Contender or Pretender NFL 2006

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Good: Chargers, with LT reaching 100 touchdowns fastest in history

Bad: The Packers losing 35-0, or the Eagles losing Donovan McNabb, and probably the rest of their season.

Ugly: Steelers and Browns. That game was just flat out ugly.

 

I'd actually change them up a bit.

I'd give a good to the Cowboys - you got to give props for ending the last team's unbeaten season.

Bad goes to the Packers - 35-0 at home?

Ugly - Donovan's season is over.

However, this is the first week where you can start to reasonably look at playoff possibilities. And once again, the two conferences couldn't be more different.

In the AFC, it seems like that 5 of the 6 playoff teams are pretty much set, and only the seeding remains to be decided. It seems like the Patriots, Ravens, and Colts are in for sure as three of the four division winners. The Chargers and Broncos are clearly better than anyone else in that division, and I fully expect that one will win the division, with the second place team being a wild card team. That means that there's really only one playoff spot up for grabs, and one of the myriad of 4, 5, or 6-win teams is going to get it. Currently the Jags and Chiefs hold the inside track, but neither of them are world-beaters and I can easily see either of them foundering down the stretch.

The NFC is a whole other story. It's basically the Bears, and everybody else. The Bears are 9-1 and it certainly looks like they can go on cruise control the rest of the season. After the Bears, there isn't another team with more than 6 wins in the entire conference. In the NFC, 4-win teams are very much still alive. After the Bears, it's hard to say who the next best teams are. The Giants are really banged up. The Eagles are cooked without Donny-Mac. Seattle can be good, but not unless Hasselbeck gets healthy and Alexander can return to his pre-injury form. Seneca Wallace can hold the fort and win a few games for you, but he's not going to get you to 10 or 11 wins. Dallas maybe? They've looked much better with Romo at QB. The Saints look like their going to turn back into a pumpkin, while the Panthers seem like a team that might be on the come. If I had to guess right now, I'd take the division winners (in order of confidence) as the Bears, Seahawks, Cowboys, and Panthers. As for wild cards - heck - all of those previously listed teams are possibilities, along with the 49ers and Rams.

 

The good - How about that comeback by the Bills! Is there a more Jekyl and Hyde type team out there now than the Jaguars? They beat so really good teams this year, yet they lose to the Bills, and the Texans (twice)!

The bad - Giants. Eli simply CANNOT throw that interception at the end of the game that sets them up for the winning score. I cannot blame the defensive end for not finishing the sack on Vince Young. Yes, it was a dumb play, but with all the rule changes protecting the QB, if Vince Young had thrown that ball, he would have been flagged for hitting him. Maybe he needs to be more observant, but his action was one of many that cost the Giants in that game.

Ugly - Junior Seau. Seeing his arm break on national TV was very sad. That ended his season, and potentially his career.

Is it too late to take back my pre-season predictions? I feel more than just a little silly picking both the Dolphins and Lions to win their divisions.

 

Yea that was sad, but Honestly I would put the Ugly as Pittsburgh. I didn't even see the game, just a few highlights and it was pretty ugly =/...had to work thankfully.

 

Another nod for ugly: Nine turnovers. NINE. How did anyone win that game?

Also, The Good Runner-up -- Shawn Alexander is back (but then it was just the Pack). Actually there are quite a few performances that could be classified as The Good.

 

I almost feel sorry for Pittsburgh

The steel curtain met a rust monster?

 

@Los - you didn't miss much by not seeing the game. Pittsburgh has now had three absolute beat downs laid on them this season: At Jacksonville, at San Diego, and now at Baltimore. They weren't competitive in any of those games.

 

Well, what's everyones verdict this week? tbh I can't judge, except to say that Pittsburgh looked pretty good(not that they could look much worse)

I watched the recording of it after I got done shoveling 6 cars out of 2 feet of snow (and in Missouri no less!) and then going to work.

 

The good - the Cowboys with Romo. They only lost one game since he took over, and really they should have won, if not that fluke next-to-last play.

The bad - Bears offense. You can win a few games with defense and special teams, but you can't rely on them. If they don't get those problems worked out in the next month, Bears fans are in for a rude awakening in the playoffs.

The ugly - Jay Cutler's performance. I'm still undecided if Shanahan made this move now because he believes the Cutler gives them the best chance to win, or conversely, because he knows he's not going anywhere with Plummer, and that at least playing Cutler now will make him better prepared for next year.

 

From what I've heard around here, I'm surprised Cutler didn't come out a little sharper. I've been told that he looked really sharp in preseason and training camp. I know being in a game is different but still.