O-ver-rated!

I thought I'd take the time to relieve some bitterness about the 2005 season by commenting on what an overrated team the New York Giants have. I won't deny I am highly biased, but most of these points are valid.

The Giants strongly remind me of the 2001 Bears team (On that note, the 2005 Bears remind me a lot of the 2001 Bears team too). That Chicago team went 13-3 that season. They beat a slew of crummy teams and eeked out some ridiculous wins against the better teams. Everyone knew this was not a 13-3 team, but somehow they found ways to win. They forced turnovers, the offense wasn't really that spectacular, but they won games on special teams and defense. Then the playoffs came around and the Bears got absolutely trounced in their first game in a 33-19 defeat on their homefield to Philadelphia.

That's what this Giants team seems like to me. They don't feel like a 7-3 team. Every week they look rusty on offense, the defense keeps them in it, and special teams will usually make a few big plays to put it away (with the exception of Week 10).

So what are the major issues that make this such an overrated team? After 10 games, the Giants have defeated just a single team with a winning record which happened to be a game the Broncos absolutely collapsed in after dominating most of the way. Another point worth noting is that 7 of the Giants 10 games played this year have been on their homefield. So after 10 games, only 3 have been played on the road in which the Giants are 1-2 (the lone win coming against the hapless 49ers).

Even more concerning for the Giants is the erratic Eli Manning. Manning is barely completing half of his passes this season. His accuracy has been less than impressive, missing wide open receivers and still making rookie type mistakes resulting in poor interceptions.

The real test for the Giants will come in these final 6 games. Although the rest of the schedule is not brutal, it will be tougher. Obviously a team cannot just go 7-3 without having some kind of winning formula, so if the Giants defense can prove they can play tough in long haul, and Tiki continues to carry much of the load for the offense, the Giants could push deep into the playoffs, I'm just not betting on it.

Yeah, I'm bitter, but I think I'm entitled.

Let's go Seahawks.

Blame Game

I look forward to every week every season when it comes to football. There are always four or five games each week that can really peak my interest. Hell, I could watch the Texans play the Saints and I would be entertained. Well, maybe that is a little bit of a stretch. The point is, I love watching football every Sunday and Monday no matter who is on the field.

This week was different. I couldn't fully enjoy the tenth week of this season. All I could think about was Monday night. For the first time in years, the Eagles played a regular season game that probably had the season on the line. It felt like the playoffs. It was the playoffs for this team.

Long story short, the Eagles outplayed the Cowboys for 57 minutes of football, then packed up early and went home happy with a 5-4 record, tied for second in the division, and one game back of the suddenly vulnerable Giants.

They woke up this morning to find out that after they left, the improbable had happened. The Cowboys who had been snake bitten twice this year in almost identical fashion, had turned the tables and dashed the hopes of the city of Philadelphia for 2005. I don't know who to blame. Everyone has been second guessing this team all year long. Everyone has looked for someone to be the scapegoat. Is Andy Reid's play calling too predictable? Is McNabb too banged up? Is the T.O fiasco a distraction? Is the defense too inconsistent?

"Who cares?" is probably the better question. It doesn't matter, the Eagles are 4-5 (and possibly without a QB) and only a miracle can save them at this point. This team could have won the division. The chances were there, the talent was there, they even played great football at times. The reality is they just never made THE plays. You know, the plays that a good team makes that you don't even really notice. No silly turnovers or penalties, managing the clock, and playing a good return game on special teams.

There is hope for next season with a healthy McNabb (McNabb elects surgery), happy Brian Westbrook, and an always promising off season by a smart organization. That's all well and good, but what might propel this team in 2006 is the lost season of 2005. Time will tell.

No More T.O.!

Every sport has athletes that get way too much pub than they really deserve. Some egotistical superstar that steals the spotlight from much more deserving stories and tales of the real heroes of the game. So complaining about how annoying this whole T.O. situation is would just be fueling the fire even more, right? Alright, just one more rant and never again, I swear.

First off, the Eagles are going to be better off without him, period. This is not the Randy Moss situation when the Minnesota offense looked inept with his departure, does not compare. First of all, let's not forget the Eagles went to three straight NFC Championships without Owens. Then last season, they went to the Super Bowl with Owens on injured reserve for the end of the season and the playoffs. They have always won without him. The Eagles have never won an important game that T.O. had a hand in.

This year, the Eagles are not the same team they were in each of the last four years. 4-4 at the halfway mark, a beat up quarterback, and playing in a division that has vastly improved. Philly has been blown out by Dallas and Denver, lost opening night to Atlanta, and just sneaked by Oakland and San Diego. This is not a team that has been playing good football, so how does cutting one of the biggest locker room disasters in the history of professional sports hurt them so much?

The Eagles needed anything to wake them up, whether this does the job or not remains to be seen, but it certainly can't make things worse for a team that has proved time and again they can win without Owens. There was no one left supporting this waste of cap space. He was a wedge driving the entire team apart in a sport where team unity is a must. The T.O. era is over in Philly, and no one is crying about it.

Now let's get back to some of the real stories in 2005, how bout those Browns beating the Titans last week? Now that was something...

Where They Stand

With eight weeks in the books, the 2005 NFL season has started to take shape. With many teams now halfway through their schedules, the playoff picture is coming into focus.

There are ten teams that have accumulated five or more wins to this point. All but one of them (Tampa Bay) seem to have a good shot at making the playoffs. Of these teams, four of them have made major turn arounds since last year (Giants, Cowboys, Panthers, Bengals). The remaining five were all over .500 in 2004. Because of weak divisions, two teams that currently sit with fewer than five wins (Patriots and Bears) currently sit in automatic playoff spots at this point. Still in the hunt are the Chargers, Chiefs, Jaguars, Eagles, Redskins, and Rams with four wins apiece, and the Lions and Dolphins with three wins apiece. That leaves twelve teams that have slim hopes for the postseason and are already looking ahead to 2006. (View Current Standings)

With all that said, here is a stab at the 2005 playoff outlook.

NFC:
Getting Byes: Seahawks and Falcons
Wild Card Round: Giants, Cowboys, Panthers, Bears
The NFC is still pretty difficult to predict, especially who will be getting the first round byes with the top two records. The Falcons were a popular pick before the season began, and they should still be able to pull it off if the offense stays healthy (that is a big IF however). I'm putting the Seahawks in there for the second spot right now, but not with much confidence. Seattle has a weak schedule and they play at home pretty damn well. The Giants and Cowboys should go one-two in the NFC East. Both teams are very hungry and ready to capitalize and a crumbling Eagles team in that division. The Bears get a spot in a crummy division, and the Panthers should be able to hold off the Rams, Redskins, and Eagles to grab a spot.

AFC:
Getting Byes: Colts and Steelers
Wild Card Round: Patriots, Chargers, Broncos, Bengals
The AFC is a little more clear cut in terms of the haves and have-nots. The Colts should have no trouble snatching up homefield advantage, and the Steelers are just tough enough to grab the number two spot. The Broncos are tough to leave out of the Bye Week, but with five road games remaining for a team that specializes in winning at home, they may find themselves slipping to the three or four seed. The Patriots have fallen off a bit, but there isn't a true threat within their division to knock them off. The Chargers are stuck at .500 right now, but have been the victims of some very tight losses. If they keep playing the way they are playing, but get a few more friendly bounces, they should find themselves among the top six in the conference. Finally, the Bengals might not be as good as that 6-2 record, but Carson Palmer is talented enough to bring at least four more wins this year.

And hey, Congrats to the Texans for snapping any chances of going winless for the entire season with their 19-16 win over the Browns.

Let the Kid Play

In Green Bay, it has not been a familiar site at the bottom of the standings. Such a historic franchise in a historic venue doesn't deserve such a fate, but that is the reality for the Packers right now. With Brett Favre's slow decline into mediocrity, and the rest of the team succumbing to age and injury, Green Bay has entered the dreaded rebuilding phase.

There are two ways to go about this phase: To deny the decline and stick with the team you have, or to gut the players that got you there and go young. Right now the Packers are struggling to make a decision.

The biggest part of any rebuilding phase is finding a new quarterback to lead the franchise, and that is no easy task. The quarterback is the centerpiece to every great team. Everyone needs one, and there are only so few to go around. The only way to find one is to take a guess and check approach. QB busts are common, so there is never any point in putting too much stock in one individual. The best way to find your new team leader is to let them play and learn.

Aaron Rodgers may or may not be the next big thing in Green Bay, but we will never find out unless he gets on the field. Every quarterback suffers from growing pains, there is no doubt about that. Take a look at the best QBs in the game today and almost all of them had painful rookie seasons. The quarterback position requires a ton of raw talent, but at the same time it requires even more knowledge. Knowledge that can't all be learned from the sideline.

With their season in the dumps, Green Bay needs to swallow it's pride and sit Favre on the bench. Sending Favre out there to throw 4 picks a game does more harm than sending Rodgers out there to do the same. There is no question in my mind that Rodgers will struggle more than Favre has this year, but this isn't about this year. Just look at some of the recent proof. The top three QBs in the league right now (Palmer, Manning, Brees) all struggled in their rookie seasons. Palmer is already settling in after 2 years, it took Manning and Brees longer. Let Rodgers go and make his mistakes now, so this team can be a contender again in a year or two.

You had a nice run Mr. Favre, but please hang them up.

Attack of the Zebras

Ok, I was watching the games last week and it just hit me. Can we just play some football?

The number of penalties around the league this season is out of control. We see more black and white stripes than team jerseys. We see more yellow flags than endzone colors. I am all for the game being played fairly, but it can barely even be considered a game with the constant fouls. The game slows down, it gets too choppy, and it can just become boring. Fans go to the stadium to watch the athletes, the guys making millions every year, make big plays and battle for sixty minutes. Watching some skinny guys chucking yellow towels up into the air for three hours isn't nearly as exciting.

Some might point to the fact that the rules have been changed and there are just more penalties to be called these days. This is both true and untrue. The rules have been altered over the years for several reasons, ranging from keeping the players safer (the late hit penalties, blows to the head, unnecessary roughness) and then those that are designed to open up the game more (illegal contact and defensive holding have been a focal point over the past few seasons). Even with these rules, the refs need to use better judgement. If the rules are followed to a T, then you could argue there being a penalty on every snap. There is holding and all sorts of illegal play going on every down of every game, but there has to be consistency in the calls.

The rules are fine the way they are, but it is time for the officials to have a looser interpretation of them. Football is football, and that is all anyone shells out all that money for to go to the game.

Now let's play some ball.

Least of the Problems

Last week's posting was a bit on the negative side, I'll admit. I guess it would only be fair to the NFL as a whole to highlight some GOOD football being played through the first 6 weeks.

And surprisingly, it takes place in the NFC East. A division that has routinely been decided (in favor of the Eagles recent dynasty) before the season even gets under way the past 4 years is now the only division in football where you won't find a losing record going into week 7. The Cowboys sit atop with a 4-2 mark, leaving the Giants, Eagles, and 'Skins all trailing by a thin 1/2 game margin at 3-2.

So what is different in 2005 that is keeping the East from being a one team race? Are the Eagles reaching the end of an era? Or is everyone else finally catching up? A little of both.

The Birds are clearly not the same team they were a season ago. The most obvious answer is the health of Donovan McNabb. With Donovan nursing multiple injuries (which he will be dealing with until surgery in the off-season), the offensive attack loses a few bullets. The injuries that have hindered McNabb seem to be taking their toll. Brian Westbrook and TO are unhappy, and their motivation has come into question in the past week. When your QB, number one running back, and number one receiver are all not on top of their game, the offense is going to struggle.

On the defensive side of the ball, things don't look so spectacular either. One thing that must be noted; 5-peating for the division can be somewhat challenging. This team has a bull’s-eye on its back each week. Everyone wants to knock them off, and the rest of the league is starting to figure out a way to shut down their winning formula. The real test for the Eagles will be to see if they can now change their game plan that may finally be getting stale after 4 years.

On the other hand, the rest of the division is finally living up to some of the hype. The Cowboys have been building a lethal defensive group under the command of Bill Parcells. And with a competent QB finally at the helm, the 'Boys could finally be ready to start a new era of their own.

The Giants are starting to see some flashes of hope from their big investment, Eli Manning. Although he is still rough around the edges, his performance so far is a mile ahead of his disastrous rookie campaign. The real questions for the Giants are about consistency and defense. The consistency should slowly come in time, but without a revamped secondary, they still might be a few steps away from being a true power in the NFC.

Joe Gibbs' is finding his place in Washington once again. The 'Skins will still have doubters with that shaky offense, but the defensive is rock solid. After starting 3-0, they have been the victim of 2 stinging losses in AFC stadiums, but there performance in those games shows that they have definitely made some strides. Mistake-free football will be the key to success the rest of the way for the Skins.

Now if only those guys to the North could take some notes...