Reaction Tuesday
It was one
hell of a weekend in the NFL. With no Bills game, most of Buffalo just seemed
to be tuned out to the rest of the league and more focused on Mario Williams’
phantom wrist injury. In case you missed it, here are the main takeaways from
the weekend’s action.
The AFC East might
not be that bad after all
That is, as
long as the Bills prove they aren’t the punching bag they’ve appeared to be in
three of the last four games. The Patriots did a whole lot across the pond to
reassure the football world that yes; they are still very, very good. Although
it was against an inferior Rams team (just not as bad as years past) the Pats
still asserted their dominance in a multitude of ways especially through their
vaunted passing attack. Rob Gronkowski reminded everyone of his all-time season
last year by grabbing two scores and accumulating over 150 yards receiving, and
the offense was back to looking unstoppable.
What people
may be overlooking however, is the clear second best team in the AFC East
division; The Miami Dolphins. When the Fins decided on bringing Ryan
Tannehill’s talents to South Beach, the consensus around the league was that
the Dolphins were in a clear rebuilding year and they were destined for a 4-6
win year. While Tannehill to this point has been serviceable, he hasn’t been as
dynamic as nearly every other rookie quarterback. Then again, who can be dynamic when this guy is your
number one receiver? Anyway, if anybody cared to notice, Tannehill left the
contest vs. the Flying Tebows on Sunday with a bruised knee. Enter Matt Moore,
who many see as the punch line to the joke of an offense that the Dolphins
present. What many don’t know is that Matt Moore could very well lead the
Dolphins to the playoffs this year.
We all know about the Fins mediocre season last year, but what many don’t
realize, is that after taking over at quarterback for Chad Henne in week 4 of
2011, Matt Moore posted a 6-7 record with a respectable 87.1 quarterback
rating. The record may not be great, but when Moore is in the game he makes
plays that Tannehill simply does not based on his lack of experience and Moore’s
superior knowledge of the offense. Tannehill may have a much higher upside (and much more beautiful wife) that upside is future
potential. Moore has the ability to lift this team to victories now. With the Dolphins possessing the
league’s third-best run defense and an above average rushing offense, they have
the type of team that can control the clock in any game and really play to
Moore’s strengths; the ability to efficiently manage a game while minimizing
turnovers, similar to what Alex Smith does for the 49ers. With the Tannehill
injury, the second-best quarterback in the AFC East is back in the starting
role with the Fins, and if the Bills don’t wake up fast (don’t even bother with
the Jets, their season ended three weeks ago), they will be too far behind second place to make a serious run at
the playoffs this year.
The AFC West is
the worst division in football.
With the
exception of the Denver Mannings and his wobbly throws (who are still only 4-3 by the way), this
division is awful. The mile-high air of Denver may be a serious advantage,
because the three teams closer to sea level are a combined 2-7 in October, with
one of the victories being the Raiders over the Chiefs (both in the AFC West,
so somebody had to win). Believe it
or not, the Chiefs have yet to take the lead in regulation in any game this
year. Their only lead came in the game ending field goal against New Orleans in
overtime. Each team has serious problems, all seeming to be the root of all
problems in the NFL: Quarterback.
·
The Chiefs started Brady Quinn last week. That’s
all you need to know about that. They will be selecting the top QB in the draft
with their eventual number 1 overall selection.
·
The Raiders are marching Carson Palmer out there
on Sundays, and while he is still competent, he is a shell of his former self.
He may not be able to play with the elites of the league anymore, but the
disappearance of Darren McFadden and any semblance of a running game is a
bigger problem with this team.
·
The Chargers are an interesting case, as the
obvious problem with the team is their coach, Norv Turner, who would have been
fired by any sane GM three years ago. Seriously it’s amazing that this guy still
has a job after countless years of leading an elite team to divisional round
losses in the playoffs (and for basically wasting LaDanian Tomlinson’s
potential to have several championships on his resume). The real head-scratcher
here is Phillip Rivers. The one-time first round pick and all-pro now seems to
have completely lost all football skill he once had. Everyone chalked up his
struggles last year as an off year, and expectations were for him to return to
his all-star ways. Sadly for Chargers fans, this hasn’t happened, as Rivers
continues to look lost out there. A 7-6 loss to the lowly Browns is simply
unacceptable, and the team may be looking elsewhere at coach, GM, and maybe
even QB after the season.
Atlanta is as good
as its record suggests.
Many people
may think this is not news, but after squeaking out last-second wins against
the much weaker Raiders and Panthers, the record did not seem to match the
product on the field.
The Falcons
bye week must have come at a perfect time, as they seemed re-energized and did
something that all elite teams seem to do – beat a dangerous team on the road.
Although the Eagles have been going through a season-long rough patch, there is
no denying their potential to win any game with their extreme talent level (wins
over Giants and Ravens this year). Going into a hostile environment in
Philadelphia, notorious for having the worst fans in all of sports, the Falcons
didn’t just beat the Eagles, they dominated right out of the gate, soared to an
early lead, then toyed with the home team for most of the second half. At
halftime, the Falcons led 24-7 and had a 252-94 advantage in total yards. Matt
Ryan tore up the Eagles secondary that boasts two excellent cornerbacks, and
the game left Michael Vick almost accepting the fact that he may not be the starting QB for much longer.
This
Falcons team is clearly as good as their record suggests (even though I had a
different opinion a week ago) and should have no problem reaching 13, 14, or
even 15 wins if they keep playing solid defense and if Matt Ryan continues his
aerial assault on the MVP award. This team has proven before that they can win
in the regular season, but they must now prove that they can win in the
playoffs. It should be easier this time around however, as it looks as though
they’ll be playing all of their playoff contests in the friendly confines of
the Georgia Dome, where the Falcons have been nearly unbeatable with Matt Ryan
as their starter.
The AFC Wild Card
race will be much more exciting than the NFC race.
At first
when you read this heading you may think “no way that’s true.” But think about
it for a second. Yes, the NFC clearly is the stronger conference, but when you
look into the races, the strength of the NFC is going to make it extremely hard
to make the playoffs even with a 10-6 record. Think about it this way: The
Falcons, Giants, Bears, 49ers, and Packers are pretty much locks to make the
playoffs, and if you’ve done your math correctly, that leaves one spot up for grabs. At season’s end,
there should be only two teams competing for this spot: the Seahawks and the
Lions. The rest of the teams that seem to be in contention now simply have too
many problems to seriously contend later in the year. The Vikings, Cardinals,
and Saints are fading fast, the Cowboys are too streaky and badly-coached, the
Eagles are going through too much turmoil, the Redskins defense has taken too
many major injuries and now can’t stop a nosebleed, and the Buccaneers seem to
be a year away from seriously contending.
If you
would please turn your attention to the AFC however, we have a much more
interesting race brewing. The locks to make the playoffs include the Texans,
Patriots, Ravens, and Broncos (who could lose the rest of their games and still
win that division). That leaves two spots up for grabs with no other teams
seeming to take charge and become a sure-fire wild card team. That one extra
opening, along with the AFC being the conference of greater parody, makes all
the difference in having an exciting race. Here are the potential playoff
contenders in order of likeliness:
·
Pittsburgh Steelers: They are another year older
and their best defensive player can’t seem to get healthy, so this is
definitely not a dominant Steelers team that we are used to. However, this team
may be in the process of switching roles from defensive powerhouse to offensive
juggernaut. With Ben Roethlisberger playing some of the best football of his
career, three dynamic receivers in Wallace, Brown, and Sanders, an above
average tight end, and the fact that any of their 37 running backs have been
successful when given the opportunity, this Steelers team seems to be the
closest thing to a lock for one of the wild card spots.
·
Cincinnati Bengals: This team has all the
makings of a mediocre, 8-8 team. The only thing that may be able to prevent
this from happening comes in the form of super-freak A. J. Green. When everyone
in the stadium including the defense knows the ball is being thrown to Green
and he still catches it, you know he’s something special. Quite possibly the
best receiver in the league (no disrespect to Megatron), Green will surely do
his best to help the Bengals reach their second straight postseason.
·
Miami Dolphins: Won’t get too in-depth here (see
above), but this strong defense along with efficient play from the quarterback
position has helped this team be much more formidable than had been previously
anticipated.
·
Indianapolis Colts: Is this a joke? Isn’t this
the team that lost Peyton Manning and
finished last season with the WORST record in the league? Why yes, yes it is.
It’s also the team that employs one Andrew Luck, future best quarterback in the
league. Although he won’t win Rookie of the Year and his counterpart RGIII is
the flashier of the two, Luck consistently puts his team in position to win
games and has singlehandedly resurrected the career of Reggie Wayne (league
leader in receiving yards). Luck has been as good as advertised, leading his
team to a 4-3 record to this point (4-3!!!), and the Colts have been playing
inspired football since news broke that their charismatic coach Chuck Pagano
had been diagnosed with leukemia. Who’s to say their inspired play plus the
benefit of playing in a weak division doesn’t carry them directly into the
second wild card spot?
·
Buffalo Bills: Don’t write them off yet folks!
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bills as they try to
get a bit healthier for the second half of the season. After what seem to be
impossible road games against the class of the AFC (Texans & Patriots), the
Bills schedule becomes much easier. It may be a long shot, but if the Bills
escape Houston or New England with a win, it could give them momentum to make a
run at the playoffs. The best hope for the Bills this season is that Dave
Wannstead wakes up as coordinator, and Mario Williams’ wrist procedure rejuvenates him enough to help him regain some of his old form that has been non-existent
so far in Buffalo. A lot has to go the Bills way for them to make the playoffs,
though, so this seems to be more of a reach. This is another team that may be a
year (or a quarterback) away from seriously contending for the playoffs or even
the division.
Next Week: I’ll discuss all the discouragement that comes
out of the Bills demolition at the hands of the Texans! Stay Tuned!
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