After six weeks of play the league is starting to fall into place. But I want to take a closer look at a few of the teams that some people might have made their mind up on already and see if they are who we think they are. And hopefully we don’t let them off the hook.
San Francisco – They are 5-1 and coming off a huge road victory over the previously undefeated Lions. Harbaugh looks like an all-star as their new coach and the team appears to have a plan they are executing routinely. They show up and run the ball; whether they are in the lead or playing from behind, they pound the rock. They are able to do this because they play with a physical style and their defense is living up to the promise it never did under the Singletary regime. But their strong early run-game has covered up one glaring weakness – they don’t have a quarterback. In last week’s victory over the Lions starter Alex Smith passed for only 170 yards. On the season he has broken 200 yards only once. Given their remaining schedule and the rest of their division, I think San Fran will be able to continue their winning ways, but don’t let Smith off of your radar. They won’t be able to come from behind like they did against Philly all season long. If the 49ers are forced to play outside of their style they won’t be successful. There could be a few stinkers in San Fran’s future.
San Diego – Everything is gravy for the Chargers. They just completed their first five games with a 4-1 record, they survived some shaky play against some sub-par teams and escaped September with a winning record. Now they are ready for their annual mid-season push, right? I’m not sold on that this season. In years past the Chargers offense was simple; Send the receivers deep down the field and look to hit the big shot. If they aren’t open you are okay because the best TE in the league will be open over the middle or you can check it down to Darren Sproles who can make a man miss and pick up a first down. This year Sproles has left the left coast for they bayou, New Orleans, and Gates is more banged up than usual. In fact Gates, with his long-term foot injury, may never be the same player again. Without these players picking up the easy yards it puts Phillip Rivers and the offense in some tough long-yardage situations. This could be the reason Rivers is off to a shaky start with six TD’s and seven INT’s. This week’s match-up against the Jets will go along way to proving how good the Chargers really are, because right now a good team takes care of the Jets, period.
Seattle – They start off the season how everyone expected; a loss to the 49ers and a crushing at the hands of the Steelers. Now they sit at 2-3 with a win over the lowly Cards and a “lucky” victory over the Giants. Terrible team just as expected, right? Not so fast. First off let’s say we know the Seahawks have problems on offense. Either Tavaris Jackson or Charlie Whitehurst is the starting QB and neither is a great option. So we can’t expect too much from Seattle but maybe they are a decent team. Sitting where we are now the opening loss to the 49ers doesn’t look so bad – a road loss to a team off to a hot start. The Steelers loss was bad timing to have to play an angry Steelers team. Since then they have played three very competitive games against Arizona-Atlanta-New York. Not so bad. Now remember that the Seahawks did win their division last year and they have three new starters on the offensive line this year that need time to gel. On top of that Seattle stops the run really well. Maybe they aren’t destined for great things but .500 could be in their future. Let’s wait and see.
Oakland – The Raiders can run the ball and they had a nice win over the Jets. But their defense stinks and their QB just got hurt. Palmer might have been worth two first round picks (essentially) to the Raiders but to everyone who actually watched him play the last few years he is maybe worth a third. That’s right. Carson Palmer stinks. End of story. End of season.
Dallas – They may be 2-3 but I see them as the best team in their division. Their defense is playing excellent. They have play makers all over the field on offense. Once the combo of Romo – Austin – Bryant are totally healthy I think their offense will take off. They have given away two wins late and the other loss was a road game they lead late against the Pats. They may not be a complete team but they will be a very good one.
And that is the last word.
