Football is officially back in full swing and it’s time to get the blog rolling again too. After a crazy summer both in the sports world and my own life, I’m back and ready to write about all the latest happenings. So, Chambers Corner is back with a NFL 6 Pack…

The opening weekend of the NFL was full of New Faces both on the field and sidelines. Eight head coaches made their NFL debuts and 3 of them were able to come away with a win in week 1.

Chip Kelly had a strong debut coaching the Eagles.

Most impressive of the new head coaches? Chip Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles as he brought his “point-a-minute” up-tempo offense to the NFL and looked pretty good against Washington. Least Impressive? Gus Bradley with the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose only score came on special teams, when they blocked a punt in the end zone.  Rookie players also tried to make their mark in their NFL debuts, including 2 quarterbacks. Watch for Tavon Austin in St Louis and Giovani Bernard in Cincinnati to make the biggest impact before the season is over.

The AFC North had a rough start to the season as all 4 teams in the division lost in Week 1. Historically, teams who start 0-1 generally don’t have success in the post-season so that could be a bad omen.  The good news for all the teams? They are all technically in 1^st place. The winner of this division will either be Baltimore or Cincinnati, but don’t be surprised if both make the playoffs despite coming up short in their openers.

One strange thing we saw in the opening week were safeties. No, not player safety or the guys holding up the last line of defense in the backfield, but safeties of the 2-point variety being scored in 4 different games. After only having this happen 13 times in the entire 2012 NFL season, it was a key play in several games for momentum early and was the lone score for Jacksonville. I’m sure odds makers weren’t too happy with the scores either!

Heros From Week 1: Peyton Manning kicked off the season last Thursday on a strong note with 452 passing yards and he tied the NFL record with 7 touchdown passes as they destroyed the defending champs. Reggie Bush looked solid in his debut with the Lions with 191 total yards and a touchdown to help lead them to a win.Anquan Boldin looked like a man among boys in his debut with the 49er’s after he had one big catch after another totaling 208 yards and a touchdown in their victory over the Packers.

Goats From Week 1: David Wilson had a bad case of deja vu in the season opener for the Giants as he fumbled twice before being benched for the night (eerily similar to his numbers in the opener last year) as the team went on to lose. Lavonte David from Tampa Bay also cost his team the game as he had a late hit on QB Geno Smith in the final seconds – the penalty put the Jets in field goal range, where they converted and won the game. The San Diego Chargers Defense blew a 21-point 2^nd-half lead letting the Texans convert a number of big plays to lose by 3. Yes, this also falls on the offense for not being able to convert late and a bad pick-6, but you have to be able to trust a professional defense to hold that kind of lead.

Shocker of the Week: Until a last minute, meaningless touchdown, the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the verge of only scoring 2 points in their home opener against Tennessee until Big Ben was able to put them on the board with less than 2 minutes to go. While there were a couple key injuries, that’s still no excuse for a franchise that has become a dynasty in the NFL. Ultimately, this Steelers team is not very good. They’ve lost key players from the past to free agency and drafting hasn’t filled the voids. From the looks of it, Big Ben is going to have to carry this team on his bad shoulder as they hope to go .500 this season.

Chamber’s Extra Point: The biggest NCAA game this weekend is Alabama at Texas A&M. We all remember last season with A&M came into Tuscaloosa and knocked off the top team in the country. This sprung “Johnny Football” into the spotlight as he eventually won the Heisman Trophy before a tumultuous offseason. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide are again #1 and travel to College Station and seek revenge on the #6 Aggies. I don’t think they’ll be surprised this time. Nick Saban has had 2 weeks to prepare of this game and Manziel seems to think he’s bigger than the sport. His actions both on and off the field will eventually end all hope for this season. I expect Alabama to win this game by at least 2 touchdowns as the downward spiral of Johnny Football continues.