Tony Romo is the most overrated player in the NFL. I'll stand by that. His success is a product of the players around him and the system that he is in. I genuinely believe that if you were to substitute him with Kurt Warner the Dallas Cowboys would be a football team. It's a bit tough to call Romo a 'bad' quarterback, but at times he really harms his team. He spends way too long in the pocket, tries to force throws, makes careless mental mistakes and refuses to give up on plays. When you're handing the ball off to Marion Barber and Felix Jones, and have Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton as targets obviously you're got an upper hand from the beginning. Romo's not taking advantage of it. On the surface Romo's 24/39 321 yards and 3 TD's is a fantastic game today. But the number that stands out to me is this - 3. 3: the number of times Tony Romo fumbled the ball, in instances due to mental errors and trying to create plays that simply weren't there. On the joke of a rule called the 'tuck rule' Romo avoided a fourth fumble and a subsequent Arizona touchdone. 3: the number of times Romo was sacked, all on occasions where he tried too hard to keep a play going when the best option was to simply throw away the ball.
I can't call Tony Romo a bad quarterback. What I will say though is that he's an overrated one, and he doesn't help his team as much as he should. When he does then maybe we can consider Dallas a genuine contender. On to the rankings.
AFC
1. Tennessee Titans (5-0, LW: 1)
The number one team maintains their position. The teams that follow them - Denver (loss), Buffalo (bye), Pittsburgh (bye), New England (loss) and Baltimore (loss) - didn't exactly do much to state their own case. The number one team until they're defeated.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1, LW: 4)
There are more talented teams, and certainly more healthy ones, but you'd be hard pressed to find a team with as much heart as the Steelers. The schedule is tough, but given the class and resiliency of this team, especially in their division, they're a virtual lock for the playoffs.
3. Buffalo Bills (4-1, LW: 3)
Are they too young? How they come out of the bye week will speak volumes about the Bills. They're coming off three mediocre performances in a row, and Marshawn Lynch has been quiet of late. Huge game against the Chargers.
4. Indianapolis Colts (3-2, LW: -)
They're baaaaaaaaack. Certainly feels like the Colts have woken up. 31 points against the NFL's #1 ranked defense with Peyton, Marvin and Reggie back to their old tricks has to have the rest of the AFC worried. @Green Bay and @Tennessee the next two weeks will be big.
5. Denver Broncos (4-2, LW: 2)
Not looking as good now are they. They're susceptible to the run, and you can't help but feel that the Tampa game might have been an abberation. They'll score a lot, they'll give up a lot, whether or not they'll win a lot is unclear.
6. San Diego Chargers (3-3, LW: -)
In undoubtedly the game of the week the Chargers came out and made a huge statement at home against the reeling Patriots. LT wasn't great but he showed some zip, but the story was Phil Rivers. He only had to throw 27 times for 300+ yards and his now routine trio of TD's. Rivers' willingness to throw the long ball might be the greatest positive difference between this year's Chargers and the teams of 06/07.
On the outside looking in
NY Jets (3-2, LW: -)
The Jets seem like a solid 8-8 or 9-7 football team to me. Despite their wins they're yet to beat a decent team (Miami without the wildcat, an Arizona team that can't play on the road, and the winless Bengals). They might not have to though to get into the playoffs, their schedule is piss easy. They still have games against Oakland, Kansas City, St. Louis, San Francisco and Miami.
Jacksonville (3-3, LW: -)
Finally they put together a comprehensive performance. That said they were a good matchup for the Broncos with their greatest strength (rushing offense) going against Denver's greatest weakness.
New England (3-2, LW: 5)
I watched the clash against the Chargers and this Patriots team looks awful. The run game is mediocre at best, the secondary can be targeted and then there's Matt Cassel. This guy is terrible. He's reduced the offense to slant passes. He missed Randy Moss open on a long ball by eight or nine yards, and he had three passing opportunities on a goal line play and screwed up all of them. The Patriots aren't making the playoffs with Cassel at the helm.
Baltimore (2-3, LW: 6)
Okay I was wrong, I'll admit it. The Ravens are going anywhere fast. The defense may be great, but it's overrated and it's not going to compensate for the horrible offense. Right now Joe Flacco is simply not a good player. A 1 to 7 touchdown to interception ratio is just awful.
I just want to say that for the first time this year I'm feeling pretty confident about the AFC playoff picture. Tennessee and Pittsburgh seem like pretty sure bets, and you have to expect the Bills to be in there. Obviously one of the Chargers and Broncos will win the division, and the other will probably get the Wild Card. New York, New England and Jacksonville are all a shot at the other Wild Card, but I like the Colts over all of them.
NFC
1. NY Giants (4-0, LW: 1)
The champs stay here at least until tomorrow night.
2. Arizona Cardinals (4-2, LW: 6)
Really? I think it has to be. Who else? The Cardinals have played as well as anyone over the past two weeks beating two of what most would consider to be the top six teams in the league. Kurt Warner runs the offense well, Edge James and Hightower represent a solid running game and Larry Fitzgerald is a freak.
3. Tampa Bay Buccanneers (4-2, LW: -)
After today I don't think anyone can argue with placing them above Carolina. The run game is good, the defense is excellent, and Jeff Garcia can manage an offense. Put it this way - the Bucs have lost two games this year, both on the road to decent teams by a combined margin of 7 points. Their four wins have come against four teams all at .500 or better by a combined margin of 51 points. Super Bowl team? Probably not. Playoff team? I'd say so.
4. Washington Redskins (4-2, LW: 2)
St. Louis hurts. On the road you could maybe justify it - new coach, players with something to prove - but at home there's no excuses. When Jason Campbell and Santana Moss don't have it going the Redskins offense looks painfully one-dimensional. Clinton Portis will only take this team so far.
5. Dallas Cowboys (4-2, LW: 4)
Enough said at the top really. The Cowboys along with the Chargers are the most talented team in the NFL, there's little question of that. Mentally though they might be the weakest. This team just makes dumb plays. They need to get their act together, and fast.
6. Green Bay Packers (3-3, LW: -)
Big win on the road against the Hawks, great performance from Rodgers. The offense with Rodgers, Jennings, Driver and Grant is dynamite if they can get it together. Driver and Grant need to lift.
On the outside looking in
Minnesota
a) putting up 12 points against Detroit is a worry, b) doing it at home is an even bigger one. The fire the coach chants in Minnesota were well warranted, this team was supposed to be going to the Super Bowl. Teams are just going to stuff Adrian Peterson all day, so a lot of matches are going to hinge on Gus Frerotte's arm. That's not good.
Atlanta
Sorry, still don't buy it. Beating the Bears the way they did was a fluke, there's no other way to put it. Where that game was at with 12 seconds to go or whatever, the Bears will win 98 times out of 100. It just happned to be one of those two times for Atlanta. Still haven't beaten a team with more wins than losses.
Chicago
Pretty incredible, that's the third game they absolutely should have won but lost. Giving new meaning to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Philadelphia
The season would have been flashing before their eyes at three quarter time against the Niners. The Eagles are a good team, but you have to question their all round ability to compete with the other teams in their division. I don't think the Eagles are as good as anyone in the NFC East let alone the Bucs, Panthers, Cardinals and even teams like the Bears and Packers can stand up to the Eagles.
Super Bowl pick
New York, New York.
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