As The Ball Bounces: Week 1

Jim Bakken set an NFL record that would stand for 40 years when he kicked seven field goals in a 1967 game. He was a kicker for 17 seasons, all with the St. Louis Cardinals and one of the last great straight-on kickers. Bakken was accurate, but it's doubtful that he could boom one out of the end zone even kicking off from his own 35. But with the wind at his back, he drives it about three yards deep in the end zone. Away we go.

Looks like Andrew Luck should quit bragging that all he does is work at football and all Robert Griffin III does is make commercials.

At least for one week.

Reason #427 why Jacksonville is far away from being a playoff contender: When you gain a 3-point lead with 20 seconds left, you hold that lead. Simple.

No moment of silence was held in Cleveland upon this week's passing of former Browns owner Art Modell (at the behest of the Modell family). Their 17-16 home loss to Philadelphia combined with the fact that Baltimore almost went to the Super Bowl last year are sobering reasons why.

And all these years later, you cannot remember Modell for all the good things he did. You only remember him as the guy that moved the Browns out of Cleveland.

Oh, and the other bad thing he did. He fired Paul Brown. It worked out well for the good people of Cincinnati a bit later on, but it was still a bad move no matter what.

Stevan Ridley did great. But Shane Vereen still needs to heal up and get his butt in there.

Oops, it's the regular season. Looks like the Giants are back to their old losing ways.

News item: David Akers tied the NFL record for the longest field goal with a 63-yarder on the final play of the first half for the 49ers at Lambeau Field. This one bounced off the crossbar and fell through. Did the Packers know that goaltending in the NFL is legal?

Mark Sanchez might keep his job for now.

But watch the fun down south when he throws a pick or two, or when the Jets lose their first game.

Geek of the week: Cleveland rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden wears uniform number 3. Add two to that and you get his passer rating from Sunday.

And he got caught under the huge American flag in pregame.

Matt Hasselbeck came in for a short time on Sunday to mop up for Jake Locker. You're getting old if you saw his dad Don play for the Patriots.

And he was a backup to Russ Francis, no less.

Honk if you watched Wednesday night's pregame show.

Honk again if you think it needs to get gone.

Guys like Ed Hochuli, Mike Grier, Jeff Triplette and Gene Steratore have to be hoping beyond hope that these replacement officials start making some abysmally bad calls, and soon.

Otherwise, Hochuli will be a lawyer and only a lawyer, and no one will notice or care.

Tom Brady got his nose busted up pretty bad by Kamerion Wimbley. And then there was the sight of him playing catch with Ryan Mallett on the sideline.

What was more scary, the hit or that game of catch?

What's with this eastern weather? On Saturday, the USC-Syracuse game is delayed by thunderstorms. On Sunday, lightning delays the Tampa Bay-Carolina game in Florida. And there are still many parts of the USA that are drought-stricken.

Back to school: Penn State is 0-2. Weep not. They should be 0-0. For the next two or three years.

Next week, the Patriots will likely face quarterback John Skelton of Arizona, who beat out former Eagle starter Kevin Kolb for the starting job.

Oh, for the days of Kurt Warner.

Speaking of surprise starters, what about Russell Wilson in Seattle over Matt Flynn? Packer fans can't believe that one.

The Packers lose at home to the 49ers, and now have only three days to prepare for a Bears team that shut down Luck in his debut. Ouch.

Peyton Manning at least has two guys from Indianapolis (Jacob Tamme, Brandon Stokley) to give him some comfort level as he tries to make Bronco Nation forget the good old days of Tim Tebow.

But he has to realize, to paraphrase Rick Pitino, that Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are not walking through that door.

But if all teams play defense like Pittsburgh did, that won't matter.

Meanwhile, ex-Bronco Brandon Lloyd looks pretty good in Patriot Blue.

Seattle got four timeouts against Arizona and still lost. Stop chuckling, Mr. Hochuli.

Remember him: Perhaps you don't like him as an analyst because of his sometimes brutal honesty. But Dan Dierdorf was one fine offensive lineman in his day. Back when the Cardinals had their brief run of good teams in the mid 1970s, Dierdorf was the left tackle along with Tom Banks at left guard and Tom Brahaney at center (and would also play alongside Conrad "Dirtiest Man in the NFL" Dobler for a time), opening up holes for Terry Metcalf and protecting Jim Hart at quarterback. He played all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Cardinals and was named to six Pro Bowls. He does have a friendly demeanor at the mike, although he will tell you what you need to hear instead of what you want to hear. But he is an all-time favorite in St. Louis, especially those fans who know the Cardinals better than they know the Rams.

Baltimore looked pretty darned tough at home against Cincinnati. Guess who comes knocking on their door in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, BenJarvus Green-Ellis will need to do a lot more for the Bengals than just not fumble.

The Raiders may not make much playoff hay. But Richard Seymour still looks terrific out there. He should still be a Patriot.

The Raiders still have their kicking duo of Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler intact after all these years. They both played for the Raiders in the Snow Bowl, that's how long they've been there.

And the Raiders have a third player who played in that game. Yup, Seymour.

Unlike 1963 (the JFK assassination), the NFL did not play the weekend following 9/11/01. Wise choice then, and always a wise choice to never forget the moment, who lost their lives, and that the Navy SEALS got the guy responsible.

Next time you hear God Bless America, sing it with a little extra gusto.