Some football...and football

For my first writing in nearly a year, I'm going to focus primarily on football (soccer). Of course I would be foolish to ignore the opening of the American Football campaign, and I will talk a little about that. For the most part, my writing on Rear Window is going to focus on football, American and regular, and not so much politics, music, movies, etc. I'm going to do my best to post frequently, and keep it as short and sweet as possible. Without further ado, and with respect to Peter King, here are a few things I think about the opening weekend of the NFL Season:

-Eli Manning looked terrific. You knew I was going to start with this, but it has to be said. He was extremely confident in the pocket, very accurate with his throws, and I think he was easily the best quarterback on the field at Texas Stadium. Eli went 28/41 (if you watched the game you would know that there were at least 5 dropped balls that should have gone for good yardage as well) with 4td's and 1 int. The pick wasn't even his fault, it was a timing curl that would have been perfect had Plaxico not slipped and fell. I'm excited to see what the Eli naysayers will speak of now.

-The Giants Defense is horrible. Terrible. I don't have enough adjectives to use here, let's just say they will give up a lot of points.

-The NFC in general doesn't look to be really good either. The cream of the crop is in the AFC and I think it's a safe bet that the Super Bowl Champion will come from New England or Indianapolis.

-Ladies and gentleman, Ben Roethlisberger. Career High 4 TD game, and an absolute crushing of AFC North rivals Cleveland. Who needs that guy Bill? (Note: The New York Giants desperately need him)

-Before the Saints-Colts game on Thursday I predicted the Saints would lose by 20. I was way off...they lost by 31. This team is not that good, and I think they are on the path to being found out.

-You may have noticed that I left San Diego out when I spoke of Super Bowl champions. Norv Turner is their coach, seems like everyone in the media is choosing to disregard that. Look for San Diego and New Orleans to be pretty big dissappointments.

-I know we're already a week in but I'm going to put them up anyway. My playoff predictions this year:
NFC: 1. Dallas 2. Seattle 3. Minnesota 4. Carolina 5. New Orleans 6. New York
AFC: 1. New England 2. Indianapolis 3. San Diego 4. Baltimore 5. Pittsburgh 6. Cincinatti

Ok, I'm already breaking my promise about keeping it short, but come on it's the first article back. We got a little more to talk about. I'm going to focus on 'soccer' now, there's so much to talk about, but I will try and stay focused. Again, all respect to Peter King, here are a few things I think about the world of FUTBOL.

-We're halfway through another FIFA international break (Euro Qualifying, International Friendlies, and other boring and unimportant matches). Can't they find a way to lump these breaks together during the offseason so that they don't interrupt the real season that is going on? If I have to see Czech Republic v.s San Marino one more time, I'm going to hurt the TV. I swear to God I don't even know where San Marino is.

-Chelsea have looked pitiful this season. There is absolutley no creativity coming forward, and there is no sense of urgency that used to be there. At the end of last season I was tearing up because I thought that the team may be broken up. I couldn't be any further from that opinion now. This team NEEDS to be broken up. There is too much ego, too much money, and not enough passion for winning. I legitimately miss the Eider Gudjohnsen, Damien Duff type of guys who played their hearts out. The Shevchenko/Ballack experiment has officially failed miserably. They have served only to poison the clubhouse with their $260,000/week paychecks. I could go on about this all day, but it makes me sick.

-On the other hand, Liverpool and Arsenal look poised to make a run for it in the BPL (Barclay's Premier League, no longer the English Premier League). Yes, I know only 10% of the matches have been played, but they both look terrific, and more importantly, HUNGRY. That is something that Chelsea lacks. Manchester United need to figure out their Striker situation and goal scoring problems before it is too late and they find themselves trailing Liverpool and Arsenal by double digits.

-I was wrong about Fernando Torres. I thought he was too soft, he isn't.

-Until I die I will never stop wondering why Jose Mourinho chose to trot out Geremi to take a Penalty Kick in that Champions League Semifinal last year...It's been 4 months and I don't see myself getting over that loss for a long time.

-I came into the season saying I'd love to see the likes of Blackburn, Everton, Newcastle, Tottenham take a Champions League spot and finish in the top 4. Now, I fear that they may take that spot from Chelsea, and I am petrified. Chelsea in the UEFA Cup and Blackburn in the Champions League...it sends shivers down my spine.

-Speaking of Newcastle, they are still undef...nevermind, I don't want to jinx them. Oh wait, too late. Michael Owen's leg was just found in an alleyway at Bigg Market.

-Manchester City and Sven-Goran Eriksson. Started as a cool story, now coming back to Earth. They'll be fun to follow though.

-Finally, David Beckham. How shitty a football writer would I be if I did not even mention Golden Balls' name. Saw him live at the Meadowlands at the "Greatest MLS game Ever Played." There is no question that interest in the sport is at an all time high. Now if we can just keep this going for the NEXT 5 YEARS OF HIS CONTRACT. Everyone take a step back and relax about the injuries and the missed playoffs for the LA Galaxy. We've only seen Chapter 1, and I think it went beautifully. It wouldn't be fun if he came in and won everything right away. Let's see the team build up around him, and the competition in the league build up around him, and see if he can do it in a few years. For now, sit back, and enjoy the beauty that is Posh Spice and a Becks free kick.