NFL MID-SEASON CHECK-IN

I haven’t spoken much on the NFL, at least in blog form but wow what a season it’s been! So many things can change from one year to the next in the NFL which is why it’s been so great! Teams you thought would be locks to win their divisions probably won’t be making the playoffs this year. And players you may have doubted are showing up and showing out! In this blog, I’ll check out every division and give my thoughts and predict a winner. This should be fun!

AFC BREAKDOWN

AFC EAST

Per the usual, the Patriots will clearly win this division. Tom Brady looks like the best to ever do it and that defense is still making plays! From Gronk, to Edelman, Blount, Hogan and the others, Brady makes everyone look better. Rex Ryan has the Bills at 4-4 through the first half of the season and has a supporter of Rex, I’d love for them to make the playoffs. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what recently un-retired athlete Percy Harvin can bring to the team. The Dolphins and Jets are still terrible. Both of those teams need help at several positions on their roster but as long as Brady is in New England, it really doesn’t matter what they do.

AFC WEST

Could this be the best division in football? It’s definitely a prime candidate! The defending champion Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders are all sitting there with 2 losses, and even though they’re only 3-5, San Diego is a good team. Phillip Rivers truly does all he can to drag that team along. Derek Carr is someone I ALWAYS thought would be great and  he is finally showing why. People may have doubted him to do his brother’s earlier NFL struggles but Carr has truly shown he’s different. He has given Michael Crabtree new life and along with Amari Cooper and the other skill guys, they help make this offense go. The defense continues to struggle which may be the downfall that keeps this team from going as far as they want but with Carr behind center, they definitely have a chance. The Broncos still have the elite defense in the NFL and have to with the up and down play of new quarterback Trevor Semien. The Chiefs are a balanced team but still need to do a better job of running the  ball and making plays on offense. I think the Broncos will win this division but it will definitely be a tight race.

AFC NORTH

I’m a Steelers fan! I admit it, and despite Le’veon Bell missing the first few games, Big Ben being hurt, and Martavius Bryant out for the year, I’m happy to see us at the top of the division. It was reported that Roehtlisberger might be available to play this week and we NEED him back to continue to hang on to the division. Landry Jones just isn’t that guy. The Bengals have taken a step back this year and you never know which Bengals team will show up. I have zero faith in them being able to come back and win this division but they have talent so they may surprise me. The Ravens are solid and well coached as usual but they just don’t have enough talent on offense to make a real play for the division. The defense is still highly productive but unfortunately that’s their only strength. The Browns are AWFUL. All in all, fan or not, the Steelers will surely win this division.

AFC SOUTH

My pick to win this division is the Tennessee Titans. They have real good talent on both sides of the ball and Marcus Mariota continues to improve. The combination of Demarco Murray and Derrick Henry has been good as well. The current division leader, Houston still has flaws and I don’t see them holding off the Titans. Brock Osweiler hasn’t impressed me at all and the Texans have to rely on their defense to wiin every game for them to even have a chance. ANDREW LUCK IS OVERRATED. Yea, I’m not buying into him at all. The Colts will regret giving him 87 million dollars for sure. I don’t want to hear about a lack of talent or options, he just simply isn’t as good as people want him to be. The Jaguars are still terrible and will always be terrible.

NFC BREAKDOWN

NFC EAST

So I think it’s alright that since I was a fan of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in college, that I can silently root for the Cowboys in this division. I’ve never been a Cowboys fan, primarily because they never win anything and act like they do. But that’s changed as they have jumped out to a 6-1 start behind a rookie tandem that is bigtime. Elliott is a top 3 running back right now and Dak just knows how to win games! If Jerry Jones wants to keep this up, he won’t start Tony Romo when he gets healthy and the Cowboys will win the NFC East. The rest of the division all have winning records as well, but I don’t really believe in any of them. The Giants are super inconsistent but they do have talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball. If their defense gets better then maybe they do challenge for the division. Carson Wentz has been good for the Eagles but he doesn’t do a ton downfield which I think you have to do if you want to actually go far in the playoffs. The Eagles do have a good defense that will keep him in games and not force him to have to make big plays because put in that position, I think he fails. The Redskins are talented and Kirk Cousins is a good player. If he stays consistent and he’s able to find the guys downfield, I can see them continuing to push forward for the division lead.

NFC WEST

Seattle is my winner here. I know the Seahawks have a terrible offensive line that doesn’t create a lot of holes for the running backs, or protect Russell Wilson but they still have a great defense and Russell can still make big plays. He’s definitely one of the quarterbacks in the league that I trust. The Cardinals aren’t who I thought they would be so far this year. They still have a good defense but with Tyrann Mathieu going down with an injury this past week, we’ll see how they plug that hole. David Johnson has been a beast and currently leads the league in rushing but Palmer needs to get more out of the passing game for them to challenge Seattle. The Rams have been solid but without the running game, it’s unlikely they’ll be a playoff team. As much as I personally like Case Keenum, it appears his days as a starter are numbered depending on how he plays the next few weeks. That defense is still very good however, and will keep them in games. Colin Kaepernick is still trying to get back to himself as he was just re-inserted back in the starting lineup recently. The 49ers are probably one of the least talented teams in the NFL. That’s their issue. They have ZERO chance of making the playoffs this year.

NFC NORTH

Now this is a division that still has some intrigue! Minnesota was the last undefeated team in the league but have since lost 2 straight. Their defense is ELITE but they have glaring issues on the offensive side of the ball. It’s not Sam Bradford’s fault either. Hard to be successful when your offensive line is terrible! Aaron Rodgers is still very good, but he has clearly not been the same quarterback. I don’t think he’s a top 5 quarterback in the league this year and the Packers need him to be that for them to reach their goals. The defense is still good so let’s see if that’s enough. Matt Stafford started off the year playing very well. He’s definitely a good quarterback but he needs help on both sides of the ball to help the Lions return to the playoffs. At 2-6 it’s difficult to see the Bears making a miracle turnaround and going to the playoffs. They will likely be in the quarterback market this offseason as no one can foresee Jay Cutler returning. I’m a John Fox fan so I hope he’s able to get things turned around in Chicago. My pick to win this division is Green Bay.

NFC SOUTH

This division has Falcons written all over it. They have an MVP candidate in Matt Ryan, and skill guys that make it easy to score and make big plays. While the defense leaves something to desire, they seem to improve from game to game. They are definitely my favorite to win this division. The Saints are still the Saints. They have a great offense but a defense that will never allow them to get back to the Super Bowl days. Drew Brees is still ELITE and as long as you have him, you have a chance to win any game. Tampa didn’t take the step I thought they would this year under a new coach. Jameis is still not where I thought he would be at this point. They might be a year or 2 away from doing anything. And what happened to the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers? Did Josh Norman mean that much to this team? I don’t think so, but overall the team just isn’t as good. Cam Newton hasn’t been his dominant self and instead has been continuously crying each week about calls. The Panthers offensive line also has not stepped up to help the running backs or quarterbacks out.

I am REALLY looking forward to the rest of the season. We’ve seen many teams get off to hot starts before and then completely meltdown in the 2^nd half the season. I think we are starting to see that with Minnesota already, but who knows! We’ve also seen teams get hot at the right time and take off. Can Detroit do that? Tennessee? All I know is I guarantee there will be some shakeups this year in the NFL and teams that we didn’t think would make the playoffs will be there when it begins. Can Tom Brady really win the MVP in only 12 games of play? So many questions that need answers! Thankfully, there’s still 8 weeks left to play!