One Hectic Week

This NFL season could not have kicked off with a better start.

During the pre-season, the New York Giants lost starting defensive end Osi Umenyiora to a knee injury. That simply rubbed salt into the wounds of the defending champion, who had already lost their marquee defensive end Michael Strahan to FOX.

While many believed that the New England Patriots will go unbeaten in the regular season for the second year running, their confidence was cruelly shattered midway through the first quarter of their opening game against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, when All-World quarterback Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL and is done for the season. His replacement is Matt Cassel, who last started a football game at high school.

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts lost at home to the Chicago Bears. Not only was their star quarterback Peyton Manning ineffective (probably due to pre-season knee surgery), they also lost key tight end Dallas Clark to a knee injury. Luckily, Clark's injury appeared to be minor and he should be able to play next week.

Also in San Diego, the Chargers lost to the Carolina Panthers on a last-second touchdown by little-known tight end Dante Rosario (who?). And after the game, All-Star linebacker Shawne Merriman finally decided that enough is enough and will undergo knee surgeries which will cost him the rest of the season.

On the happier side, we also witnessed the emergence of some high-profile rookies.

Matt Ryan threw a 62-yard touchdown on his very first pass in leading the Atlanta Falcons to a comfortable victory over the hapless Detroit Lions.

The first time Felix Jones touched the ball, he ran for an 11-yard touchdown as the Dallas Cowboys completely dominated the Cleveland Browns. He oh-so nearly added another touchdown on his very next carry, but was stopped by a shoelace tackle.

And although Matt Forte and Eddie Royal were not first-round draft picks like Ryan and Jones, they both excelled in their debut for the Bears and the Denver Broncos.

And finally, who would have thought, just a couple of months ago, that Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers would be the winning quarterbacks on the same week?

So many storylines, so much happening on Week One. Looks like Week Two has a tough act to follow.