Thoughts on football (NFC)

NYG -- I'm buying the hype. Going into Pittsburgh, putting a lot of pressure on Big Ben and finding a way at the end is pretty impressive. Steelers-Cowboys was my pre-season SB pick and NYG has now won at both of them--and Tampa and Green Bay besides. The pass rush is top notch, Eli is settling in as comfortable leader rather than tap dancing deer in the headlights, the running game is ferocious and you would expect a Coughlin squad to possess fine special teams (I can't say as I've really noticed, letting my preconceptions run loose). Today's NFL is all about injuries and as long as NYG stays healthy, I think they're gonna win 14 games and cruise into the playoffs. It's early, but that's the shape for now.

Redskins, Panthers, Eagles -- They all seem like fine teams, good firepower, stern defenses, with stars on both sides of the ball. That's nice. I'm not sure which one seems like the candidate to emerge to challenge NYG. I like what the Redskins are getting out of Campbell and Portis and they're getting strong LB play on the other side. I like that but I wonder if that's enough to stop a really dynamic offense or burrow through a strong pass rush. The Panthers, too, seem good enough to be called good, but I'm not sure they're good enough to best NYG. When the Eagles are in sync they may be the best in the game, but they don't get in sync often enough to bank on. Again, whichever one can stay healthy can win. I'm thinking McNabb and Westbrook are most likely to get tagged (though my fantasy team would be devastated if anything happened to either of them), so I'd put them 3rd out of these 3.

Cowboys -- The ultimate wild card. When healthy they've looked pretty good, but they've endured some Texas-size turmoil lately that has crippled them badly in the getting it done department. Who knows what happens? They'll be playing desperate at the end of the year which may whisk them to the Final or spin them out of control. I have no clue how salary structures and contracts work in football, but I reckon Jerry Jones can blow up a team with a quickness when need be. The Cowboys may look totally different next year.

Bucs, Packers, Bears, Falcons, Cards -- These seem like the teams that might sneak into the playoffs at the end. I like the Bucs, good running game, got that fearsome D back at work. But still too pedestrian to imagine winning the conference final. The Packers have looked really good at times but they seem like flailers at the moment, I give Dallas a much better chance now than the Packers. Bears are better w/out Rex--who's surprised? The D is nice but not so tough as the glory days, the running game is coming along, if they could move the ball they could hang around. But how consistent are they gonna be? The Falcons lucked out with Matt Ryan, that guy is really impressive. His footwork is professional grade, his shoulders are always squared forward, he's got a great eye, reads D well--he's a badass right off the bat. Best rookie QB since Marino? They're flashy and interesting but I suspect by the end of the year they'll be in the middle, which is way better than they probably hoped for. The Cards, yeah, well, they're good enough to hang around and their division is pretty soft so I guess they've got a good shot at the post-season but I'm just not into them really. Everything about them seems more likely to fall apart than fall in place, so their chances of doing any real damage seem meager.

Saints, Vikings, Rams -- These are the 3 that should be better. And you never know there's still time for them. The Saints should have the best offense ever all the time instead of just every once in a while. And the D is pretty raggedy. They'll give great highlights but I'm not sure about W's. The Vikings were everybody's darling but they've just got no 'zazz. They've got a 1 dimensional offense and a soft D, they're just not built to win so why did we all think they would? The Rams just didn't want to play for Linehan, back in the 'Nam they would've fragged him left him for dead. In the NFL they just complain to their agents long enough and the guy gets a gajillion-dollar buyout. (I'm telling ya: peace is better than war) The Rams all of the sudden look like a team that can win games and this is a fragile conference. I'd love to see the Rams hang around and make some noise but I'm not really betting on it.

Seahawks, Niners -- Disappointing efforts really. The Seahawks made the SB a coupla years back because of the best offensive line in the game. Then each lineman got poached and since the Seahawks have just plain sucked. They ran Shaun Alexander into retirement, even Jerry Rice couldn't catch the ball up there and they've got a lame duck coach with no plan for the future. These guys could suck for a long, long time. The Niners rolled the dice on Nolan and Smith and didn't come up winners. But I thought getting rid of Nolan was premature. I liked Nolan and they did make improvements here and there, I thought he had them on the right track. I like Singletary too but bringing him under a cloud seems weird to me. When did the NFL ever fire a guy this early in the season--we've already got 3 axed. I don't understand the shift.

Lions -- Oh no, these guys just suck. They've never been good and they have no plan to get good, they just hang around year after year-- like Ford and General Motors. Unfortunately the Lions are not poised to be liquidated any time soon.