Only In The NFL

In my last post, I stated my opinions on the top four AFC and NFC teams respectively. I mentioned that Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New England, and the New York Jets were the cream of the AFC while the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, and New Orleans Saints were the NFC front runners.

Going into the 10th week of the season, I would have thought that very little would change although there were 2 marquee match-ups that could flip my opinions ( Baltimore @ Atlanta and New England @ Pittsburgh). After what happened Sunday, much carnage remained on the fields and things changed in a blink of an eye. This proves the old adage “On any given Sunday...”

Only In The NFL.

So what happened? For starters, the Ravens went to Atlanta on Thursday night and seemingly had the Falcons beaten until Matt Ryan led Atlanta on a last minute march to upend Baltimore 26-21. Then Sunday,the Jets managed to stay tied atop the East with a less than convincing 26-20 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns, whom had pounded the Patriots the week prior. On Sunday night, the Patriots went to Pittsburgh and whipped the Steelers 39-26 in a that wasn't as close as the score indicated. The win kept the Pats even with the Jets for the AFC East lead with identical 7-2 marks. With that, it appears that the Jets and Patriots are seemingly a bit better than the rest of the AFC contenders.

With Atlanta winning and with both Green Bay and New Orleans on a bye week, the Giants had their opportunity to keep pace by playing the underwhelming Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium. After coming out flatter than a pancake and two power outages later, New York was dealt an embarrassing 33-20 loss to fall behind Atlanta for home field advantage.

I'm not convinced that Atlanta is the NFC's best team, but they have the look of a team coning together at the right time. Let's not forget that the Saints are seemingly gathering momentum and the Packers look as though they are rolling. It's wide open in the NFC.

Then again, “Only In The NFL.”

Dick

Send email to dlafrance2@207me.com

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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

Send email to dlafrance2@207me.com

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