NFL 2007 Week 2: NFC Edition

NFC EAST: What was, just a few years ago, the most competitive division in football has turned into a complete mess. The Cowboys reign supreme and their first two games have shown their dominance over the rest of the division. I hate to say it, but they look like one of the elite teams in the NFC (excuse me while I throw up). Now, they’ll be getting a boost at DT when Tank Johnson comes back, which should make their defense even stronger. They’re going to continue to have problems in the secondary, though, unless they can do something about Roy Williams, and teams with brutal passing attacks are going to eat them for lunch. I really thought the Eagles were going to be better this year, but they look as inept right now as they have in a long time. McNabb looks bad, overthrowing everyone in sight, and Brian Westbrook, who should have been McNabb’s out as he’s been for a few years, has struggled to get going. They may have lost on Monday, but they’re better than the Redskins. Their 2-0 record is a sham. Jason Campbell and Clinton Portis still haven’t gotten anything going, and I’m not sure if the former Bronco standout will be anything more than a footnote at this point in his career. Still, neither team is as bad as the Giants. It is looking more and more clear that this will be Tom Coughlin’s last year, and it could be Manning’s too. Now that he’s playing with a separated shoulder, he might wind up really hurting his arm and turning into Chad Pennington, and I know New York can’t handle two of those.

NFC North: The Hulk Hogan of the NFL has done it again, but a Favre led Packers will, once again, be going nowhere. Sure, they beat the Giants, but my old flag football team could do that. They have no running game, poor receivers and a lackluster defense. The question is, with their early success, will this lead Favre to the belief that “just one more year and we’ll do it.” Sorry Brett, you may be breaking John Elway’s records, but you are no John Elway. Chicago should be happy that they were able to play a team like the Chiefs to give them a little confidence. Unfortunately (if, in this one case), they’ll be playing the Cowboys, who are going to take whatever confidence they gained away and stuff it in their big, stupid ten gallon hat. If Minnesota can keep it up, they may have one of the best defenses in some time. They have been dominant against, admittedly, poor teams. They have no real passing attack to speak of so, unless their opponents are stupid and don’t put eight in the box against Peterson, they’re going to have to let their defense win games for them. I think I remember a team like this just last year, and I think they were in the Super Bowl. They lost. Then we have Detroit who, like the Redskins, is an extremely deceptive 2-0. For the sake of winning, they allowed “Mr. Guarantee” Kitna to come back from the worst concussion of his career and re-enter the game. Brilliant management, and a brilliant display of all macho disregard of players’ health but, what can I say, he was touched by God, so I guess that’s all ok.

NFC South: Carolina looks to be surprisingly good once more despite the same deficiencies they’ve had for a long time. They lost at home to the ultra-shocking Texans, which hurts, but they’ll still win the division hands down. Tampa is not what they seem. They may be .500 right now, but it won’t last, and the woefulness of Jeff Garcia and Pinto Williams will soon rear their ugly heads. That Joey Galloway looks so good after this long is crazy but, since he’s on my fantasy team, I’m all for it. Plus, they beat the Saints, which is looking like less and less a feat every week. Why am I so glad the Saints are failing? Because I like to be right, of course. Reggie Bush is inept at running the ball professionally. Anybody who still believes that Bush should have been taken by Houston as the first pick should look at what the Texans D-Line is doing compared to the Saints’ rushing “attack.” I still say that Bush would make a superior cornerback, but he’s entirely too arrogant to accept such a change. Once again, there’s very little to say about Atlanta. Byron Leftwich is no more mobile than Joey Football, so it’s going to be a sack-fest to rival Houston at their worst.

NFC West: This division continues to confuse me. I still think the Seahawks are the best in the division, but their play thus far has not reflected it one bit. The trouble is, who is actually better? The Cardinals? They beat the Seahawks last week, but it was the first time in two years that Edgerrin James has had a game where he looks like a good running back. If that continues, fine, they might be good this year. If he slides back to where he’s been, nobody will be fooled and they’ll double cover the receivers, which will give their opponents all they need to neutralize Matt Leinart. Will it be the Rams? They look like the worst in the division right now, despite their talent. I can’t imagine that Stephen Jackson was a flash in the pan, but his goal of breaking the all-time rushing record was a stupid thing to say and will be harder and harder to accomplish with every week like this. At this point, he has to average 142 yards per game to break the record. I like you Stephen Jackson, but good luck with that. San Francisco is 2-0, but they’re hanging on by their stupid chins. They’ve had no offensive production so far at all and they won’t continue their winning ways at all. I still say it’ll be the Seahawks, but I’m probably wrong. Whoever it is will not do too well against the rest of the elite teams in the conference, so they can just play for bragging rights amongst themselves and call it a day.