Its been a long time since the statement “Defense Wins Championships” has been relavent. But this season, the term looks more relavent now more then ever. The NFL’s elite are all powered by their defenses. I never had faith in Jay Cutler and the Bear’s offense, one filled with talented playmakers, a shaky quarterback, and a very poor offensive line, but all they have to do is control the game. Cutler played without mistakes on Monday night and showed us a team that resembled the ’85 Bears – a team powered by one of the leagues best defenses. Urlacher, Peppers, and the rest of the Bears defense will surely be giving Matthew Stafford nightmares for weeks – they eat him alive in a 13-7 victory that wasn’t as close as the score makes it look. San Francisco’s defense took over against Seattle in their 13-6 victory in the Thursday game. Two of the NFC’s top two teams are powered by their Defense. The 2002 Buccaneers were the last team to win a championship strictly because of their defense, but this may be the year that we see it happen again.
The NFC is clearly the power conference this year, but what really surprises me is how bad the AFC has been. 3 teams are over .500 – Houston, New England, Baltimore. The Raven’s once elite defense got torched by the Texans this weekend. Its hard to argue Baltimore; or any team in the AFC; are a real contender this year besides the Patriots and the Texans. Denver could improve and join the hunt near the end of the season, and you can never count out the Steelers, but outside of these 5 teams, the AFC is a JOKE. I’ll stand by my playoff predictions I made a few weeks ago; I’ll take the Jets as the six seed no matter who plays quarterback for them. I have no respect for the Chargers, Dolphins, Bengals, Colts, and whoever else may be fighting for the six seed. At least I have a little bit of respect for the Jets.
Meanwhile, in a stacked NFC, its hard to pick out who the contenders are, let alone who will find themselves playing in January. Out of the 16 teams in the NFC, the Panthers are the only team that really looks awful. The 2-4 teams, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, and Detroit, look as if they will be able to play a big spoiler come the playoff hunt. The 3-4 teams, St. Louis and Washington, have played competitive all season, and although neither will make the playoffs this year, they each have pieces for some success in the future. Everybody else in the conference is .500 or better. The Falcons, Bears, Giants, and 49ers have been the class of the conference this season. The Pack is back as well and look to be a title contender once again. But any of these teams could collapse at any time, and any of the other teams could go on a run. Minnesota is sitting at 5-2 and looks to be a solid team this year, I wouldn’t call them a contender, but I expect to see them playing a wild card game in January. I don’t have much faith in Arizona or Seattle to grab a playoff spot, but both teams have dangerous defenses that could win them a few more games. The biggest wild cards are the Eagles and Cowboys. Both teams sit at 3-3, with a tremendous amount of talent on both sides of the ball, but just can’t seem to put it all together. It wouldn’t surprise me how either of these teams finish; I can see both making runs into the playoffs and possibly farther, but I can also see both finishing 6-10. It will be interesting to see how the NFC plays out this year.
The Michael Vick Award for Best Performance goes to, yet again, Aaron Rodgers. The reigning MVP was basically perfect against the Rams, going 30-37 with 342 yards and 3 touchdowns, against a defense that is better then they get credit for. Rodgers has a chance to repeat as MVP, as the field is a lot weaker then last year, which will probably consist of guys like RG3, Arian Foster, and possibly even Percy Harvin. Honorable mention for this week goes to Chris Johnson and Drew Brees.
The Kyle Orton Award for Worst Performance goes to the Cowboys backfield. Phillip Tanner and Felix Jones we’re facing a big opportunity this week, with starting RB Demarco Murray out with an injury, and flat out blew it against a terrible Carolina team. They averaged a combined 2.6 YPC on a combined 28 carries. Now it looks like Demarco Murray will be rushed back from his injury, and both guys fall into obscurity once again.
The Golden Tate Award for Most Deceiving Performance goes to fellow ND alum Brady Quinn. How can I give this to a guy that didn’t play this week? Brady Quinn was announced as the starter this week, over Matt Cassel, and I’m just truly baffled. And seeing as no player really deserved it this week, Quinn is my guy that I am going to rip to pieces this week. So what did Quinn do to earn the job? Sure, Cassel has been terrible, but Brady Quinn’s one start resulted in a pounding from Tampa Bay where he threw 2 interceptions. But Matt Cassel is clearly the better player, he has a pro bowl under his belt and has had 2 very good seasons in his career. Quinn? He was good at Notre Dame against terrible defenses. Every opportunity he’s had, hes failed. He’s a joke. He’s terrible. With this move, the Chiefs just signed Matt Barkley with the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft. 