The Monday Mommy: Top 5 Delta Bravos of NFL Week 1
“On the flip side, there were some boneheads whose actions either cost them the game, had the potential to or were just plain stupid.”
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The first week of the NFL season did not disappoint and provided the intense level of entertainment that fans crave and live for. In recent years, I cannot remember a season having the amount of hype and scrutiny that the 2013 NFL season had on its shoulders coming in.
The offseason drama and storylines rivaled the almost obsolete daytime soaps that we all grew up watching. Well, probably not everyone, but those of use whose parents or housekeepers were glued to their “stories”.
There was the usual assortment of injuries, offseason free agent moves and legal snafus that had fans concerned about what impact it all would have on the field. There was even the last minute addition of the Flacco poster storyline that had added to the mounting hype of the season opener in Denver.
However, once kickoff began (after a lightening delay, of course) all the offseason crap just melted away and it was football time again. There were guys that stepped up and made things happen, like Peyton Manning’s ridiculous performance of tossing the rock for 7 touchdown passes and 462 yards and Cincinnati wideout A.J. Green who finished out the day with 162 yards receiving and 2 touchdown passes.
On the flip side, there were some boneheads whose actions either cost them the game, had the potential to or were just plain stupid. Below you will find my list of the top douche bag moves of the weekend and what impact if any, those decisions may have moving forward.
5. Danny Trevathan- On the first drive of the fourth quarter Trevathan, who you’d think would have learned from those who came before him ( Leon Lett, Desean Jackson to name a few) did the unthinkable: celebrated a touchdown too early by letting go of the ball before it crossed the plane of the end zone. Trevathan had just intercepted Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and was looking at smooth sailing for an easy pick six.
His blunder resulted in a nine-yard loss for the Ravens and with it a new set of downs. Of course, Baltimore then went 80 yards for a touchdown because Karma seems to work out that way most of the time. Lucky for Trevathan, the game was already considered a blowout; however he did not get off that easy. The play resulted in an injury to fellow linebacker Wesley Woodyard who hurt his ankle trying to recover the ball after Trevathan’s contribution to the blooper reel.
4. Cowboys and Giants- This matchup was such a comedy of errors that it was difficult to select any one person to put the blame on.
The entire first half should be re-watched with Yakety Saks playing in the background to get the full effect. With eight total turnovers between the two teams, sloppy would be the only way to actually describe what occurred on the field. The level of play was subpar and certainly a cause for concern for either of these NFC East fan bases.
3. Ray Maualuga – Oh, Ray. Maualuga possibly single handedly cost the Bengals the victory against the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon. He was given an unnecessary roughness penalty shortly after the Bengals stopped Chicago on a crucial 3rd down with under a minute left in regulation. To be fair, he didn’t start the skirmish with Bears’ Jordan Mills, but we all know that it’s the last guy that takes a swing who gets assessed the penalty.
Maualuga’s hot head gave the Bears an automatic first down, ending Cincinnati’s chances for victory.
2. Lavonte David- In similar fashion, up and coming Tampa Bay Bucs’ linebacker Lavonte David, committed a personal foul that had major implications on the actual outcome of the game.
It appeared that the Bucs were about to avoid an upset against the New York Jets circus, when his personal foul in the final seconds changed everything. Tampa Bay was up 17-15 with just 15 ticks left on the game clock when Jets quarterback Geno Smith scrambled to around the 50 yard-line. When Smith got out of bounds, David pushed him to the ground for no apparent reason.
That penalty put the Jets in field goal range and in turn won the game 18-17 on a last second kick.
1. Darius Reynaud – It didn’t take long for the number one bonehead move of the weekend to occur. It happened on the very first play of the Titans matchup against the Steelers. Reynaud, a special teams guy for the Titans, thought he downed the opening kickoff in the end zone. Seems pretty straight forward, right? Wrong, his feet were just outside of the end zone when he first touched the ball.
After huddling for a few minutes, the referees correctly ruled it a safety. Lucky for Reynaud, the Titans rebounded from his bungle and beat Pittsburgh in a snoozer of a game.
