Some Week 1 Thoughts And Vikings' Captains

I was only around for the early games so I can't speak to all of the games played on the NFL's opening Sunday. I picked the Pittsburgh Steelers-Cleveland Browns for my viewing pleasure. I was curious as to how Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer would perform. And I have Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown on my fantasy team. Kizer looked like he belonged in his debut and Brown's great. Only the former is interesting as we all knew that Brown's great. Cleveland was feisty in the 21-18 loss. It's the most promising that the Browns have looked since the original Browns left Cleveland. Steelers all-everything running back Le'Veon Bell looked like he joined the team about a week ago. Once he gets his legs under him the Steelers will be fine.

The most surprising of yesterday's games for me was the Baltimore Ravens blanking of the Cincinnati Bengals. 20-0! The Ravens defense is stout. It's no surprise that it would be tough to score on them. But the Bengals offense is supposed to be explosive. Andy Dalton has always been efficient and careful with the ball. His stats screamed careless. 16/31 170 yards, 4 interceptions, 5 sacks, a fumble, and a sad 28.4 QB rating. It was a surprising performance. But there once was a time when the New England Patriots opened a season with a 31-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills and ended that season with a Super Bowl win. 

The Seattle Seahawks lost to the Green Bay Packers, 17-9. A lot of talking heads handed the Seahawks the Lombardi last week. This is why they actually play the games. It's also Week 1. A lot can change between now and the first Sunday in February. The Seahawks and Bengals might even play in the big game. Doubtful, the Vikings have to be the NFC representative. They just have to be!

Speaking of the Vikings, they host the New Orleans Saints tonight. Their absence from the opening Sunday didn't keep them from making some news. They announced their team captains for 2017. 

Sam Bradford

Kyle Rudolph

Riley Reiff

Everson Griffen

Brian Robison

Terence Newman

In previous years, the Vikings have selected their captains by a player's vote. Head coach Mike Zimmer picked the captains this year. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I just don't think you can force leadership on a player. The players know best who leads them. I've always felt that team captains should be determined by a vote of the players. But Zimmer's been doing this football thing for a while and he's much closer to the players and the action. I'm just sitting in a comfy chair judging things from afar with no repercussions when I'm wrong. 

While I thought that Harrison Smith might be one of the defensive captains, Everson Griffen, Brian Robison, and Terence Newman are far closer to automatic picks than surprises. Their leadership is obvious. As it is with Sam Bradford and Kyle Rudolph on the offensive side of the ball. The surprise captain is Riley Reiff. He's also the one that I was most heartened to see. The Vikings offensive line has to improve. The story has been told way too often. Injuries and inconsistencies on the line wrecked the 2016 season. All five positions have to improve and Reiff was the biggest move in that direction of the offseason.  He's new to the team but he strikes me as fairly quiet. Alex Boone was the loudest voice in the offensive line room, maybe the entire team, last season. Maybe that made him a leader but he's no longer with the team. I'd rather see Reiff lead by example and consistency even if he's quiet in doing so. It looks like Zimmer does as well. 

Congratulations to the Vikings 2017 captains. Now lead your team to a win. A lot of wins.