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Almost a month ago to the day, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton gave me this quote when I asked him the difference between the playbook he got before the lockout and the one he was digesting during camp:
"That's Dr. Seuss compared to doggone Shakespeare," he said. Newton must have Shakespeare down pat.
The No. 1 pick in the draft set a record for passing yards in a rookie's first start with 422 yards in the Panthers' 28-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
| More on NFL Week 1 |
| Analysis |
Clark JudgeHow concerned should Pittsburgh be? Why throw that pass, Tony Romo? Is Houston that good or Indy that bad? Judgements >> 
Will BrinsonThere was football Sunday. And it was good, with lots of stories, which we break down here. Sorting the Sunday Pile >> |
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This isn't about Newton, though.
It's about the other rookie quarterbacks taken in the first round. Newton and Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, a second-round pick, were the only rookies to start at quarterback Sunday.
The three others should start. They will soon.
After Sunday, that could be accelerated.
Here's a look at all three situations:
Minnesota: Donovan McNabb was horrible in the Vikings' loss to the San Diego Chargers. He threw for 38 yards, four better than his career low. He was jumpy. He wasn't accurate. He looked lost. It's time to consider Christian Ponder. Why not? The Vikings aren't going to be good this year, so it makes sense.
Tennessee: The Titans signed Matt Hasselbeck as a free agent, a move I hated. I thought he was awful late last season. He didn't show me much to disprove that Sunday in the Titans' 16-14 loss to the Jaguars. Hasselbeck finished 21 of 34 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. But he did little until his underhand flip to Kenny Britt was turned into an 80-yard touchdown pass. That's not on him. Jake Locker might not be ready yet, but he could be in a couple of weeks.
Jacksonville: Luke McCown, who was named the starter after David Garrard was cut last week, was serviceable Sunday, much like the man he replaced. McCown was 17 of 25 for 174 yards. That's good enough to win against another bad passing offense, but they need more. Isn't it the same as what they got from Garrard? Blaine Gabbert, the strong-armed passer from Missouri, didn't do enough to win the job, but it won't be long before he's taking over.
If Sunday taught us anything, it's that rookie quarterbacks can play. It's football. It's not as hard as you think. If fragile psyches are an issue, you picked the wrong guy.
And if you're not a Super Bowl contender -- and Carolina, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Minnesota and Tennessee certainly aren't -- it makes no sense not to play them.
Cam Newton passed his first test with flying colors. And Dalton looked good in his time before leaving the game with a wrist injury.
The others should get their chance soon. Get on with it. Play the kids.
| Thursday, Sep. 8, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Green Bay Packers 42, New Orleans Saints 34 |
 | B+ | 3.30 | Packers: The defending Super Bowl champs showed why they are such, as QB Aaron Rodgers led the explosive offense to 28 first-half points. But as the defending champs, the Packers also left a bit to be desired defensively, giving up 477 yards to the Saints. If the offense keeps dominating, though, the defense can be 'B' quality all year and the Packers will still win. -- James Carlton, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | B- | 2.70 | Saints: They gave up 21 first-quarter points and nearly 400 yards of total offense to the Packers, but they came within inches of potentially sending the game to overtime on the final play. QB Drew Brees was in midseason form, perhaps due to the offseason workouts he organized, and their receivers are for real. Besides the feeble defensive effort, the offensive line gave up three sacks. -- James Carlton, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Sunday, Sep. 11, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Baltimore Ravens 35, Pittsburgh Steelers 7 |
 | A+ | 4.00 | Ravens: It was total domination on defense for Baltimore. The Ravens forced seven turnovers, which is a new franchise record. Plus, QB Joe Flacco got the monkey off his back by outperforming Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, and earning his first win against the Pittsburgh starter. Baltimore made a strong statement. -- Jason Butt, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 1.70 | Steelers: Pittsburgh was done after committing two turnovers in two offensive plays to start the second half. It couldn't establish the ground game with RB Rashard Mendenhall and QB Ben Roethlisberger was out of sync, throwing three interceptions. The defense looked a step slow as Baltimore had its way offensively. -- Jason Butt, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Chicago Bears 30, Atlanta Falcons 12 |
 | A | 4.00 | Bears: Mike Martz showed a lot of faith in the rebuilt offensive line with so many seven-step drops in a vertical passing game. They repaid his confidence by helping Jay Cutler put up big numbers. The defense hardly looked like it had half a dozen 30-somethings, swarming QB Matt Ryan all day and producing three turnovers. -- Gene Chamberlain, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 0.00 | Falcons: A defensive game plan that didn't call for enough blitzes and an offensive game plan that failed to emphasize the run enough early -- combined with a flat-lining horizontal passing attack -- were big problems. Falcons receivers treated the football with fear, dropping five passes. Overall, the team failed to respond to adversity in a big way. -- Gene Chamberlain, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Cincinnati Bengals 27, Cleveland Browns 17 |
 | B+ | 3.30 | Bengals: Even with an injury to Andy Dalton, the Bengals defense made up for any offensive inefficiency. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's group forced six straight unsuccessful Browns drives to close the game and secure the victory. It may not have been pretty, but any win for this young group has to be deemed a significant success. -- Paul Dehner, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.00 | Browns: The Browns lost a game they should have won because of several big mistakes early and one huge one late. This team doesn't boast the talent to overcome penalties, drops and mental errors. And when will the woeful lack of productive wide receivers be addressed? Apparently not this season. -- Marty Gitlin, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Houston Texans 34, Indianapolis Colts 7 |
 | A- | 3.70 | Texans: The new 3-4 scheme held the Colts to 236 yards and forced a pair of turnovers that helped blow the game open. RB Ben Tate rushed for 116 yards and a score in his debut. Jacoby Jones' 79-yard punt return for a score gives the team a special teams element they sorely lacked last season. Three turnovers keep this from being an A+. -- Brandon Williams, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 0.00 | Colts: All but 72 of their total offensive yards came well after the outcome was in doubt. The offensive line had better gel in order to keep Kerry Collins upright. Defensively, the Colts looked slow, while special teams remained as bad as it was in 2010. -- Brandon Williams, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Jacksonville Jaguars 16, Tennessee Titans 14 |
 | A- | 3.70 | Jaguars: Can't be anything but somewhere in the A range for this performance. It wasn't artistic, and it won't make highlight reels, but the Jaguars executed the game plan just about flawlessly. They believed they would be vastly improved defensively, particularly against the run. On this day, they were. -- John Oehser, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 2.30 | Titans: The Titans didn't play awful at times. What they also didn't do was make key plays. They had a chance late in the first half to get back into it and went backward because of penalties, and aside from a broken-play 80-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Kenny Britt they didn't produce enough offense. -- John Oehser, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Buffalo Bills 41, Kansas City Chiefs 7 |
 | B+ | 3.30 | Bills: Chan Gailey had a great offensive plan for the Bills, as Ryan Fitzpatrick picked apart the Chiefs defense and threw for four TDs. On defense, the Bills never let the Kansas City running game gain any momentum. They more than held their own on special teams. -- Bob Gretz, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 0.00 | Chiefs: A complete failure from top to bottom by the Chiefs. Offensively, they turned the ball over twice, both leading to scores. Ryan Fitzpatrick picked apart the Chiefs defense. On special teams, they turned the ball over on the opening kickoff. There's nothing good to come out of this for the Chiefs. -- Bob Gretz, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Philadelphia Eagles 31, St. Louis Rams 13 |
 | B- | 2.70 | Eagles: The Eagles pulled away late and were dominant for three quarters, but it wasn't a win without flaws. The Eagles committed eight penalties for 91 yards, Michael Vick completed fewer than half of his pass attempts and the run game struggled at times. Vick made plays when he needed to and the Rams defense did not have enough speed to cover DeSean Jackson. -- Ron Clements, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.00 | Rams: The offense was stagnant as RT Jason Smith had trouble pass blocking. QB Sam Bradford was erratic. Six dropped passes didn't help. Defensively the Rams couldn't keep up with DeSean Jackson and couldn't contain Michael Vick. The run defense was spotty. -- Ron Clements, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Detroit Lions 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 |
 | B+ | 3.30 | Lions: Matthew Stafford completed 24 of 33 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns. WR Calvin "Megatron" Johnson won the battle against CB Aqib Talib by catching six passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit also stuffed Tampa's running game, holding them to 48 rushing yards. -- Scott Purks, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D+ | 1.30 | Buccaneers: Another slow start for Tampa, which didn't have a first down through the first quarter. Tampa's pass rush once again failed to record a sack. Matt Stafford threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Starting RB LeGarrette Blount, who gained 1,007 yards as a rookie, rushed only five times for 15 yards. -- Scott Purks, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Carolina Panthers 21, Arizona Cardinals 28 |
 | B+ | 3.30 | Panthers: Considering the Panthers had about six weeks to prepare for their regular-season opener with a new staff and many new players, this was an incredible outing. Rookie QB Cam Newton was terrific, throwing for an NFL-debut record 422 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. The bad news for the Panthers is they might have lost Jon Beason for the season. -- Steve Reed, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 2.30 | Cardinals: The front seven couldn't sustain pressure on rookie QB Cam Newton despite an array of blitzes and the secondary had multiple blown coverages. But the Cards moved the ball on offense -- enough to overcome two fruitless red-zone ventures -- and rookie Patrick Peterson brought down the house with an 89-yard punt return to win it. -- Craig Morgan, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | San Diego Chargers 24, Minnesota Vikings 17 |
 | C | 2.00 | Chargers: They had earned an F going into halftime, but then they made necessary adjustments. The defense shut out Donovan McNabb and Adrian Peterson in the second half and the offense scored 17 points to pull out the win. However, the Vikings exposed a lot of areas the team will need to improve. -- Dan McLellan, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C- | 1.70 | Vikings: A poor second-half performance prevented the Vikings from pulling off the upset. Donovan McNabb extended a few drives with his legs by scrambling for first downs, but failed to get it done through the air. Peterson had a solid first half, but made no impact after that. Meanwhile, the defense had no answers for QB Philip Rivers. -- Dan McLellan, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | San Francisco 49ers 33, Seattle Seahawks 17 |
 | B | 3.00 | 49ers: The offense was far too conservative and didn't show much faith in QB Alex Smith and the passing game, but the line didn't allow a sack and the defense held the Seahawks to just 64 rushing yards, had five sacks and forced three turnovers. WR Ted Ginn blew open a close game with two late return touchdowns. -- Michael Erler, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D+ | 1.30 | Seahawks: By the time the Seahawks offense got anything going, they were in a 16-0 hole. Defensively the Seahawks were solid, but it was not enough to overcome the slow start. A year after thriving on special teams, Seattle allowed kick- and punt-return touchdowns in the fourth quarter after cutting San Francisco's lead to two points. -- John Boyle, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Washington Redskins 28, NY Giants 14 |
 | A | 4.00 | Redskins: The Redskins could not run the ball the way they wanted, but they found a way to move by attacking the Giants' pass defense. Smart move. Washington also stayed aggressive defensively, with numerous blitzes to force QB Eli Manning into hurried throws. It was a terrific way to open the season. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.00 | Giants: The Giants had success when they blitzed QB Rex Grossman, but for some reason they did not stick with this strategy. They were hurt by field position in the second half, but the inability to get the ground game going hurt New York. The Giants could not sustain any success or momentum. -- John Keim, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Dallas Cowboys 24, NY Jets 27 |
 | B- | 2.70 | Cowboys: The Cowboys wasted a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, which is what everyone will remember. But considering everything they endured from an injury standpoint, losing this game the way they did wasn't so unexpected. Obviously there is disappointment with the outcome, but overall it was an impressive performance from top to bottom. -- Nick Eatman, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | C+ | 2.30 | Jets: The Jets offense couldn't get anything going. Their pass rush wasn't able to get any traction. Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie struggled against the Cowboys' receivers. Special teams ultimately saved the day with a blocked punt by Joe McKnight that was returned for a TD by Isaiah Trufant to tie the score and then a 50-yard field goal by Nick Folk. -- Lisa Zimmerman, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Monday, Sep. 12, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | New England Patriots 38, Miami Dolphins 24 |
 | A | 4.00 | Patriots: The Patriots would tell you they had a turnover and allowed two TDs; anyone else would tell you New England was dominant in a season-opening road victory. QB Tom Brady had a career-best in passing yards, the OL played well and the defense choked the life out of Miami in the second half. -- Chris Perkins, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D- | 0.70 | Dolphins: Miami, which was 1-7 at home last season, was strong early in this one but weak late. The Dolphins' defense got riddled by QB Tom Brady (career-best passing day). New England's TEs crushed the Dolphins. The capper to the night was New England's 99-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter. Absolutely terrible. -- Chris Perkins, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Oakland Raiders 23, Denver Broncos 20 |
 | B- | 2.70 | Raiders: Jason Campbell is supposed to be a changed man. But his smartest move was putting the ball above Darren McFadden's belt and letting his stud running back go to work (again). Sure, the Raiders lost their composure too many times (again). But Sebastian Janikowski tied an NFL record with a 63-yard FG. It was barley enough for Oakland's fourth straight win in Denver. -- Lee Rasizer, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 1.00 | Broncos: It started well enough, with the Broncos forcing a turnover on Oakland's first offensive snap. But the hint of things to come should have been settling for a field goal. Denver couldn't run; hardly even tried. The passing game was discombobulated in the rain. Penalties abounded. Eric Decker's 90-yard punt return was a lone bright spot in John Fox's mainly forgettable coaching debut. -- Lee Rasizer, RapidReports Correspondent |
| GPA Key (updated through season) | ||
| A = 4.0 | A- = 3.7 | B+ = 3.3 |
| B = 3.0 | B- = 2.7 | C+ = 2.3 |
| C = 2.0 | C- = 1.7 | D+ = 1.3 |
| D = 1.0 | D- = 0.7 | |
