Oct 29 2008
Thoughts on Week 8 in the NFL
The NFC East once again put forth an impressive showing, going 4-0 in Week 8. The most impressive win was the division-leading New York Giants winning in Pittsburgh. In my opinion, the Giants are the best team in the conference. The Eagles appear to be healthy again with the return of Brian Westbrook (167 yards rushing, 2 TDs) and took out a very competitive Atlanta squad. The Eagles can make a run, but they’re going to have to win at least three of their remaining four divisional games. I was also shocked that Dallas beat a strong Bucs team in what proved to be a defensive struggle. That’s not the type of game you’d expect from Dallas’s weak D, but I think they also took advantage of the not-so-high-powered Tampa O. Finally, the Redskins didn’t impress me by barely beating Detroit, but somehow they just keep winning. Right now, the G-Men are the best team and the rest of the division is pretty even.
Besides the Lions still being bad, they lost to the ‘Skins this week, the rest of the NFC North was idle, so nothing really new to report.
In the NFC South, I think it’s still a toss-up with Carolina, who rallied for a home win over Arizona, and Tampa Bay, who was edged in Dallas. Both play great D. Both are undefeated at home. Neither is very good on the road. Whichever team can do better on the road will win the division. New Orleans won a shootout in London over San Diego. I don’t think the Saints can win an “ugly” game, but I don’t know if there are many teams that can hold down their offense to force them to play “ugly.” The Saints probably are not physical enough to beat out the Panthers or Buccaneers for the division crown. The Falcons came back to Earth a bit with their loss in Philly. Atlanta is full of potential, but they may be a year or two away from winning this division.
Even with Arizona’s loss, they are in no danger of losing this division unless something crazy happens. It may only take seven wins to get to the playoffs from this division. I’m dead serious. The Rams lost a tough game in New England, but showed that they are at least getting more competitive. The Seahawks annihilated the 49ers in San Francisco. Neither team is very good.
In the AFC East, the Bills were just outplayed by the Dolphins, who have the best record against the rest of the division. The Pats beat St. Louis to move into a first place tie with Buffalo and the Jets rallied to get by the Chiefs. We’ll learn a lot more about this division over the next two weeks with the Bills, Patriots, and Jets all playing each other. It should be interesting.
In the AFC North, Pittsburgh’s lead is down to one game over Baltimore after the Steelers’ loss to the Giants while the Ravens crushed the Raiders. I think Pittsburgh will wind up winning this division because their offense is light years ahead of Baltimore’s offense. Even the Steelers’ D is better. Cleveland scored a big win in Jacksonville, but they’re still on the outside of the playoff picture. The Bengals remained winless after getting blown out by Houston. Cincy just sucks.
The AFC South is all about the Tennessee Titans, who snatched the crown from the Colts by delivering a Monday Night beat down to remain the league’s only undefeated team. Tennessee’s D is just insane and their offense is good enough to get the job done. They’re reminiscent of the Baltimore team that won Super Bowl XXXV. The rest of the division (Indy, Jacksonville, and Houston) is a mediocre 3-4. This race is pretty much over.
In the AFC West, Denver won by not playing because San Diego lost. Neither team seems to want to win this division, but it’s going to come down to which one is less mediocre. The Raiders and Chiefs are not even worth discussing because they’re a combined 3-11.
Projected AFC Playoff teams through Week 8: Buffalo (East; Last Week’s Projection: Buffalo), Pittsburgh (North; Last Week’s Projection: Pittsburgh), Tennessee (South; Last Week’s Projection: Tennessee), Denver (West; Last Week’s Projection: San Diego), New England (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Indianapolis), Baltimore (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Jacksonville)
Projected NFC Playoff teams through Week 8: New York Giants (East; Last Week’s Projection: New York Giants), Green Bay (North; Last Week’s Projection: Green Bay), Carolina (South; Last Week’s Projection: Tampa Bay), Arizona (West; Last Week’s Projection: Arizona), Washington (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Washington), Dallas (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Carolina)
