Pirate Galaxy » , South Carolina declared the pla

Thursday was great, Sunday was a thrill a minute and Monday ... well, Monday also had games. The NFL is back, and all you want to do is dig into this big, steaming buffet of Week 1 goodness and scoop out the stuff you like.But a weeks worth of evidence isnt all that much when it comes to this NFL stuff, it really isnt. Overreactions may be fun, but its important to think about whats real and whats not -- whats likely to stick and whats likely to fade.With that in mind, heres a look at a few things we think we learned in Week 1, and a few things we dont think will turn out to be worth all that much attention.Wait, arent you?Carson Wentz?Is this it, Philly? Is this finally the guy? Is it finally time to make room next to the Rocky statue for one of a real-life sports hero who inspired your city and lifted it to championship greatness? Wentz looks smooth and poised and made some sweet touchdown throws in his debut, and if the goal was to make the fans forget their team just traded its starting quarterback a week before the season, mission accomplished. This was real success in a real game, and its always easier to build on success than failure.But Id hold off on commissioning that statue for at least a week or so. Just three years ago, Eagles fans would have sworn on a stack of wiz-wit bibles that Nick Foles was the long-term answer. You need to see a kid do this a lot more than once before you can really buy in. Hes not scared, and he has the arm and the touch. He holds the ball a little bit too long, as a lot of rookie quarterbacks do, and how he overcomes that will matter. The NFL people to whom I talked Monday said Wentz looked the part and better than many of them thought he was, but most also pointed out that he beat clearly the worst team in the league. Lets press pause here and see how he looks against one of the top 30. Speaking of which ...Oof, the BrownsThis is going to get worse before it gets better. You roll into Week 1 with 18 guys whove never played an NFL game and expect that not to show up. This is a team built on draft picks it hasnt yet made. Think last year felt long in Cleveland? This year could make 2015 feel like a week and half. And no, the loss of Robert Griffin III doesnt have to make anything worse. It was obvious Sunday that nothing had changed with that guy -- the Browns couldnt protect him, he couldnt protect himself and their best hope was that he could take the lumps until they drafted their quarterback of the future. Josh McCown is a better quarterback right now than Griffin is, but dont let that fool you into thinking this team is a real threat. They play in the toughest division in the league and could legitimately lose every single one of their games.Adrian Peterson?will be just fineFantasy players are losing their minds over Petersons 31 yards on 19 carries. I get it. Im a fantasy player. Losing our minds is our default state. But theres nothing to worry about with Peterson. Buy if you can. Minnesota had the ball for less than half of the game and ran fewer offensive plays than did the Tennessee team it beat by nine points. Thats in part because Peterson faced a stacked box all night and in part because the Vikings defense scored two touchdowns. The Vikings expect to have Sam Bradford at quarterback starting in Week 2, and his ability to deliver on downfield play-action throws will open things up for Peterson in the coming weeks.So will Ezekiel ElliottThe years most-touted rookie averaged 2.5 yards per carry in his debut. Alfred Morris averaged 5.0 in the same game. Panic time! Cowboys blew the pick! Right? Of course not. First of all, Morris had seven carries to Elliotts 20, so ... sample size. And second of all, the Giants paid Damon Harrison $9.25 million a year in free agency so that no one could run on them on first or second downs. Harrison doesnt play for Washington. Elliott could get going in Week 2, and certainly will get going sooner rather than later. Dallas bigger problem is that it?wont do anything on offense unless Dak Prescott, the fourth-round rookie at QB, gets something going downfield in the passing game.Are the Giants back?Speaking of that game, it did see the New York Football Giants win a season opener for the first time in six years. This is a team that hasnt finished .500 since 2012, so all of the preseason excitement about New York as a bounce-back team seemed to ignore just how far it?had to bounce. But the NFC East once again looks as if it can be won?by basically showing up. The Giants lost five games last season?in the final two minutes because they couldnt rush the passer in the fourth quarter or pick up first downs in the run game when they had the lead. They did both of those things, on the road against a division rival, Sunday. If they want to feel good about their chances, they should go ahead. The last time the Giants were 1-0, you had Hey, Soul Sister stuck in your head. Thats right. Youre welcome.Is Russell Wilson in trouble?Look, its always possible that Dange-Russ has a line on some kind of bizarre new energy drink that can heal an ankle sprain. But that sure did look ugly -- whether youre talking about Wilson post-injury or the Seattle offense pre-injury. The Seahawks pass protection is an annual issue that Wilson always seems to overcome, and theres no reason to think he cant do it again this year. But man, it sure would be nice if, one of these years, he didnt have to.Arizonas defense has a big holeTheres no bigger Cardinals backer than me. I have them to beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl. I think theyre loaded -- deep in the defensive front, at wide receiver and at many other positions. Brilliantly coached. But their second cornerback is the weak spot on Smaugs underbelly. Right now theyre going with third-round pick Brandon Williams, who was a running back at Texas A&M a year and a half ago. Williams is learning the position, and until he does, more seasoned quarterbacks than Jimmy Garoppolo will be super-excited to avoid Patrick Peterson and take aim at Williams?side.Tone down the Jameis Winston MVP talkUntil we see how he does against a real pass rush. Winston is for real, theres no doubt, and Tampa has every reason to think its got its quarterback of the future. But not every team the Bucs?play is going to make him quite as comfortable as the Falcons did.Sometimes, the obvious is obvious for a reasonThe Patriots won in Arizona without Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer and Dion Lewis. The Steelers won in Washington without LeVeon Bell, Martavis Bryant, Heath Miller, Markus Wheaton and Ladarius Green. Theres a reason so many people overlooked the absences and picked these teams to represent the AFC in this years Super Bowl. Coaching and depth make you scary even when your best guys are gone. Much respect to both of these perennial powers, even if yours truly did pick the Bengals to win the AFC. Hey, nothing ventured and all that. Mark Bavaro Giants Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Michael Strahan Giants Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Daniel-Jones-Jersey/ . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Saquon Barkley Youth Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Julian Love Giants Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolinas athletic department reported 23 violations of NCAA or Southeastern Conference rules in the past year, nine involving the football team.All but one of the infractions were classified as Level III and outlined by the NCAA as violations isolated or limited in nature; provide no more than a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage; and do not include more than a minimal impermissible benefit.South Carolina released its infractions report this week from an open records request by The Associated Press. The time period is from August 2015 through July.Six of the nine violations involving football came since Will Muschamp took over in December. One, though, occurred when ex-coach Steve Spurrier told reporters that the daughter of a former NFL player was visiting campus.The names of athletes or coaches involved were not included in the documents.Most violations are far from those that bring splashy headlines and put schools on probation.The violation of SEC guidelines was when a football quality control coordinator used a headset while in the press box to talk with coaches on the field. The school suspended the quality control coach for one game and the SEC took no additional action, according to the schools documents.In February, a restaurateur classified as a Gamecocks booster was handed a phone by a prospects uncle to leave a voicemail for the prospects father. The next month, a former South Carolina player posed for pictures with two prospects on unofficial visits.In both cases, the school provided those involved with additional education and the NCAA accepted those remedies without taking any additional action.There are two ffootball violations pending, one in May where a football player was found to have gotten impermissible transportation for three-and-a-half months and another in June where prospects got impermissible lodging on an unofficial visit.dddddddddddd.In the first, South Carolina declared the player ineligible and made to pay restitution to charity. In the other, the school provided those staffers involved with addition rules education and requested relief from NCAA penalties.Three infractions were not classified to the football program yet involved the sport.In October, a chapter of the Gamecock Club booster group posted an internet link to a story detailing a prospects verbal commitment to South Carolina. In February, a football manager worked with the team while not enrolled as a full-time student. Also that month, an ex-Gamecocks player wrongly re-Tweeted a prospects post before he had signed a letter of intent.All the schools corrective actions were accepted by the NCAA.Among other sports, the three-time SEC womens basketball champions reported four infractions. One involved a player getting transportation, meals and lodging while not eligible to play. The school declared the player ineligible and made to donate costs of the impermissible benefit to charity.The NCAA imposed additional penalties for one womens basketball violation after an assistant coach texted a 2019 prospect with the same first name as a current player they intended to text. The NCAA banned South Carolina from electronically corresponding with that prospect for two weeks. ' ' '