32 Observations, Week 1

We are one week into the season and are left with more questions than answers. There were very few decisive victories, so the vast majority of teams still have reason to keep the optimism that they had all offseason. This week's 32 Observations gives you some reasons to think 2013 might look similar to 2012, and others that suggest it could be very different.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills: Left tackle Cordy Glenn was the only left tackle with 30 or more pass blocks to not allow a single pressure.

Miami Dolphins: In his debut with the Dolphins, Mike Wallace had 0.38 Yards Per Route Run, which was the third-lowest in the league.

New England Patriots: The Patriots had two of the five most elusive backs in Week 1. Stevan Ridley had an Elusive Rating of 85.2 which was the second-highest, while Shane Vereen's number (79.6) was fifth.

New York Jets: Defensive end Sheldon Richardson ended up with a 16.7 Run Stop Percentage, which was tied for second with Justin Smith and beat J.J. Watt.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: Tight end Dallas Clark had 11 targets while playing in the slot, which was four more than any other tight end in Week 1.

Cincinnati Bengals: Only two tight ends in Week 1 saw more than three targets and maintained a perfect catch rate. Those tight ends were Tyler Eifert and Jermaine Gresham who had five catches each.

Cleveland Browns: The biggest problem the Browns had in Week 1 was that Brandon Weeden was under pressure on 50.8% of his drop-backs — the highest rate in the league — and completed just 20.8% of his passes while under pressure which was the second-worst rate in the league.

Pittsburgh Steelers: If there was one thing to be optimistic about in Week 1, it was nose tackle Steve McLendon. He had two run stops and three quarterback pressures on just 28 snaps.

AFC South

Houston Texans: In his first five years in the league, left tackle Duane Brown has improved from one of the worst tackles in the league to one of the best. It’s going to be hard for him to continue that improvement after Week 1. He allowed eight pressures which led to an 86.7 Pass Blocking Efficiency which were both worsts for left tackles.

Indianapolis Colts: Quarterback Andrew Luck ended up with one of the worst five Accuracy Percentages in 2012 at 67.4%. In Week 1, he had the second-best Accuracy Percentage at 86.4%.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Punter Bryan Anger had 556 punt yards, which was over 100 yards more than any other punter.

Tennessee Titans: Center Robert Turner did not have a good debut with his new team. His Pass Block rating of -2.9 was the worst for all centers, while his Run Block rating of -2.8 was also the low mark for the position.

AFC West

Denver Broncos: New cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had the most coverage snaps (49) of the corners to allow a 0.00 Yards Per Coverage Snap.

Kansas City Chiefs: Both Husain Abdullah and Dunta Robinson took snaps as slot corners for the Chiefs. Neither player allowed a catch. They were two of just four cornerbacks to play in the slot and not allow a catch.

Oakland Raiders: One reason to be optimistic in Oakland is Lamarr Houston who led all 4-3 defensive ends in Pass Rushing Productivity at 21.6. Although he only had one sack, he had eight total pressures.

San Diego Chargers: Pass rusher Dwight Freeney had nine overall pressures in his Chargers debut, which was the most he has had since Week 2 of the 2010 season when the Giants and Colts played. It was also the second most for all Week 1 pass rushers.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys: Even without Jay Ratliff in the lineup, the Cowboys had the third-best defensive tackle against the run with Nick Hayden (+3.3) and the third-best pass rushing defensive tackle with Jason Hatcher (+3.2)

New York Giants: Although free agent addition Mike Patterson only had 13 run snaps, he managed three stops on those plays to end with a league-leading 23.1 Run Stop Percentage.

Philadelphia Eagles: Running back LeSean McCoy had nine players miss tackles on him on his carries. This is the most he has ever had, with his previous high being eight against the Ravens in 2012.

Washington Redskins: The quarterback who had the most of his passes dropped in Week 1 was Robert Griffin III at six. It is his third game where six or more of his passes were dropped.

NFC North

Chicago Bears: Both of the Bears Pro Bowl cornerbacks ended up on the wrong end of the leaderboard in terms of Yards Per Coverage Snap. Charles Tillman allowed 3.14 which was second worst in the league, and Tim Jennings wasn’t far behind at 2.71.

Detroit Lions: Although it was on a low sample size of six pass routes, undrafted rookie Joseph Fauria leads all tight ends in Yards Per Route Run at 4.5. He was targeted on half of his pass routes and caught all three passes. Teammate Brandon Pettigrew had the lowest YPRR for tight ends at 0.17.

Green Bay Packers: Inside linebacker A.J. Hawk was the only middle/inside linebacker who had more missed tackles (3) than solo tackles (2).

Minnesota Vikings: On 70.6% of Adrian Peterson’s carries, he had just 2 yards or fewer. That was the highest rate for all running backs with 10 or more carries.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons' safeties started the season strong in stopping the run. William Moore had a Run Stop Percentage of 10.7% which leads all safeties, while Thomas DeCoud wasn’t far off (7.7%, fifth).

Carolina Panthers: All 16 of DeAngelo Williams carries went outside of the guards. When he ran to the left he averaged 3.3 yards per carry. When he ran to the right he averaged 5.6.

New Orleans Saints: On eight of his nine carries, Pierre Thomas had 4 or more rushing yards. That was by far the most effective rate for backs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The player with the highest Yards Per Route Run from the slot in Week 1 was Vincent Jackson at 6.18. He only ran 17 routes from the slot, but was targeted on eight of those routes which led to 105 receiving yards.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals: Inside linebacker Jasper Brinkley had six run stops against the Rams which was the most for all middle/inside linebackers. With the Vikings, Brinkley never saw more than five total stops in a game.

St. Louis Rams: Second-year player Janoris Jenkins was the only cornerback to have three passes defended in Week 1. He had one game with three passes defended in 2012, and that was also the Rams home game against the Cardinals.

San Francisco 49ers: Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was the most targeted wide receiver in Week 1 with 16 targets. The last time he saw 16 targets was Week 12 of the 2008 season back when he was with the Cardinals.

Seattle Seahawks: Running back Marshawn Lynch averaged 6.2 yards per carry when running between the guards, but 0.5 yards per carry when running outside of the guards.

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