25 - Age of Buffalo Bills reserve tight end and special teams player Kevin Everett, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in Sunday's contest against the Broncos while making a tackle during the second-half kickoff. It was a frightening sight and the current outlook from the doctors is not promising for a full recovery. Here lies one of those moments where you realize once again that football is just a game and that we all have one very short life to live. Our thoughts and prayers are with Everett, his family, and the Bills organization.
3 - Super Bowls won by Bill Bellichick, Tom Brady, and the New England Patriots. They've had a special chemistry and have been downright baffling to opponents at times. Now the NFL is investigating allegations that the Patriots were stealing signs from the Jets coaches this past Sunday. A camera and tape have been confiscated by the league and is being reviewed for the possibility of use to record signals from the Jets coaching staff. If a pattern of behavior is identified here, you can bet teams across the league and fans alike are going to have a lot more questions for the Pats.
1 - That's how many weeks rookie quarterback Brady Quinn might end up testing the waters on the NFL sidelines before getting thrown in with the sharks. Browns starting QB Charlie Frye looked miserable against the Steelers Sunday, and his backup Derek Anderson didn't perform much better. Fans in Cleveland were chanting for Quinn before the first half was even over. Don't be surprised if Quinn gets the call in Week Two. But don't expect any miracles. The Browns are still the Browns.
1-0 - Three teams in the NFC North boast undefeated records after one week, and the defending North Division and Conference Champion Chicago Bears are not in that lot. But the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers are all happy campers after Week One wins. Take it for what it's worth. There are still 15 games left this season.
17, 25 - Carries and yards rushing for LaDainian Tomlinson in Week One. If you told anyone that those would be the rushing stats for LT, there's no way they'd think the Chargers even came close to beating the Bears. And if you are lucky enough to have LT in your fantasy league, you were probably cursing up a storm through that first half. Still, LT was shut down by one of the best defenses in the NFL and he still managed to get his squad two scores, one TD passing and one on a short goal line run. The result with some tough play from the Chargers defense was a 14-3 win.
20-3 - That was the final score in Houston as the Texans won the opener for the season and knocked off the visiting Kansas City Chiefs. As you can now plainly see, the Chiefs are in rough shape this year, and not even Larry Johnson is going to be able to carry this load. LJ ran the ball 10 times for 43 yards and had another seven catches for 44 yards in the air, but he was kept away from the end zone.
175 - Rushing yards for Tennessee Titans running back Chris Brown against that Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Brown carried the ball just 19 times en route to that final tally. He might not have found the end zone, but he did his part to help the Titans upset the Jags in Week One. And you can bet he'll be one of the most popular waiver wire pickups, and trade prospects heading into Week Two. Brown has size and speed, and might just be sitting on a breakout year.
2 - Touchdowns scored by the Minnesota Vikings defense Sunday. No surprise here, the Michael Vick-less Atlanta Falcons looked awful on offense. Joey Harrington was picked twice for touchdowns. The Falcons defense didn't look much better. Rookie Adrian Peterson got the majority of the carries for the Vikes. Peterson tallied 19 rushes and broke the century mark with 103 yards in his first NFL game. He also scored the Vikings lone offensive touchdown on a 60-yard touchdown catch-and-run.
183 - Receiving yards for a perhaps reborn Randy Moss in Sunday's season opener. Tom Brady liked slinging him the pigskin, there's no doubting that. And Moss looked relatively content getting the ball that often and being on a winning team. Don't be fooled by this performance. Look for the Pats to distribute the ball less to Moss in Week Two against the Chargers and hit the likes of Wes Welker a bit more.
7 - Number of times that Orlando Pace has been named to the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately Pace suffered a torn labrum and rotator cuff in the St. Louis Rams opener. As a result, the veteran tackle will miss the remainder of the season. That's not good news for Marc Bulger or Steven Jackson owners. Pace was as dependable as they get on the field, and now there's a huge hole at that tackle position in St. Louis.
Got questions or comments? Email them to pete@petekhazen.com.