Here are my suprises through the first 4 weeks of the regular season. (AFC, NFC)
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Here is a list of my suprises through the first 4 weeks of the regular season.
The Steelers at 0-4... I knew they were kind of on the downswing, but I did not expect them to be 0-4. Which BTW is the first time they've been 0-4 since 1968.
The Giants at 0-4... I had them and the Redskins for a rat race in the division. Then again the Giants seem to have this pattern of being down a couple of years, crawl back into it, win a Super Bowl, and then go back under the radar. But out of the 2 NY teams who would have thought that the Jets would have a better record than the Giants at this point?
The Falcons at 1-3... WTF is going on in Hotlanta? Not so hot apparently.
The Redskins at 1-3... I had them winning that NFC East. Perhaps getting their first win vs the Raiders gets them back on track.
The Bills at 2-2... For not having a veteran QB on the roster they are plugging along. Can they continue? Time will tell, and Thursday will be a pretty good test against the Browns who seem to also be on the upswing.
The Packers at 1-2... They were my pick to win the old black and blue division. Could this bye week be just what the doctor ordered to get back on track?
The Chiefs at 4-0... They've already doubled their win total from last year. Yes they have Andy Reid, and Alex Smith, but they have been impressive early on. I can't wait to see how they stack up against the Broncos to see if they have arrived.
The Browns at 2-2... The Browns lost their first 2 games. They then trade their #3 pick Trent Richardson to the Colts for a 1st round pick in 2014, leapfrog over their back up QB Justin Campbell to start 3rd string QB Brian Hoyer in the absence of Brandon Weeden, and have won 2 games. All of the skeptics (some Browns fans included) thought the trade was a sign of the Browns mailing it in, and playing for a high draft pick in 2014. After these last 2 wins this young Browns team doesn't look like a team that has mailed it in. NOT BY ANY MEANS!!!! Thursday's showdown with the Bills, who are coming off of a shocking upset over the Ravens will be test for sure. But I like what I'm seeing, and this defense is really coming into it's own.
The Falcons at 1-3... WTF is going on in Hotlanta? Not so hot apparently.
In no particular order...
1) Poor coaching
2) Poor defense
3) Bad decisions on offense
4) Matt Ryan trigger happy to throw the ball away and waste downs
5) Injuries (no run game with FB and RB out... defense has DE and LB out... Roddy White ankle)
They were making the plays to win the close games last year... and aren't this year. The 3 losses were by a TD or less to teams currently undefeated. That's football I guess.
The Falcons have too much talent not to make the playoffs... but the way they have been playing so far a 6-10 season is much more likely.
1) Poor coaching
2) Poor defense
3) Bad decisions on offense
4) Matt Ryan trigger happy to throw the ball away and waste downs
5) Injuries (no run game with FB and RB out... defense has DE and LB out... Roddy White ankle)
They were making the plays to win the close games last year... and aren't this year. The 3 losses were by a TD or less to teams currently undefeated. That's football I guess.
The Falcons have too much talent not to make the playoffs... but the way they have been playing so far a 6-10 season is much more likely.
they also went from having the easiest schedule last year to one of the hardest this year
Giants are the biggest surprise to me. Packers will be fine, I'll be very surprised if they aren't, still optimistic they can take the division, haven't played a division game yet.
they also went from having the easiest schedule last year to one of the hardest this year
You can't discredit or credit a team on that though... they have no control over who the play. It's the NFL and any team can beat any other team any given Sunday.
Atlanta has lost some tough games (@ NO, @ MIA, NE) and it doesn't get any easier. (SEA, @ GB, @ SF, CAR/TB/NO divisional games)
They are starting a favorable part of the schedule (NYJ, TB, @ AZ, @ CAR) with a bye week thrown in and probably need to sweep those and get to 5-3 when SEA comes to town.
The NFC doesn't look all that strong with 9 of 16 teams having just 1 win or less. Atlanta is by no means out of playoff contention at 1-3 but they need to right the ship now.
Funny we were having the NFC versus the AFC discussion not too long ago! It just goes to show you what is on paper, what the stats are, nothing is settled until more games are played!
Definitely the Giants. I am a Giants fan and it's painful to see what's happening. Yes they haven't done well in the regular season in the past and shown up for the playoffs, but they've still ,missed the playoffs more often than not in the last several years. I really thought they would be better than they are now.
I am also surprised by the Dolphins beating the Colts and Falcons (especially the Colts) and I'm interested to see what they do against the Saints tonight.
The Broncos surprise me only because they are doing a lot better than I thought. I didn't even think they'd beat the Ravens. But they haven't had a real test yet.
The thing that scares me about the Giants is they haven't even been close yet to winning any of their 4 games. Sure, the Dallas game week 1 was "only" a 5 point margin, but Dallas was up double figures the majority of the game. They've looked completely lifeless the last 2 weeks.
Actually, the whole NFC east falls under the biggest disappointment category. Dallas leading the way at 2-2, ran over the Rams whoop de doo, terrible coaching lead them to a loss in KC, just lost in San Diego, and even though the Giants turned the ball over 7 million times they had a chance to win at the end.
AFC North another disappointment. Cleveland!!!!!!!!!! is tied for the division lead heading into October, that's terrible.
I can't believe nobody's mentioned the Texans yet. Their an overtime against Tennessee and an atrocious call on a made field goal away from being 0-4.
The thing that scares me about the Giants is they haven't even been close yet to winning any of their 4 games. Sure, the Dallas game week 1 was "only" a 5 point margin, but Dallas was up double figures the majority of the game. They've looked completely lifeless the last 2 weeks.
Actually, the whole NFC east falls under the biggest disappointment category. Dallas leading the way at 2-2, ran over the Rams whoop de doo, terrible coaching lead them to a loss in KC, just lost in San Diego, and even though the Giants turned the ball over 7 million times they had a chance to win at the end.
AFC North another disappointment. Cleveland!!!!!!!!!! is tied for the division lead heading into October, that's terrible.
I can't believe nobody's mentioned the Texans yet. Their an overtime against Tennessee and an atrocious call on a made field goal away from being 0-4.
Cleveland could remain in first place with a win Thursday. The Browns have been down for awhile. They can't stay down forever, and in fact this Browns fan says now is as good of a time as any to right the ship! We've waited too long in Cleveland.
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