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32 Observations: Week 1

The long offseason is over and we are finally back to real football — and the data is rolling in. It’s just one week’s worth, so the sample size isn’t big enough to draw conclusions, but we're getting indications as to what kind of seasons the green rookies and weathered vets may have.

Kicking off this year's weekly quick looks, here are 32 interesting tidbits, one for each team.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills: After one week, C.J. Spiller has an Elusive Rating that is off the charts at 475.0 thanks to having eight players miss tackles on him on his 14 attempts, as well as his 133 yards after contact.

Miami Dolphins: Defensive tackle Randy Starks is leading all tackles in Pass Rushing Productivity at 20.2.

New England Patriots: The duo of first-round picks, Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones, had a combined seven pressures and six stops in their debut.

New York Jets: While Steve Johnson put up a lot of yards on Darrelle Revis the last time they met, this time Revis got the best of the two. He allowed just two catches for 7 yards each, adding an interception and pass defensed.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: While Paul Kruger had the most pass rush snaps of the Ravens' outside pass rushers, he failed to come up with a single pressure against Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Bengals: Receiver Andrew Hawkins is leading the league in yards after catch (90) thanks to a lot of short passes in the middle of the field.

Cleveland Browns: Second-year receiver Greg Little didn’t show much improvement in Week 1, as he was thrown at four times but didn’t record a catch.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Guard Doug Legursky allowed a pressure on nearly one-in-five of his pass blocks after coming in to replace Ramon Foster at right guard.

AFC South

Houston Texans: Of all the cornerbacks to play over 50% of a game, Johnathan Joseph had the lowest Yards Per Play in Coverage at 0.09.

Indianapolis Colts: Wide Receiver Reggie Wayne leads the league with 78 receiving yards when lined up in the slot.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Offensive tackle Eugene Monroe played the most pass block snaps among the group of tackles who posted a perfect Pass Blocking Efficiency of 100%.

Tennessee Titans: When Chris Johnson ran to the gap to the left of the center, he had 7 yards on four carries. When he ran anywhere else, he had -3 yards on seven carries.

AFC West

Denver Broncos: Linebacker Wesley Woodyard dominated the run game with a Run Stop Percentage at 28.6% thanks to eight stops on 26 run plays.

Kansas City Chiefs: Inside linebacker Derrick Johnson allowed 80 receiving yards, which is more than he allowed in any game from 2008-2011.

Oakland Raiders: Darren McFadden was targeted 18 times, which is more than any running back was targeted in any regular season game last year.

San Diego Chargers: Safety Eric Weddle had a strong start to the season with five stops; more than in any individual game for him last year.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys' offense was penalized 12 times; four more than any other team. Four came from second year tackle Tyron Smith who is transitioning from right tackle to left tackle.

New York Giants: Even though he didn’t record a sack or a hit, Jason Pierre-Paul's six hurries were enough for the third-most overall pressure generated by a 4-3 defensive end.

Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Weeden had a Quarterback Rating of 0.0 when throwing the ball at Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who had two interceptions against just one catch allowed.

Washington Redskins: Quarterback Robert Griffin III had an Accuracy Percentage of 88.0% in his first game. That leads the league.

NFC North

Chicago Bears: All six players who had a reception for the Bears averaged 13 or more yards per catch.

Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford saw less pressure than any other QB this week; pressured on just 16.3% of his throws.

Green Bay Packers: Jermichael Finley is leading all tight ends in targets with 11. That is tied for the most targets Finley has seen in a game since being drafted in 2008.

Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson rushed for 83 yards on his 11 carries between the tackles, compared to just 1 yard on six carries outside of the tackles.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons: Last year Tyson Clabo was the Falcons' best pass protector in terms of PFF Pass Block rating, but in the first game of the season he was the only one to allow any sacks or hits with one of each.

Carolina Panthers: While 85 defensive players allowed 36 or more passing yards in Week 1, not one of them was on the Panthers.

New Orleans Saints: Quarterback Drew Brees leads the league in Deep Passing attempts (11), completions (4), yards (104), touchdowns (2) and interceptions (2).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: If there is reason to be optimistic in Tampa Bay it’s this: Josh Freeman had a higher overall PFF rating at +5.5 this past week than in any game in his previous three years.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals: Even though he didn’t record a sack, Darnell Dockett leads all linemen in total pressures with 10.

St. Louis Rams: When Cortland Finnegan lined up in the slot and was targeted by Matthew Stafford, he allowed a QB rating of just 25.0; the lowest rating allowed by a slot corner.

San Francisco 49ers: Defensive end Ray McDonald recorded a stop on one in every three Packers designed runs. It helps that every single one of the runs went in McDonald’s direction.

Seattle Seahawks: Defensive end Chris Clemons is averaging a pressure on 20.6% of his pass rushes compared to 12.2% last year.

 

Follow Nathan on Twitter: @PFF_NateJahnke

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