Thoughts on football (AFC)

Titans -- I'm believing the hype on the Titans now. I don't think they're going undefeated and I don't think they're better than NYG, but they could be. In a league dominated by injuries building a deep team with strong coaching from the bottom up looks like the way to go. They've got a good running game, a good enough QB (though you'd like to see a little more dazzle down the field, at least a little bit) and a D that hits people hard. I don't think they're a classically great team but I think they've got strength and depth and a game plan that will keep them in it all year long. You know, when they had lean years in Tennessee and they never fired Fisher even though blaming the coach is always the first move, I always thought they were making the right move. He's a good coach and while this isn't his best team it may be the one that can win.

Steelers, Bills -- Both have good QB play, pretty good running games but rickety O-lines. Big Ben gets hit too much and while Edwards hasn't morphed into Drew Bledsoe (the way QBs in Buffalo seem to do), he'd do better with a little more breathing room in the pocket. Both have good D's and good special teams and are efficient enough on offense and on the road to keep winning games. I like them both to make the playoffs.

Jags, Broncos -- These two are capable of fine ball but they're also real capable of mailing it in. The Broncos have no D at all and the Jags just can't seem to get over the hump of thinking all the way through a game. They're both still on track for the post-season and both can still become fine teams, but at the moment they seem like stragglers.

Pats -- Wild card. Not sure how far they can get w/out Brady but they're still a pretty good team with a pretty good coach. If they can stay disciplined and (of course) avoid more injuries, they can still be dangerous in the playoffs.

Colts, Ravens, Chargers -- 3 old timey powers still hanging around. But none are really inspiring any confidence. The Colts can still ring up the scoreboard--you know they can--but they just don't look sturdy enough to bang with anyone any more. They've got enough class to win but not really the strength. I give them decent odds to make the playoffs but they don't go far. The Ravens are back to their superb defense but the offense just looks stagnant. I don't see where the points come from on that team. The Chargers are flounderers, they've been doing that for a while now. There's still time to right the ship and they are in a crappy division so they can get back in it. But somehow they look like a broken toy to me.

Browns, NYJ, Texans, Dolphins -- Mediocrities. The Browns were everybody's darling but I wasn't sold. Their schedule was brutal and it shows now. They gutted a nice win over NYG and they could do that again, but they just don't seem to have any direction right now. I just don't see how they get on a roll. NYJ is not the place for Favre and vice versa. He'll win some games, put up some highlights, maybe even hang around the playoff hunt. But I just don't see this experiment working and I think they flail for the rest of the year. The Texans are like a construction project that moves at a snail's pace: you can tell they're getting better but they don't seem any closer to complete. The complaint that they're in a tough conference just doesn't wash any more, they should have one of the easier schedules in the league, I'd think. And still they seem like the little engine that does every once in a while. The Dolphins are the team that will gladly play spoiler down the stretch. They won't win a lot of games but you'll remember the ones they do.

Raiders, Bengals, Chiefs -- I hesitate to put the Raiders this low because I think they've got a shot at getting better. I'm not counting on it because flashy mediocrity works pretty well in Oaktown these days. Bengals just look hopeless. They're talent poor, the front office is the least active in the league and the coaching staff doesn't seem in control, bad combo. The Chiefs are just, wow, they're getting like Detroit Lions bad.