NFL 2007 Week 8: NFC Edition

NFC EAST: The Cowboys will be coming off their bye strong and healthy with a quality rebound win under their belts. However, they’re going into three consecutive division matchups, two of which are on the road. They’ll win one or two of those games, but not all three. This week presents their toughest challenge in the Eagles, and I predict that Dallas will drop their second game here. Washington at home should be no problem, but the rivalry inherent here presupposes a competitive game. The only one that I’d guarantee is against the Giants, who may be the most overrated team in the NFC at this point. There is no doubt that they’ve played better than expected and all the way to a six game win streak, but they have played the worst of the worst of the NFL, so any accolades should be taken with a grain of salt. They’re on bye this week, but they come back with a series of tough games that should realign them where they belong, toward the bottom of the division. That said, I thought the game against Miami in London was great fun. It was a dirty, muddy game full of crazy mistakes and the crowd was fantastic. You make that a home game for Miami and Cleo Lemon gets booed. Put it at Wembley Stadium and, no matter how shoddy the play looked, the only time the crowd booed was when the Giants kneeled the ball. Booing because the football game is over shows just how happy those fans were to see the game. I hope they continue with international games, much as Terry Bradshaw complains they shouldn’t because there isn’t a football team in LA. I almost feel bad for the Redskins for what happened on Sunday. I didn’t, and can never feel sorry for that team, but it was as close as I could have come. They didn’t have a chance and got it rubbed in their faces. They should come back strong after that display, energized by the humiliation and ready to pass the abuse on to the next victim. The Eagles still display as much inconsistency as ever. I do think they’ll beat Dallas this week, but they really do need more from McNabb and the receivers. Westbrook and the defense are doing their parts, but they’re only half a team otherwise.

NFC NORTH: Green Bay can have their garbage win. The entire Packer offense consisted of two long touchdown passes and very little else. They were able to run on Denver (who can’t?), but couldn’t score on any of their lengthy drives. They are a bad team winning by the skin of their teeth. Even Favre knows it, though he can’t shut up about it. I’m pretty sick of hearing about how surprised he is that his team is winning, since they’re so bad. I guess, at this point, we could listen to Favre pee and call the sound liquid gold. I can’t wait until he’s gone. Kitna is halfway to his guarantee. Five wins in seven games. Pretty good, I guess Jesus really does like football. What I’m really surprised about is that they’ve begun to establish a running attack. And all this time I thought God only liked a high-powered passing attack. Nope, he likes it smashmouth too. With the Bears on bye, the Vikings have the opportunity to tie the last place position in the division. I’d love to see them take out the Chargers. The defense has the chops to stop Tomlinson, and there are a few people in place who are playing well enough (Cedric Griffin especially, were it not for all the penalties) to slow down the passing attack to Gates and [now] Chambers, but it might be too much to bear. I see it as a similar game to their contest against Dallas. Peterson will look good, but the throwing situation is too dire for them to be successful in the long term.

NFC SOUTH: Carolina’s matchup this week against Tennessee is really tough to call. Both teams are surprisingly successful, Carolina more so for the quarterback injuries they’ve endured. David Carr looks to be back starting, so the Titans’ defense will, at least, have a sack dummy they can play with. Their strong rushing attack and strong defense will keep them in the game, but Vince Young should see success on the ground with LenDale White behind him, and they will take the game, opening up the possibility for a tied division with Tampa Bay. The Bucs have come off two tough losses and have Arizona this week, who appear to be up and comers themselves. It will be a good game, but I see Tampa tying up the race. But what about New Orleans, who have gone from their 0-4 start to win three in a row. Brees is playing very well and the receivers are finally stepping into their roles, but they aren’t going anywhere until they get somebody better in the backfield. If Deuce can come back at full strength next year, they’ll have a chance again, but every game they go out with Reggie Bush starting is a day longer without success. I’d rather have Cedric Benson at this point. The Falcons continue to be the whipping post of the division and nothing will get better for them. Since they’re so into making bad quarterback decisions at this point, and they’ll have a nice high draft pick next year, I have a suggestion: Dennis Dixon. He plays kind of like Vick and he’s having a blown up year statistically. C’mon guys, why not?

NFC WEST: Slowly but surely, the NFC West is taking the reigns as the worst division in football. Seattle is able to pull out the occasional game, but in really ugly fashion. I would say that the Seahawks should win this week’s game against the Browns easily, but the world is starting to learn not to bet against Derrick Anderson, which is crazy and I’m mocking myself for even typing it but, the way Seattle’s been playing this season, despite the fact that they’re in first, Cleveland could easily steal another one. When the second best team in a division is the Arizona Cardinals, you know your group has problems. They’ve begun to skid back to where they belong, but San Francisco and St. Louis have already solidified Arizona as number two, so they’re going to have to live with it. They’ll lose their third in a row this week against Tampa but, with the five straight losses by San Francisco, they’ll have a hard time reclaiming their rightful place. It was good to see Vernon Davis effective finally at tight end, but he is far from enough to right this sinking ship. Frank Gore is playing badly, they have some of the worst QB problems of anybody, and the defense is barely there. All this adds up to a poor, poor team. Not so much as the Rams though. They got Stephen Jackson back finally, but Bulger & Co just fell apart again. This team has been outscore 99 to 219, which has to be some kind of record. I can’t say that I’m sad to see them lose, but the Greatest Show on Turf sure has turned into the Greatest Show on Barf. I don’t see a good reason for it, but it is very interesting (and likely a first, though I’m too lazy to check it) that there are two undefeated teams and two winless teams this late into the season. I think they should split their wins and losses, reconfigure the standings and go from here. Then everybody can stop talking about it and I can quit complaining.