Meister der Farbe » is a tough year but they will come out the

NEW YORK -- Jimmy Garoppolo filled in for Tom Brady quite nicely.Garoppolo was so good in New Englands season-opening win at Arizona that the Patriots moved into the top spot in the AP Pro32 poll on Tuesday.The Cardinals made it to the NFC championship game last season, but Garoppolo threw for 264 yards and a touchdown to lead the Patriots to a 23-21 victory on Sunday night. New England received five of 12 first-place votes in balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL.With Tom Brady sitting out the first game of a four-week suspension and All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski out with a hamstring injury, Jimmy Garoppolo did just enough to help the Patriots to a stunning road win at Arizona, Newsdays Bob Glauber said.But the real star of this game was Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose sideline genius makes up for the loss of his two star players.The Patriots will be without Brady for three more games, all of them at home starting on Sunday against Miami. New England is the only AFC East team to win its opener.Defending champion Denver received three first-place votes and moved up to No. 2 in the poll.Pittsburgh, which opened with a dominating 38-16 win at Washington, earned a first-place vote and is No. 3 overall.Any team that tries to cover Antonio Brown with one defender deserves what it gets -- a funky end zone celebration, said Ira Kaufman of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Green Bay received two first-place votes and is the highest-ranked NFC team at No. 4.Carolina, which lost its opener to Denver when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal in the final minute, had a first-place vote but dropped to fifth.Cam Newton, who took several hard hits in that game, is expected to play in the Panthers home opener against the 49ers.Hes tough, hes resilient and hes moving around pretty good, coach Ron Rivera said Monday.Seattle and Cincinnati, who both opened with close wins, tied for sixth.Arizona dropped from No. 2 to No. 8. Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The snap was low and holder Drew Butler said he trapped the ball near where it was supposed to be.That probably threw the timing off a little bit, Butler said. But me and Cat (Catanzaro) have a job to do and Ill definitely take some blame on that one. I wish we could have put it through for our teammates. The offense did a great job of giving us the opportunity.Kansas City and Minnesota rounded out the top 10.The Vikings open their new stadium on Sunday night against the rival Packers.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---AP Sports Writers Steve Reed and Bob Baum contributed to this story.Vita Vea Buccaneers Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. O. J. Howard Buccaneers Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Jamel-dean-buccaneers-jersey/ . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Jameis Winston Youth Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Sean Bunting Jersey . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said.Chad Townsend has emerged as one of the surprise packets of the NRL season, including to his Cronulla halves partner James Maloney.Maloney and Townsend have formed one of the NRLs most lethal scrumbase combination this season, in just their first year together, piloting the Sharks to 14 successive wins and the premiership lead.Sydney Roosters premiership winner Maloney was one of the pre-seasons biggest moves after he left Bondi for the Shire. Townsends move from the Warriors didnt receive nearly as much hype, but it has been almost as important.I always thought he had developed over there with the Warriors, Maloney told AAP.But he has probably surprised me just how well he has been playing. He has just been so consistent and we are reaping the rewards of that.Townsend was again a key figure in the Sharks win over the Roosters on Monday.But Maloney warned Cronulla needed to continue to improve in the run-in to the finals ahead of their round 20 clash with hapless Newcastle at Shark Park on Sunday.There are a few games we have got by but we havent been where we should be which is not a huge issue because we need to be playing our best footy down the track, he said.But the amount of points we let in against the Roosters wasnt good enough, there were some tries we should have stopped.Maloney, who led the Roosters to three straight minor premierships and the 2013 title, said he felt for his former teammmates, who are languishing in second-last place on the NRL ladder, ahead of only the Knights.ddddddddddddIt is hard to watch but they are big boys they will be alright, it is a tough year but they will come out the other side and be better for it, Maloney said.Cronulla welcome back the suspended Andrew Fifita for their clash with Newcastle, who they beat 62-0 at Hunter Stadium earlier this year. Faamanu Brown falls out of the Sharks side.Dane Gagai returns at fullback for the Knights from a quad injury.Robbie Rochow and Sione Matautia are missing through injury for the visitors. Pauli Pauli and Mickey Paea come into their 17.Daniel Saifiti is suspended for the Knights, his brother Jacob takes his place.KEY STATS* The Sharks are scoring the most points this season (26.2 per game), while they are also conceding the third fewest (15.9 per game).* Cronulla are looking to become just the eighth team in history to win 15 straight matches and the first since Melbourne won 15 straight in 2012-13.* Only three teams in the history of the game have won 15 straight matches in the one season: Manly in 1995 won 15 straight, Canterbury in 2002 won 17 in a row and the Roosters won 19 straight in 1975 and were the only one of these teams to win the premiership.Source: Fox Sports Stats. ' ' '