Chris Graham: Week One

So Tiki Barber’s agent is “flabbergasted” that the former UVa. star didn’t get a sniff from the NFL after his five-year absence from the game.

I don’t know about “flabbergasted,” but yeah, I was surprised, if only because I don’t think you look at Barber as a 36-year-old running back given the time he spent away from the game. By all accounts, Barber had worked himself back into football shape, and given the way most teams handle backs these days, preferring to go not with one featured back but rotations of two or more, I guess I just assumed that Barber would pick up somewhere.

And I think he probably still will. Running backs are a precious commodity, and their expiration dates come with a carry-to-carry date. …

It’s hard to get too excited about a butt-whupping of William and Mary, but then UVa. had lost its last matchup with the Tribe in 2009, so the 40-3 smackdown that the ‘Hoos handed to W&M on Saturday might mean more than meets the eye.

Quarterback Michael Rocco, in his first career start, looked solid, hitting on 21-of-29 passes and doing well in the proverbial manage-the-game role that he was asked to play.

The defense was what impressed me the most, harassing Michael Paulus into a 5-for-22 passing performance and keeping the Tribe off the scoreboard into garbage time.

Again, it’s too early to get too excited, but maybe this team is poised to take a step up in the ACC this year.

I think the Washington Redskins did the right thing in going with Rex Grossman as its opening-day starter over the untested John Beck. Both looked good in the preseason, but all things being equal, tie should go to the guy who has a conference championship under his belt. Sure, Grossman has his faults, but at least he knows what they are. Beck will still get his chance one day.