NFL Football - CBSSports.com

CBSSports.com Senior Writer Pete Prisco grades each team's performance every week.

Week:

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Word of warning to all those fans out there celebrating their team's opener or lamenting it:

Trying to figure out what teams are all about in Week 1 can be hazardous to your health.

Nobody is as good as they looked Sunday or nearly as bad as some looked.

Week One Grades
Current	Top Five	Previous
A+	Colts · Trends	-
A+	Patriots · Trends	-
A	Texans · Trends	-
A	Steelers · Trends	-
B+	Panthers · Trends	-

That includes the Cleveland Browns. OK, so maybe they are the one exception. After seeing the Pittsburgh Steelers carve them up, it's going to be a long season in Cleveland. The Brady Quinn watch has started.

At least the Indians are winning their division and it's not too far off before Bron-bron and the Cavaliers get back to playing hoops.

It's always easy to rush to judgment on opening day. That's why the Colts, Chargers, Patriots and Steelers are feeling pretty good right now and why the Saints, Bears, Jets and Browns aren't.

But temper it a bit. It's barely past Labor Day. There's a long way to go. It is only the first Sunday with 16 more to go.

So I should be nice in grading these teams, right?

Not a chance.

If you stunk Sunday, there are no excuses. That's why the F's were flying in our first grades of the season. Five teams got them.

Be nice? Hey, I said to temper the thinking about what happened. I didn't say it didn't count.

That's why the Browns, Jaguars, Jets, Saints and Chiefs all get failing grades. With our new season-long grading system, that's not a good way to start.

The new system here will keep cumulative grades all season long. That means a team's grade at the end of the year will be the average of their 16-game grades. At each quarter, teams will get a quarterly grade. It's a way for us to keep progress on each of the 32 teams.

Starting with an F doesn't help. But it doesn't mean a team can't recover.

In fact, some of them will. It's only the first week.

Don't get caught up in putting so much stock in what happened on opening day.

It can be fools' gold.

Thursday, Sep. 6, 2007

Indianapolis Colts 41,New Orleans Saints 10

A+

Colts: They were explosive on offense, but the most impressive thing was their defense. Did they look fast or what?

Saints: Let's call it a mulligan. There is no way that offense can play that bad again. But the defense might be something that holds this team down this season.

Sunday, Sep. 9, 2007

Houston Texans 20,Kansas City Chiefs 3

Texans: Matt Schaub had a solid first start for the Texans, but it was Andre Johnson who stole the show. He's one of the league's best. The defense shut down the Chiefs and picked off two passes.

Chiefs: It's going to be a long season for this group. They got handled in this game all the way around. Larry Johnson got shut down and Damon Huard struggled.

Green Bay Packers 16,Philadelphia Eagles 13

Packers: They owe the Eagles for the two special-teams mistakes. The young defense held in nicely together. This is a big win for this team.

Eagles: When special teams cost you a game, it's tough to take. Two fumbles killed the Eagles. They didn't do a lot on offense, though. The defense was OK.

Pittsburgh Steelers 34,Cleveland Browns 7

Steelers: The Mike Tomlin era is off to a nice start. They looked dominant. Ben Roethlisberger is ready for a huge year. The defense was suffocating.

Browns: When you turn the ball over five times, allow six sacks and don't play any defense, it's hard to win. They need to play Brady Quinn now.

Denver Broncos 15,Buffalo Bills 14

Broncos: The game-winning drive could be huge for Jay Cutler's confidence. He had a nice day, but bogged down in the red zone. The defense shut down the Buffalo passing game.

Bills: They wasted a solid defensive effort with the late-game drive. J.P. Losman couldn't get much going in the passing game. Roscoe Parrish did have a nice punt return for a score.

Washington Redskins 16,Miami Dolphins 13

B-

Redskins: The running game and the defense keyed this win. They ran it right at the Dolphins, especially on the game-winning drive in overtime.

C-

Dolphins: The run defense struggled, which hurt. Trent Green had a decent day, but they couldn't get in the end zone late in regulation, which hurt.

Carolina Panthers 27,St. Louis Rams 13

B+

Panthers: Steve Smith had a huge game and the defense shut down Steven Jackson. This could be a sign that the Panthers are back.

C-

Rams: Steven Jackson's two fumbles really hurt. The defense gave up way too many yards and the offense did little in the passing game.

New England Patriots 38,NY Jets Jets 14

A+

Patriots: Randy Moss is a great pickup. He showed why he's a star, catching nine for 183. The defense shut down the Jets most of the day.

Jets: The secondary was picked to shreds. That has to stop. Chad Pennington threw two touchdown passes, but did little else.

Minnesota Vikings 24,Atlanta Falcons 3

B+

Vikings: This one belonged to the defense. They had six sacks and two picks for touchdowns. That's special. Adrian Peterson did the rest on offense.

D-

Falcons: The offense struggled to get going and Joey Harrington didn't have much time. The defense was just OK.

Tennessee Titans 13,Jacksonville Jaguars 10

Titans: They ran for 282 yards. That's amazing in itself. But they also shut down the Jaguars' running game. That's an impressive opener.

Jaguars: Aside from one long touchdown pass from David Garrard to rookie John Broussard, they did little right. The defense was pathetic.

Seattle Seahawks 20,Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6

Seahawks: Shaun Alexander had a nice game, but this one belonged to the defense. They limited the Tampa Bay offense all day long.

C-

Buccaneers: Didn't we expect they would have trouble scoring all year long? They just don't have enough. The defense played a pretty good game.

Detroit Lions 36,Oakland Raiders 21

Lions: That Mike Martz offense can move it. That was a good Raiders defense they carved up. Jon Kitna had a nice day and the defense made plays when they needed to do so.

C-

Raiders: It took too long to get the offense going and the pass defense was shredded. That's a surprise. Ronald Curry had a good game.

San Diego Chargers 14,Chicago Bears 3

Chargers: The defense was outstanding, but they struggled to get it going on offense. LaDainian Tomlinson was held in check, but they still won. What's that say?

Bears: At some point, they will need to get more offense. It just doesn't work with a one-dimensional team. The defense had a good effort go to waste. They had too many turnovers, too.

Dallas Cowboys 45,NY Giants Giants 35

Cowboys: As long as Tony Romo is playing like he did against the Giants, this is a Super Bowl contender. The defense didn't play that well, but it will in a month or so.

C-

Giants: Eli Manning had a nice day, but he couldn't keep up with the Dallas offense. The secondary was shredded by Romo. They couldn't cover anybody.

Monday, Sep. 10, 2007

Cincinnati Bengals 27,Baltimore Ravens 20

Bengals: They didn't play especially well, but they found a way. That defense looked better, but is that because it is or is it because the Ravens offense isn't very good?

Ravens: You're not going to win many games turning the ball over six times. And the decision to throw it with Kyle Boller late from the 1-yard line was a stupid move.

San Francisco 49ers 20,Arizona Cardinals 17

B-

49ers: The offense didn't do much, so the defense had to come up big and it did. They looked much improved from a year ago. Alex Smith struggled, but he made the winning drive when it was needed.

C-

Cardinals: Was that a typical Arizona loss? They had it in their hands, but then let a team with no offense go 85 yards for the winning score. The offense wasted a heck of a defensive effort.