Sunday, October 21, 2012

Surprises and Thoughts Heading into the 7th week of the NFL Season


The NFL is now in the seventh week of the regular season, and it has been full of surprises, and I will admit I made some predictions that are not happening this year so far.

When the season started I said the Miami Dolphins would be the worst team in the NFL this year, and right now I am dead wrong.  They are ranked 16th in total offense right now, ranking ahead of New Orleans, Dallas, and Carolina, which I would not have expected.  They haven’t won the prettiest games, but they win, and they have been hanging in there in their first six games.

I wasn’t expecting New England to be as balanced this year as they have been, they are running the ball very well, and are second in the league with a team total 10 rushing touchdowns behind only the Redskins, they also rank 5th in the NFL with total rushing yards.  They are even 4th in the NFL with rushing yards per game averaging 152.3 yards a game, they have only lost one fumble rushing as well.

Christian Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings are surprising me as well; I thought this team was going to have a top 10 pick, maybe even top 5.  However they have proven to be a quality team standing at a 4-2 record.  Even though they rank 17th in the league for passing yards Christian Ponder has taken good care of the ball.  They have beat both the 49ers and the Lions who were powerhouses in the NFC last year, Detroit has fallen a bit, but it is still impressive.

Michael Vick’s turnover issues have been atrocious thus far; he has 13 of the Eagles 16 total turnovers himself, that is inexcusable for an NFL quarterback, and especially one who has signed a $100 Million dollar contract.  He keeps fumbling the ball, and making some poor throws, I really thought he would do well this year because of how well he and the Eagles played towards the end of last year.

The Browns are surprising me as well, I know a 1-5 record isn’t great, but they are hanging tough in games.  They could have beaten the Eagles, and were close to sending the game against the Ravens into overtime.  They even jumped ahead on the defending super bowl champion Giants before losing.  I am surprised at how well this team has played despite its record. 

The Oakland Raiders to me are the worst team in the NFL right now, Carson Palmer is making some bad decisions, including a pick 6 against the Falcons that helped spark Atlanta to a victory.  Carson is not the answer in Oakland.  He may not have the greatest weapons in the NFL but his inaccuracy and turnovers are hurting this Oakland team.

Matt Cassel is the worst quarterback this year, and I am surprised because he has the number 1 ranking rushing offense in the NFL right now.  It boggles my mind how he cannot use that to help himself and his team win.  They rank 23rd in passing yards and dead last in interceptions(meaning they have the most), Cassel is responsible for 9 of those(of 11), in only 5 games, and not a complete 5 games either.  He is also dead last in passer rating as well, his rating is 66.2 which is behind Brandon Weeden, and Mark Sanchez who is not completing many passes.  

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