NFL 2007 Week 6: AFC Edition

AFC EAST: My wishes did not come true, but it’s bittersweet. While I’m disappointed that the Patriots had to win, I am happy that the Cowboys lost. The Pats’ offense is clearly a superior system, and Belichick and company do a really good job adjusting to defenses in a way that is unmatched anywhere else in the league. That they already have a 3 ½ game lead on second place in the division is completely ridiculous. I think there’s just barely over a 0% chance that they’ll go undefeated, but it’s going to have to be a stroke of luck or a complete New England meltdown for it to happen. Hell, it could even happen on Sunday, against the 0-6 and seriously desperate Miami Dolphins who appear to have given away their season. Trading Chris Chambers to San Diego will allow Ted Ginn some much-needed experience, but is a move that shows little faith in their present squad. Granted, San Diego gave Miami more than Chambers was worth, and a second round pick is potentially very lucrative for the Dolphins, so it might wind up working out for them, just not this year. It gives Cleo Lemon, who did really well last week, even less to work with and the revolving QB in Miami will likely continue. Up north, a healthy J.P. Losman has lost his starting job to Stanford’s finest for at least the next few weeks until they realize that neither player is worth very much. Chad Pennington’s job looks again to be in jeopardy; that big 109 yards passing isn’t making him any friends. Kellen Clemens isn’t turning anything around though, so I don’t know why they’d bother to bench him this season. They have the chance to beat a really down and out Bengals team on Sunday. If they lose, and if Pennington doesn’t light it up, we may be seeing our last looks at Pennington with Jets.

AFC NORTH: The 4-1 Steelers are coming off their bye healthy, happy and ready to smack the Broncos around in Denver. With Heinz Ward and Troy Polamalu back, both sides of the ball are strengthened and, unless Denver has taken care of the run defense issues, Willie Parker will have a monster game. The Ravens’ record makes them look a lot better than they are, based almost entirely on their schedule. This week, they get the Trent Edwards “led” Bills, which should take them to 5-2, but they played such a bad game against St. Louis last week (and still won by 19 points, though the Rams are a whole different level of bad) that Buffalo, if they are able to put points on the board, could easily win beat them. There’s no reason the Bengals should be in the state they’re in and, even if they are ruining their playoff chances, I think they’re going to start turning their game around this week. At home against the Jets is the perfect place to start, Rudi Johnson’s back and, in two weeks, Chris Henry should return to the team. With all this in place, they should finish strong, even if all that means is a low draft pick. How is it that the Browns are 3-3? In no conceivable way are they a .500 team, but with the arrival of Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards as stars and the extremely unlikely event of decent play from Derek Anderson, there are probably a lot of people who would rank Cleveland above Denver and Cincinnati, which is unconscionable to be. I can’t imagine that this will last for the final ten games but, going into their bye, the collapse will have to wait at least another week.

AFC SOUTH: The Colts are not the team they were last year, but they are still an excellent team that is coming off their bye week a whole lot healthier. They’ve still been able to win pretty convincingly through their injuries, though their opponents haven’t been the best, but a healthy Colts team will be that much more powerful. They could easily be the next team to fall this week though; Jacksonville has proven to be the same kind of tough, unsung team they were last year. Their punishing defense and the quality (if unspectacular) play from David Garrard have overshadowed the lack of rushing attack. They put on a big show last week, making this game a good story. I’ll predict that they’ll lose, but will also expose some holes in the Colts’ game that future teams will be able to use to beat them. The Titans without Vince Young is not a pretty picture. There appears to be a good chance that he is sitting this week, giving the great Kerry Quitter (how this guy still has a job is beyond me) the start he’s been waiting for, the start that’s going to show everyone he is a big tough player, not the quitter that everyone knows he is. Too bad for poor Kerry, he’s going to go down big time to the Texans, whose much-improved defense will massacre a team that is decidedly below average without their star QB. The Jaguars clawed the Texans’ faces off last week, but I think Houston will be looking for revenge in the name of the Titans. Even if they don’t win and they begin to slide back to their old ways again, it’s easy to say that this is already the best season in the franchise’s history, so they can always hang onto that.

AFC WEST: I’m thrilled…just thrilled that the Chargers got Chris Chambers. That’s so great for them, wow, good for them. Unlike the team that traded Chambers to them, the Chargers are not giving up on this season, unfortunately. They’re going to continue to struggle, since Norv Turner still sucks, but with the addition of a threatening wide receiver, they look more like a playoff caliber team. It’s the best thing that could have happened to the division…totally. The last two weeks, they’ve really come on against the Broncos, and then the Raiders last week. The Raiders, like Denver before them, were down from moment one and San Diego’s rushing attack was too powerful at that point to overcome. The Raiders will really need to improve their own running game if they’re to have a shot at all in the division. 53 yards off 23 carries does not cut it and, though Culpepper seems to be returning to normal, at least a little, nobody will take them seriously until they do. It’s disappointing that Larry Johnson is starting to come on this year. Like Tomlinson, I was hoping for historically bad performances, but my joy was short lived. They got very lucky to beat a badly underachieving Bengals team. This week will be gutcheck time for both the Chiefs and the Raiders, both of whom need this win badly. The winner will be taken somewhat seriously as second-tier behind San Diego; the loser will be in the lowly ranks of teams like the Broncos. Hey, at least Denver didn’t lose last week. Nothing is definitely better than a loss. If there’s any team that needs a win right now, it’s the Broncos. They have a tall order in the Steelers, though, who are looking as good or better than they looked in their Super Bowl year. Denver really needs to find a way to neutralize Willie Parker or it’s going to be a sad, sad day at a mile high.