Early Story Lines

Never underestimate the NFL’s ability to surprise.

 

It’s way too early. Nobody knows how this is going to turn out. But it is getting interesting…

NFC East

Philadelphia in first place, sporting a 5-1-0 record; I think we all saw that coming. I had the Eagles penciled into a Super Bowl berth before the season started. Dallas in first place, sporting a 5-1-0 record? Wait-what? Even more improbable is the credibility of these Cowboys. The offensive line and DeMarco Murray will keep them in every game they play. Really, these two teams have much in common. High powered offenses. Underrated but not by that much defenses. I think the big question is, how does the Tony Romo movie end? Does he get an “Angels in the End Zone” ending with a Super Bowl win or with is his pigskin life more of a cautionary tale, ending in yet another tragically heartbreaking loss where his 350 yards and four TD passes are nullified by a fourth quarter turnover? The Eagles hava a far more pragmatic narrative. The Chip Kelly referendum on offense. The referendum on LeSean McCoy’s badass cred. We’ve all just forgotten the Riley Cooper is a racist redneck mofo moment, haven’t we? Whatever. This is all about Philly and Dallas. New York failed its first major test of the 2014 season and lost one of its best offensive players in Victor Cruz as they were shut out by Philadelphia which is like taking off two toes with one bullet. And Washington is trending to a 3-13-0 record. Thanks for playing.

NFC North

There’s a certain inevitability about Green Bay in the NFC North. I think it has something to do with my unflagging confidence in Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler doing something insane when sanity matters most. And the Vikings lost a ton of fantasy points when Adrian Peterson turned out to be at best a person with anger management issues and at worst a child abuser. So, there’s that. Anyway, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense are the best thing in this division. That feels like it will be enough.

NFC South

How are the Carolina Panthers in first place? Impressive, really. New Orleans got off to a terrible start but I’d still bet cash money on the Saints. Or not. The Panthers are better than you think. Still, got to give the edge to Drew Brees over Cam Newton. Thin margin. Should be a good race for the home game. You’ve got to figure the team that doesn’t win the division will win a wild card spot so pencil in both Carolina and New Orleans for the playoffs. As for the rest of the NFC South, maybe the Atlanta Falcons have a shot with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones (they don’t, of course they don’t). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be a disaster but they might actually be a catastrophe. There’s a slight chance they’re a fiasco.

NFC West

Other than St. Louis Rams finishing last, what do we know here? Do we really think the Seahawks will succumb to the Super Bowl Hangover? Is Jim Harbaugh clinically insane? (I’m not medically qualified to comment.) Can Bruce Arians continue to pull pigskin diamonds out of his ass? (There probably is only room for so many pigskin diamonds, after all.) I wouldn’t be surprised by the Cardinals, the 49ers or the Seahawks winning this division. I’ll go San Fran. Then Arizona. Seattle misses the playoffs on a tiebreaker.  

AFC East

From a psychological perspective, the Patriots may have won the AFC East this past Sunday. (Unless they lose Thursday, of course.) They travelled to Buffalo leaving in their wake a contrail of existential questions about the team, head coach Bill Belichick and the greatest player in franchise history, Tom Brady. The Bills were at home, ready to make a statement. It turned out that statement was “We’re not ready to hang with the Patriots yet.” Certainly not a Patriots team with Tom Brady posting a 27/37/361/4/0 slash line. Miami snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at home against Green Bay, ending their one-game winning streak. The only thing predictable about the Dolphins appears to be unpredictability. It’s hard to believe everything is cool between HC Joe Philbin and QB Ryan Tannehill but the Dolphins have nothing on the Jets. There is no “I” in “Team” but the Jets will remind you there is one in “dysfunctional.” (Unless they win Thursday, of course.)

AFC North

The Cleveland Browns are not in last place. I know it felt like they were in first place after their big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers but they aren’t. The inscrutable Cincinnati Bengals are still in first place. But the Browns are not in last. The Browns and Brian Hoyer are nice stories but the reality is this is anyone’s division. Every team is at .500 or better. Hard to see any of them running away with this thing, either. All four teams should be swapping paint into December. I’ve got to root for the Brownies and ex-Pat Hoyer but Cincy and Baltimore still look like they’re playing for playoff spots.

AFC South

If you Google “epic fail” the first link returned is the Jacksonville Jaguars team site. The Tennessee Titans are failing too but there remains some argument as to whether they have failed epically. The Houston Texans will go as far as Ryan Fitzpatrick will take them. (Spoiler alert! Not far.) So let’s see. Carry the two. Okay. This is the Indianapolis Colts’ division to lose. You knew that. Everyone knows that. Because Andrew Luck.

AFC West

Are the Denver Broncos the best team in the AFC? Are they even the best team in the AFC West? The San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers is playing at an MVP level. They’ll rename the MVP trophy the Manning Trophy after Peyton Manning retires. The 2014 Broncos are better than the 2013 Broncos even if they aren’t posting record-setting numbers. The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t gotten their meds quite right; they looked manically like they belong in the conversation when they trounced the Patriots yet somewhat flat and indifferent in their loss to the 49ers. Granted, the Niners defense tends to make opposing offenses look somewhat flat and indifferent. I have to mention the Oakland Raiders, don’t I? Okay. Done. I’m going with the Chargers to win the division and lose at home in the AFC Championship to the Patriots.

For old times’ sake: Patriots 34, Cowboys 31 in Super Bowl XLIX.