NFL 2007 Week 15: NFC Edition

NFC EAST: Now those are the Cowboys I know and love. They tanked just like they’re supposed to against a division rival; just think what they’ll do when the pressure’s really on in the playoffs. Outside of Witten, the entire offense looked terrible, although their defense stayed solid against the Eagles. With Roy Williams on suspension, their coverage schemes will be a lot stronger, but their horse collaring schemes will be diminished. Bad as they are playing, it amazes me that the Giants haven’t screwed themselves out of a playoff spot. Now, with their best and most disgusting player, Shockey, out for the season, Eli has even fewer acceptable targets. The cards are all right for them to lose their spot and, if they do, they’ll be done with Coughlin and Manning at once. Todd Collins’ decade long interception-less streak continues, no matter how badly he and the rest of the Redskins played. Don’t tell him that, though. According to him, he celebrated his victory with Connie Chung, who did body shots off of him. Anyway, this Todd Collins is certainly more interesting than the real one, who is a pathetic excuse for a quarterback. If the Eagles are content to be spoilers, they did a great job against the Cowboys. Their season is over, and every win means a worse draft pick, but you have to hand it to them. They have a dedication to the swing pass that’s second to none. In fact, it’s hard for me to think of many plays they’ve run all season that isn’t a pass to Westbrook. They’ve turned into a one man team and, while they haven’t invested as much in him as the Falcons invested in Vick, they’ve put too much stock in his success and pay for it every time he’s out with injury.

NFC NORTH: The Packers smashed the Rams and pulled back into a tie with the Cowboys for the division. Dallas is clearly the better team, but Green Bay’s running game has come around and has compensated for some less-than-stellar play from Favre. Chicago and Detroit are their last two challengers. Both are bad teams, but both could easily take the Packers down a notch. Minnesota has completely turned their season around and, between their rushing offense and defense, has started to become legitimate powerhouses in the conference. Of all the teams except for the top two, all records aside, the Vikings are the team that I’d be most scared to play. If Tavarius Jackson can continue to keep his play positive, this team could go deep into the playoffs. The Lions can only blame themselves and the man upstairs for the destruction of their season. They play like they don’t care anymore, evidenced by allowing the Chargers to score 51 points on them while Philip Rivers had a mere 142 yards passing. I’m really not sure how this is possible. It’s not official yet, but it’ll be funny to see last year’s NFC champion come in last in the division. The Vikings may not have looked great but compared to how the Bears played, especially in the second half, they’re the kings of the world. Chicago is a terrible team that is too old and too riddled with holes at every position that it’ll be a while before they’re good again.

NFC SOUTH: I’m not one to care about the Pro Bowl and how players are voted in, but it’s ridiculous that not a single player from the NFC South made the team. Given that some of the players from Dallas in the game are backups, it seems like one or two from this division would have been worthy. The Buccaneers don’t have to play very hard to prove their dominance over the rest of their division, but they stomped the Falcons all over the place, destroying them on every level of the game. Jeff Garcia threw his fourth pick of the year. I’d say that he deserves a Pro Bowl vote, but TO says he’s gay, so I guess that disqualifies him. I guess it’s good for them, for what it’ll mean about the post season, but I’m very surprised that the Saints have built themselves up to an even record. Plus, they may have found an actual running back in Aaron Stecker to go along with Brees’ excellent play instead of the overblown punt returner they’ve been going with. Carolina, bad as they often play, has been able to find ways to win against opponents who really should beat them. This week, it was the Seahawks, who’d already clinched, but the Panthers really diminished their status. If they can do the same against Dallas, they might become my favorite NFC team all of a sudden. I can only wait and hope. In their first week under the Emmitt Thomas regime, the Falcons played terribly. This, of course, is not the coach’s fault; they have had one of the most troubling seasons in recent memory. There’s no end in sight, either, since they don’t have any receivers, a running back, a quarterback, or a coach worth a damn. That’s a lot to get in one off-season.

NFC WEST: Seattle certainly did not look like a division winner in their loss to the Panthers. They’ve come into a tie with the Bucs for the playoffs, but have lost any intimidation factors they started the season with. If Carolina can beat them, anyone can. Seattle should definitely win their final two games against the hapless Ravens and the pathetic Falcons, but again, they lost to the Panthers, so we may be looking at 9-7 division winners. The Cardinals, for all the positive steps they’ve taken this year, have had a terrible time winning. They’ve scored a lot of points and gained a lot of yards, but their opponents just do that much better. Seems to me that they’re being punished for naming their stadium as they did; either that, or it’s their crappy defense. It seems so unlikely to me whenever the Niners win, but they beat the Bengals, who just can’t catch a break, with a strong all-around game. They should be happy looking at their young defense for the coming years but they, like so many other teams, have a group of quarterbacks that’s simply unwatchable. Though both Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson are playing more like they should be, they haven’t been able to win consistently. I’d understand if they were in a better division, but they’re in, arguably, the worst in football. It just doesn’t make any sense, and I wonder if this is going to continue into the coming seasons.