Another week has come and gone, and absolutely nothing has happened to make things any clearer in either the AFC or the NFC. Let's take a look at some of the week's more interesting developments.
*Four teams are now tied for the two Wild Card spots in the NFC . Atlanta, Carolina, New York, and Philadelphia are all 6-6. You have to give a lot of credit to Jeff Garcia, Andy Reid, and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles for finding a way to win last night with their backs pressed squarely against the wall. A loss last night would have absolutely crushed the chances of this team. They still would have been in fine shape mathmatically, but the spirit of the Eagles would have been totally deflated had they not won. Instead, the Eagles can now believe (at least for a week) that they may be able to sneak in to the playoffs with Jeff Garcia starting.
*Speaking of logjams in the standings, check out the AFC playoff picture. The #5-#9 teams are all 7-5. So much for the talk I heard about the NFC being the better conference. The AFC's depth is quite impressive.
At this point, you have to like the chances of the Bengals and the Jets. The Bengals are probably playing the best football of the group, and the Jets don't play another team with a winning record for the remainder of the season. Don't count Kansas City out just yet, but they're not going to win any 3-way tiebreakers with their 3-5 conference record. The Chiefs host Baltimore this weekend before traveling to San Diego the following week. The time for Herm Edwards and KC to make a move is now, but it's not going to be easy.
Jay Cutler and Denver have no time to feel sorry for themselves. They take on San Diego at Qualcomm stadium this Sunday. The Chargers defense is just now getting healthy, so don't expect the sledding to be any smoother for Jay Cutler this weekend. I still don't know how you take your team to the AFC Championship game the year before and get benched the following year with a 7-4 record.
*Did anyone else get to watch Vince Young and the Titans come from behind for the second week in a row? Jeff Fisher was rewarded a hefty contract extension after his team won its 3rd straight game. Had Kerry Collins not totally stunk up the joint in the Titans' first 6 games, they might actually be in the playoff picture themselves. Young has now won 5 of his first 9 starts, and although he's looked shaky at times, he's again proving that his best attribute is his calm demeanor and competitive spirit.
Not everybody's sold on Vince Young though. Remember our friend BigBlueShoe, the Colts blogger for the network? He, for one, is not convinced Young can throw the ball well enough to be consistently successful in the NFL. I disagree wholeheartedly. Titans fans have only gotten the smallest taste of what's to come for that franchise. It pains me to say it because I have enjoyed not having to worry about the Titans for the past several years.
*Miami can kiss their playoff chances goodbye with their home loss to Jacksonville on Sunday.
*You can't hold NFL offenses down forever...well, maybe the Raiders. But, woeful offenses like the Browns are going to have their moments over the course of a 16-game season. Kudos to them for opening things up against the Chiefs. I know Cleveland fans have been awfully frustrated by the conservative play-calling, but for a week, they got to enjoy what it's like to watch a legitimate, well-balanced offensive attack. Our friend Chris from Dawgs by Nature is certainly pleased.
*Poor Skin Patrol. SP's still doing fine work over at Hogs Haven despite his team being one of the biggest disappointments in football.
*The Steelers finally parted ways with RB Duce Staley. I'm not sure why this didn't happen much sooner. The move was made to create roster space. With all of the injuries we've sustained at the WR position and on defense, we let Staley go and re-signed former players Lee Mays and Chidi Iwuoma. Mays might see the field as a WR, but both will certainly participate on special teams this Thursday.