NFL Power Report, 10/13

After Week 5 one thing is clear: nothing is clear. The league seems to have really leveled out. There are no power teams that will sail to 14 or 15 wins. It's hard to see any teams that will be resting players and giving away games in December. Every team has issues.

The league has certainly tiered off, though. And while I find it impossible to accurately rank the teams 1-32, we can definitely put them in groups.

The Clear Top
Steelers, Ravens, Jets
These are the obvious best defenses and best teams. Steelers and Ravens have issues on offense and while a reinstated Big Ben is an improvement on Charlie Batch, it's no Joe Montana under center. Jets' coaching have done a great job letting Mark Sanchez lead the Jets. J-E-T-S Jets are probably #1 right now.

The Atlanta Falcons
Falcons
Kind of alone at the top of the NFC thanks to everyone else falling apart around them. Offense is balanced and defense seems improved from a year ago. Imagine if they had beaten the Steelers in Week 1 (overtime loss).

Great Offense, Poor Defense
Patriots, Colts, Texans

Flashes of Brilliance
Giants, Titans
Similar teams. When they are right they can dominate.

We Just Don't Know
Saints, Eagles, Packers, Bears, Chiefs, Dolphins, Redskins
Packers got decimated by injuries last week. Chiefs seem to be contenders in the West. If Vick is in the Eagles can be good. Bears are bad but may take advantage of a weak division. Saints haven't shown anything yet. Redskins are overachieving with a new coach. Dolphins, I don't know.

Underachievers
Cowboys, Chargers, Vikings, Bengals
Bengals, with all that offensive firepower, have back-to-back losses to the Browns and Bucs. Cowboys and Vikings are 1-3. Rivers is putting up great passing numbers but the Chargers have three losses to West Coast teams (two in the division).

Not Very Good, But Can Sure Fool Ya Once In a While
Cardinals, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Broncos, Jaguars, Raiders

Lions and Rams
Lions and Rams
Lions have been competitive in all their games. I thought these teams were pretty level but then the Rams just lost to the 0-4 Lions by almost 40 points.

These Teams Totally Stink
Bills, Panthers, 49ers, Browns

Baseball Awards

October is here, marking the beginning of the Baseball Postseason. Before making my playoff predictions, here's my votes for awards of the regular season.

AL MVP: Robinson Cano
NL MVP: Joey Votto
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia (call me a homer, but he was the only consistent for the Yankees, and 21 wins in the AL East is better than 13 in the awful AL West in the best pitcher's park)
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL Manager: Ron Gardenhire
NL Manager: Bud Black, who kept the surprise Padres in contention until the last day of the season.
AL Rookie: Neftali Feliz
NL Rookie: Buster Posey

NFL Week 4 in Review

I didn't get a chance to write up a preview for the weekend's games or see many in live action. I did get to see the Giants/Bears games, one of the wackiest ones ever.

The first week for the Jets was an embarrassment. But after four games, Mark Sanchez has 8 touchdown passes and no turnovers, and the J-E-T-S Jets have beaten all three of their division rivals in a row. Meanwhile on the other side, the Giants have committed 3 turnovers in all four games. Yikes!

Kevin Kolb got another chance after Michael Vick got hurt and his stats looked pretty good. But look closer: nearly every pass was a dump off to a running back or tight end. He doesn't make the big play. Kolb was 20/27 of passes 6 yards and less and only 2/8 of passes over 6 yards. And around 14 of his passes were to LeSean McCoy, who is hurt and is unlikely to play next week. Like I've said before: with Vick this is a playoff team; with Kolb they are a sub-.500 team.

Who predicted this? The best team in the NFC West is the St Louis Rams, who have already doubled last year's win total.

Bests of the Week

Team: San Diego Chargers who took their frustrations out on the Cardinals, outgaining the Cardinals by nearly 300 and outscoring them by 31.

Players:
Gold Medal: LaDainian Tomlinson who rushed for over 130 yards and two touchdowns, reminiscent of his glory days in San Diego. I admit that I was wrong in my evaluation of LT coming into this season; he has been a legitimate #1 back.
Silver Medal: Patriots' Patrick Chung, who blocked two kicks and had an interception returned for a touchdown. Also noteworthy, Shaun Philips of the Chargers, who compiled four sacks and an interception-touchdown.
Bronze Medal: David Garrard, who got three touchdowns and completed 77% of his passes to lead the Jaguars in an upset over the Colts.

Clutch kicker: Josh Scobee hitting a 59 yard field goal to win the game.

Half: Patriots, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown, blocked a punt that led to a touchdown, blocked a field goal try and ran it back for a touchdown, returned an interception for a touchdown, and added another interception late. Including the field goal right before halftime and second half, the Patriots outscored the Dolphins 38-7 in Miami.

Upset: Browns over the Bengals. Also noteworthy, Jags over Colts.

Worsts of the Week

Player: Jay Cutler who looked like he was in the wrong league. 9 sacks and a concussion, plus an interception in the first half for a net -13 yards passing in the first half. I've never seen a player look so lost in an NFL game.

Unit: The Bears offensive line, who seemed to let one or two Giants have a free run at Cutler on every play.

Half: maybe it's piling on, but the Giants and Bears did nothing right in the first half of their game. Cutler was a mess, the Giants' special teams play was embarrassing, and the teams combined for three turnovers and a missed field goal.

Bone-headed play: Nate Clements of the 49ers, who, with a one point lead with 1:30 left in the game, intercepted a pass. Instead of holding it and ending the play, he attempted to run it back and Roddy White poked the ball out for a fumble. Falcons got the ball, and got in position for a game-winning field goal.

Stock is Rising: Rams, Ravens, Patriots.

Stock is Falling: Colts, Eagles, Bears.