Another week of the season, and yet another Falcons win. The Falcons remain the only undefeated team in football and unanimously top all the power rankings created by NFL analysts. But lets be honest, how many people seriously think the Falcons are the best team in the NFL? Not many. Unlike last year’s Packers, nobody believes in Atlanta. Many people thought the Packers we’re going to go 19-0. Nobody thinks the Falcons would go 19-0. One of many reasons is because the Falcons historically can never get it done in the playoffs. They always get to the party, but always leave early. Personally, I think the Falcons are a good team, but if they made it to the Super Bowl, I would be stunned. I don’t think they can take down the Giants, 49ers, or Packers in the playoffs.
Don’t look now, but the Detroit Lions are slowly creeping back into relevancy. After a 1-3 start, Stafford and the Lions are sitting at 4-4, and in a good position to make a run at a wild card. With teams like Minnesota and Seattle blocking their path to the playoffs, the Lions have a real good shot. They have a high powered offense, better then Minnesota and much better then Seattle, and a defense filled with holes, but a very solid defensive line that every team should worry about. Unless Dallas, Philadelphia, or New Orleans picks it up and goes on a huge tear like they have the talent too, I like Detroit to take over the final wild card spot.
This season we’ve seen a very quiet race for NFL MVP. Rookie Robert Griffin III looked to have a shot at it early, but he has fallen off a little bit, and the same goes for Percy Harvin. Aaron Rodgers is making quite the case, but the voters don’t really like giving repeat MVPs. So for the moment, the two frontrunners look to be Matt Ryan and Peyton Manning. I think it will come down to who’s team has the better record. If Atlanta ends up at something outrageous like 15-1, Matt Ryan will take home the MVP with ease. If they fall off, it looks like Manning would bring home yet another MVP. But there is plenty of time for guys like Rodgers, Tom Brady, Adrian Peterson, and other great players to build up a resume and claim the MVP before seasons end. It’ll be interesting to see how this race plays out.
The Michael Vick Award for Best Performance goes to Doug Martin. Martin made a case for the award to be renamed after him, he was that good. 25 carries, 251 yards, and 4 touchdowns in what has to be the best individual performance of the season. Not only that, Martin carried his team to victory, although grant it, it was against the Raiders. Martin showed a flash of greatness today, and the young rookie may be a dark horse candidate for rookie of the year with a few more solid outings.
The Kyle Orton Award for Worst Performance goes to the New York Giants offense. Eli Manning posted a 14.1 QBR, had two turnovers, and the Giants running game was pathetic. Every team has a bad day, and the Giants we’re playing a very good defense. I don’t think it’s gonna happen, but it could be the beginning of the annual Giants late season skid. But I don’t think there is much to worry about.
The Golden Tate Award for Most Deceiving Performance goes to Carson Palmer. Don’t look now, but Carson Palmer threw for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns! Seriously, don’t look now Raider fans. Although he had a monster fantasy game, Palmer tossed three interceptions, including a costly late game interception. Palmer is still the subject of what may go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history, and although he has a good game statistically, he still isn’t anything to be desired.