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Now that Week 7 is in the books, we can officially say this is a top heavy league. The actual contenders are taking care of business and the pretenders are falling short and exposing their weaknesses. What will be interesting is seeing how the teams that are building up momentum fare as the cold weather months are approaching. With all of this unpredictable mediocrity, I may have to start calling this column, "The Good, The OK, The Bad and The Ugly." As of Week 7, this is how the league shapes up as I see it. Blondie (The Good) 1. New England Patriots: They've proven they can score at will as long as Brady is in the game. I'm interested in seeing how they play once they HAVE to run the ball. Let's face it, Foxboro ain't Miami in November. 2. Indianapolis Colts: The Colts may be the most underrated 6-0 team ever. With The Pats making all the offensive noise, the Colts have quietly been dismantling their opponents and playing pretty damn good football.
3. Dallas Cowboys: Hard to judge how great this Cowboys team is. They are crushing teams they are better than, but aren't able to really compete against teams better than them. A 6-1 team should be keeping things competitive at least. 4. NY Giants: That's five in a row now for the G-men for those that are counting. They're playing great defense, running the ball well and can make big plays downfield with Plaxico. Usually the sign of a team that can beat anyone any given Sunday. 5. Green Bay Packers: Sure, they beat the Giants in Week 2 but do really think they'd have a chance if the two teams played head to head today? 6. Pittsburgh Steelers: Denver isn't an easy place to play but the Steelers missed an opportunity to really put the rest of their divsion away. 7. Jacksonville Jaguars: How long Garrard is out will make the difference in whether this Jags team gets a wild card berth. Because there's no way they take the first place spot from the Colts and this Gray character absolutely will not get the job done. 8. San Diego Chargers: Geez, I hope practicing in Phoenix doesn't hurt the Chargers. It hasn't fared the Cardinals all that well. 9. Carolina Panthers: This team is still too unpredictable to call. As long as they keep playing solid defense, and Steve Smith is healthy, they'll be in every game. 10. Tennessee Titans: Maybe I was wrong about Kerry Collins. I mean not that wrong, he still sucks. But if he can move the offense to within a 50 yard field goal for Bironas, the Titans can still win without Vince Young. Angel Eyes (The Bad) 11. Washington Redskins: The Skins once again let their opponent back in the game and gave them a chance to win. Probably won't have to worry about that next week vs. The Pats. 12. Baltimore Ravens: Willis McGahee's revenge game didn't go as planned. He played well, but the object is to win that game. On a side note, I still say Kyle Boller should be the QB of this team. 13. Seattle Seahawks: This another team that's hard to figure out. Until they get that running game together and their receiving corps starts playing to their potential, I can't put Seattle in the upper class of the NFC. 14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The injuries are starting to take their toll on the Bucs. When the Lions handle you like that, it's time to go back to the drawing board. 15. Arizona Cardinals: Pretty amazing how Kurt Warner was able to play with one arm. Had Boldin hit Fitzgerald in the end zone for the 2pt conversion, we'd have Ken Whisenhunt in Coach of the Year talks. 16. Kansas City Chiefs: Looks like LJ is finally in game shape after his pre-season holdout. His fantasy owners have to be pleased with the way he's playing now. 17. Cleveland Browns: The Brownies will look to go 4-3 when they play the lowly Rams on Sunday. 18. Chicago Bears: Brian Greise is doing things that Rex Grossman couldn't, or wouldn't do. Namely leading game winning drives. The Bears could be a team on the rise. 19. Oakland Raiders: They kept it close, yes. But the Raiders need to cut down on the mistakes before they can be taken seriously. 20. Houston Texans: Sage Rosenfells threw 4 TDs in the 4th quarter. I wonder if there would've been a QB contraversy had the Texans won that game. 21. Detroit Lions: I don't care if they are 4-2. I'm still not impressed by these guys. 22. Minnesota Vikings: If you're gonna live by the run, you're gonna die by the run. Seriously, when is Childress going to get Tavaris Jackson out of there? 23. Denver Broncos: All three wins have now come on the foot of Jason Elam in the last second. 24. New Orleans Saints: In the JV league that is the NFC, the Saints are still in this. Tuco (The Ugly) 25. Philadelphia Eagles: I've been hearing some "Bench McNabb" calls from Eagles fans. Seriously? You think Kevin Kolb is the answer? 26. Buffalo Bills: I was really impressed that the Bills were able to beat a decent Ravens team after that heartbreaking loss vs. Dallas two weeks ago. Take away that loss and the last second loss to Denver, and the Bills are 4-2 and in AFC playoff hunt. 27. San Francisco 49ers: Who gets fired first? The Niners offensive coordinator, or the Rams' Scott Linehan. 28. Cincinnati Bengals: It doesn't matter how many touchdowns they score. Their defense isn't stopping anyone. Wins like this will be hard to come by in the AFC. 29. NY Jets: Good to see Pennington air it out a little bit. Even though they lost, at least we know he can throw it further than 15 yards. 30. Atlanta Falcons: Byron Leftwich going down in the first quarter is a pretty tell tale sign of how this Falcons season is going. 31. Miami Dolphins: I don't know how things could be any worse for Miami. They trade their best receiver in Chris Chambers, and now their only offensive weapon left, Ronnie Brown, is out for the year. Hey, at least they can rest knowing their 1972 perfect season is in tact... oh wait. 32. St. Louis Rams: I know, how can the Dolphins be ranked higher than the Rams now? At least the Dolphins are scoring. I don't see any semblance of an offense in this Rams team.
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