Week 4, Mother F-ers

We're about a quarter through the 2008 season as we get a better look at who are the pretenders and contenders. But, there are a handful of teams that lie within that gray area in between, as I will explain in just a moment here on Everything Football.

Contenders

Tennessee

Let's face it already. The Titans defense is the best in the NFL. Period. No other team plays the run and pass more efficiently than the 2008 Tennessee Titans, where most of the players on their squad don't have the name recognition that Dallas or Philadelphia's defensive unit does. Ever heard of Ryan Fowler? Courtland Finnegan? Michael Griffin? If you haven't, please take notice as these guys, along with notable stallwarts Kyle Vanden Bosch, Keith Bullock and Albert Haynesworth, have helped the Titans defense become an unmovable force. All Kerry Collins has to do is keep handing the ball off to LenDale or Chris Johnson and the Titans could easily go 12-4. They just kept the NFL's best running back in check in Adrian Peterson last sunday in their 30-17 win over the Vikings and look to do the same in Baltimore as they'll feast on the rising LeRon McClain and Joe Flacco.

Tampa Bay

That's right, a Brian Griese team has a good shot at making some noise in the postseason. Coach Jon Gruden has been happy with the way the veteran has been running his quick-hitting offense since supplanting Jeff Garcia, who appeared to have gotten benched too hastily. I'll admit I wasn't a fan of starting Griese over Garcia, who has proven more during his career than Griese, but the team is playing Tampa Bay-caliber defense and using a successful two-back approach with former and current Buc Warrick Dunn and steam roller Earnest Graham. Also, Gaines Adams has arrived as he's been all over the place at the line of scrimmage and in coverage (yeah, that's right, the guy plays a mean flat zone).

New York Giants

They're doing everything they did last year during the postseason which is amazing considering their loss at DE. It's hard to dislike the Giants at this point since they've done nothing but play sound, solid football through the quarter mark.

Carolina

Are the Panthers back after years of disappointing letdowns? Sure are. And what's the reason you ask? They're finally healthy. Despite tackle Jordan Gross's recent battle with a concussion, the Panthers finally have all of their starters healthy and playing like they're capable of making another Super Bowl run. What I really like is how the Panthers cut ties with oft-injured MLB Dan Morgan and decided to let second-year man Jon Beason take control, who has yet to disappoint in his sophomore campaign. Jonathan Stewart is extremely talented, whether he's bursting by DBs or trucking LBs the guy just simply makes it happen and we'll soon see DeAngelo Williams drop off to DeShawn Foster status. Mushin Muhammed's return makes Steve Smith's job a whole lot easier, as does TE Dante Rosario. When playing on all cylinders like they did in their 24-9 win over Atlanta, Carolina is a tough team to beat.

Buffalo

They're 4-0, their second-year QB Trent Edwards has shown he can play, their defense is making plays as is their special teams and yet a little doubt remains about these Buffalo Bills. They did manage to beat a good Jaguars team and cream the Seahawks in week 1 but since then had to pull a rabbit out of their hat to beat Oakland and punished the lowly Rams. They're probably going to win the division or at least make the wild card, but will that be enough to propel them further? It remains to be seen, at least for me, but they're definitely on the right track.

Philadelphia

They're 2-2 and you're probably wondering why I'm putting them in this category over Washington and Dallas, who are both 3-1. Well, the fact is that Philly has shown more in their two losses than the Redskins and Cowboys. If not for pissing away a late game fumble against Dallas, the Eagles would've scored, no doubt in my mind. If Correll Buckhalter didn't come down with a case of the Thomas Jones against the Bears there's no doubt they would've held on to win. The Eagles are beating themselves and they're 2-2, which to me is kinda scary if I'm in the NFC this year.

Chicago

The defense is back in Chi-Town and so is the downfield pass for the first time since the first half of 2006 and Sid Luckman's days as a Bears chucker. Man, what a competent QB does for a team full of young playmakers such as the Bears. If Orton can keep feeding the ball to Devin Hester, Greg Olsen and Brandon Lloyd (did I really just say that?! ) and handing the ball off to rookie sensation Matt Forte, they could easily be a top-15 offense by the end of the year, which should be good enough for Chicago as their defense looks like their back. (Alex Brown over Mark Anderson, best move by Lovie Smith thus far)

Pretenders

New Orleans

I'm not going to go into a long-winded explanation with this team so I'll just say this: good offense (great with all of their parts), just no defense. Can't win a lot of meaningful games with a recipe like that.

Denver

See New Orleans

Pittsburgh

This team's luck has run a little dry lately with how the injury bug has mauled their running backs since Monday Night against the Ravens. Besides that, the offensive line will do their best to make sure Big Ben won't see the entire season because they've played terrible against aggressive defenses thus far in 2008. The defense is back to top form, but the offensive line will set this team back it appears.

New England

Matt Cassell can only take you so far as they learned against the Dolphins when the Fish put New England's dink and dunk offense to rest two weeks ago. Unless this team focuses on a rushing attack with play-action passes downfield, I don't see New England being able to keep pace with the other teams in the AFC competing for a wildcard spot.

San Francisco

Robo Sack, meet J.T. O'Sullivan, your 2008 counterpart. QBs who'd rather eat dirt than get rid of the ball only hurt their team's chances.

Atlanta

They've beaten two terrible teams. But, I do like the way Matt Ryan has looked thus far. He and Roddy White should become Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall in two years. Outside of that and John Abraham's dominant play, really not a whole much else to say besides Michael Turner is a fantasy god this year.

Washington

It's hard to fully believe that the Redskins are actually better than the Cowboys and Eagles because of their 3-1 start and their two-point victory over the Cowboys in Dallas last weekend. Despite their win, I'd still rather take Romo, T.O., Witten and Barber/Jones over Campbell, Moss, Cooley and Portis/Betts any day of the week. All of their wins have been extremely close to the vest as they've seen some nice bounces go their way into the hands of Eric Horton, who SHOULD be in the lineup over Reed Doughty (one would only think). I'm not condeming the Redskins to a 5-11 finish by any means, but what I am saying is they haven't proved they could surpass the rest of the squads in their division as back-to-back Santana bombs are what really bailed them out of some hairy situations in week 2 and 3.

The Grey

New York Jets

Hmmm. 48-29 one week. 56-35 the next. What's going on with the Jets? The offense appears to be on track as Favre gels with his receivers and the offensive line comes together. The defense, specifically the secondary, needs a shot in the ass as Eric Smith and Drew Coleman proved that offenses can attack either one an entire drive and still put up six points. The bye week has always been a friend to Mangini and Co. as he's 2-0 after the off week since joining New York in 2006. Also, they have an extremely favorable schedule down the road.

Arizona

After being whipped up and down the field by the right arm of No. 4, the Cardinals are still in thick of it in the NFC West. It's going to be an up-and-down year for the Cards, and we're all just along for the ride.

Green Bay

As Aaron Rogers goes, so does the Pack. It really should be the theme to the Packers' 2008 campaign. With him looking vunerable to a sprain in his throwing shoulder, the Bears could pounce on them and take the lead in the wide open NFC North, where even the Vikings and their 1-3 start and QB quandry have a chance.

Minnesota

They got a good defense. A really good defense. Let's just give them one more week before we bury them for good.

Baltimore

See Chicago, with the exception of a rejuvinated passing game.

Jacksonville

David Garrard wins ugly, folks. And I don't think anybody in Jacksonville really cares despite not living up to his proficient 2007 campaign. They must get their interior line problems solved on the offensive side, however, if they plan to make a jump at the Titans.

Indianapolis

It's hard to judge the Colts because of the early bye, but it's too early to count out Peyton Mannig despite how banged up the Colts are. The good news is that they're playing Houston, who usually serves as Peyton's punching bag. Look for them, especially their offense, to get into rythm in the coming weeks despite their tough week 6 match up against the Ravens.

Dallas

Is Wade Phillips a mirage? A puppet? A figment of your imagination? Does he actually ever do anything? The Cowboys' defense, which was figured to be a top unit this season, is giving up a lot of big plays. Isn't the 3-4 Wade's specialty? That's what I heard. They also might want to think about giving the ball more to Felix Jones in open space and quit force-feeding the ball to T.O. if they want to avoid more disappointing losses to division rivals at home.

Saints could end up being...well, the Saints

Funny what one NFC Championship game appearance does for a franchise. After they delighted Saints fans and with an explosive offense and an opportunistic defense in 2006, the Saints appear to be headed back down to Earth.

You're probably thinking "they're only 1-2, man, why are you fretting so much?"

Well, here's the thing. The Saints, after spending some money and draft picks to bolster their lackluster defense from a year ago, all New Orleans defense has done is give up the same type of big plays that they were allowing last season. With a defense that can't hold its own and and stud WR Marques Colston and TE Jeremy Shockey out for awhile, the Saints will be forced to rely on Devery "give me some stickum" Henderson, David Patten and Robert Meachem, who may surprise a few with his raw abilities as a pass catcher. Plus, their best offensive lineman Jamaal Brown is fighting injuries as well and protecting Drew Brees has become an issue for 'Nawlins since last year.

Unless they lean heavily on Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas (the kid can play, now) and Deuce McAllister when he's fully healthy, I don't see the Saints being able to match teams point-for-point anymore until they regain all of their pieces. If maybe they can control the clock and hope for the best on defense, they might have a shot but something tells me that head coach and playcaller Sean Payton will stay stubborn and imploy the same game plans despite the lack of playmakers lining up wide.

Tough times for the Saints, and right now they're not playing with a loaded gun.

Just another stupid cliche

In the last post, I mentioned the talk of rebuilding when I glossed over the Kansas City-Atlanta game. Now, after thinking about that game and the situations that other rebuilding teams are in, I tend to hear the word "win now" being thrown around whenever veteran teams that appear to be heading into the opposite direction are mentioned. If there's one phrase that I hate that's associated wth football, and sports in general, it's "win now." Yeah, I'd like to think the Miami Dolphins, in the midst of a 1-15 season, thought to themselves, "this is great practice--let's try to win next season." Of course they're trying to win now--that's their job! They wouldn't receive mega bucks (no, not the dastardly WWF tag team) to underperform and save that energy for a "win-now" season if owners didn't expect them to produce instantaneously. I understand the term is supposed to define teams that are more suited to win more in the future than in the present, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous to throw around such a silly label to teams--as a matter a fact, any team!--when every franchsie is trying to come away with a victory. As that idiot Herm Edwards said, "You play to win the game!"

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.