NFC South Recap:Week 1

Throughout the course of history the NFC South has been the most unpredictable division in the NFL with every team winning the division at least once in the last 5 seasons with the exception of the Buccaneers. As far as playmakes go this division has a bunch of those with guys such as Cam Newton, Steve Smith, Julio Jones, Drew Brees,Stephen Jackson,Doug Martin, Matt Ryan and more. Week 1 featured a lot of action and late game drama in the NFC South so lets get to it.

Game #1 Atlanta Falcons:17 @ New Orleans Saints:23

If your the type of fan that likes high scoring, action packed games then this is always a game to watch. It doesn’t get much better then Drew Brees and Matt Ryan as far as watching 2 QB's do battle against each other. The games between the 2 are usually high scoring but this game was a little abnormal.

The Falcons jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and seized the momentum early on in the Super Dome.With a 25 yard Touchdown to Maques Colston ,Drew Brees and the Saints took the momentum in the 2^nd quarter with 13 unanswered points to take a 13-10 lead into halftime.

The Falcons and Saints would trade touchdowns from Julio Jones and Jimmy Graham as the Saints led 20-17 heading into the games final quarter. With the game on the line deep in Saints territory Matt Ryan was picked off by Roman Harper in the endzone on what would have been the potential game winning touchdown.

Solid Debut For Jackson

Stephen Jackson was acquired in the off season by the Falcons to help the run game and he looked decent against the Saints as he collected 77 yards on 11 carries with a 50 yard run as his long for the day.

Colston Sets New Franchise Record

On his 1^st touchdown reception of the season Marques Colston moved into the top spot as the all-time leader for receptions in New Orleans Saints history.

Game #2 Seattle Seahawks:12 @ Carolina Panthers:7

One of the more interesting games to me was the match up of Russell Wilson vs Cam Newton.The game was all about the defense as nether scored more then 14 points. The Panthers went up early in the game with a touch down to Steve Smith to take a 7-3 lead.

The next touchdown wouldn't come until all the way until the 4^th quarter as Russell Wilson on a 43 yard strike to Jermaine Kearse which would be the deciding factor in Seattle's win at Bank of America Stadium. Mike Shula in his debut as offensive Coordinator for the Panthers limited Cam Newton's carries as he only rushed for 38 yards on 4 carries.

Costly Fumble

Deangelo Williams fumbled the ball as the Panthers were in Seattle territory as they were on the verge of re claiming the lead and getting their 1^st win of 2013.

Whats Beast Mode?

Despite the loss the Panthers and the newly revamped defense held pro bowl running back Marshawn Lynch to only 43 yards on 17 carries.

Game #3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers:17 @ New York Jets:18

To say that the Buccaneers were stunned in Darrelle Revis's return to New York would be an understatement. The Buccaneers on paper are far better then the Jets but a self inflicting 13 penalties gave the Jets life which led to them losing. An early saftey on a bad snap to Josh Freeman was the pre cursor to what would take place at the end of the game.

The Bucs were up 17-15 when diaster struck and Lavonte Davis was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a late hit on Geno Smith. The personal foul moved the Jets 15 yards from the spot of the hit which set up the 48 yard game winning field goal by Nick Folk. It was a very undisciplined game by the Tampa Bay defense.

Jackson Produces

Vincent Jackson began his season with a bang collecting 154 yards on 7 receptions, very productive day for one of Josh Freeman's favorite targets.

NFC South Standings

Saints 1-0

Falcons 0-1

Panthers 0-1

Buccaneers 0-1

Week 2 Match ups

Panthers @ Bills

Rams @ Falcons

Saints @ Buccaneers

3 Games To Watch On The NFL's Opening Weekend

Finally, the NFL has returned. For months we've been forced to go without it, and now that the 4-week tease that is the preseason has ended, it is time for real games to start. At this point, I'm sure most fans would watch just about any game that the league threw at us, but there are a few games that stand out on the schedule as one's that will be highly entertaining to watch (even if you don't have fantasy players on their teams). 

Baltimore Ravens vs. Denver Broncos (Thursday; 8:30 Eastern)

The season kicks off in a big way on Thursday night, as we get a rematch of this past season's AFC Championship. We have the defending champion Ravens taking on Peyton Manning and the Broncos. This game has tons of things to watch for, such as how the Ravens' defense will fair with the losses of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and others. 

We'll also get to see how Joe Flacco performs after getting a huge contract this offseason, as he'll be without his number 1 target from last year, Anquan Boldin, who was traded to San Francisco. He'll also have to make due without Dennis Pitta, who was lost for the season with a fractured hip.

On the other side, we get to see Peyton Manning put on a show like he does every week, and he'll have a new weapon at his disposal with Wes Welker. We know that the passing game is set, but we'll have to see how the defense holds up with Von Miller being suspended, and the loss of Elvis Dumervil (to the Ravens) because of a contract mishandling. 

On top of that, we're going to see how the Broncos handle their running back stable. They have rookie Monte Ball, Ronnie Hillman, as well as former first round pick Knowshon Moreno. It's likely that Ball and Hillman will carry most of the load, with Ball getting the goal line carries, too, but if either of them falters, I don't think John Fox will have a problem throwing Moreno out there.

Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints (Sunday; 1:00 Eastern)

This has developed into one of the better rivalries in all of football, and this game should be no different. The teams split the season series 1-1 last year, with New Orleans winning by 4 the first time out, and Atlanta avenging their loss with a 10 point win in the Georgia Dome.

I expect the Saints to improve on their 7-9 record from last season, as head coach Sean Payton will be returning to the sidelines following a year-long suspension because of the "BountyGate" scandal. This will be a huge help for the Saints and Drew Brees, who will also look to improve on last season.

New Orleans didn't really gain any impact players through free agency, but safety Kenny Vaccaro out of Texas could wind up being a big playmaker in their secondary, which the team hasn't had since the days of Darren Sharper (one of the most hardest hitting safeties in the league *Language NSFW*).

In Atlanta, it's really do or die this season. The team has been incredibly successful in the regular season, but it hasn't translated to postseason success. With Matt Ryan in the last year of his contract, you have to imagine that he's going to do everything he can to get the team on the right track right out of the gate.

I certainly be watching the Falcons' backfield in this game, as the team added long-time Rams running back Steven Jackson this offseason. I think it'll be strange to see him in another jersey, but I have no doubts that he'll be able to produce like we are accustomed to, especially since the offense won't be on his shoulders like it was all those years in St. Louis.

Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday; 4:25 Eastern)

We get to see another playoff rematch, as the Packers and 49ers square off in a matchup we saw in this year's NFC Divisional round. The 49ers took that game by 2 touchdowns, but I expect this game to be a bit closer.

If you don't remember, this game was potentially Colin Kaepernick's best game of the year. He threw for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns, and also picked up an astounding 181 yards and another 2 scores on the ground. It'd be unreasonable to expect him to duplicate those numbers, though, especially given that he lost his favorite target in Michael Crabtree, who tore his achilles during OTA's. 

Something to watch is how his chemistry with tight end Vernon Davis has developed from last year, as Davis essentially went missing once Kaepernick unseated Alex Smith as the starting quarterback. On top of that, the team added Nnamdi Asomugha and Eric Reid to an already solid secondary, but we will have to see if those two can offset the loss of Dashon Goldson, who went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.

With the Packers, the running back situation will be front and center as far as what to watch. Rookies Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin will look to take a majority of the carries, but the team also has James Starks, who could steal some touches from that duo. The team is looking for more stability in the backfield after dealing with numerous injuries and overall ineffectiveness last year.

We will also get to see who steps up an fills the void of Greg Jennings as the number 1 receiver after Jennings bolted to Minnesota this offseason. With Jordy Nelson coming off knee surgery, it is unclear if he'll be able to step up in Week 1, so look for James Jones to get a ton of looks. He hauled in 14 touchdowns last season, and I expect him to add at least 1 this week. (He's starting on my fantasy team, so he better). 

Thanks for reading.

Follow Brian Rzeppa on Twitter, and check out his NBA work at The League News.

Tru School Of Kicks: Reebok Scrimmage's

It’s been a bit of the delay when it comes to this post but It’s time for the Monthly segment of  “Tru School Of Kicks”.  This month features another pair in the long line of Retro Reebok's being re released. For the Month of April the sneaker I am featuring today are the Retro Reebok Scrimmages.

Made Famous by Dallas Cowboy Star running back Emmit Smith in 1992  The Reebok Scrimmage’s  were a training shoe which he used to dominate on the field in his prime playing for the Cowboys. The Classic Kicks were just released several days ago April 12^th. They were distributed in 3 team color ways  (Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. The shoes are on sale for 100$.

All in all I think it’s a pretty dope shoe and a must buy if you are a sneaker head and are into Retro shoes. Reebok Retro’s aren’t like Nike’s or Jordan’s its actually special when they release them, you aren’t going to see them 4 or 5 times like you do with the J’s. So if you the type of person that just likes to be different and have a change of pace as far as what you’re wearing then theses are a must buy, not to mention they are really  nice looking sneakers.