We’re five weeks into the regular season, and some teams are taking shape into Contenders, while others are looking doomed. I’ll take a look at the League in general, and update you on our draft positioning through week 5.
AFC East: Patriots, Bills, Jets, Dolphins
The Patriots are clearly the front runners in the East at 5-0, and the rest probably won’t make any sort of impact. The Bills are too banged up right now, they have Edwards as their starting QB, so there will be some growing pains there, and if Losman returns, they are still the same team. Losman is a near bust. The Jets are another horrible team, and need some players to step if they want a chance. The Dolphins are in trouble, these guys are just about down for the count and would need to reel off 5 straight wins to be back in any sort of wildcard race down the line.
AFC North: Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Bengals
The Steelers are one of the top teams in the AFC this year, and they will win the North. After the Steelers, I think its completely open. The Ravens, Browns, and Bengals all have issues on both sides of the ball, and who ever wins more games within this division will probably earn a wildcard, but right now its wide open. The Ravens are stalling on offense, McNair is horrible and has taken a step back. The Browns are a lot more competitive than people thought they would be, and they will win more games this year. The Bengals have had some tough loses and some injuries that are slowing them down, but I think they are still in it, but they need some wins starting next game and beyond, otherwise they could be out of the running in the tough North.
AFC South: Colts, Titans, Jaguars, Texans
The Colts are virtually unbeatable and still the team to beat in the NFL, they are the real deal again. The Patriots are getting a lot of attention, but the Colts are still bad to the bone, and their defense has improved since last year. After the Colts, its open. The Titans and VY are good, but Young is throwing too many INTs right now. He’s winning games, but down the stretch, those turnovers will catch up to them with upper echelon teams. I do think the Titans are probably slightly better than the Jags and Texans right now, but not by much. The Jaguars have never impressed me, so who knows what they will do. The team to watch in this division will be the Texans. The Texans are clearly more improved this year, the defense is stout, and the offense has been good and despite missing Johnson and Jones at WR, Schaub has managed to find ways to move the ball. Once Johnson and Jones return, this team will be a team to watch.
AFC West: Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs
There is no clear cut team in this division; however, the Chargers may have turned the corner with a convincing butt whipping on the road at Denver. If Turner can work off that momentum, the Chargers could gather themselves back to the top of this division. The Raiders are playing everybody tough, and could be a surprise this year. Culpepper has been able to move the ball and jumpstart the offense. The Broncos look very average, but every year they seem to sneek into the playoffs, so its way too early to write them off. Their defense is horrible, and Cutler is still learning at QB, so we’ll see how they stand in a few weeks. The Chiefs are in the same boat as the Broncos, they just look average to me. They had a good game last week, but got beatup this week, they need consistency.
NFC East: Cowboys, Redskins, Giants, Eagles
This division is shaping up to being another barn burner. After a shaky week or two, the Redskins and Giants are looking solid on both sides of the ball, and the Cowboys cannot let up, this is going to be a close division. The Eagles will be on the road next week at the NY Jets, so they should win that game, but if not, this team is in trouble, they would drop to 1-4, and would have a huge mountain to climb. If the Cowboys remain atop, the second team will probably earn a playoff spot as well, that’s how close this division will be. I like what the Redskins have been doing on both sides of the ball, they look good. The Giants are getting some people back from injury, and their defense is much improved, so they will be a team to be reckoned with.
NFC North: Packers, Lions, Bears, Vikings
Despite the Packers being 4-1, I think the Bears showed the Packers weakness and blueprint for beating the Packers – shutdown the run. The Packers do not have a running game, and they will be in the market for a better tier running back in 2008. The lack of running game will bring the Packers back down to earth. Besides that, the Packers are much improved at WR, and on defense. If the Packers can improve the running game, they will win out. The Lions are overrated, they are reverting back to their former selves right now. The Lions have the Bucs and Bears next, and that’s going to be a big challenge there. The Redskins defense had their way with Kitna & Co. so I don’t see them beating the Bucs or Bears, this will drop them back towards the bottom of the pack. The Bears needed to beat the Packers on the road and they did, this may have saved their season, but they have a long way to go. They should be getting more players back from injury next week and Griese should be a bit more comfortable as their QB, so that being said, the Bears could still turn this team around back into contention. The Vikings are horrible. They have Adrian Peterson, and that’s it. I see them at the bottom with the Lions towards the end of the year. Jackson is still too raw, their receivers are not that good, their defense has potential, but nothing that solid either. The Vikings need some wins in the coming weeks, or they’re out of it real quick.
NFC South: Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, Saints
This division is still open, but it’ll probably come down to the Panthers and Bucs. I think the Panthers are running out of time at QB, and this could be Delhommes last year as the clear starter. He’s not that good, never has been that good. They were expected to be improved, but they have stumbled out the gates, and don’t scare anyone on either side of the ball. The Bucs have a pretty good defense, but the offense will slow this team down. They don’t have any receivers, and the running game is non existent. Look for the Bucs to add someone at WR in 2008. Forget about the Falcon’s, this team is horrible, Joey Harrington is horrible. Even if Vick was there, this was going to be a bad team. The Saints are in serious trouble. Teams have figured out Payton’s offense, they don’t have any receivers that can catch the ball. Brees has lost confidence in his receivers, his offensive line, and himself. Reggie Bush needs to be in a two-back system, he clearly cannot carry the full load, he’s a good player, but he’s nothing spectacular at RB/WR, he’s a watered down version of Brian Westbrook at this point. I just don’t see the Saints improving. Losing Deuce was a major loss. The defense is a squad of backups from other teams, so this unit needs to be overhauled – bigtime.
NFC West: Cardinals, Seahawks, 49ers, Rams
This is another division that is wide open for the taking. No one in this division is playing consistent. I still think the Seahawks are the team to beat in this division, but the other teams have closed the gap considerably. The Cards and 49ers are similar on both sides of the ball, so its hard to say which is the better team right now. The Rams on the other hand are in trouble. Linehan has not improved the team at all in his second year. They are beat up all over the place, and I don’t see them recovering from the injuries and the bad football play. The Rams will be at the bottom of the league this year.
Undefeated Teams: Patriots (5-0, Colts (5-0), Cowboys (4-0)
Zero Wins Teams: Dolphins (0-5), Rams (0-5), Saints (0-4)
Cowboys Current Draft Pick Positioning: #14 and #31 Overall
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