I'm Not Quite Jaded Enough to Dismiss A Week One WIn

Arizona beat the Saints 31-19. Carson Palmer threw 3 TDs, Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson (so glad the team signed Johnson, which presumably means they won't sign Ray Rice) combined for 106 yards on 22 carries. The defense intercepted Brees once, and held the Saints to 54 yards on the ground. New Orleans did have a number of long receptions (Mark Ingram had a 54 yard catch, Willie Snead's once catch was for 63 yards, Brandin Cooks had one for 30), but hell, it's the Saints. They're going to go downfield, especially when they're losing, which they were doing for much of the game.

It's hard to know what to take from this, though. The offense did pretty well, but it's the Saints. Their defense was garbage last year, and what little I know about their offseason didn't give me any reason to expect they'd be better this year. The defense did well, all things considered. Brees threw for 355, but only found the end zone once, and his QBR is 51.7, which suggests a mediocre game (Palmer's was 82.6). After the way their run defense disintegrated late last season, it's encouraging to see it pick back up. Maybe having an actual, competent QB running the offense helped. I've said this before, and so have others, it had to be killing the defense to know that if they gave up more than 10 points, they were going to lose with Lindley under center. I'm going to be worried about Palmer's health all year, especially since I read that Barnwell post that predicted the team would decline, and listed all the problems the o-line had. Maybe they should let Stanton or Matt Barkley play against the Rams, to keep Palmer alive.

I feel kind of distant from the NFL right now. I tried reading some pieces on it this morning, and my eyes just glazed over. I couldn't bring myself to care about Eli and Coughlin's bad clock management, or whatever. I don't pay nearly as much attention to free agency and the draft as I did 15 years ago, by which I mean I pay no attention now. I was away from TV for 4 months over the summer, and only on the Internet once every few days, so I spent my time reading other things. Plus, I'm just kind of fed up with football's need to demand my attention all the fucking time. And there's baseball to watch - even if the Cardinals are making me nervous with their recent swoon - just as there was basketball in the spring and summer. I'd much rather pay attention to actual game than theoretical hype and bullshit.

All that aside, a win is a win, and starting the season 1-0 is better than 0-1. Except it looks like I need to be seriously worried about the Rams, besides hoping Kam Chancellor holds out for months.