Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune
We still have our fair share of below average teams (putting it nicely), but all of a sudden there are a few teams emerging as frontrunners for the playoffs despite it being still October.
The Texans and Falcons look like they may clinch in November, but the story has all been about the NFC. The squads are living up to most of the hype and if the likes of Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and New York continue to win then we may officially see a power change in the NFL.
Outside of the Texans we have many question marks whereas the NFC has those four juggernauts listed above.
32. Kansas City Chiefs
They are starting Brady Quinn for consecutive weeks, but there is actually great news. Playing against the Raiders always gives you a shot to win albeit the Chiefs did get the bottom spot.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
O, boy do the Jaguars absolutely stink with Blaine Gabbert and now they lost him. Don’t tell Eric Winston the hundred of Jag fans were cheering when he went down, but Chad Henne may actually be worse. Also, the loss of Maurice Jones-Drew for at least a few games could give them the bottom feeding spot.
30. Cleveland Browns
Brandon Weeden and this offense is dreadful when Trent Richardson is not playing, which begs the question as to when they will drop back down to the bottom slot?
29. Oakland Raiders
Carson Palmer and this offensive line is brutal and there is no doubting that. Darren McFadden was picked by many to lead the NFL in rushing, but they must of forgotten about those terrible blockers.
28. Carolina Panthers
The General Manager was fired and many fans are only hoping they are not the worst team in the NFC.
27. Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck and the Colts may be.500 but they will not last long even in the AFC South with the talent level they have.
26. St. Louis Rams
Sam Bradford and this offense stunk up the joint against the Packers defense, but their defense can still hang with solid offenses. GB and their stars are just too much these days for seemingly anybody.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Josh Freeman threw for over 400 yards and they still lost, which lets you know how awful the Bucs pass defense is without Aqib Talib.
24. New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees is the man, but the lack of a run game and a defense that couldn’t tackle me in a phone booth is not a good sign for things to come.
23. Buffalo Bills
The offense is electric with Stevie Johnson, C.J.Spiller and Fred Jackson but the lack of a defense makes this offense mediocre at times. Ryan Fitzpatrick’s arm strength is still a concern and they will never make the playoffs until they can get some better lineman (both sides of ball).
22. Tennessee Titans
Congrats you beat the Bills, now just beat some normal teams and all of a sudden you may finish around .500!
21. Washington Redskins
RGIII had a costly fumble, but had the ‘Skins right where they wanted the Giants. As usual the pass defense let them down in the most inopportune time.
20. Detroit Lions
19. Miami Dolphins
This offense is run through Reggie Bush, but their killer defense will allow them to stay in several games that many did not anticipate.
18. Cincinnati Bengals
Andy Dalton and the coaching failed to throw the ball to A.J. Green and it cost them dearly. The defense played well overall, but the passing game was a bit embaressing. They went from potential AFC North contenders to wild card pretenders.
17. San Diego Chargers
Mr. Rivers has a knack for devastating fumbles and picks which has cost this team quite a bit. The defense isn’t talented enough to carry them and the star players are limited because the signal-caller isn’t the same star he used to be.
16. Arizona Cardinals
The offensive line is brutal, and for that they will fail to win the close games even with a stellar defense.
15. New York Jets
Sanchez and the offense played lights out overall, but they still are missing that ‘it’ factor to contend for a playoff spot.
14. Seattle Seahawks
13. Philadelphia Eagles
12. Denver Broncos
11. Dallas Cowboys
A solid victory on the road with a dinged up Dez Bryant and an inactive Demarco Murray could help them next week against the Giants when they get a tad healthier. Pull off a huge win and then it is time for some playoff talk, lose and then the world is coming to an end.
10. Minnesota Vikings
They better be ready for Thursday against an angry Bucs team that let one go against New Orleans.
9. Baltimore Ravens
Flat out embarrassing and Joe Flacco gets the main finger pointing on offense whereas the defense just looked awful against the Texans power run game.
8. Green Bay Packers
Even without Greg Jennings and now Charles Woodson (6-8 weeks collarbone), they are back in a loaded NFC!
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
Huge win at the Bengals since they can now relax a bit knowing they are in the thick of things still.
6. New England Patriots
Winning ugly is not always easy to accomplish, but that is where this defense is at these days. The offense needs more balance since they have been threading it all day with a boatload of injury riddles receivers.
5. San Francisco 49ers
4. New York Giants
A loss to Washington would have dropped them a far ways, and now they must prepare for Dallas in a payback game. Lose and all of sudden your division chances take a hit although these defending champs will be in the hunt all year long even with a brutal slate.
3. Houston Texans
The defense is relentless and they run the football, but the key has been the passing game with Matt Schaub finding guys like Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter.
2. Chicago Bears
See above but slightly better as they oddly represent a team from the SEC (I didn’t just compare them to UF/Bama but I did!)
1. Atlanta Falcons
Yes, the Dirty Birds are the best team in football until they lose a game. They go up against Vick and the Eagles which should test them as we will find out if their defensive line can harass a turnover prone quarterback.
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