Aren't we glad the world never lost football for the 2011-2012 season?
Any who, it's been a very unpredictable season for the most part, with some teams like Buffalo and Detroit becoming good-feel stories while fans in Miami, St. Louis, and Indianapolis wondering if they can actually win a ball game, or they should just be down on their "Luck"...Andrew Luck that is. Here's some note's and points I'm making after seeing 7 weeks of wild football:
* Expect closer games over the next few weeks with the defense coming up to speed. I remember watching the first couple of pre-season games and watching how horrible the tackling and defenses looked for the most part. When you lose a lot of practice time plus with the new rules of only wearing full pads for one practice out of the week, it was going to be hard for a lot of defenses in the NFL to get back to speed and in football shape. A great example would be the ridiculous offensive numbers we saw in the first three weeks. No coaching and technique learning was available for almost every team. Plus when you can only have one day out of the practice week to now hit with full pads, its going to be hard for rookies and many of the younger guys to get down timing for tackling and play book learning.
*Week 1 Shockers no more, some teams are starting to show that they might be the real deal. My NFC dark horse pick for the NFC was the Detroit Lions and I think a 5-0 start is pretty safe to say they are making quite a statement. However, two back to back losses to the 49ers and Falcons showed that they are still a young team and will have a long way to go. I will say that Thanksgiving Day i'm really excited to see the Lions play the Packers, which will probably have some kind of playoff implications. Speaking of the 49ers, I applaud Jim Harbaugh for the job he as done in the Bay Area. If the season would end today, the Road to the Superbowl has to go through San Francisco with the 2nd seed. Seriously, did anyone see this one coming with ALEX SMITH as your starting QB? It might be early, but I wouldn't be shocked to say that the 49ers might run away with the division at the rate they are going (also,making me dead wrong on my predictions earlier in the season). They do have some tough games left on their schedule (Giants, Ravens,Steelers) that can make or break their season. Which leads me to another thing I noticed...
*Injuries are playing a huge role in seasons going up or down. We all know about the Colt's problem, but not having a QB might be the least of their worries after seeing the 62-7 debacle against the Saints this past Sunday. Let's face it...we knew the Colts season was done once we knew Peyton would miss the start of the season. Teams like the Raider and the Redskins on the other hand have been dealt with injuries now that might push them back to the cellars of their conferences. In a matter of one week Washington lost Santana Moss for at least 5-7 weeks with a broken hand and Chris Cooley and Tim Hightower are now out for the season. Rex Grossman has been benched for Jon Beck? Not really any time of relief coming for the Redskins, plus it doesn't help that they still have to play their division rivals each again and play the entire AFC east which includes the Tom Brady and Co, Rex Ryan, and the Bills who are probably the real deal..it might be a long season for Skin fans (again.) As for the Raiders...It might pain me to say this, but when Jason Campbell went down, the Raiders season went down as well. Campbell was playing pretty well for the most part until his injury. Let's not forget that he has actually finally had back to back seasons playing under the same offensive scheme. Instead the Raiders season is being handed off the Kyle Boller and a Carson Palmer who before Sunday hadn't played a NFL game or anything team related since Week 17 of last season.
Ok let me rant and give a little sidenote...THE BENGALS GOT PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST STEALS IN NFL HISTORY OF TRADES. NOT ONE BUT POSSIBLE TWO FIRST ROUND PICKS FOR A QB WHO IS 31 YEARS OLD AND MAYBE WILL GET YOU TO THE WILDCARD ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS? AL DAVIS IS TURNING IN HIS GRAVE...Two years from now Raider fans will be wondering why on earth did we make this trade as they slowly return to being a easy W on everyone's schedule.
Ok, focused again. Finally:
The Elite Teams are still who we thought they were. The Packers are now 7-0 and look prime to take a crack at the '72 dolphins record. Seriously it has been child's play for Aaron Rodgers against defenses this season. I'm making the call now that he is the serious MVP for the season. Meanwhile, Tom Brady and the Patriots are still the best team in the AFC by far. Brady has a good chance to break Marino's Record and wouldn't be shocked to see it either. However, I think the only title that Brady wants right now is another Super Bowl Ring. Rounding out the cream of the crop would be the Saints (5-2 and looking to make a run) and the Steelers (looked bad the first four games of the season but are on a three game winning streak and starting to come alive)
There is still a lot of football to play and Week 8 should be a good one.
Games to Watch this week and Why:
Minnesota at Carolina 1PM (FOX): The reason I am picking this game is not by records but that this could be a future preview of what the NFL has to offer for Quarterbacks over the next few years. Chris Ponder gets his 2nd start after a pretty good showing against the Undefeated Packers, while Cam Newton looks to show doubters that he can be the real deal at QB. As of right now I was highly wrong about Newton as i figured he would of struggled greatly, but so far he's looking to be rookie of the year in my book
New England at Pittsburgh 4PM (CBS) :Probably the game of the week and this could already decide who will get home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Last Year Brady toy'ed with the Steelers Defense all night so look for Dick LeBeau to find a way to get his defense ready to attack the line and get to the QB.
Buffalo at Washington 4PM (FOX): Football in Canada! Plus this game could be pivotal for both teams. This can help Buffalo build momentum to fight for the AFC divisional title while the Redskins are going to try to stop the bleeding and end their losing skid.
Dallas at Philadelphia 8:20PM (NBC): A NFC East matchup on Prime-time...need I say more? Dallas is starting to look better and better each week while the Eagles might be starting to come together after a desperately needed win at Washington. Let's see if the Bye week brought the Eagles together or the Nightmare team might be still there for Dallas to knock off.
Comments questions and opinions are more than welcomed! I'm off to catch some sleep..unlike Jamarcus Russell did during his NFL tenure.
-Ry'
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