On the Couch, week one

My thoughts on the Viking game are below at "Trailing Clouds of Heaven: Vikings 24, Falcons 3." "On the Couch" features various thoughts on all the other Sunday games.

Week One NFL Scores (at NFL.com)

Kevin Everett
Obviously this is the most important story of the day is Kevin Everett. We hope and pray that his is alright.

Deep Passes
I started forming my ideas about football while playing Tecmo Super Bowl in junior high; during these games, I fell in love with the deep bomb, and I always wanted my WRs to average 50 yards per catch. Ever since, I love watching the long bomb more than anything else.

And Sunday gave us some beauties. Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith and Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress were particularly fun. And then there was Tom Brady to Randy Moss...

Randy!
This off-season, I was just too relieved that Randy Moss wasn't joining the Packers to care where he did go. But now I see the problem. I'm happy that Moss appears to be re-establishing his greatness; I'm unhappy that he's helping this decade's dynasty in the process. Now I'm just sad. Boston fans have already had too much this decade: three Super Bowl wins, a World Series Win, now they're getting Kevin Garnett from us, AND they get to experience Randy Moss?

Watching one fanbase get this much pleasure in such a short timespan just depresses me. There's a reason that while I abhor violence, I still smile when I think of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette getting their royal heads cut off. We're used to seeing the rich getting richer, the strong and powerful staying strong and powerful, the rulers staying as rulers. Think about how you feel whenever you see a news story about oil companies making record profits: that's how I feel seeing Randy Moss boost Tom Brady's stat line. Fans in Boston pretty much get Christmas, New Year's Eve, and the Fourth of July all wrapped into one every day, while fans in places like Minnesota, Buffalo, and Cleveland live out our squalid lives. That's why I like reading about royal beheadings: we get to see the powerful win all the time, and I like to be reminded that sometimes, something else happens. Perhaps someday the metaphorical guillotine can fall, and someplace like Minnesota can start a reign of sports terror. So nuts to you, Boston sports fans. Nuts to you.

(Oh, there's also a reason I hated that atrocious movie. Several, actually).

Romo-erotic is Real
Dallas sure can pour on the points, and they certainly needed to tonight--when you give up 35 points, the 45 points you score certainly isn't running it up. And Tony Romo really looks like a great NFL quarterback (and he has a ton of talent around him to work with). I keep thinking I'm looking at Troy Aikman; Romo is more mobile, but he has a similar build, release, and uniform number, so that my sub-conscious keeps telling me I'm seeing Aikman.

The Packers beat the Eagles
I'm never as happy as I could be when the Packers win. When Brett Favre retires, or when the Vikings win a Super Bowl (whichever comes first, and honestly, it could be either), perhaps I'll be able to set aside that hatred and just be.

It seems like a bit of a fluky victory, as two muffed punts led to 10 Packer points. But it's still an impressive win, featuring good defense and the capitalization of opponent's errors. I'm still calling Philadelphia the best team in the NFC.

The Titans beat the Jaguars
Tennessee had an impressive road victory against a team that went into the season featuring a dominating defense and a dominating running game. The Titans outrushed the Jaguars 282 yards to 72 yards.

Enjoy Monday, everybody.