Football is back

Thank Goodness for that. Earlier this summer, there was a real prospect of a shortened season for the NFL or worse still no football for 2011. That would have been awful. Yes, I am overstating things and life without football is probably fine for all of us. But to a section of us, the mindshare is tuned to expect baseball in summer and Fall and football for Fall and winter. It has been that way since I started following them in right earnest in 2001. And not having status quo would send me scrambling for a mindshare occupying alternate for the rest of the year. God forbid!So now that the season is officially a week old, lets look at what we know, expected and were really shocked to see. Cam Newton, of the objectionable college recruiting scandal fame, blew away all expectations for a rookie and three for 400+ yards in hid NFL debut. Tough to beat that as the biggest headline for the week.  Peyton Manning, after a record 227 consecutive starts for the Colts, took a break as he recovered from an injury. And the rest of the team did too. Baltimore pummeled the Steelers into submission. While it was always expected to be a tight game, no one thought the Steelers would get beaten to pulp as they did. Like all good teams, the Steelers will recover but the Ravens have put the league on notice.With the rest of the nation watching, the Jets stumbled out of the gate with the Cowboys. But thanks to the Favre'sque predispositions of Romo, the Cowboys blew a lead and then a game in the most atrocious fashion. Romo, and the Cowboys should really not get star billing any longer. They simply dont deserve the number of national TV games that they get. America's team, they are not. And then there was Monday Night Football. The Patriots, of the "hated around the country for being always good" fame, and the team of yours truly, went to South Florida and set a bunch of records. Brady squashed all rumors of fading skills and threw for 517 yards. In that 517 was a 99 yard touchdown throw to the biggest man in small armor, Wes Welker. Chad Henne threw a great game. Brady had one greater. And lost in the story of the Patriots game was a 63 (or was it 64) yard record field goal by Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski in the second MNF game vs Denver.All in all, it is good to have football back in our lives. Now the dreary winter weeks shall pass ruminating the key matchups for the coming weekend.Go Patriots!