Teams in the Quicksand

Week 8 of the NFL, conducted before the East Coast learned to hate a woman named Sandy, featured a fairly pedestrian fantasy effort by many usual stalwarts.  In addition, a few teams performed poorly, and quickly find their season hurtling through the quicksand as of Monday.  Some are very straightforward, where as others may surprise you.

New York Jets

I’ve always been down on this team, for fairly obvious reasons.  Mark Sanchez has no real help around him, and the front office deserves the blame for fielding a poor team around the maligned quarterback.  But, the Jets have stayed in games using their defense this season, giving them three improbable wins and one close loss to the Patriots.

That all ended Sunday after an embarrassing 30-9 loss to the Miami Dolphins, another team with a shady quarterback situation.  And yet, the Dolphins threw for only 139 yards, a chunk of a fairly measly 236 yards of total offense.  But the Jets, unable to score and unwilling to stop Miami, found themselves losing 20-0 at halftime.  I’m not sure if anyone ever really gave this team any considerable chance, but after last week’s near-miss against New England the Jets looked to have a chance.  I’d put a fork in them…

San Diego Chargers

Last we saw the Chargers, they lost their large lead against the Denver Broncos on the basis of poor turnovers and a studly Peyton Manning.  Well, the team that began the year 3-0 now has no chance at the playoffs unless things really change.  Norv Turner not only has lost control of this team, but will have to worry also about his job security, being pronounced Monday on a “week-to-week” evaluation.

After a 7-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns, San Diego must re-tool and figure out where they got it all wrong.  They’ve lost three in a row, blowing large leads in two of those games against decent teams, and scoring only two field goals against one of the worst teams in the league.  San Diego has very little going for it, especially with the Broncos torching their opponents right now.  The Chargers have almost no chance to reach the playoffs now.  The receivers for Philip Rivers have not held up their end of the bargain, as Antonio Gates cannot get rolling, Robert Meachem drops touchdowns (like he did on Sunday), and Malcolm Floyd disappears often.  The leading receiver on Sunday for San Diego: backup running back Ronnie Brown.  Given the strength of the AFC and offensive woes plaguing San Diego, the Chargers will be out of the picture by December.

Arizona Cardinals

Yeah, I know, the 49ers are a great team.  But, the vaunted Cardinal defense, in the NFL’s top 5, couldn’t stop them on Monday night.  The 49ers walked over Arizona, winning 24-3 with the game never in doubt after the first quarter.  Those looking for a distraction from Sandy should be thankful their power went out, that’s how bad the game was.  Capped by a stellar 47-yard TD to Randy Moss, Alex Smith played a virtually perfect game, with only one incompletion and three touchdowns (QB rating of 157.1).

For Arizona, the issues ensue on the offensive side of the ball.  They managed only 7 rushing yards the whole game and while John Skelton played well last year, the line in front of him has no ability to stop the pass rush (four sacks allowed on Monday night).  With games against Green Bay, Atlanta, Seattle, Chicago, and the Niners again, the Cardinals have no chance to keep their momentum from the beginning of the season. 

Washington Redskins

Sure, nobody may have thought they would necessarily “contend,” but many viewed their early season success as potentially a sign that RGIII would arrive ahead of schedule.  But the Redskins are not competitors for precisely that reason: their quarterback arrived, but the rest of the team did not.  The Steelers implemented a gameplan on Sunday that reduced Robert Griffin to only 185 yards of offense (8 of those on offense).  While Alfred Morris provides a balanced running attack, when teams shut down Robert Griffin like Pittsburgh did, the Redskins have no chance to win.  In effect, they are unable to manufacture wins when things are not going their way.  The defense gives up an astronomical number of passing yards and continues to do nothing to change its ways.  While I’ve enjoyed this season immensely, the Redskins have their bye in two week before running the gauntlet to finish the season.  The schedule doesn’t shake down very well for them, and the strength in the NFC means folks should moderate their 2012 expectations for this team.

Philadelphia Eagles

Another one that might surprise half of you, but the defense played very poorly in its first game without fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, meaning Andy Reid has likely lost the ear of his team.  He continues to throw everything at the wall just to see what will stick for the Eagles, but right now no one can take them seriously.  The Falcons ran and passed roughshod over one of the better units in the league this Sunday, relegating the Eagles to 3-4.  I can’t say Michael Vick should be benched in favor of Nick Foles, but Eagles fans may need to understand their season looks to be effectively over.

After all of that, here’s my Top Ten:

1.      Atlanta Falcons (7-0)

After the aforementioned whipping of the Eagles, the Falcons look to not only be firing on all cylinders but also well secure as the top team in the NFC.  The game next week against Dallas will help the Falcons determine if they can play with the higher NFC competition.  Should they win that and November 11^th against the Saints, Atlanta could be 10-0 quickly.

2.      New York Giants (6-2)

The Giants exploded out to a quick 23-0 lead before allowing the Cowboys back into the game.  That kind of defensive performance, even in a win, leads me to downgrade them this week.  The schedule gets tougher, with games against Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and New Orleans in the next month.  But, the Giants have beaten stiff competition already, so don’t expect them to drop too far unless they lose badly.

3.      Houston Texans (6-1)

No stats to give here, since Houston didn’t play a game this week.  But, still the class of the AFC.

4.      San Francisco 49ers (6-2)

A big jump by the Niners this week after thoroughly dominating the Cardinals on Monday night.  This defense still dictates the pace of play and keeps teams to field goals (haven’t given up a touchdown since Week 3).  If Alex Smith can repeat even two thirds of his play in Arizona, the Niners will challenge the top spot on these rankings.

5.      Chicago Bears (6-1)

Might not be a great win, but I give Jay Cutler credit for winning a tough game.  Until now, we’ve seen him wilt at those moments.  For the defense, their torrid pace continues, returning a pick for a touchdown.  With games against Houston, San Fran, and Minnesota in the next four weeks, Chicago will fight to hold a one-loss record, but will still be very high on the list.

6.      Denver Broncos (5-3)

Consecutive wins against New Orleans and San Diego might not be too exciting, but scoring 30 points per game certainly is.  The Broncos look dangerous.  Peyton Manning has returned to form with his timing, finding certain guys every week when needed (Decker scoring a TD the last three weeks).  The defense also looks fantastic, giving up 14 points in the last six quarters.  What’s more…every remaining game on Denver’s schedule is winnable. 

7.      New England Patriots (5-3)

Nothing makes close games better than a 45-7 victory during a London holiday over the St. Louis Rams.  While football might not be immensely popular in the UK, Tom Brady and the Patriots certainly made it seem that way with a dominating performance. 

8.      Green Bay Packers (5-3)

A nine-point win over Jacksonville demands a dip in the rankings.  The offensive line still struggles to protect Aaron Rodgers.  Can they beat the Giants or 49ers?  Not right now.

9.      Baltimore Ravens (5-2)

Another week to get healthy will help this team.  Terrell Suggs officially back and Joe Flacco using the bye week to reset.  The Ravens might be the most volatile team on this list, but also have high upside if they can put it together.

10.  Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)

Great win over the Redskins this week as they shut down Robert Griffin III.  In addition, the Steelers could be on their way back if the backfield situation continues to work very well.  The defense also boasts Dick LeBeau, who showed again this week why he’s one of the top coordinators in football.

Bit #1: Blockbuster NBA Trade

The basketball world was rocked this weekend by the trade of James Harden from the Thunder to the Houston Rockets.  Harden, the less talented but still All-Star caliber member of the Oklahoma City trio, turned down an extension with Oklahoma City over the summer.  The Thunder, looking to maintain Harden’s value, traded him for Kevin Martin.

Martin is certainly a downgrade overall from Harden, but the trade makes lots of sense for Oklahoma City.  With depth at every position, the team will be able to continue a high level of competition without Harden, albeit perhaps a little lower than last year’s regular season.  Look for Eric Maynor to see lots more time this year as the primary shooting talent off the bench.  The front court rotation will need to increase its offensive output to offset Harden’s departure, and that falls on Serge Ibaka.   He’s arguably the best shot blocker in the game, so an adjustment towards offense might not come too easily.

Still, expect the Thunder to be there at the end this year despite the trade.

Bit #2: Four team playoff two years too late?

Right now in college football, four major BCS threats are unbeaten.  Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Kansas State all have good chances of reaching the National Championship game.  The current scenario has many people repeating the age-old refrain against the BCS, but thankfully we won’t have to worry about this again after 2014.

Despite the objections of the public, however, even at this late stage of the season unbeaten teams have a one in three chance of remaining unbeaten at the end of the season.  Last year, six teams came into Week 10 unbeaten with only one remaining after this week.  So, all the worriers need not be concerned.  History says we will not be forced to deal with four unbeaten teams at the end of the season.

But, this would be the week to watch college football if you haven’t yet this year.  Alabama-LSU, Oklahoma State-Kansas State, and USC-Oregon highlight top tests for three of the unbeatens.  I do think Kansas State will lose this week, but then again the Wildcats went into Norman and beat Oklahaoma earlier this season.  We may need to face the real possibility of a national championship that includes Notre Dame, since everyone else has at least two tough games left as of now compared to Notre Dame’s one.

Bit #3: World Series

After a surprising sweep, the San Francisco Giants have become the gold standard for franchises in baseball.  Winning their second title in three years, the Giants did so behind fantastic starting pitching in the postseason.  Tim Lincecum found his stuff out of the bullpen, and Ryan Vogelsong pitched gems in the last two rounds of the playoffs.  And how about Barry Zito?  A guy known for his horrible contract won Game 1 of the World Series after a gem in Game 5 of the NLCS.

I definitely underestimated the Giants, as did many.  They reached the postseason after a tough season in the NL West, but ultimately a sweep requires us to praise them for their efforts.

Bit #4: It’s time to fire Deangelo Hall

I’ve used my blog for many things over the past year, but none have been as important to me as this.  The Redskins, again the worst pass defense in the league, should cut Deangelo Hall.  He has shown flashes of brilliance while wearing burgundy and gold, like catching four interceptions in a game two years ago.  He also took home Pro Bowl MVP honors in 2010, a boon for a franchise still reeling from the Champ Bailey-Clinton Portis trade, about which I will mention nothing more in deference to my continued health and goodwill towards those around me.

But, the last two seasons Hall has not played well nor has he shown any interest in improving.  He cares more about bulletin board material, telling Michael Vick to watch his ribs or downplaying Eli Manning’s talent by proclaiming the defense gave Manning a gift two weeks ago.  His ejection on Sunday for removing his helmet and giving a referee a tongue-lashing shouldn’t surprise anyone.  His attitude consistently emphasizes himself, despite being a defensive co-captain.  Lest we forget, the Oakland Raiders released this guy during the Al Davis years for being “regularly beaten by opposition receivers during the opening half of the season.”  Feels a lot like this season doesn’t it?  And, Hall’s a cancer for this team, talking a ton and putting up Lilliputian numbers, not a good combination.  I can’t wait to be rid of him eventually.