Each night before bed, when the house is quiet, I turn on one of the many movie stations that I 0ver-pay DirecTV for and watch a few minutes of a movie before drifting off to never never-land. Sometimes, it doesn’t work out like I hoped. The movie sucks me in and two hours pass before I finally get to sleep.
Just the other night I was delighted to find Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd crossing the sky in their trusty DeLorean blessed with the magic of the flux capacitor. Back to the Future is a classic, Back to the Future III is a bit of a bust, but Back to the Future II has always been my favorite. I still cant believe someone hasn’t invented a working hover board.
The highlight of Back to the Future II for sports fans has to be the Sports Almanac that Biff picked out of a garbage can on October 21, 2015. Biff took that almanac back to 1985 with him and made millions gambling on sporting events whose results were known only by him.
Biff wasn’t surprised in 1986 when the ball “got by Buckner” and the Mets beat the Red Sox in game six of the World Series.
Biff knew Scott Norwood’s kick would sail right and the Bills would loose Super Bowl XXV to the underdog Giants.
Biff must have crushed the casinos by correctly predicting that James “Buster” Douglas would knock out Mike Tyson on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo.
ProPlayerInsiders is pleased to announce that we have reached an exclusive deal with Biff Tannen to obtain one page from his priceless sports almanac.
After much debate at the PPI headquarters, we decided to purchase the results of Week 1 of the 2012 NFL Season. This offseason has dragged on long enough and with so many questions headed into the upcoming season we thought we could help our readers by providing results, stats, and story-lines from Week 1 only days into the start of training camp.
I am sure some of you have went to the internet before a big concert to see what songs Van Halen might be playing on tour or looked to see who won this week’s POV on Big Brother a few days before it aired on CBS. But, if you don’t want week 1 of the NFL Season spoiled for you, now is the time to click away.
Wednesday, September 5
Cowboys 31 Giants 28
The Giants and Cowboys get the season started with a thrilling shootout that sets the tone for what will be a high-scoring first week of NFL action. Tony Romo finds Miles Austin in the back of the end zone with only a handful of second left to lift the ‘Boys over the Giants and spoil their championship celebration.
Fantasy Stud: Romo, 24-31 325 3TD 1INT
Sunday, September 9
Bears 28 Colts 10
Solider Field is not an easy place for a rookie quarterback to debut and the Bears defense spend all afternoon forcing Andrew Luck into rookie mistakes. Bears fans leave the stadium thrilled that the marriage of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall seems to be a happy one. Marshall catches two Cutler passes for touchdowns.
Fantasy Stud: Marshall: 6 catches 138 yards 2 TDs
Chiefs 24 Falcons 21 (OT)
In what many might call the upset of the day, former Mr. Irrelevant Ryan Succop nails a 38-yard field goal in the closing minutes of overtime to lead the Chiefs over the Falcons. The big story is the successful return of two of the Chief’s biggest stars who missed most of last season with knee injuries. Jamaal Charles rushed for over 100 yards and gained 40-yards on a swing pass in overtime to set up Succop’s game winner. Eric Berry intercepted a Matt Ryan pass late in the fourth quarter to keep Atlanta from trying a field goal at the end of regulation.
Fantasy Stud: Julio Jones, 8 catches 155 yards 2TDs
Browns 24 Eagles 10
In another major upset, the Browns controlled the game on the ground with Trent Richardson and frustrated the Eagles offense all day. Richardson was questionable all week due to a pre-season knee injury, but when the ball was kicked of he appeared healthy. Brandon Weeden was solid in his debut, avoiding turnovers, and handing the ball to Richardson. Michael Vick and the Eagles never seemed to get going and a botched hand off between Vick and McCoy early in the first quarter lead to Richardson’s first NFL touchdown.
Fantasy Stud: Richardson, 17 carries 97 yards 1TD
Saints 49 Redskins 13
Robert Griffin III is destined for great things in the NFL, but the Saints turned his debut into a nightmare. Drew Brees and the Saints offense picked up right where they left off last season putting up huge chunks of yardage and scoring a ton of points. Griffin was intercepted by Patrick Robinson to end three different Redskin possessions and Curtis Lofton returned a Griffin fumble for a touchdown. Lofton made his debut as the Saints starting middle linebacker in place of suspended Jon Vilma. The Saints proved the distractions of a troubled offseason were behind them and they are once again contenders in the NFC.
Fantasy Stud: Brees, 24-29 359 yards 4TD 0INT
Lions 41 Rams 38
In one of the most exciting games of kickoff weekend former first overall pick Matt Stafford just barely out-gunned former first overall pick Sam Bradford. Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooked up numerous times as expected, but Bradford’s continued success throwing the ball to second round pick Brian Quick was a pleasant surprise for Rams fans. In the end, the Lions had a little bit more and Stafford found Titus Young in the back of the end zone late in the fourth quarter to give the Lions a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Fantasy Stud: Quick, 7 catches 199 yards 1TD
Patriots 35 Titans 10
Another opening day, and another statement by Brady and the Patriots. Brady had a near perfect opening day while Jay Locker struggled in his first start on opening day. Locker outlasted Matt Hasselbeck in a heated training camp battle but just couldn’t seem to figure out the Patriots coverage packages. Locker was intercepted three times and completed less than half his passes. Brady found his main man Rob Gronkowski for an early touchdown and Wes Welker often as the Patriots offense carved up the Titans secondary.
Fantasy Stud: Brady, 31-35 404 yards 3TD 0INT
Vikings 21 Jaguars 10
It might be the dud of the day, but that doesn’t mean that this game didn’t have some interesting story-lines. The most interesting thing I learned from the almanac about this game is the return of Adrian Peterson. Despite tearing his ACL in December, Adrian was out there with his team to start the season. He was no decoy. Adrian rushed the ball 25 times for 117 yards and two short touchdowns. The Jaguars struggled to move the ball all day and Blaine Gabbert was intercepted three times. Gabbert’s draft class mate Christian Ponder was sharp completing 13 of his 17 passes for 217 yards. Ponder’s numbers won’t be confused with flashy, but he didn’t turn over the ball and that proved to be the key to the Vikings success. Jaguars running back Maurice Jones Drew was on the field but noticeably rusty after a long pre-season hold out. The Vikings held him to only 39 yards rushing.
Fantasy Stud: Peterson, 25 carries 117 yards 2TD
Bills 31 Jets 28
In another opening day thriller, the Bills edged the Jets with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter. Mario Williams made an immediate impact for the Bills by sacking Mark Sanchez and forcing him out of the game with what the team is calling a mild concussion. Tim Tebow was average in relief of Sanchez but his last pass of the day was intercepted by Stephon Gilmore clinching the win for the Bills. Ryan Fitzpatrick was excellent and from the opening gun found a rhythm with Stevie Johnson. Johnson continued his success against Darrelle Revis catching six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson shared the carries for the Bills who hurt the Jets all day with draws aimed right at the gut of Rex Ryan’s defense.
Fantasy Stud: Jackson, 15 carries 79 yards 2TDs
Texans 42 Dolphins 10
In one of week 1′s most lopsided games, the Houston Texans made a statement to the entire AFC. The Texans showed balance on offense by gashing the Dolphins with the running game and then throwing it over their heads whenever they stepped up to try and crowd the line of scrimmage. Matt Schaub was excellent, Arian Foster and Ben Tate consistently found holes, and the Dolphins had no answer for Andre Johnson. The Dolphins offense didn’t fare much better against the Texans rebuilt defense. Ryan Tannehill earned the starting job out of training camp, but struggled to complete a pass and was intercepted three times.
Fantasy Stud: Foster, 25 carries 202 yards 1TD
Cardinals 31 Seahawks 17
After QB battles dominated both team’s training camps, John Skelton and Russell Wilson were named the starters for this week 1 contest just days before the kickoff. Skelton beat out Kevin Kolb whose pre-season was a disaster from day 1 and Wilson beat out Matt Flynn and Tavaris Jackson (he ended up in Buffalo). On opening day, Skelton and Larry Fitzgerald hooked up early and often. The Seahawks didn’t have an answer. Ryan Williams was impressive after returning from the devastating knee injury he suffered in the first pre-season game last year.
Fantasy Stud: Fitzgerald, 8 catches 155 yards 3TDS
Packers 42 49ers 10
The Packers made the loudest statement on opening day stomping the 49ers and reaffirming their position as the team to beat in the NFC. Aaron Rodgers spread the ball all over the field and frustrated the 49ers defense who were always a step behind. Second year star Randall Cobb scored a touchdown on a kickoff return on opening day for the second straight season. Frank Gore suffered the most devastating injury of the NFL’s first week when he tore his ACL on a screen pass in the second quarter.
Fantasy Stud: Rodgers, 27-35 346 yards 3TDS oINT
Buccaneers 17 Panthers 6
Greg Schiano got his first NFL victory coaching his first NFL game against an NFC South rival. The Buccaneers defense played like they did under Tony Dungy and kept Cam Newton bottled up in the pocket all game. Gerald McCoy had 2.5 sacks to lead the defense and rookie Doug Martin scored a touchdown on his first touch from scrimmage. Josh Freeman protected the ball and avoided turnovers.
Fantasy Stud: Doug Martin, 24 carries 105 yards 1TD
Broncos 30 Steelers 24 (OT)
In a rematch of last year’s playoff game, the Broncos defeated the Steelers with a touchdown in overtime before the Steelers could touch the ball, again. Payton Manning hit Eric Decker on a short slant route and Decker finished it off running 17 yards into the end zone. The Steelers had fought back from an early deficit scoring 1o-points after the 2:00 warning to force overtime. The Broncos won the toss and Manning took over from there. Manning was impressive in his Broncos debut and didn’t seem to be held back by his healing neck. Mike Wallace was mostly ineffective after missing most of the pre-season with a hold out.
Fantasy Stud: Manning, 17-24 275 yards 4TD 1INT
Monday, September 10
Ravens 29 Bengals 13
The Ravens and Ray Rice ran the Bengals into the ground and took an early advantage in the AFC South. Rice rushed for 175 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Rice also caught 5 passes for 61 yards and his third touchdown of the day. The Ravens defense hounded Andy Dalton all day and even had a safety on the Bengals first offensive possession in the second half.
Fantasy Stud: Torrey Smith, 10 receptions 194 yards
Chargers 10 Raiders 6
The Chargers and Raiders closed out a thrilling opening week of football with a bit of a whimper. Neither team could move the ball on offense and a 1-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Brown late in the third quarter was enough for the Chargers to hold on to an opening day victory. Carson Palmer couldn’t catch a break for the Raiders and was intercepted on two passes that should have been caught by his intended receiver. The Raiders shot themselves in the foot all night with multiple penalties, turnovers, and mistakes.
Fantasy Stud: Brown, 17 carries 88 yards 1TD
