The season keeps rolling, and the tips keep falling by the wayside. That said, still above .500 for the year in this bizarro world that is the NFL at the moment.
Baltimore over Cleveland ✔
Tampa over Carolina (who saw this coming?)
Cincy over Atlanta ✔
Dallas over Detroit ✔
NY Giants over Jacksonville (wrong)
Tennessee over Indy ✔
Commanders over Packers (yowza)
Raiders over Texans ✔
Jets over Broncos ✔
Chiefs over 49ers ✔
Seahawks over Chargers (oh no Bolts)
Dolphins over Steelers ✔
Bears over Patriots (big wrongo)
Now to help recap the 1/3 mark of the season, here are my 7 takes that would have been crazy in August.
7. The NFC East is the best division in football.
Before the season, the AFC West were widely regarded as the class of the league, but it is the NFC East who have the best divisional record through 7 weeks. With the only undefeated team, the Eagles are not so much a surprise and more of an affirmation of a well built team. The Giants (see below) are playing much better than their talent level shows, and the Cowboys defence is Super Bowl calibre. The Commanders are a mess, but you always have one in a division. I’m sure they will even themselves out as the season marches on, but the East are best right now.
6. Aaron Rodgers’ Packers are in even worse trouble than the loss the Davante Adams would suggest.
While most experts saw the loss of a top three receiver in the league would be a big loss for the Packers and Rodgers, no one thought the offence would be in as bad a shape as it is. The gameplan was settled around a solid run game with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, and smart passing by their franchise QB. But the holes on the offensive line, and some poor execution by the limited receiving core have seen some bad losses for Green Bay. The August favourite for the NFC in the Super Bowl by many (including me…) need to make up ground if they want to get back into the upper echelon of the NFC.
5. The Rams scoring offence is 4th worst in the league…and Cooper Kupp still leading the league in receptions per game.
Thank goodness they have their incredible defence. Matt Stafford has been battered all season, and the run game is non-existent. Kupp continues to be all-world, but team can deal with his 10 catch, 100 yard games if he is the majority of the offence to be had. If the Rams can’t start getting healthy on the offensive line, there is a legitimate chance that they will be on the outside looking in in the NFC playoff race.
4. Geno Smith is tearing up the league.
In August, Geno wasn’t even the definite starter, with cryptic Pete Carroll statements about the competition between Smith and Drew Lock heating up. Instead, Geno has lit up the league, leading a top 5 offence to the lead in the NFC West. He’s not just playing well, but has been at the top in completion percentage and has an 11 – 3 TD/Int ratio. And he passes the eye test, with a great command in the pocket, excellent accuracy downfield, and guts to take shots. Russell who?
3. Russell Wilson’s ride in Broncos Country is a disaster.
Everything was looking up in Denver. New, very rich ownership, and exciting new offensive minded coach, and the piece-de-resistance, the $250 million dollar man Russell Wilson behind centre. How quickly things fall apart. There are now calls for Nathanial Hackett to lose his job after a dismal start with an awful offense and the new franchise QB looking completely lost. The defence is the only thing keeping the ship afloat, and if they lose another bad one, I would not be surprised to see a tear down in Denver.
2. Tom’s Bucs are in a free fall.
Perhaps the writing was on the wall, with a strange and disruptive offseason and training camp for Brady and Tampa Bay. But no one could have predicted the disaster that the Bucs have been in 2022. The huge injury toll, the distractions from former coach Bruce Arians and the tabloids hounding TB12 have the Bucs looking broken. While it is still early, could this already be the beginning of the end to the greatest career in NFL history?
1. The New York teams are sitting pretty in the early season playoff race.
Not only have the Giants under Brian Daboll won some games, but they have won close ones in tough situations. The Jets have surprised many, beating some good teams in the process, and winning ugly. One thing they both have in common is a grit and toughness that they have lacked in recent years. Will they both be able to keep up the pace? In my opinion, it all rests on their ability to play good, clutch defence and limit mistakes on the offensive side of the ball. For me, the Giants have the better chance of keeping it together, as Zack Wilson is a chaos agent and I don’t see him being able to keep himself from bone-headed hero ball.
Thursday Night Preview – Ravens v Bucs
A matchup of excellent defences, and inconsistent offences. The Ravens have been winning by the skin of their teeth, depending heavily on what made them successful in Lamar’s last MVP campaign: power running. The Bucs have traditionally been solid against the run, but have shown vulnerability of late. If the Ravens can generate a bit more pass rush and force Tom to move the ball quickly, it could be the first 3 game losing streak for the GOAT since 2002. That said, I think this week the Bucs step it up and are able to break the streak and put up a gutsy win at home to even up their record at 4-4.
Bucs 23 over Ravens 17
We have a lot going on in real-life-land this week, so we will have a brief hiatus for the podcast. Check us out next week on the MIW NFL Edition when we’ll be able to talk about both of the Texan Bulls’ losses.
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