There are many reasons to look forward to the Fall season. There’s the last little color explosion before all the leaves die and homeowners are forced to take valuable time to rake up their yards several times. There’s the start of school for the little ones and parents can breath a sigh of relief that another summer of trying to find constructive outlets for most kids destructive tendencies is over. There’s the anticipation of winter sports enthusiasts as they break out their sleds and skis and other winter sports paraphernalia waiting for that first flake of snow to fall. For me, it’s NFL Football.
For many American men, the NFL is more than just a sport of 22 men slamming into each other as hard and as often as they can. It’s a chess game of move and counter-move. It’s a chance for people to gleam some bit of pride for their various localities no matter the condition or various personalities said locations tend to gather.
Some people claim that Baseball is America’s pastime. I think that may have true in the past, but the strike of some years ago and free-agency (which has hurt Football as well) added with the sheer number of games that are played, have made Baseball less relevant than Football for some time. Most fans of Baseball know who the League Champions and wild-card teams are going to be well in advance of the post-season, which makes the have-nots irrelevant by July-August. Baseball also suffers by comparison because there is usually very little action in between hits. Pitcher’s duels might make statisticians drool with delight, but makes for dull watching for most people.
Football, on the other hand, has made several moves over the years to speed up the game. From the time the ref takes the ball from the previous play until the ball is snapped again is down to 40 seconds (it was 45) or the offensive team is penalized. While certain things like coaches challenges might slow things down occasionally, the fact that a team has a limited number of challenges a half and that they lose a time-out if the challenge is refused tends to make sure the system is not abused. Plus, it makes sure that truly bad calls by the refs can be overturned.
Well, enough of that. Let’s talk about what’s going on this year. Last year’s Super Bowl Champion, the Pittsburg Steelers, are in trouble if they expect to repeat. Their Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, had a series of accidents and incidents over the off-season that has taken a bit of edge off this good (not great, but good) athlete. At 2 wins and 5 losses, it would take both the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals team planes falling into a black hole for them to take the AFC North Division. Unfortunately for Pittsburg fans, there are a number of good teams in the AFC that are playing well. Probably too well for them to hope for a Wild-Card slot in the playoffs.
Looking at the rest of the AFC, in the Eastern Division, the New England Patriots have a two game lead over the New York Jets. Considering their total shellacking of the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, I doubt that the Jets will be able to catch up even with still a half a season to play. The woeful Buffalo Bills and the even worse Miami Dolphins (the team I like damn it) will be watching the playoffs from their TVs’¦.AGAIN.
The most exciting race in the AFC is probably the Western Division. The Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers are tied at 5 and 2, with the Kansas City Chiefs just one game back. Look for these teams to be battling back and forth for the rest of the year with inter-conference games being real nail biters. Hopefully, the TV networks will be smart and show more of these games nationally. The Oakland Raiders will spend the rest of the year trying to be spoilers, though based on how I saw them play in Baltimore earlier this year, they may not be doing much of that either.
The Southern Division is probably the least competitive at this point. The Indianapolis Colts (I never knew that Indianapolis was considered a southern town) are cruising at 7 and 0 with only the Jacksonville Jaguars having a prayer of catching up at 4 and 3. The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans have little more than hope at 2 and 5 each.
The AFC North is shaping up into a two way battle with the Baltimore Ravens at 5 and 2 and the Cincinnati Bengals at 4 and 3. The Ravens defense has carried the team for much of the past few years and this year looks no different. Cincinnati could take the division if Baltimore fumbles it later this year. The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburg at 2 and 5 won’t have any post-season joy this go round.
The former powerhouse conference NFC has fallen on hard time lately. I won’t hand off the Super Bowl trophy just yet though. There’s a couple of teams making some serious noise.
What was once the most competitive division in football, the NFC East has fallen on some hard times. Only the New York Giants at 5 and 2 look to be in the mix when all is said and done at the end of the season. The Dallas Cowboys at 4 and 3 are mired in a Quarterback controversy along with Terrell Owens doing his best to be the pain in the ass for that team just like he was at every other team he’s played for. I think the ‘Boys’ will fade as the season goes on. The Philadelphia Eagles at 4 and 4 and the Washington Redskins at 2 and 5 are mostly just kidding themselves about any post-season play.
The NFC West has a couple of contenders with the Seattle Seahawks and Saint Louis Rams both at 4 and 3. Either team could take the division with the second place team most likely sitting it out in December. The San Francisco 49s at 2 and 5 and the Arizona Cardinals at 1 and 7, will be hugging the sofa as well.
The best balanced division in the NFC (the South) has only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 2 and 5 without much hope. The suddenly resurgent New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons both at 5 and 2 are looking tough with the Carolina Panthers at 4 and 4 just a few lucky breaks away from being at the top as well.
The big surprise besides the fade of Pittsburg has to be the Chicago Bears. They are sitting on top of the NFC North at 7 and 0 with little hope for the Minnesota Vikings (4 and 3), the Green Bay Packers at 3 and 4, and the Detroit Lions (sorry Tim) at 1 and 6 to do anything more than growl from the sidelines for this season.
As for Post-Season predictions, I have a few. I seem to be totally inept at guessing the future, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day, so here goes.
AFC East
New England Patriots
AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts
AFC West
San Diego Chargers
AFC Wild Cards
Baltimore Ravens/ Denver Broncos
NFC East
New York Giants
NFC North
Chicago Bears
NFC South
New Orleans Saints
NFC West
Seattle Seahawks
NFC Wildcards
Atlanta Falcons/ Carolina Panthers
AFC Champion
Indianapolis Colts
NFC Champions
Chicago Bears
Super Bowl Champions
Chicago Bears
There you have it folks. Love my picks, hate my picks. Send hate mail to tim@mymac.com (You didn’t really think ‘I’ was going to deal with it!)
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