Time for some action.
FRESH TO DEATH
Indianapolis Colts – Monstrous win. The only other undefeated team had trouble beating the lowly Rams. The Colts stuck it out against what is probably the second best team in the AFC. This comeback says a lot about the team’s character. Also, Reggie Wayne is amazing. That go-ahead touchdown catch was probably 10x harder than it looked. That ball was thrown HARD. He has to have ridiculous hand strength to hold onto it.
Minnesota Vikings – This game against the Lions was the beginning of an easy stretch of schedule. They can coast into the playoffs. Will that possibly come back to hurt them when the intensity level increases in January?
New Orleans Saints – When the Saints first started having close games people were saying that these were the kind of games we needed to see them win and now we know they can come back and stuff like that. At what point do these close games shift from being signs of resilience to signs of vulnerability? Right now you could argue that Atlanta is the best team they’ve played so far. We’re less and less impressed with them each week since their win over the Giants.
New England Patriots – The Patriots didn’t lose because they went for it on 4th and 2 near the end of the game. Luke loved this call, even though the only other coach he could think of that would do it was Herm Edwards. They were basically conceding that Peyton would probably score with over 2 minutes left no matter where he got the ball. They trust their offense more than their defense and rightfully so. They might have given themselves a better chance of winning, however, if they had just let Addai into the end zone with 1:15 left on the clock instead of stopping him at the 1. A field goal would have won it for them. Doesn’t 1:15 seem like a lot of time to get into field goal range with one of the best kickers in the league in Steve Gostkowski? In any event, the Pats showed that they are for real, and can play with (and beat) any team in the league.
WORD
Cincinnati Bengals – “I been to more wakes in the past year than the mother fucking Bengals lost last year” – Scarface. He must be proud of how they turned it around. They’re legit.
Pittsburgh Steelers – The loss to the Bengals hurts, but not that much. Everyone respects them again. They play well on the road. Like we said in our preview, they just need to get into the playoffs and they’ll have a shot at the title. If there’s anything to worry about, it’s that the last drive of the game ended without a score. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Roethlisberger not lead a scoring drive at the end of a close game.
San Diego Chargers – Are these second half of the season runs becoming their thing? Last year they snatched the AFC West with an incredible second half run from none other than the Denver Broncos. Sketch.
Arizona Cardinals – This win over Seattle is the first thing any team in the NFC West has done to actually try to win the division. With Beanie about to take over the #1 RB spot, the Cardinals are not a team anyone will want to see in January.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WORD AND AIGHT
Philadelphia Eagles – You flat out can never count on this team to be up for the moment.
Dallas Cowboys – This wasn’t a must-win game because the only must-win games are ones where you need to win to stay alive, but this was definitely a should-try-really-really-hard-to-win game because everyone was ready to call the Cowboys a contender in the NFC. Now? Not so much.
New York Giants – Is it possible that this season will be less successful than last year when their best offensive player shot himself in the leg?
Baltimore Ravens – It should not have taken them so long to score against that team. They’re still very much involved in the AFC wildcard race, but so are a lot of other teams. They need to get their shit together ASAP.
Green Bay Packers – Who knew? Defense played up to its potential for the first time since their opening game against the Bears. Highlight of the game was Charles Woodson celebrating after his strip-sack on Romo thinking the ball had been recovered by his team when in fact it was still live. C-Wood is the man.
Denver Broncos – Why did so many people see this coming?
Houston Texans – Time to step it up guys. You have 7 weeks to finally come through on all the pre-season ‘team to watch’ hype that’s followed you the last few years. Put up or shut up.
Atlanta Falcons – They’re lucky the Eagles and Cowboys both lost. The NFC wildcard race looks like it’s going to come down to the wire.
Tennessee Titans – Luke hyped up Vince in the preseason. Is it so surprising he’s doing well? He took them to the playoffs in his rookie season. He’s a talented football player. Let’s see what he can do with this team. This season is about getting ready for next season. Letting Vince Young re-spread his wings is part of that process.
Carolina Panthers – Delhomme has gone 3 straight games without a turnover.
Miami Dolphins – Lucky to get out of there with the W. Seem to play to the level of their opponents. They’re in the wildcard hunt.
AIGHT
New York Jets – Dear, Jets. You’re playing for your season. Please act like you understand that. Yours truly, TheHellerBoyz.
San Francisco 49ers – Not impressed by the win over the Bears, but I guess they’ll take what they can get at this point. The 2nd best player on their offense started his career 7 weeks into his rookie season. Mike Singletary is a good coach. With more time and maybe a few different pieces he should be able to make this team relevant late in the season.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Love Mojo’s play kneeling at the 1. I have way more faith in their kicker making a field goal from the 1 than I do in their defense holding the Jets. It’s not that the Jets offense is particularly scary, but they do have a legitimate deep threat in Braylon Edwards. It’s a little bit like the Belichick decision in that the Jags decided they wanted the ball in their hands on the key play. And we liked that he apologized to his fantasy owners (especially because we don’t have him).
Seattle Seahawks – We’ve been waiting to share Justin Forsett with the rest of the football world. We’d like to thank Julius Jones’ rib and lung for the opportunity.
Chicago Bears – 5 picks for Cutler. This just isn’t the year for them. They have played some really good games but some equally bad ones. This sort of inconsistency does not spell playoff success, which is what it will take for Chicago fans to feel completely 100% good about the trade (Broncos fans would happily take him back though).
Washington Redskins – “Move work from Denver to D.C. like Portis.” – Jadakiss
YOU’RE NOT GOOD
Buffalo Bills – Who would possibly want to take Dick Jauron’s spot next year? What is the upside? Who can they build around? At least their city and team name both start with B, and we love alliteration here at TheHellerBoyz.
Detroit Lions – McLovin from The Dan Patrick Show made a good point about the Lions. He wondered if everyone is just giving them a pass on the season because they won a game. We talk about the Browns and the Bucs, but no one ever talks about how much the Lions suck. What we’re trying to say is…the Lions suck.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers– They didn’t get the win, but I’m sure they feel good about the direction they’re headed in.
Kansas City Chiefs – A win is a win. We think Dwayne Bowe may have taken the antidote by accident for the performing enhancing drugs he’s now suspended for. He doesn’t look like the same player we’ve seen the last few years.
St. Louis Rams – Steven Jackson is such a monster. So annoying that they lost. That might be the best performance they’re going to get out of Marc Bulger this season.
Oakland Raiders – Don’t worry Raider fans. Charlie Frye is coming to save the day.
Cleveland Browns – Brady Quinn is handsome.