Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

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By John Clayton
ESPN.com

Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton's weekly "First And 10" column takes you around the league with a look at the best game of the week followed by primers for 10 other games. Here's his look at Week 1.

First ... Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Philadelphia Eagles: In the NFL, the victor doesn't always get the spoils. Parity dictates Super Bowl winners have to work harder to return.

Look at the Patriots from last year. Their first three division games were on the road. In tough divisions such as the AFC East, it's hard to win road games. The Patriots escaped with a 2-1 record, but ended up a tie-breaker shy of beating out the Jets for the AFC East title. As it turned out, the Patriots didn't make the playoffs.

The Buccaneers still can't figure out why they open the season Monday night in Philadelphia. They won the NFC championship game in Philadelphia last January to go to the Super Bowl. So here they are again on Monday night opening in Philadelphia.

Go figure. The Bucs hate Philadelphia. They've got a lot of bad memories in Veteran Stadium. Their 2000 and 2001 seasons ended in Philadelphia with playoff losses. Until their 27-10 victory that closed the Vet, the Bucs had lost four consecutive games to the Eagles.

Television networks love title game rematches to open the season. With the Eagles opening a new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, it was predictable that this potential highly rated opening would be in Philadelphia, which is a shame for the Bucs.

The Bucs' opening schedule is difficult. They have Monday night games against the Eagles and Colts (Week 5). They have to play a division road game in Week 3 against the Falcons. Next week, they host the Panthers. Though a bye week is scheduled for Sept. 28, the Bucs will be hardpressed to go 3-1, and even if they do, things don't get easy after that. They have road games against the Redskins and 49ers. It's going to take a lot of good football just to go 4-2 and not be 3-3.

Not much has changed on the roster since the two teams met last January. The Bucs have only 12 new players on their roster. They tried to upgrade the offensive line with the signings of guard Jason Whittle and center John Wade. They brought in Dwayne Rudd to help out at linebacker, but he lost out to Ryan Nece. Thomas Jones, who led the team rushing during the preseason and might end up being the team's starting halfback later this season, will play behind Michael Pittman for now.

The Bucs will have to prove again that they can win in Philadelphia.
The Eagles, meanwhile, had a league-high six undrafted players make the roster. Of the four draft choices who made the final 53, only backup tight end L.J. Smith might see playing time. The plan to replace Hugh Douglas at defensive end was temporarily stalled when the Eagles lost fourth-round choice Jamaal Green for the season and they won't have first-round choice Jerome McDougle for the first two games because of hip, knee and ankle problems.

This is a good rivalry, but the Bucs wish at some point, they would get a chance to play the Eagles at home. The only way that will happen is if they can get them in the playoffs and they have home-field advantage. To do that, the Bucs will have to win Monday night to begin their tough schedule

And 10. Oakland Raiders at Tennessee Titans: The Raiders didn't want to show much during the preseason. They refrained from displaying too much of their short-passing offense, but subsequently played poorly during the preseason. However, no one in Oakland is panicking. After all, while they might not have had the best preseason, the Raiders are 1-0 this summer in court, whipping the city of Oakland for more than $30 million along with attorney fees and court costs for misrepresenting the deal that brought them back to Oakland. The biggest issue for the Titans has been finding a replacement for middle linebacker Randall Godfrey, but it doesn't matter in this game. The Raiders use so many three-receiver sets and different formations that they don't plan to use a middle linebacker much Sunday night. Brad Kassell appears to be the leading candidate for the moment. How the Raiders will match up against the Titans passing offense will be interesting because of the lingering injury problems with cornerback Phillip Buchanon. Terrance Shaw will start at cornerback. Regardless, the Raiders will have to pressure quarterback Steve McNair, who went through his healthiest offseason since 1998. He loves the fact he didn't need an operation during the offseason. The Titans use more three-receiver sets and use the pass to set up the run. The Raiders have the edge in this series because their passing offense causes problems for the Titans secondary. But the Titans are at home, and the Raiders haven't gotten their passing offense rolling yet. It should be interesting.

9. Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers: Vikings defensive tackle Chris Hovan has a picture of Brett Favre in his locker for motivation. Vikings coach Mike Tice painted his house in Packers colors to remind him how important this series is. The Packers are top dogs in the NFC Central, and their offense should be great. Favre feels more confident with his three young receivers, Donald Driver, Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker. The worry for the Packers is their defense. The Packers revamped their linebacking corps and they aren't particularly sure how well they are working. The Packers have their fastest linebacking unit, but they didn't play particularly well during the five exhibition games. The Vikings head to Green Bay believing they have a chance. They know their defensive line has improved significantly. Hovan is ready for stardom. They are good at ends with Kevin Williams and Kenny Mixon. New linebacker Chris Claiborne is the playmaker and had an excellent preseason. Both secondaries are question marks, so expect a high-scoring, entertaining game.

8. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills: Drew Bledsoe wanted the Bills to sign former Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy immediately. The Patriots let Bledsoe go in a trade to Buffalo last year because the Patriots didn't think he could do them damage. Bledsoe instantly established credibility on the offense for the Bills and they went to 8-8 last season. Milloy would be the final piece of the puzzle for the Bills defense, which added defensive tackle Sam Adams and linebackers Takeo Spikes and Jeff Posey. On paper, the Bills are one of the most improved teams in football, but this is the perfect test. Before the Milloy release Tuesday, the Patriots felt as though they had made their defense formidable by adding former Bears linebacker Rosevelt Colvin and defensive tackle Ted Washington. Their pass rush will be better and the Patriots will be much harder to run against. But this game comes down to who is the best quarterback -- Bledsoe or Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Bledsoe wants to prove the Patriots wrong for letting him to go a division team.

Tomlinson and the Chargers are counting on production from a young secondary.
7. San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs are thinking Super Bowl. But starting the season against their former coach, Marty Schottenheimer, won't be easy. Schottenheimer goes into Arrowhead with one of the league's youngest secondaries. For the Chargers to win, though, they need a pass rush. They need a big game from defensive ends Raylee Johnson and Marcellus Wiley. That would make the transition easy for young cornerbacks Quentin Jammer and Sammy Davis. What also will be interesting is seeing how the Chargers offense works. Schottenheimer didn't use wide receiver David Boston and halfback LaDainian Tomlinson much during the preseason. Will the Chiefs commit eight defenders to stop Tomlinson, and if they do, will quarterback Drew Brees hit Boston deep? The Chiefs struggled with coverage during the preseason, but they look so much better on the defensive front seven with the additions of defensive end Vonnie Holliday and linebacker Shawn Barber.

6. Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers didn't need a distraction. However, they lose linebacker Joey Porter for the first 4-6 weeks after being shot in the rear and the thigh in a weekend drive-by in Colorado. This is an important game for the Steelers. On paper, they again are the best team in the AFC North, and they are coming off a 6-0 AFC North record from a year ago. They can't lose a home game to their division rival. The Steelers have a four-game winning streak against the Ravens, who believe that their defense is back close to where it was two years ago. Middle linebacker Ray Lewis is set to have a Defensive Player of the Year season, but for the Ravens to win, they have to do it with a rookie quarterback, Kyle Boller. That will be tough in Pittsburgh, but not having Porter gives the Ravens a little bit of a break. What will be interesting is seeing how well the Steelers new offense looks with Amos Zereoue at halfback and Jay Riemersma at tight end.

5. St. Louis Rams at New York Giants: The Rams did more than expected to change the look of this team. They have 22 new players, including 13 rookies. Aeneas Williams is playing free safety instead of cornerback and the cornerbacks are young. So this could be a dangerous game. The Rams know they need a good start if they want to get back to the Super Bowl. The Giants beat the Rams last year, ending a Rams five-game winning streak in the series. It seems as though this series is a barometer of where the Rams are. Last year, they lost to the Giants and they went 7-9. When they beat the Giants, good things happen for the Rams. Kurt Warner is back at his MVP level, but the Giants bring back pretty much the same defense that ranked ninth last season. Can they contain Warner and the offense? Conversely, can the Rams contain the Giants and their offense? That might be the bigger question. If the Rams come out with a victory, expect them to roll to a great start.

4. New York Jets at Washington Redskins: This Thursday night game is personal for the Redskins and the Jets. The Redskins built their free agency plans around stealing from the Jets. They turned the Jets into their free agent farm team, grabbling wide receiver Laveranues Coles, kicker John Hall, guard Randy Thomas and return-specialist Chad Morton. That made a Jets team thinner, which isn't a good thing when you have the league's toughest schedule. To make matters worse, the Jets lost quarterback Chad Pennington for most of the season with a shattered left wrist. Can Vinny Testaverde foil the offseason work of the Redskins by winning in FedEx Field? That would be an embarrassment to owner Daniel Snyder. Moreso, it wouldn't help Steve Spurrier. Snyder bought his $5 million coach the missing pieces to his offense. He filled out the offensive line. He got a go-to receiver in Coles. He resolved the kicking problems. Now, it's time for Spurrier to win some ballgames.

3. Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns: How good is the Browns new defense? That's the question buzzing around the NFL after Butch Davis fired his top four linebackers and released cornerback Corey Fuller. Everyone around football is waiting for the Browns to have an off season. Their only free agent signing was linebacker Barry Gardner. Sure, they drafted Jeff Faine to replace Dave Wohlabaugh at center, but Wohlabaugh wasn't that bad at center, was he? Faine is the only draft choice of significance to be heavily involved in this opener. What will be interesting is watching how the Browns second-year linebacking crew of Ben Taylor, Andra Davis and Kevin Bentley contain an offense featuring Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison. For everything to work well for the Browns, though, their overpaid defensive line has to start earning its money to see if the low-paid linebackers can be factors in games.

2. New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks: It's been a tough week for the Seahawks. Cornerback Shawn Springs busted up his shoulder blade in the exhibition finale and is out half the season. Right tackle Chris Terry was suspended for four games because of substance-abuse problems and a domestic issue. Defensive tackle Chad Eaton, counted on to be the team's best run-stopper, went on injured reserve after knee surgery. This game comes down to whether or not the Seahawks, the league's worst run defense of a year ago, can stop the run. The Saints traded defensive tackle Norman Hand to the Seahawks to be that run-stopper, and if they were wrong in letting him go, it could cost them an important road game. Hand and the Seahawks need to hold the Saints under 100 yards rushing. What's amazing, though, is how the fans aren't buying this game. There were 21,000 unsold tickets in a second-year stadium. And the Mariners are on the road. Ouch.

1. Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions: Well, this could determine the early betting line for who might have the first pick in next year's draft. The Cardinals have the best chance to win. Dave McGinnis may not have playmakers on defense, but his defensive players fly to the ball and hustle. He completely revamped the wide receiving corps, but it's curious to see that former Lions backup Larry Foster ended up as the starter. If Foster ends up having a good game and the Cardinals win, wonder what he'll be thinking. New Lions coach Steve Mariucci has done a great job teaching a lot of his young Lions the way to work better and perform at a high level, but the Lions still have a second-year quarterback (Joey Harrington) and a banged up receiving corps. It didn't help that they lost halfback James Stewart for the season with a separated shoulder, and they are rushing newly acquired Olandis Gary into the starting lineup with only a few days of practice.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

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