wco81 wrote:AFC just looks so much stronger. Again.
But there's still a lot of football to play.
I agree - there is definitely a lot of football left to be played. As of today, the AFC has a 22-18 record against the NFC, a winning record yet hardly a dominating lead.
Further, consider that the NFC East and NFC South both have winning records of 6-5 against the AFC thus far. The Saints, Giants, Falcons, Eagles, Cowboys, and Panthers from those divisions have been in dogfights with their divisional foes all year, contributing to their (overall) mediocre records. Even the bottom feeders in the NFC East (Redskins) and South (Bucs) this season were playoff teams last year, and play teams tough.
I'm not a fan of one conference over another - rather, I find it interesting that so many in the press are already fitting Peyton Manning or Steve McNair for their Super Bowl crown when there is so much left to be decided.
matthewk wrote:I only have one favorite team. I root for the Packers because I've grown up with them, so there's a natural alligence to them. I know this is not a difficult thing for *most* people to comprehend.
If you think that's difficult, try explaining to people how you can like both Penn State *and* Pitt. I grew up liking Pitt for the first 18 years of my life and then went to Penn State. I couldn't exactly dump the team of my childhood *or* root against my own university (especially when the huge underdog Lions beat the hated Hurricanes in your freshman year) now could I?
wco81 wrote:AFC just looks so much stronger. Again.
They look deeper, but I don't think they are as dominating as last year. Indy can't stop the run, Denver can't pass, and Baltimore can't run. San Diego has the best balance as they have a very good offense and a D that most days gets the job done (yesterday excepted).
I don't think any of these teams are that much better than the Bears, Saints, Eagles, and Giants, or a healthy Seahawk squad. Would they be favored? Certainly. But the gap is not that great.
matthewk wrote:I only have one favorite team. I root for the Packers because I've grown up with them, so there's a natural alligence to them. I know this is not a difficult thing for *most* people to comprehend.
If you think that's difficult, try explaining to people how you can like both Penn State *and* Pitt. I grew up liking Pitt for the first 18 years of my life and then went to Penn State. I couldn't exactly dump the team of my childhood *or* root against my own university (especially when the huge underdog Lions beat the hated Hurricanes in your freshman year) now could I?
It makes more sense with college. But in Matt's case, it's not like he has the Packers and then some bandwagon shitmobile like the Cowboys or Niners. I like the Chargers because I lived in San Diego and often root for them as long as the Bears aren't involved.
Hey, I can top you all. I like the Cubs and Whitesox. In these parts that's like saying I'm a vegetarian that loves meat. I always have and always will like both teams. My dad would take me to see both teams since he grew up in Peoria and followed the Cardinals as a kid.
I am a patient boy.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
ScoopBrady wrote:Hey, I can top you all. I like the Cubs and Whitesox. In these parts that's like saying I'm a vegetarian that loves meat. I always have and always will like both teams. My dad would take me to see both teams since he grew up in Peoria and followed the Cardinals as a kid.
This is what I see when I read the first sentence:
ScoopBrady wrote:Hey, I can top you all. I like the AREJOFHR31247 AND THE EJARE9321435DJ.
Totally incomprehensible
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
It all started in the mid-seventies. Back then I latched on to the Steelers for some reason. By early 80s I inexplicably switched over to the 49ers. I tired of them around 1990, when I just naturally began to root for the Bills. That quickly changed to the Cowboys. After that I tired of Dallas and began liking the Packers. Most recently I've been a fan of the Pats, but for some reason they just aren't doing it for me anymore. The Bears and Colts are currently my favorites, but that could change by the Super Bowl.
matthewk wrote:It all started in the mid-seventies. Back then I latched on to the Steelers for some reason. By early 80s I inexplicably switched over to the 49ers. I tired of them around 1990, when I just naturally began to root for the Bills. That quickly changed to the Cowboys. After that I tired of Dallas and began liking the Packers. Most recently I've been a fan of the Pats, but for some reason they just aren't doing it for me anymore. The Bears and Colts are currently my favorites, but that could change by the Super Bowl.
ScoopBrady wrote:Hey, I can top you all. I like the Cubs and Whitesox. In these parts that's like saying I'm a vegetarian that loves meat. I always have and always will like both teams. My dad would take me to see both teams since he grew up in Peoria and followed the Cardinals as a kid.
This is what I see when I read the first sentence:
ScoopBrady wrote:Hey, I can top you all. I like the AREJOFHR31247 AND THE EJARE9321435DJ.
10spro wrote:Gutsy win by the Cowboys, although Indy had a lot of turnovers. There goes the last undefeated team.
Tough break for McNabb with a torn ACL.
McNabb is out for the year, goes without saying. Favre is out indefinitely with his elbow injury. How many opening-day starters are still standing in the league now? As of right now, even with Aaron Brooks return today with the Raiders and Trent Green's return for the Chiefs, it seems like a good chunk of the league's starters are out or severely banged up.
Though the Colts lost, at least now they can sit Manning late in the season (and avoid adding him to the list of injured QBs) now that they don't have to chase the 72 Fins.
Three shutouts in one day! I'm not sure if I've ever seen that many in the NFL before.
The other big thing I noticed after reading today's finals is that 49ers are the quietest .500 team I've ever seen. I couldn't name more than half their starters right now. Mike Nolan has really gotten them out of the cellar in a hurry with very little impact players, even if they probably won't be a playoff team for another two years. Gore is playing really well for them, rang up over 200 yards today. Hope the powers that be show a Niners game here on the East Coast later this year.
hellbent wrote:Mike Nolan has really gotten them out of the cellar in a hurry with very little impact players, even if they probably won't be a playoff team for another two years. Gore is playing really well for them, rang up over 200 yards today. Hope the powers that be show a Niners game here on the East Coast later this year.
Unless Seattle gets some guys healthy and they play like they should, the 49ers may be in the playoffs sooner than you think. Only back a game in the division. And yes, Gore is legit, but then again, with that avatar, you already knew that. LOL.
hellbent wrote: Though the Colts lost, at least now they can sit Manning late in the season (and avoid adding him to the list of injured QBs) now that they don't have to chase the 72 Fins.
Mike Nolan has really gotten them out of the cellar in a hurry with very little impact players, even if they probably won't be a playoff team for another two years. Gore is playing really well for them, rang up over 200 yards today. Hope the powers that be show a Niners game here on the East Coast later this year.
Colts started resting some regulars last season too and the down side to that is that once the playoff kicks off some of them start as flat as a pancake.
Seattle woke up once they realized they were down 20-0. It's the same lazy attitude that plagues the team once they know they play against a weaker opponent. Maybe that's why a lot of experts don't take them seriously. Also Alexander was back and they probably thought "this one is in the books". A disappointing loss to say the least.
49ers played 3 struggling teams for the win streak. I have no illusions about them being good even if they sneak into the playoffs.
They had like 3 ints and two fumble and they just survived to win. Offense, which has all the high draft picks from recent years, has no killer instinct, as shown by being shut out in the second half.
Defense has been playing better but they need a lot more talent.
Gore has been a surprise but he's fumble-prone and apparently the Seahawks werne't tackling well.
With McNabb's injury and the Giants' injury, NFC is lining up for the Bears. Giants looked good when they beat Dallas a couple of weeks ago but Eli is too inconsistent and they're hurting. I don't see Seattle, Atlanta or Carolina improving enough in 6 games. Chicago seems to have overcome Mike Brown's injury but another impact player going down may be hard to overcome.
Another iffy game for Grossman, but his receivers dropped some passes and he wisely threw the ball away instead of to defenders when under pressure. But they got the job done on the road against a feisty Jets team.
Eric Mangini should be removed for coach of the year consideration for that onside kick, though. Almost as bad as deciding to kick to start overtime. Completely killed the Jets' momentum.
I think the Chargers are probably the best team in the league right now. They have been giving up a lot of points, but they play well against the run at least. Offensively they are just ridiculous. If they can tighten up the defense just a little more they have a good shot at a Super Bowl appearance.
And how much longer does Atlanta stick with Vick? I understood the "he just wins" argument, but now he doesn't win. He's barely completing half his passes this year. He has made no progress as a QB since he got hurt in 2003. His WRs may suck but no wideout in the league can catch one-hop passes or throws that sail out of bounds. They should trade him and get 70 cents on the dollar while he can still run fast. There's probably at least one GM that would give up a decent package for him.
Brando70 wrote:
I think the Chargers are probably the best team in the league right now. They have been giving up a lot of points, but they play well against the run at least. Offensively they are just ridiculous. If they can tighten up the defense just a little more they have a good shot at a Super Bowl appearance.
One note on the Chargers defense. The last several games, they've played without Shawne Merriman and Luis Castillo, their two best defenders, and their best pass rusher not named Merriman, Shaun Phillips has been hurt and missed significant time. Castillo comes back this week, Merriman is back after this week, and Phillips is looking better. So their defense should hopefully return to it's early season form in the next few weeks.
3-0 without Merriman, and 2-0 without Castillo, is far more than I could have hoped for. As for being a SB contender, not sure about that, but they look like they have a good shot at making some noise in the postseason.
