NFL Halfway Through Regular Season

The NFL season is officially halfway through the regular season now that all thirty two teams have played at least eight games. Now that we've gotten there, I'll take a peek at where some teams stand as to playoff positioning and some potential pitfalls to the finish.

Let's go!

The AFC's best team is...?

Well, the New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers all stand at 6-2 and are seemingly going to qualify for post-season play.

The Jets have a grinding style of offense and have improved the passing game some under quarterback Mark Sanchez . The tremendous defense limits opposing teams from moving the ball with any consistency.

The Pats are still dangerous on offense with Tom Brady at the helm but the youth on defense can and has proven to be problematic at times.

The Ravens offense is improving under quarterback Joe Flacco to go with a strong running game. Of course, defensively Baltimore is as good as ever.

The Steelers overcame the four game suspension of signal caller Ben Roethlisberger by playing lights out defense and running the ball effectively. However, Pittsburgh now has a rash of injuries in the trenches on both sides of the ball that could slow both units.

I would pick the Steelers as the top dog in the AFC if not for the aforementioned injuries. Therefore, my vote goes to the Baltimore Ravens.

The NFC's best team is...?

Four teams stand out as front runners --- The Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants at 6-2 while the Green Bay Packers and defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints stand at 6-3.

The Falcons have a punishing ground game led by Michael Turner, a young quarterback in Matt Ryan who makes few mistakes, and a defense that is unheralded yet stout.

The Giants have probably the best balance of all NFL offenses. The two-headed monster in the backfield of Ahmad Bradshaw and Jacobs are hard to stop and quarterback Eli Manning can sling the football with the NFL's top signal callers. Injuries on the offensive line could hamper the Giants however. The defense has been the big story as the G-men get to the opposing passer better than any team in the league.

The Packers, while deficient running the ball, move the ball with ease through the air thanks to top flight quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Defensively, the Packers have been terrific led by Clay Matthews who is having an All-Pro caliber season.

The Saints have come to life on offense after being dormant in September. Quarterback Drew Brees has regained his swagger and the running game has been pieced together with running backs Christopher Ivory, Ladell Betts, and Julius Jones. The defense has played quite well and the return of safety Darren Sharper can only help.

I cast my vote for the NFC's best team to the New York Giants although it is wide open and as previously mentioned, the Giants have injury woes on the offensive line.

Those are my thoughts. Yours are?

Dick

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The NFL After Five Weeks

The NFL season has concluded five weeks of play and all teams have played a minimum of four games. We've seen amazing plays, total blunders, and even three trades occurring in the last seven days. On top of that, we have no undefeated teams remaining this early in the season!

We've also seen concussions to big name players and major injuries have already hampered some teams. Some teams have pleasantly surprised, some have hugely disappointed, and yet some just leave fans scratching their heads.

This is why we love the National Football League. Each week gives us something to talk about and we never know what will happen from play to play, let alone week to week.

Here is what I've seen after five weeks of play from team perspectives of the 2010 season.

Teams doing as expected, both good and bad:

I figured that the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Atlanta Falcons would play well to this point. Each team has lost just once and all have played decent competition while playing different styles of football.

The Patriots do it strictly with Tom Brady and an improved running game while not playing great defense. The offense may suffer a bit with the trade of Randy Moss to Minnesota but I don't believe it will be as much as most pundits are leading us to believe.

The Jets, Ravens, Steelers, and Falcons all have very good running games and defenses with Pittsburgh's defense being the NFL's best. The quarterbacks for New York (Mark Sanchez), Baltimore (Joe Flacco), and Atlanta (Matt Ryan) are all improving while Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger returns from suspension.

Personally. I think Pittsburgh is the best of this fantastic lot.

I had a pretty good idea that the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Carolina Panthers would not be very good. Buffalo, Cleveland and Carolina are total messes while Detroit may be building a decent future, but not for a couple of seasons yet. Enough of those teams.

The surprise teams, both pleasant and disappointing:

I'm pleasantly surprised by the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chiefs and Bears play tremendous defense and can run the ball. The Bears also have great yet enigmatic talent at quarterback in Jay Cutler returning from being concussed by the New York Giants two games ago. How the Buccaneers are winning is something I have yet to comprehend. The offense nor defense makes me go “Wow!” but they have made key plays in key moments as witnessed by the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday.

I think Chicago has the best chance of sustaining their good play providing Cutler plays to his ability.

What team can be more disappointing than the Dallas Cowboys? The sexy pick to play the Super Bowl at their home stadium has been absolutely horrible in three areas --- head coach, quarterback, and discipline.

Head Coach Wade Phillips looks the part of the village idiot in Cowboy games I watch. I have never bought into the hype of quarterback Tony Romo. His numbers look great but he makes critical mistakes at moments when Dallas needs him most. Yeah, I think he's overrated. The discipline is the inordinate amount of penalties this teams takes and many are downright stupid! That brings us back to Wade Phillips...enough said.

Other disappointing teams are the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers. With the Vikings, bringing back Brett Favre looks like a bad decision at this time and at 1-4, they could be in deep trouble. I find it hard to believe that the 49ers are winless in five tries and seem undisciplined, which goes against what head coach Mike Singletary stands for.

The teams that leave us scratching our heads:

The Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, and New Orleans Saints are teams that make me wonder what their identity really is.

The Bengals at 2-3 run the ball pretty well, but quarterback Carson Palmer has not been as sharp as anticipated with two great receivers in Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. The supposed vaunted defense hasn't played that well either.

The Colts have the most prolific passing game in the NFL with Peyton Manning being...well, Peyton Manning. But the usual problems show up game in and game out --- lack of a running attack and poor pass defense. Indianapolis will only go as far as Manning takes them.

Speaking of a Manning, kid brother Eli's Giants have the making of being a very good team. The offense is well balanced and the defense has seemingly improved under defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, but can they hold up? We'll see as the Giants have a home game with Detroit and a divisional contest with Dallas in two weeks.

The Packers are a team decimated by injuries at the moment on both sides of the ball. Gone are super tight end Jermichael Finley, top notch running back Ryan Grant and linebacker Nick Barnett. To go with all that, Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rogers was concussed in a loss at Washington and his status for this coming week is uncertain. This could be a tough row to hoe for the Pack.

What is it with the Texans? Great offensive balance but inconsistent and a defense that has shown no improvement at all. I haven't a clue as to what team will show each week.

The Chargers are off to their usual slow start. Philip Rivers is a great quarterback, Antonio Gates is perhaps the leagues premier tight end and rookie runner Ryan Matthews looks as though he can carry the load. The defense is so-so at best, so Rivers and company will shoulder the load nearly every game. Also, this team cannot win on the road as witnessed by their 0-3 record.

Then there's the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. It's hard to believe the offense is stagnant, but with both Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas out with injuries, this can be somewhat expected. I'll tell you though, the offense will have to pick up the pace to support a suspect defense. I think New Orleans will get back on track quickly.

Well, that's how I see the NFL after five weeks of play. Agree or not, this has been a different start to the season and we can expect more wild and wacky events each week.

Dick

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The NFL Is On!

What time is it?!?!

It's time for the NFL regular season! We've seen the defending Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints begin their campaign by beating the Minnesota Vikings 14-9 in a rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game. While the game wasn't terribly exciting, There was the drama of Viking quarterback Brett Favre starting his 286th consecutive game and Drew Brees again attempting to assault the record books.

This is an important season for the NFL as there the threat of no competition for next season with the current contract expiring and differences between management and the players union seems to be as wide as the Grand Canyon.

But for now, do we care? I think, probably not.

As a full slate of Sunday games approach,there are some intriguing matchups including, Cincinnati at New England, Atlanta traveling to Pittsburgh as Dennis Dixon gets the call at quarterback for suspended Ben Roethlisberger and Philadelphia playing host to Green Bay with Kevin Kolb now calling signals for the Eagles.

The Sunday night game features NFC east rivals Dallas going to our nation's capital to face Washington and new quarterback Donovan McNabb, while on Monday night, New York Jets boss man Rex Ryan plays host the Baltimore Ravens, the team that “Sexy Rexy” was once defensive coordinator.

I think this a decent way to start the 2010 NFL regular season. As the season progresses, I will give opinions and occasionally some facts about teams and players alike. I am also not much of a prognosticator because...well frankly, I stink. Oh well.

Let's just enjoy every Sunday from now to February with a cold beverage of our choice and whatever we want to eat. We're ready for some football are we not?

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Down The Stretch They Come! --- NFL After 12 Games

It's that time of year again as the NFL has reached the three quarter mark of the regular season. Much has changed since my last NFL post --- Dallas, New England, Atlanta,and Pittsburgh are struggling while Philadelphia, Green Bay, Miami, and Denver seemingly have regained their collective swagger. At the same time there are still two constants --- Indianapolis and New Orleans are still perfect despite playing tough games.

The final 4 weeks will be very exciting as teams jockey for division titles and wild card spots ans as the case each season, the races are wide open. Let's see where we are heading for home this season.

The Perfect Two

1.Indianapolis Colts --- In my mind, this is without a doubt, the best team in the NFL. We know that Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the game as proven with the leagues top passing offense. What has been amazing is the fact that Indy is LAST in rushing averaging a mere 88 yards a game. While this is a glaring weakness by most standards, the Colts run the ball enough to keep defenses a bit off balance.

While the defense is only middle of the road in most statistical categories, the one thing they do extremely well keeping the opponents off the scoreboard as their 17 points/ game allowed suggests, the leagues 2nd best. For Indianapolis, that is a winning combination.

The remaining schedule features a home match up versus Denver followed by games at an improving Jacksonville squad, at home against the New York Jets, and the season finale at Buffalo.

A perfect regular season? I'll say yes to that!

1.New Orleans Saints --- The offensive juggernaut that is the Saints averages an NFL best 36.7 points a contest, far and away the leagues best. Drew Brees is better than ever as his passer rating of 111.3 indicates while throwing 29 touchdown passes to only 10 interceptions. The running game has struggled a wee bit but is still the 5th best with averaging just under 143 yards a game.

Although the defense has struggled some of late, they still have that big play ability as witnessed by the forced fumble and recovery in overtime to set up the winning field goal by new place kicker Garrett Hartley.

The remaining schedule pits New Orleans at Atlanta followed by it's biggest test at home versus the Dallas Cowboys. The Saints end the season with Tampa Bay and Carolina.

Two 16 and zero teams in one year? I believe it!

The Two That Could Spoil

1.Minnesota Vikings --- While they were whipped by Arizona, The Vikings still sport a fine 10-2 record and could be the main competition for New Orleans. With Brett Favre's great play and Adrian Peterson running behind a huge offensive line, Minnesota can score at will.
On the defensive side, Minnesota is as strong as any team in the NFL. Jared Allen leads the team with 12.5 of Minnesota's 40 sacks on the year. Pat and Kevin Williams stuff the run well allowing teams a paltry 84 yards per contest which ranks 3rd best. However the linebacking corps took a major hit when leading tackler E.J. Henderson broke his leg against the Cardinals.

The remaining schedule has the Vikings playing the surprise team in the NFL, Cincinnati Bengals next at home, followed by road games at Carolina and Chicago before a home home finale against the New York Giants. An interesting finish for the Vikes.

2. San Diego Chargers --- Another elite offensive team that can score from anywhere on the field, the Chargers have one of the NFL's best young quarterbacks in Philip Rivers. With a quarterback rating of 104.9, Rivers has tossed 21 TD passes to just 6 interceptions and has thrown for over 3,300 yards. The running game isn't up to snuff, but LaDainian Tomlinson has run the ball across the goal line 9 times.

San Diego's defense is better than expected get to the opposing quarterback often with 30 sacks total. Injuries have hurt the defense as safety Eric Weddle, linebacker Shawne Merriman, and defensive lineman Luis Castillo are hurting at this time.

The 9 and 3 Chargers have a tough remaining schedule beginning with a road date at Dallas, a home game versus Cincinnati, another roadie at Tennessee, and ending at home with Washington. The Chargers will make the playoffs but can they win the AFC West? My money is on San Diego to do just that.

The One Amazing Team

Cincinnati Bengals --- The AFC North leaders by a whopping 3 games, the Bengals do it by physically brutalizing opponents on both sides of the ball. The ball control offense averages yards a game, 6th best in the league and the defense is the stingiest by allowing opposing offenses to a measly 15.6 points a contest. On top of those numbers, Cincy's defense allows the 4th fewest total yards in the league that includes a mere 82 yards rushing a game.

A tough remaining schedule has the Bengals playing both Minnesota and San Diego on the road followed by the lowly Chiefs at home and finishing at the Jets in the Meadowlands. Unless they totally collapse, all hail the AFC North champs!

There are other in the mix such as surging Miami, Denver, and Jacksonville as well as the slumping Steelers and Patriots in the AFC. The NFC has rising Philadelphia and Green Bay. The enigmatic Cowboys and Giants and of course the defending conference champs Arizona Cardinals.

Let's hope the final four weeks are as exciting as the first thirteen were. Then we can talk playoffs!

Dick

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The NFL After Week 10

The NFL regular season is just a tad over the halfway marker and it's time to see how things stand. As I did in my “quarter pole” post, I will examine which teams are the best those that are upcoming and a couple of disappointments. We've had some stunning developments of late and things have changed dramatically sine the end of week 5, so without delay, let's see where we are.

The NFL's Best Teams

1. New Orleans Saints --- The Saints are one of two teams remaining with a perfect record at 9 wins without a defeat. Offensively, we know New Orleans can put up gaudy numbers, but my goodness nearly 37 points a game and roughly 426 yards of offense is absurd even by today's standards. Drew Brees is throwing the ball around the yard although his decision making has been somewhat spotty although with 19 touchdowns to 9 interceptions and a 104.6 passer rating, that seems nearly impossible. Brees did throw 3 picks versus Miami in a 46-34 win and threw 2 more in a 28-23 squeaker over the lowly St. Louis Rams. The running game is still very strong with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush all contributing heavily. The Saints are averaging 151 yards per contest, good for 5th league wide.


The defense isn't as stingy as it was earlier in the season as opponents are moving the ball much more freely in recent weeks. If the Saints are to remain the dominant team in the NFC, the defense must step up to earlier performances.

2. Indianapolis Colts --- The Peyton Manning led Colts are the other 9 and 0 team and have a great offense, albeit one dimensional. The 3rd best yards per game average at 401 yards and the best passing game with roughly 315 a game, the Colts would like to improve on a dismal 86 yards rushing a game, ranking a measly 29th across the league. Mr. Manning does what Mr. Manning does best...completing 70% of his throws, 20 TD's to 7 INT's and a passer rating of 104.2...simply not slowing down yet.

The defense is known as a bend and break type allowing much yardage against while giving up the league's fewest points although the New England Patriots torched them for 34 this past Sunday night. This team has a chance at 16-0 before it's all said and done with.

3. Minnesota Vikings --- At 8 and 1, this is probably the team in NFC that could give the Saints fits should these two meet in the playoffs. Wonderfully balanced offensively, the Vikings average 30 points a game while running and passing are a good balance. When you have Adrian Peterson toting the rock behind a humongous offensive line, it's quite easy to control the ball. Then there's Brett Favre...I've already covered him 2 weeks ago, so I will say no more.


Minnesota on defense is stingy against the run, therefore teams tend to throw more often than desired. The pass defense should improve once cornerback Antoine Winfield returns from a foot injury. I think a very deep run in the playoffs is possible.

The Most Pleasant Surprise

Cincinnati Bengals --- The Bengals don't wow anyone offensively, although the running game is solid averaging 122 yards per game with reclamation project Cedric Benson carrying the load, although he was injured against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a hip flexor. Quarterback Carson Palmer hasn't been tearing up the league, but he has been a savvy leader and just having him behind center provides Cincinnati with the confidence knowing turnovers will be minimal.

It's the defense that has been the talk of the NFL. Allowing 16.3 points a game (2nd stingiest) and allowing only 83.4 yards on the ground (2nd), Cincinnati has gone from outhouse to penthouse in the AFC North Division. At 7 and 2, these Cats have beaten the World Champion Steelers twice by being physically dominant defensively without leading sacker Antoine Odom (IR, torn Achilles), safety Roy Williams (IR, forearm) and linebacker Keith Rivers (calf). In short, the Bengals are for real!

The Biggest Disappointment

The New York Giants --- How the mighty Giants have fallen! Losers of 4 consecutive games, These G-Men still move the ball well, but in the red zone it's bogged down. Much of that has to do with the the caliber of teams the Giants feasted on early ( Raiders, Chiefs, Redskins, and Tampa Bay) as opposed to recent opponents ( New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia, and San Diego).

On defense, the Giants have totally wilted, although injuries haven't helped. Currently missing are safety Kenny Phillips ( IR, knee), cornerback Aaron Ross (soon to return), and both Justin Tuck (shoulder) and Osi Umenyiora( not 100% from knee surgery) are playing hurt. We'll see how the Giants come out of their bye week versus Atlanta at home.


If you have anything to add, feel free to comment.

Dick

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The NFL's Quarter Pole

Now that the National Football League has reached the quarter pole in the regular season, it's time to see who are the best teams, biggest positive surprise team, and the team that is the biggest disappointment. Notice I didn't include the worst team --- the Oakland Raiders (St. Louis Rams close behind) --- just not worth the waste of effort.

Without further adieu, here are my opinions in no particular order:

Best Teams:

*Denver Broncos --- The Broncos were supposed to be “Team Turmoil” when Head Coach Josh McDaniels revealed he was looking at quarterback Matt Cassel to run the offense, henceforth upsetting incumbent Jay Cutler so much that the Broncos traded him to Chicago for Kyle Orton. As we have seen, Orton has played very well, and Denver is off to a 5-0 start. But the big surprise is the defense allowing a mere 43 points. A major reason is that the Broncos get to the passer, lead by Elvis Dumervil who is tied for the league lead in sacks with eight. An even more surprising statistic is that the supposed maligned run defense has allowed only 81 rush yards per game. Of course, Champ Bailey is still considered the best lock down corner back in the NFL. The defense will be severely tested as Denver travels to San Diego to face the Chargers on Monday night October 19th.

*Minnesota Vikings --- The undefeated Vikings have the most explosive running back in the league with Adrian Peterson, a rejuvenated QB in Brett Favre, and a tremendous rookie receiver/kick returner in 1st round draftee Percy Harvin. Defensively, Minnesota has Jared Allen who pressures the passer as well as anyone in football, Pat and Kevin Williams at defensive tackles, in my opinion the best pair of run stuffers in the league, a swift linebacking corps led by E.J. Henderson, and a decent secondary with veteran Antoine Winfield leading the way. Minnesota has two crucial tests in the next 2 weeks as Baltimore invades the Metrodome Sunday the 18th, then travel to Heinz Field to play the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

*New Orleans Saints --- The Saints have the most explosive offense in football led by All-Pro quarterback Drew Brees, a solid running game, a surprising 2nd in the league 166.2 yards per game, with Mike Bell beginning the season and starter Pierre Thomas returning from injury, and a fantastic receiving corps with Marques Colston and deep threat Devery Henderson as the leaders. Also, the addition of tight end Jeremy Shockey has bolstered Brees's threats. It's no wonder why the Saints are averaging a league's best 36 points a game. The defense has been stout allowing 16.5 points per game and stingy in all around defense allowing under 300 yards a game, ranking sixth. The leaders of the defense are linebacker Jonathan Vilma and big play making safety, the seemingly ageless Darren Sharper. The Saints schedule gets a little tougher over the next 2 weeks as they face Miami in 2 weeks at Miami. But the Saints next game will be the litmus test to see how legitimate they are. New Orleans will be at home in the Superdome to face the...

*New York Giants --- The G-Men are hitting on all cylinders offensively, defensively, and on special teams. The offense is lead by unquestioned leader Eli Manning at quarterback and a terrific tandem of running backs in the large Brandon Jacobs and the elusive but powerful Ahmad Bradshaw. The receiving group, a huge question mark in training camp, has developed into one of the leagues best with possession receiver Steve Smith, the NFL leader with 481 receiving yards, deep threat Mario Manningham, and exciting rookie, top draft choice Hakeem Nicks. The Giants are 4th in rushing, 9th in passing, adding up to the NFL's #2 total offense. To go along with those numbers, the Giants are averaging 30,2 points a game ranking 4th in the league. In my opinion, these statistics reflect that the Giants have the best offensive line in football led by center Shaun O'Hara and Pro Bowl guard Chris Snee. The defense led by defensive ends Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora is ranked #1 by allowing a mere 210.6 yards a game due in part to giving up and average of 104.8 yards of passing a game. The Giants defense also allows the 3rd fewest points per game at 14.2 a contest. While the numbers on both sides of the ball are gaudy, the G-men will be severely tested as they play New Orleans in their next game on Oct 18th at the Louisiana Superdome. Should the Giants prevail, I feel they will be considered the best team in football.

*Indianapolis Colts --- Right now I feel this is the best team in football. Peyton Manning is the top quarterback in the NFL once again, the receivers led by Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark are second to none and the defense has been brilliant thus far. Offensively, Indy has averaged 27.4 points per game and has passed for the most yardage at 326.0 a game. Peyton Manning already has 12 touchdown tosses, has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game, and is threatening to rewrite the record books. The running game has yet to get going but in time Joseph Addai and rookie Donald Brown will find openings. On the defensive side, defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney have recorded 10 sacks --- the healthy and rejuvenated Freeney has six. The Colts schedule for the next 3 weeks feature a road game at woeful St. Louis, then 2 home games at the new Lucas Oil Stadium versus San Francisco and Houston. This could be an 8-0 team heading into the November 15th showdown at home against their arch-rivals New England Patriots. Let's not forget that new Head Coach Jim Caldwell is a direct disciple of his mentor Tony Dungy. Nothing has changed much as the Colts continue to roll.


Most Pleasantly Surprising Team:

*Cincinnati Bengals --- Aptly named “The Cardiac Cats” for their last second victories, the Bengals are no longer the NFL's laughing stock. At 4-1, the AFC North Division leaders don't wow people, but have shown grit and togetherness. The Bengals are a team in every sense of the word. Quarterback Carson Palmer is healthy and fairly productive, Chad Ochocinco is happy and playing well, and running back Cedric Benson has revived his career behind a much improved offensive line. The defense has played well enough to keep them in every game and have recorded 14 sacks, led by NFL co-leader Antwan Odom with eight. The Bengals have 2 home games before their bye week, both at home against Houston and Chicago. It will be interesting to see if Cincy can keep the momentum going.

Most Disappointing Team:

*Tennessee Titans --- Who would have thought that a Jeff Fisher led Titans team would lose all 5 games to begin the season? Tennessee has a good ground game with Chris Johnson and LenDale White, a decent if not spectacular quarterback in Kerry Collins and a very good defense. None of it has come together at all and Titans fans have been clamoring to see Vince Young take over the signal calling. The numbers across the board, except for rushing, are horrible and it appears the loss of All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has devastated the team defense. Tennessee's next game is at Gillette Stadium against the Patriots. Can anybody say 6 consecutive losses?

There you have it...if you have any other or different opinions, feel free to comment or email me.

Happy Reading!

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