Monos Report: The first QB Rankings are in!
The Eagles are flying. The Bills need a get-right game. And Teddy Bridgewater at No. 1? You bet.
Week 1 is complete and we can now rush to judgment and know everything that will happen the rest of the season. Or we can watch the film and make observations to pay attention to as the season progresses.
Let’s dive in to the film and see what I learned.
Fly Eagles Fly
OK, Nick Sirianni. That was impressive! It always starts at quarterback and Jalen Hurts did everything right that was asked of him. What jumped out to me was how good their entire offense looked. Center Jason Kelce’s toughness and leadership are known, but I did not know how good left tackle Jordan Mailata is and how solid he is in pass protection. He is so massive it makes up for some technique issues, but he knows what works for him. Right tackle Lane Johnson is tough and athletic. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith is natural like we thought and if Jalen Reagor shows consistency combined with speed, to go along with tight end Zach Ertz, this is a real offense. Need to mention the best Penn State running back in the league, too: Miles Sanders. Certainly need to see against better defenses than Atlanta, but that was a dominant performance.
Nittany Lions RBs
Yes I said it, Miles Sanders seems more instinctive and creative than Saquon Barkley. Need to be fair to Barkley and give him time coming off the injury, but he did not show great feet and tripped himself a couple of times in his season opener. Feel like he is a home-run hitter at this point which is not a bad thing, but the Giants need more from him down in and down out to get the value of where he was selected.
Vegas Nights
Quarterback Derek Carr ranked last in my QB rankings for Week 1. Wow, they were fortunate to win, but what really caught my attention was Hall of Fame corner Charles Woodson sitting with owner Mark Davis. I could not stop thinking how boring that must be for Woodson, but his cup stayed filled with red wine and that can help you get through any conversation.
Roll Tide QBs
Jalen Hurts was the best of the three former starting Tuscaloosa quarterbacks ranking 13th while Mac Jones was right behind Hurts ranking 14th. Tagovailoa ranked 25th for me and needs to show more ability to make special throws down the field.
Bills (-3.5) @ Miami
Time for the Bills offense to get back to 2020. Miami showed almost no pass rush against Mac Jones so this should look much better for Josh Allen in Week 2. Buffalo has been dominant in the first half and can control this game getting up early on a Miami offense that showed very little in terms of throwing downfield. The Fins defense also struggled on third downs, which is an area the Bills can exploit. The Bills defense should dominate and give the offense a chance to get back on track. For Bills Mafia traveling down to Miami, I can highly recommend KYU as a brilliant restaurant.
New Orleans (-3.5) @ Carolina
Forget the QBs! The Panthers and Saints rank first and second in opponent yards per rush, but now we really find out which defense is legit against the run. Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara are arguably the two most complete running backs in the NFL. Both are dynamic, explosive and elusive.
This will be a fun game to watch.
The Rankings
Each week, expect to get the quarterback grades right here. How does this work? Simply, it’s a plus/negative point system determined by the types of throws and the situation in the game. Meaningful runs/scrambles do count. The final stat line does not matter. A “good” play gets you +1 while a bad play gets you -1 throughout the course of the game. Simple as that. This number is then divided by the number of pass attempts that quarterback had in the game to net the magic number you see at the right end of this running Excel report.
One week in, here’s how the quarterbacks rank. (Feel free to zoom in on your screen to read more closely, of course):
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