Sorry I slacked this past week. I use the holiday as an excuse. Although lack of motivation is another possible excuse.
NFC
1. CHICAGO BEARS (9-2)
LOST at New England 13-17
In the past month, the Bears have proven they are the 3rd best team in the AFC East. Lucky for them though, they play in the NFC, where even after this loss they still rule the roost by a comfortable margin. A nice 23.7 rating posted in this one by Rex Grossman. It’s getting to the point where as a Bear fan my list of people I’d rather see playing quarterback than him has expanded to include.
1. Brian Griese
2. Kyle Orton
3. Chad Hutchinson
4. Jonathan Quinn
5. Kordell Stewart
6. Chris Chandler
7. Henry Burris
8. Bob Avellini
9. The Late Sid Luckman
The Chilling Future
The Bears will still probably win as many games as they want to win for the remainder of the regular season. They have 3 games left against the NFC North, 2 of which are at home, and a date with the Bucs at Soldier Field.
2. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (7-4, 6-1 NFC)
WON at Atlanta 31-13
The Saints had the good fortune of facing a Falcons team that is firmly ensconced in the bell jar. They did what they should have done with that team, and throttled them in front of their own fans, eliciting a cascade of boos from the Falcons’ home fans and a barrage of middle fingers from the uniquely talented Michael Vick.
New Orleans gave up almost 300 yards rushing and still won 31-13. The reason for this is that the Saints allowed the Falcons to stretch the field vertically on them, leaving Vick all the room he needed to run. This meant the Falcons moved the ball at will, until they got near the end zone. Then, the field compresses, Vick has no more empty field to run in, and the Falcons are completely at a loss. It was a brilliant defensive strategy. The Saints let the Falcons get in the red zone, then sat back and watched them disintegrate time after time after time. Only in the NFC.
The Chilling Future
3 of the Saints last 5 games are against teams that are in the playoff chase. They have to go to Dallas and to the Meadowlands to face the Giants before closing at home against Carolina. They are in good shape now, but they still have a tough road ahead.
3. DALLAS COWBOYS (7-4, 4-3 NFC)
WON v. Tampa Bay 38-10
So help me God, if I have to sit thru a Super Bowl Hype week involving both Bill Parcells AND TO”¦.sweet Jesus.
Tony Romo threw 5 TD passes in front of the adoring eyes of an overfed and passed out Amercian public on Thanksgiving afternoon. He did it against an awful Tampa Bay team though, who really should go back to wearing the Dreamsicle uniforms because it’s easier to tell they suck that way.
Honestly, I have no way of knowing how good the Cowboys are or are not. I have no way of knowing if any of the contending teams in the NFC are any good. They all keep beating up on shitty teams every week, then lose whenever they play anyone halfway decent. Yeah, I guess the Cowboys are OK and have as good a shot as anyone in this conference of making the Super Bowl. Wheeeeeeee football!!
The Chilling Future
The Cowboys close with games against 3 teams that are pretty much zombies right now in the Falcons, Eagles, and Lions. Barring any drastic reversal of fortunes in those squads, the Cowboys are a lock for at least 10 wins, which will get them to the postseason.
4. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (6-4, 5-3 NFC)
v. Green Bay MNF
Well, let’s see, they’ve got Alexander back, now they get Hasselbeck back too. In theory, this team should now be pretty dangerous. Then again, let’s look at the teams their 6 wins have come against this year. They’ve beaten the Rams twice, the Cardinals, the Lions, the Raiders, and they beat the Giants a million years ago back in Week 3. They also just lost to the Niners last week. So, what I know is, the Seahawks are roughly somewhere in between the Rams and the 49ers, and every team in the NFC with the exception of the Saints makes me nauseous.
The Chilling Future
Assuming the Hawks take care of the Packers tonight, they’ll be 7-4 and have a 2 game lead in their division with 5 to play, so they are going to the playoffs. They have dates with the Broncos and Chargers remaining that are probably going in the right hand column, but they’ve also got the Cardinals and Bucs which should both be wins. A lot will ride on their Week 15 game at home against SF. If they win that game, they have a chance of getting a first round bye and a second round home game. If they lose, they’ll have to go on the road for their second playoff game if they get that far.
5. NY GIANTS (6-5, 5-2 NFC)
LOST at Tennessee 21-24
Wow. Way to blow a 21 point lead. To the Titans?
That’s 3 losses in a row for the Giants. Eli Manning looks worse and worse every week. I’m pretty sure the undead carcass of Steve McNair just threw for almost 400 yards against Tennessee not too long ago, and Eli can’t crack 200. All this could have been yours, Charger fans.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is a blown 9 point 4th quarter lead against a 9-2 Ravens team away from having won five out of their last 6 games, and have an offense that has put up 24 or more points every game except one since the team started 0-5. Guess who your 2006 Rookie of the Year is going to be. Go on, guess. Now, remember for a moment that Texans fans weren’t nearly as livid that their team passed on Reggie Bush to draft Mario Williams as they were that they passed on Texas Longhorn hero Vince Young to draft Mario Williams. But, the Texans didn’t need Vince Young, noooooo, not when they have David Carr to throw a 3 year contract extension at!! Weeeeee!!! Every single owner in my fantasy league does a better job running their franchises than that and most of them are drunk when they are drafting.
6. CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-5, 4-4 NFC)
LOST at Washington 13-17
Last week I thought the Panthers were on their way to the Super Bowl. This week they figure out a way to lose to the Jason Campbell and Ladell Betts Experience.
The Cats just have nothing going on offensively right now. They’ve got some reasonably talented players on that side of the ball, they are just not scoring any points. What can I tell you about this or any other of these teams? They play every week, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, the only thing that is certain is that from one week to the next you have no idea what the outcome of their game will be and no one performance tells you anything about what the next one will be like.
The Chilling Future
This was a bad, bad loss for the Panthers. Their remaining schedule has an away game against the Saints, and home games against the Giants and Steelers. They’ve also got trips to Philly and Atlanta, and can lose either one of those games. Carolina’s lost 3 out of their last 5, so if they keep playing like they have been they’ll lose 3 out of their next 5 too, which puts them at 8-8.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Below this group of prized pigs you have the aforementioned Eagles and Falcons at 5-6. McNabb is hurt now so the Eagles will do what they always do when that happens, roll over and play dead. The Falcons are unraveling in such disgusting fashion that it’s becoming impossible for them NOT to fire Jim Mora.
The stumbling of the other wildcard hopefuls means that the Vikings, Niners, and Rams are all very much alive at 5-6, as will be the Packers if they can get an upset tonight in Seattle. Of this group, the Vikings probably have the most favorable schedule and the best chance of finishing at 9-7 and possibly squeaking into the playoffs. A more likely scenario is that all 3 of these teams continue to wallow in mediocrity and finish with 6 or 7 wins.
That’s it for today. Sifting thru the wreckage of this conference has drained my energy. Tomorrow should be a little more uplifting when we look at the AFC.
