The best seat in the house is the view from the couch

2007 NFL Season - Week 4 Recap

This week's Rants & Ranks. I'm too tired of being at work at 6AM to think of any better introduction.


1) New England (4-0): Just so we're clear - until they lose, or at least beat a team by less than 20 points, they're not getting moved from the top of anyone's rankings, much less a die-hard Pats' fan like me. They've got the best offense. They've got the best defense. That leaves special teams, and let's face it - ST is more or less a crapshoot from week to week. The only thing that scares me is the eerie correlation to the beginning of the 2002 season... The Patriots started 3-0 and outscored their first three opponents 105-59 (including giving up 38 points Week three to the Jets), then promptly proceeded to lose four straight and miss the playoffs after finishing 9-7. Personally, I blame that season on a Super Bowl hangover and Tara Reid.
2) Dallas (4-0): Another week, another offensive clinic. Although they sliced up the Bears en route to this 4-0 start, Chicago doesn't exactly have the defensive cache they did last year. After this week @ Buffalo, the Cowboys have New England, Minnesota, then three straight division games (two on the road) after the bye. If they come out of that stretch 3-2, they're really good. 4-1... they're scary good.
3) Indianapolis (4-0): That's the surgical precision we've been waiting to see from Indy's offense. And they managed to do it against a supposedly good Broncos' team, which is all the more impressive. Not a bad way to reaffirm to the league that, until proven otherwise, you are in fact still the champions.
4) Green Bay (4-0): I think, at this point, I can admit I was pretty wrong about the entire NFC North. Nothing's set in stone yet, but since the Pack would have to finish the year 2-10 to prove me right, I don't feel too bad about admitting my mistake. Could we see GB/Dallas, Indy/NE in the Conference Title Games? It'd be fun to watch, I'll tell you that. Would be great to see GB/NE in the Super Bowl as well, if for no other reason than it would make for great TV 11 years after Brett Favre and the Packers embarrassed New England in the Superdome.
5) Tampa Bay (3-1): Only Jacksonville has allowed fewer points this season (44-34). The difference is, the Bucs have scored 81 to the Jags' 46. Oh, and Jacksonville's also already had their bye week. Among other teams through four games, Pittsburgh (47) and New England (48) are next closest in points allowed. I might have been wrong about the NFC South too. Pretty much, I was wrong about any division that has a Cardinal direction other than East in its name...

Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh (bad loss), Detroit (don't trust the defense), Seattle (playing possum)


5) San Diego (1-3): Oh boy are the Chargers in trouble. After the opening week win over the Bears (a game that was a lot closer than the final 14-3 score), they've been beaten down in three successive weeks by New England (understandable), Green Bay (surprising at the time) and now Kansas City (wholly inexcusable). Can't you just see Marty Schottenheimer, Wade Philips and Cam Cameron meeting up after the season, having a frosty beverage, and all just bursting into laughter? Well, maybe not Cam...
4) Chicago (1-3): I'm actually struggling to remember who Chicago beat this season. San Diego... hmm... nope. Dallas? Not even close. Detroit? Not after allowing 34 fourth quarter points... Oh yes, the juggernaut that is the Kansas City Chiefs. And even that one was close for awhile, only broken open by Devin Hester's insane abilities when fielding a kick of any kind.
3) New Orleans (0-3): They didn't win, they didn't lose, they don't move. Maybe the bye week gave them enough time to figure out what the hell was wrong in the first three weeks of the season, because nothing else seems to have woken them up yet.
2) Miami (0-4): They're not too far ahead of their competition for the last spot on this list. It seems like Trent Green was not the answer to solve all the QB woes (shocking though that may be...), and the defense seems to have calcified before our very eyes. Luckily, they've got a few winnable games coming up with Cleveland, Buffalo and the Giants in the next five weeks.
1) St Louis (0-4): I know I said that losing a starting running back wasn't such a big deal in the NFL anymore. I think I may have misspoken. Losing a starting running back when he posted the 5th-best all time yards from scrimmage the previous season is kind of a big deal. Not to mention, the Rams may have lost their starting QB, and their offensive line is in shambles (which may account for the other two losses). They don't have a winnable stretch until weeks 8-10, against Cleveland, The Bye Week, and New Orleans. They should be favored against The Bye Week, but at this point, who knows?

Others receiving votes: Cincinnati (full scale revolt in 3...2...1...), Minnesota (do they even have a quarterback?), Philadelphia (can they play Detroit every week?) NY Jets (Lost to Buffalo... 'nuff said)

See you Friday-ish for the picks.
Lata.

Labels: 2007, NFL, Playoffs here we come, Rants and Ranks, Recap

posted by Big D @ 7:24 AM