First off, wooo hockey is back!
The NFL season is short, as far as professional sports go. Sixteen games isn’t a ton of time, and while it seems like just yesterday we were lamenting labor negotiations, now we’re already a quarter of the way through the season. It’s this time of year that we think it becomes acceptable to start evaluating some teams. Let’s take a spin around the NFL and see how every team is doing so far.
NFC East
Redskins (3-1): Rex Grossman has apparently resurrected his career in the nation’s capital. Before the season started, Grossman infamously bragged that his team would win the division. After a quarter-season, he’s in first place. This is team that isn’t used to winning, though, and I’d expect them to falter down the stretch. Making the playoffs is difficult in the NFC.
Giants (3-1): No one has really talked about the Giants as a contender the last few years, but they’ve quietly been a pretty solid team, all things considered. I trust their lasting power over the upstart Redskins and I’d expect them to pull ahead in the division race as the season wears on.
Cowboys (2-2): The ever-polarizing Tony Romo has consistently been inconsistent in Dallas. He’s the team leader and he makes all the throws he needs to, plus several of the throws he doesn’t need to. The Cowboys aren’t really on pace to do anything yet since all of their games have been close ones. They could just as easily be undefeated as they could be winless. Sometime soon, the Cowboys are going to have to find the real quarterback of the future. Romo isn’t a bad quarterback by any means, but they need someone who can be the future and take them to the next level.
Eagles (1-3): “Ha ha, looks like you’re not really the dream team after all, are you?!” It’s easy to say that, but when they landed Asomugha I was totally on board with the Eagles as a Superbowl contender. Although with the aid of a little hindsight, shouldn’t Dan Snyder have taught them that signing all the big name players doesn’t make you a winner? The Iggs will have a tough time rebounding from a slow start, especially with Michael Vick starting to fall apart. It isn’t impossible, but Eagles fans have to be pretty nervous at the thought of a long and frustrating season.
NFC West
49ers (3-1): Something you already knew: We don’t watch a lot of west coast games in Pittsburgh. Something you didn’t know: The 49ers already have a bit of a stranglehold on the NFC West. That’s roughly on par with being the wealthiest man who lives on the Roberto Clemete Bridge, but hey, at least someone has to make the playoffs out of this division. (I’m personally hoping for another 7-9 team to finish first)
Seahawks (1-3): They got rid of Matt Hasselbeck and signed Tarvaris Jackson. Nobody has any idea why they tried either of those things. The Seahawks are just terrible.
Cardinals (1-3): Take some solace, Eagles fans. Michael Vick might be 1-3, but the man they chose him over is faring no better.
Rams (0-4): Sam Bradford is fun to watch. Too bad he is the only player on his team.
NFC South
Saints (3-1): What can you say? Drew Brees is calling the shots on the field for the Saints, and those shots are usually downfield. For touchdowns. Lots of them. This is a veteran team that has already won a championship and they are poised to make another playoff run. Plus, they swapped out Reggie Bush for Darren Sproles. I know who my money’s on when the postseason rolls around.
Buccaneers (3-1): Can you call the Bucs a surprise this year? All summer, everyone was talking about them as a sleeper team (protip: that means they aren’t a sleeper) and here they are at 3-1. Josh Freeman appears to be the real deal at quarterback, something this franchise has seemingly lacked forever. Can they sustain their success long enough to score a postseason berth? Eh, probably.
Falcons (2-2): The Falcons have been the sexy pick every year since Matt Ryan was drafted. This is a good team that’s honestly really fun to watch (if you don’t like Michael Turner you don’t like football) but the stat that’s going to be talked about if it continues is this: Matt Ryan has never won a playoff game. Can he break that stigma this year? Will the Falcons be able to keep pace in the NFC? I don’t like their chances to take the division, not with the Saints around, but a wildcard spot is a very realistic ending to their season. Let’s see if they can get there and beyond.
Panthers (1-3): I was skeptical of Cam Newton when he came into the NFL (What? Another spread offense QB that runs a lot? I bet THIS one is the one that succeeds in the NFL) but he has shown that he’s capable of throwing the football (a lot) and he honestly comes off to me as extremely likable. I find myself pulling for him, even if Carolina isn’t going to make very much happen this year.
NFC North
Packers (4-0): They’re defending champions and playing like it. Aaron Rodgers is on another level and the whole team looks basically unstoppable. It’s easy to see them winning it all again, but come on. Winning back to back Superbowls almost never happens anymore. That said, this team is a treat to watch and I still find it impossible to dislike Rodgers.
Lions (4-0): The Detroit Lions are undefeated. I don’t even know what to do. They haven’t lost a game yet. Detroit. The Lions. Undefeated. What is happening. They’ve been engineering huge comebacks along the way. That’s a sign of a good team. Watch out for the Lions as the season goes on. I still don’t even know what I’m saying.
Bears (2-2): Suddenly, you remembered that the Bears won their division last year. With the Packers playing the way they are, that won’t happen two years in a row. It’ll be a tall order for the Bears to clinch a wildcard spot, but it isn’t unrealistic.
Vikings (0-4): Got rid of Tarvaris Jackson, brought in Donovan McNabb. Somehow I still think this is an improvement. No one knows who Christian Ponder is, but he’ll start at least the last 10 Vikings games this year. And then Ponder’s legacy may very well go down as “the guy who came onto the team the year before Andrew Luck was available, making the front office pass on Luck.”
AFC East
Bills (3-1): Superbowl prediction: Bills vs Lions. Okay maybe not, but how great is it that the Bills are winning? They got a signature win against New England (ha ha, no one feels bad for the Pats) and all’s good in Buffalo right now. They have a bunch of huge games coming up that will really tell if the winning-type Bills are a fluke or if this team is really a playoff contender. It would be good for the NFL if the latter is true.
Patriots (3-1): F**k Tom Brady.
Jets (2-2): It’s hard to know what to think of the Jets. I still think Mark Sanchez is nothing special, and this all-former-all-pro team needs to live up to its on-paper ability to get ahead of New England. Over the summer, Rex Ryan challenged the league to try and beat New England too. My challenge to Rex is to beat other teams besides the Pats.
Dolphins (0-4): Henne is on IR and Sage Rosenfels is their new quarterback. David Garrard doesn’t even know what’s going on.
AFC West
Chargers (3-1): Doesn’t it feel like the window is closing on the Chargers? They have the luxury of playing in a fairly underwhelming division and once they hit the playoffs, they have just as much of a chance as anyone to make a run. Before they get there, they have to start winning close games and finishing the regular season strong.
Raiders (2-2): The Raiders are actually a pretty good football team. Al Davis will definitely find a way to screw that up. Probably going to fire his coach in Week 10 or something and then draft Usain Bolt, unaware that you can’t actually do that.
Broncos (1-3): Tim Tebow is a really good football player. He is NOT a really good quarterback. Broncos fans don’t seem to understand this. Cam Newton came in from a spread offense and he’s already putting up numbers. It’s been a while for Tebow now and he can’t even beat out Brady Quinn? This guy is not going to lead the Broncos to the promised land.
Chiefs (1-3): Weren’t they supposed to be good this year? What a drop-off. The Chiefs are going nowhere. Better cut your losses and tank it for a higher draft pick. Try again next year when Jamaal Charles is healthy again.
AFC South
Texans (3-1): The class of the division. Their defense isn’t going to have an outing like they did against the Steelers every week, but it’s finally good enough to let their offense win games. They’ve never been to playoffs, so assuming they get there, it’ll be interesting to see how they perform.
Titans (3-1): Something of a surprise this year is the 3-1 Titans. They drafted Jake Locker to be their QB of the future, but their real biggest move was signing Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck can come in and win games and he’s a great guy to have as a tutor for a rookie QB. Even if their surprising production tails off, the Titans have set themselves up well for the future.
Jaguars (1-3): The least interesting team in football won on opening day and haven’t done anything since. Blaine Gabbert supplanted one of the McCowns as the starter and you could not care less, let’s be honest.
Colts (0-4): Peyton Manning is out for the season (we assume). the Colts will go 2-14 at best. Andrew Luck will learn the QB position from arguably the greatest ever to play it.
AFC North
Ravens (3-1): The Ravens look like a powerful engine of destruction with which no team can safely compete. Only half of this division is any good, and if the Steelers don’t right the ship, Baltimore will cruise to a division title and playoff/Superbowl berth.
Bengals (2-2): The Andy-Dalton-led Bengals have won half their games, which is pretty good output considering it’s the Bengals. I would expect them to sustain that level of success, especially once they start facing some tougher teams.
Browns (2-2): Haven’t seen them play yet this year, but they do have some young talent around and this is a team on the rise. Their chances are hurt by playing in a division with the Steelers and Ravens. If they were in one of the Western divisions, they could probably challenge for a playoff spot. Not so in the AFC North.
Steelers (2-2): It worked out nicely for this post that the Steelers are in last place, so I can finish with them. You all know the story so far. The offensive line has been butt and the defense has been marginally more effective than Chartiers Valley would be against NFL offenses. In the legendary words of John McKay, “We didn’t block anyone. But we made up for it by not tackling.”
The AFC isn’t exactly made of calm waters, and getting to the top of the AFC North is always a battle, especially when Baltimore is a game-and-a-half ahead. We’ve all talked and listened about what the Steelers have to do to fix everything and it’s up to them to do it. It’s going to be an uphill battle for the rest of the season, but I’m putting my faith in Mike Tomlin to get these guys back into contention. While being behind Baltimore is always daunting, this season is still young and the Steelers have time to recover.
Hopefully when midseason rolls around, the Steelers are 6-2 or 5-3 and all we talk about is how dominant the Steelers have been the past 4 weeks. It all starts Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
Here We Go.
