I always get excited and overreact to what I see during the first game of the season. Tonight was no different.

My first reactions to the Dallas-New York opener:

1) Mostly boring. Neither team really seemed to have it going on tonight. There were very few big, downfield plays, long run plays, etc. Both defenses were good. Both offenses need work.

2) Dallas might be better than expected: The defensive backfield, powered by rookie corner draftee Morris Claiborne and free agent cornerback signee Brandon Carr, is much improved. Last year Eli Manning threw for something like 1500 yards in two games against Dallas. Tonight he was well under 300, in part because his two key receivers — Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz — could not get open. The offensive line is still abysmal. Tony Romo was getting crushed all over the place. But overall I was much more impressed with Dallas than I expected.

3) Giants might be less than expected: Last year was a tale of two seasons. Through 14 games New York was 7-7. That unspectacular stretch was followed by a spectacular run to the Super Bowl. That’s the last thing people remember. So expectations may have been inflated by that. Tonight’s team looked nothing like the Super Bowl winner. Granted, it’s one game. But it was a key divisional game on national television opening the season. And the results were underwhelming. I’m not judging an entire season by it, but I am muting my opinion on the Giants. They are still in the mix as a favorite, but they’ve allowed a division rival to get a leg up on them in a game they should have won at home.

4) Replacement refs played minor role: Sure, there may have been a missed call here and an overblown call there, but tonight I saw little difference between the replacements and the “real” refs. The flow of the game was never interrupted. The missed calls were not of any major variety. And I don’t believe any team can claim they were cost a victory from what went on tonight. As stated in my notebook earlier today, both teams have to live with them and in most cases bad calls even out. Tonight the replacements acquitted themselves well.

Rip away in the comments section if you’d like. But welcome to the 2012 football season.