And They're Off!

The anticipated moment has come and gone
the new season has dawned, and
we are now left with the long road ahead.

Some taste victory still sweet on the tongue
the heads of others hung, but
all look forward to the long road ahead.

For now each of the divisions is divided
half dejected, half excited, though
we all focus on the long road ahead.

In the end only one completely satisified
the rest have been denied, so
look to next year and the long road ahead.

NFC GAME of the WEEK

Chicago 145, Glasgow 140

The Goodfellas defense, challenged throughout the week by the coaching staff to step up their game, featured three players in double digits and led Chicago to a narrow defeat over the Glasgow Warriors. Nick Barnett notched 13 total tackles and picked off a Donovan McNabb pass to score 19 points.

The game featured teammates competing against each other, and both had amazing games thanks in large part to the other. Glasgow QB Eli Manning threw for 34 points and four TDs, with three of those scores going to Chicago WR Plaxico Burress, giving the Goodfella WR 32 points in this contest.

Glasgow's heralded rushing attack was held to 21 points, due in large part to a Brandon Jacobs injury early in the game. The Chicago RBs scored 23 points, with the main contribution being LaMont Jordan's 21. If losing the game wasn't bad enough, Glasgow will be without Jacobs for a long time, and Manning could also miss significant time.

AFC GAME of the WEEK

Austin 158, New Mexico 125

One of the NFFL's greatest rivalries captured the Week 1 spotlight, with the Predators defeating the Raiders and extending their winning streak to five games, dating back to last season and including the Predator's playoff run.

The Austin running game faltered, but the passing game put up solid numbers and the defense dominated the matchup. Predator LB Zach Thomas and DL Robert Mathis scored 17 points each, DB Jermaine Phillips put up 14 points, and rookie Patrick Willis made an impressive debut, racking up 15 points including one forced fumble.

The Raiders lost despite huge performances from WRs Randy Moss (24 points) and Steve Smith (17 points). QB Alex Smith had a chance to make the game close on Monday night, but only managed six points. New Mexico LB Kirk Morrison had 17 points, but the next highest defensive score from the team was eight points.

Lower Saxony 144, Utica 132

The other 2006 NFFL Bowl participant also debuted with a win, with Lower Saxony coming through in the clutch and scoring enough Monday night points to win the game over Utica, including RB Rudi Johnson's seven, WR Anquan Boldin's nine, and DB Adrian Wilson's 12.

Lower Saxony QB Ben Roethlisberger threw four TDs on his way to a 30-point game, and WR Laveranues Coles caught two TDs while scoring 17 points. But Big Ben was overshadowed in the game by Utica QB Tony Romo, who torched the New York secondary for four TDs and ran for another TD, ending the game with 42 points and the crown of Offensive Player of the Week.

Along with Wilson, one other Patriot defender had a great game with LB Barrett Ruud forcing and recovering a fumble and racking up 13 tackles to score 21 points. Utica DL Kevin Williams intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD on his way to scoring 16 points, which led Utica defenders. Both Utica DBs made interceptions as well and combined for 15 points.

Anglia 140, Bertrand 115

In what could become the passing of the torch in the AFC South, the Dark Knights of Anglia beat Bertrand, historically the division's best team, with a combination of good games from the QB, RBs and defense. Bertrand had a solid day from those positions as well, but the lack of a startable RB2 hurt their chances, and the extra WR that started for the Ground Force was held scoreless.

Anglia's passing attack was led by QB Jon Kitna, who despite throwing two interceptions finished with a healthy 26-point game. Anglia RBs Frank Gore and Travis Henry combined for 30 points and picked up the WRs, two of which only managed to score one point. LB E.J. Henderson led the Anglia defense with two sacks and 16 points, and DL Jason Taylor and LB Will Witherspoon each scored at least a dozen points as well.

Bertrand's secondary highlighted the team scoring, with both DBs getting interceptions and Antoine Winfield running his back for a touchdown. Bertrand QB Carson Palmer threw for two TDs against Baltimore and scored 19, while Shaun Alexander ran for another TD and scored 17. The rest of the team struggled mightily, with seven points being the next best game.

Halifax 163, Boston 137

The Inferno's 137 points would have beaten half the teams in the league this week, but Boston ran into the Halifax Armada and their league-leading 163 points weekend. With such a large point total, one would assume that the Armada attack was firing on all cylinders and points were coming from every which way, but this is not so.

Five Halifax players scored at least 20 points, while the other 10 players scored a total of a combined 43 points. Armada QB Tom Brady threw three TDs and tied for the team lead with 29 points; joining him was DL Dwayne White, the Defensive Player of the Week, who recorded a sack, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an interception.

Boston QB Peyton Manning had three TDs, nearly 300 yards, and 29 points or what he likes to call "a day at the office." Inferno WR Terrell Owens caught two TDs, proclaimed himself the second coming of Jesus Christ, shook the devil's hand and lived to tell the tale, and scored 20 points. LB James Farrior had a sack and a forced fumble to lead the Boston defense.

Greenville 125, Cincinnati 107

Two monster performances on defense were enough to give the Greenville Storm a win over the Cincinnati Keepers in their NFFL debut. Greenville DL Mario Williams and LB Julian Peterson combined for 46 points, highlighted by four sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a Williams fumble return TD.

On offense, the Storm received a 300-yard game from QB Jay Cutler, with the signal caller finishing with 17 points. Rookie RB Marshawn Lynch, a favorite for the new franchise as he's also making his debut, ran for 15 points and reached the end zone once. The WR corps only scored two points for the Storm, with both coming from TE Todd Heap.

Cincinnati's two best performances also came on defense, with LB Lofa Tatupu leading the team with 16 points and two forced fumbles. Rookie DB Reggie Nelson also had a forced fumble as well as a sack and scored 15 points in his debut. Keeper QB Phillip Rivers turned the ball over twice and threw no TDs while scoring only three points, and RB Reggie Bush also scored only three points.

Washington 147, Fairfax 104

The Braves saw eight players reach the double-digit marker in their win over the Fairfax Foxes, led by reigning MVP RB LaDanian Tomlinson's 19 points. Tomlinson had trouble in the first half of his game, but threw for a TD to get the juices flowing and ran for another to seal the victory.

Washington WR Andre Johnson caught a long TD pass to highlight his 18-point performance, and WR Chad Johnson aka Ocho Cinco was apparently inducted into the Hall of Fame over the weekend after scoring one touchdown. If Cinco can catch one more TD, he'll be the unquestioned best player to ever play football.

Fairfax LB Ahmad Brooks had a forced fumble and a sack to lead the Foxes with 14 points in what has to be a disappointing day all around. QB Donovan McNabb threw a TD and an interception to finish with 11 points and teammate Brian Westbrook added 12 points. RB Maurice Jones-Drew disappointed against a supposedly-bad rush defense.

Carson City 118, California 77

Wait, did all the new managers collect wins in the first week? Who invited these guys? While the Bandits' total of 118 wouldn't have beaten many NFFL teams, it is generally enough to beat a team whose QB and RB combine for four points. California QB Drew Brees was the Dud of the Week but figures to not be a repeat winner for the rest of the year.

Carson City QB Matt Leinart threw two interceptions en route to an unimpressive nine-point outing. The rushing attack of Tatum Bell and Chris Brown combined to score 31 points and shock the world! Bandit DL Trent Cole notched 1.5 sacks and score ten times as many points, while DB Walt Harris defensed three passes and picked one off to also finish with 15 points.

The highlight for California was the 19 points scored by WR Ronald Curry, who looks like an every-week starter and a great find by the Xtreme. The rest of the offense combined for nine points, and that includes (or excludes, for that matter) the goose egg turned in by K Sebastian Janikowski.