger - Every year his name is left out of the top five quarterbacks. Eleven years in the league, two super bowl rings, three super bowl appearances, and numerous top five rankings in various quarterback stats and still he gets little respect. Maybe his off the field antics is part of it and that's on him. I give Big Ben credit for serving out his sentence and turning his life around off the field and on the field. Yesterday he played so well with two clutch passes that were typical Ben for Steelers fans, but might finally get him the recognition he deserves.
• Antonio Brown - I told my buddy before the game started that Brown was ready for today and would be phenomenal because I follow Brown on social media and know him from his tweets and Instagram photos. No sooner then that came out of my mouth he was in the end zone. He finished with over 100 yards. He is proof that if you lead your life right, shut up and do your job to the best of your ability, good things will come. Kudos to the Steelers for going with Brown over Wallace in the end.
• Brown's kung fu kick - On a punt return in the first half, Brown took off weaving in and out and looked like he was gone. Until he met the Browns' punter who stood in his way as if he were a gun slinger at the OK Corral. In hindsight Brown should have gone to his left to the sideline where he would have landed in the end zone, but Brown kept running, his eyes shifting left and right, and when the punter looked as if he was bending down to tackle low, Brown took to the air to leap over him. Unfortunately, Spencer Lanning changed his mind on bending and got kicked in the head by Brown's leading leg as he leaped. I know Brown, as I said before. His motto in his life daily is CUEUPU, Chest up, Eyes up, Prayed up. He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and yes, I met him and shook his hand (very soft hands). In no way would he ever intentionally kick a guy, yet you would have thought he had committed premeditated kicking in the head the way CBS acted. The network reran the play over and over with Dan Fouts going on and on about it. I'm not disputing the penalty and neither were the Steelers or Brown, but to act like it was something done intentionally annoyed me. Don't these announcers know these athletes? I have to say that Spencer Lanning's tweet with the picture of the kick was hilarious. He tweeted, "Wait, wait, wait....when did this happen?!" At least he knows the truth.
• Shaun Suisham - Clutch. I was never worried. My buddy, on the other hand, Mr. Negativity, went into the other room.
• Stats - The Steelers hit every category that the papers love; top quarterback, top running back, and top receiver. Whoo Hoo. If we can just get our defense now to match the offense we can all shout, "Here we Go!"

Other:

• Ray Rice Video - In this day and age of social media and electronics one has got to watch himself in public. I remember the video of an Indiana mother spanking her child that made the rounds of television and the Internet and thought then that I had to be careful in any disciplining of my child outside our home. Now Ray Rice, who only received a slap on the hand for beating his then fiance, is back in the news and on electronic devices. A camera in the elevator where Rice and his now wife rode in shows him blatantly punching her in the face, twice. She hits her head and drops unconscious to the floor. He stands over her and then drags her unconscious body half out of the elevator where he dumps her on the floor. The NFL stated they never saw the video until now. Something tells me Roger Goodell just peed his pants.
• Bucs - Poor Tampa. Same old, same old. Experienced quarterback throwing silly balls that should not have been thrown in the first place and naturally get intercepted? Check. Stupid mistakes that result in penalties? Check. Sucky offensive line? Check. Fifteen plays to the other team's forty-two? Check. Coach that stands up and talks about how the team didn't play well and will have to do better? Check. Sigh.
• Rex Ryan - He got excited by his team's one big play, a 71 yard touchdown run, that he hugged  another coach on the sidelines and the two jumped up and down together. Apparently, it creeped out the television announcers because that is all they could talk about later that night on the recap. Really?
• Peyton Manning - He has beaten every team in the league now. He was a bit shaky in the beginning throwing some questionable passes, but his receivers stepped up to the plate balls and made it work.
• Wes Welker - It has been reported that his drug of choice, for which he has been suspended for four games, was not a form of Ecstasy, but Adderall that he took while attending the Kentucky Derby. Huh? He thought he was running?
• Injuries - Quite a few teams lost main players for several games and possibly the year. Ah, welcome to football boys.
• Penalties - Not as many in the few games I watched that I was expecting. With all the new rules and regulations this year I thought the whistle would be blown more often and the games way longer, but apparently the players got the memo and this time they read it.
• US Open - Yes, it isn't football, but it was played at the same time as football yesterday. How about Serena Williams? She kicked butt yesterday in the finals of the Open and won her 18th slam to tie Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Go Serena!