NFL Week 8 Wrap-up

Coming up on the mid-point of the season, some divisions look like marathon, and other look like a run-away sprint:

Already Over?:
NFC North
The Minnesota Viking are clearly the team to beat right now in this division. Brett Favre is playing like he did the first half of last season, and no one is stepping up to challenge them yet. They are 3-0 in their division, and already swept the Green Bay Packers. The one challenger may still be the Bears, who the Vikes haven't played yet. That, and Brett Favre's age. Last season's late injury may be a sign that his body can't handle a full season any more. Only time will tell.

NFC South
If Minnesota is the team to beat in the North, the News Orleans Saints may be the team to beat in the NFL. After dominating the first five weeks, New Orleans has shown some resolve the last two, coming back from early deficits in both. They may look like a passing team, but their rushing game is 4th in the league. They're weakness may be defense, which is 15th overall. Their only challenger may be Atlanta, who has been inconsistent this season, and lost to New Orleans last night. The Carolina Panthers are even less consistent than Atlanta, and Tampa Bay is still searching for their first win.

AFC West
This always looks like the San Diego Chargers division to lose, since they're bad but leaps and bounds better than everyone else. But suddenly the Denver Broncos get a 6-0 start and all hell breaks lose. Their loss this week brought them back down to earth, but the Chargers still have a ways to go to catch them. Denver already beat San Diego once, and they still have three games against the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. If we assume current trends to continue, Denver's record goes from 6-1 to 10-1, and they'd be a lock for the West. The worse news for San Diego: their next three games are at the Giants, home against the Eagles, then back on the road in Denver. If they can't go 2-1 in that stretch, this ones over.

Settle In for a Long Fight:
AFC East
The future of the East may hinge on this weekend, when Miami goes to New England. The Patriot finally have Tom Brady looking good, and have blown out their last two opponents. But after a shaky start, they're just barely leading their division. The Jets have already beaten them once, and could be a contender if they can get the whole team playing well at the same time. And right behind them are the Dolphins, who won the division last year. If the Dolphins can win this weekend, they would be tied with the Jets, one game behind the Patriots, and both will still play the Pats one more time.

AFC North
Coming off their Super Bowl victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like a good pick to repeat as division winners. The Cincinnati Bengals might have something to say about that. With the whole team healthy and back on the same page, the Bengals are tied atop the division with Pittsburgh at 5-2. They're also 3-0 in-division, the only team here with a winning record there. Nipping on the heals of both teams are the Baltimore Ravens at 4-3. Should Baltimore beat Cincinnati this weekend, and Pittsburgh lose in Denver, we'd have a three-way tie, with all three teams at the exact middle of their season.

NFC East
Preseason, this looked like the Eagles division. When the season started, the Giants reminded everyone they're contenders, too. Now, the Cowboys are suddenly 5-2, and tied for first. The only thing crazier would be if the Redskins run the table and take the division by a game. The bad news here is for the Giants and Eagles: both teams have been bitten by the injury bug, and have taken bad losses. The good news is all Cowboys: they still play the Eagles and Redskins twice, and the Giants once. Strong showings in those games could take them from second-worst to division champs.

AFC South
I'd love to tell you the Colts already have this one locked up, but I just can't. The Houston Texans did their usual win/loss/win/loss the first few weeks, but now they've put together three straight wins, even when the offense has sputtered. A win this weekend in Indy would put them squarely in the hunt going into their bye week. Looking at their schedule, though, they could just be setting up to take some losses at the end and finish 8-8 again, as they'll still have Indy, Seattle, Miami, and New England in the second half.

Does anyone even want to win this one?:
NFC West
The Arizona Cardinals lost the Super Bowl, and returned the core of their offense this season. But instead of being a powerhouse, Kurt Warner has looked like a 38-year-old journeyman QB, they're receiving corps is made up of walking wounded, and they're one game above .500. The surprisingly good San Francisco 49ers are right behind them at 3-4, the sometimes great, sometimes terrible Seattle Seahawks are 2-5, and the STILL IN CONTENTION St Louis Rams are 1-7. Its sad for any division when you reach the half-way point, and a one-win team still has a chance to win it all. Really, the 49ers have the best chance, as they're already 3-0 in-division. If they can catch Arizona and Seattle in one of the weeks they play terribly, and beat St Louis in Week 17, they just might sneak out as division winners.

Injuries:
Owen Daniels, TE, Texans: out for the season with a torn knee ligament
Nate Clements, CB, 49ers: out 6-8 weeks with a broken shoulder blade
Joe Staley, OL, 49ers: out 6 weeks with a sprained right knee
Sedrick Ellis, DE, Saints: out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury

Fantasy Studs:

1. Chris Johnson. The Vince Young Experiment rippled out to the running game, as Johnson made the Jacksonville D look silly. Two 50+ yard TDs and 239 total yards means my fantasy team loses.
2. Maurice Jones-Drew. It looked like he was playing "anything you can do I can do better" with Johnson out there. His two TDs were longer, but he put up less yards, and his team took the loss. Still, two 79+ yard TDs and 173 total yards means my other fantasy team loses.
3. Ryan Moats. He still plays football? Yes, and with Steve slaton bench for stone hands, Moats took full advantage of his opportunity, with 151 total yards and 3 TDs. His performance had no effect on my fantasy teams.
   

Fantasy Duds:

1. Steve Slaton. He touched the ball three times, but only held onto it twice, as he was quickly benched with 11 yards and a lost fumble.
2. Willis McGahee. He was supposed to be The Guy in Baltimore when they signed him from the Bills last year. Instead hes been injured off and on, and now barely remembers what the ball looks like. He had 3 total yards, and his second negative rushing game of the season.
3. Todd Heap. No one else really had a bad day this week, so third place goes to Heap and his 18 total yards. Sorry, Todd.
   

Week 8 Picks:
Straight up: 9-4, 75-41 overall
ATS: 6-7, 67-48-1 overall
o/u: 8-5, 51-63-2 overall

Questions for Week 9:
What does the future hold for Steve Slaton?
Slaton fumbled three times all of last season. Through eight games, hes already dropped the ball seven times, and lost it five. Houston has a big game in Indy this week that could determine their season. If I had to guess, I'd think Slaton sits most of this one, and comes back after the bye the following week. Till then: Welcome Back, Ryan Moats!

How will Pittsburgh handle Denver?
Two years ago, the Steelers went into Denver with one loss, and coming off a bye. They lost that game, and Saftey Ryan Clark lost his spleen, gall bladder, and 30 lbs after becoming violently ill from playing at high altitude. This year, they head to Denver with two losses and coming off a bye, and Ryan Clark is still on the team. Head coach Mike Tomlin is deciding this week if Clark will be with the team on gameday, but also of concern is how the team as a whole will be affected. Denver is a tough place to play, and its made tougher when the Broncos are playing well. This is a big week for both teams, as Denver looks to rebound from their first loss, and Pittsburgh needs a win to stay in at least a tie for first in their division.

Will New England continue to roll?
The last three weeks for the Pats look like this: 59-0 win, 35-7 win, bye week. Those two blowouts were against bad teams, but they highlight the fact that Tom Brady is playing comfortably again. Now he has to do it against a decent team. Miami almost beat the unbeaten Saints last week, then beat the Jets. The Dolphin's offense may have struggled throughout the game, but their defense played better than what Brady faced in the Titans and Bucs the last few weeks. I'm thinking the Pats will win, but it will come down to how much they can score. If the Dolphins can get constant pressure, it'll be a close game. If they can't, its probably a blowout.