NFL Midway Recap: It's Time for the AFC Now
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by user BigPPup
We have reached the midway point of the NFL season, and to this point, the league has shaped in a contrary manor to what many experts thought, but at a closer examination, the NFL season is shaping out in a very typical manor. Allow us to take a deeper look division by division to see how treat that is.
AFC East
Sitting atop the AFC East is the New England Patriots… who would have thought it? No Deion Branch? No problem, they still got Brady pulling the trigger, and Bill Belichick as the aloof mastermind behind the Patriots machine. And that’s enough to make any team successful. The Pats have a money rookie back in Laurence Maroney. He has brought a spark to the New England rushing attack, and he has lit a fire under Corey Dillon. With the complete self-destruction of the Miami Dolphins, the Pats are on easy street to the playoffs and a first round buy.
The New York Jets are better. That’s about all that can really be said about this team. Their running game is woth nothing. However, Pennington is back and is proving that when healthy, he can be a productive QB. They are sitting at 4-4, no real threat to any AFC team, and definitely not a threat to the Patriots. However they are very young and have a first-year head coach, if they continue to grow at their current pace then they can become a future playoff team.
Buffalo is still suffering in the post Marv Levy era. They sit at 2-5 and seemingly have no identity and are grinding gears once again. The biggest question is how long will the Bills remain with J.P. Losman. He has shown moments of athletic skill, but too often they are clouded by his typical level of play we have come to know over the past few seasons. The Buffalo Bills will flounder their way through the rest of the season, maybe they can catch a Miami squad off guard in the cold of winter.
The Miami Dolphins have been nothing short of a disappointment this season. They finished with six consecutive wins last season. Tack on to that they added Daunte Culpepper to their lineup to run their offense. All of that has resulted in a 1 win season. Daunte proved that he was no where near ready to return to action after a devastating knee injury. Joey Harrington has taken over as signal caller, but as we all know by now he is Harrington. They will be in the running for that number 1 pick.
AFC North
There is a surprise at the top of this division. The team at the top is not the hot pick Cincinnati Bengals, and or the defending Super Bowl Champions Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens are back, and they are running things with their 5-2 record. The Ravens added QB Steve McNair during the offseason, this was a huge upgrade. Now with Brian Billick making the play calls they Ravens have found an offense that can generate some points. Throw in their stellar defense, and they have a great chance in this division.
The Cincinnati Bengals are winning, but they don’t look pretty in doing so. The Bengals were 1 blown knee away from making a serious playoff run last season. This season that high flying off season has been grounded for some reason. Chad Johnson is quickly working his way to the most overrated player list. Despite only having 2 TD’s this season he still insist on running his mouth and giving us false promises. Cincinnati is still in the middle of the hunt for the division title and the playoffs but they will need to improve their play, especially in the close games, where they have faltered on several occasions.
The Cleveland Browns are once again the Browns. They are still looking for a QB who can take them to more than 4 wins in a season. Charlie Frye is playing to the best of his abilities but to this point it just has not been enough, and that is evident with their 2-5 Record. The Browns are still in a building phase that will carry over into the 2007 season.
The other major surprise of this division is the Pittsburgh Steelers at 2-5 and dead last in the division. Last week they traveled to Oakland and lost, unacceptable. Big Ben has struggled all season. Say whatever you want, but I find it hard to believe that he has been able to brush off all the effects of the motorcycle accident he had this summer. Right now the Steelers have the talent to make a run, and they can ill afford to lose another game before they make that run. Perhaps a change to Charlie Batch is needed to get this team back on track.
Baltimore takes this division. Whodey think they gonna be them Bengals? No one if they don’t get back to playing some defense and keeping their players out of the police blotter.
AFC South
The only surprise this season about the Indianapolis Colts is how quiet they have been on their run to 7-0. They have managed to be under the radar for basically the entire season utill their last second win over the Broncos last weekend. Peyton Manning is looking solid. More importantly, the Colts running game are finally kicking in. Indy has tacked on impressive rushing yards in their last two games; they will need that going into the playoffs to help take some pressure off of Manning. Now the most important question is can the Colts stop anyone? Their rushing defense has been shredded to this point of the season. Once again it may be the Indy defense that lets the Colts down at the end of the season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars started out the season with some impressive wins over Pittsburgh. Well we now know the Steelers aren’t as good as we thought. And after losses to Washington and Texas the Jags seem to be reeling themselves. Currently Leftwich is out on injury again. For as talented and gifted as he is, he has struggled with injuries. The Jags seem to be a bi-polar team. It’s hard to tell which team will show up on a given Sunday. Because of that, I don’t like the chances to make a strong push for the playoffs.
Houston has a new coach some new players and a number one draft pick on the defensive side of the ball. To this point the results in regards to their record has been the exact same. The Texans are 2-5 and struggling. However, this year it’s a different type of struggle. Houston has shown some promise and some growth this season. Wali Lundy has stepped in for two consecutive 100 yard days. An improved running attack will help this team greatly. They will only become a factor if the Texans can keep from being blown out early in games and get the opportunity to run the ball.
The Tennessee Titans have entered the Vince young era, and to this point things are solid. They are bringing him along slowly which is exactly what they need to do with a QB of his caliber. He is managing the field and learning the job as he goes. That can be difficult for any player and the team he is on. The Titans can be a good team in the near future, but obviously this is not that year. However, if the rumors abiyt Jeff Fisher are true, then the Titans may be ready to take three big steps back.
The Colts are the obvious choice for this division and with them already holding a one-game lead over the Jags it’s near impossible for someone else to pass them.
AFC West
The Denver Broncos lost a close one on Sunday to the Colts. That aside, they are a very good team. Jake Plummer has taken on tons of criticism this season, and he has a young gun QB looking over his shoulder. However, that has not caused him to falter to this point. The Broncos are 5-2, and have a stellar defense. Their linebacking core is as good and as fast as it gets in the NFL, and that’s enough to take them a long way in itself. The two headed running attack is once again working for them. The Broncos will have to fight for it, but they have what it takes to win this division
The San Diego Chargers are once again churning away in the AFC West. LT is a great ball player and he is proving that with a 180 yard performance last weekend. Philip Rivers has become a better QB than I ever thought he could be, and that’s saying a lot. The thing that is most likely to hurt the chargers is not the Merriman suspension or anything of that nature, it will be Marty Ball. Marty is known for making poor decisions down the stretch, and all too often he is his own worse enemy. If the Chargers want this division he will need to put his pride aside and let Rivers do what he does best and throw the ball down the field.
Kansas City is struggling with the lost of Trent Green. However, they have managed to stay competitive in his absence. Larry Johnson is carrying the bulk of the work load, and proving why he is a Pro Bowl RB. The Chiefs also have the perk of playing in one of the best home fields in the league. Arrowhead is a hard place to travel too, especially as winter sets in and the wind begins to blow.
The Raiders, once storied and feared, are now just a punch line to bad Al Davis jokes. Oakland needs a QB, it’s that simple. Anyone who can get the ball down field will work. They also need some heart, in the past the guys who played for the Raiders wore the silver and black with pride; now they wear it for the paycheck. The players in Oakland are losing interest in what they are doing very quickly, and that’s a bad thing. There may be nothing more disturbing that a team quitting on a coach, but when you look at the players assembled in Oakland, what could you really expect? Granted they are on a two game win streak, and it’s amazing how winning can motivate a player, so we shall see what happens.
The Broncos will be tough in the AFC West, but the Chargers will be able to sneak ahead of them and take the Division; just too much LT.
