NFL Shakeups and Shakedowns

Remember a couple of weeks ago when all we could hear about was how much better the Patriots and Colts were than everyone else?

Well, the Patriots just demoralized the Colts. I mean, I don't even understand how that happened. I guess everything has to do with Randy Moss. He is playing so well right now both when the ball is going his way and when it's going in another direction, it's ridiculous.

But if the Patriots are in fact at least one step above everyone else right now, how clustered is the next tier? The Colts don't look good. It's obvious that Favre needs to go back to doing Mastercard commercials given performance on the field and on the screen. I will give them this...I still think the Colts could be the scarriest team in the AFC. Why? They hve been playing absolutely totaled for the past two weeks. Harrison? Hasn't played. Freeney's out. Craphonso Thorpe, yes, that Craphonso Thorpe, the former #1 high school player in the country who got the boot from Florida State, is who the Colts had to go to this week. Yeah, Thorpe and Fred Rouse are the last two players to wear the #1 at FSU. Great track record.

The Colts are going to get healthy come playoff time. I'm not really worried about them going to Foxboro and winning. If it snows, I'll take my chances with Addai. Also, Randy Moss does not play in cold weather.

Not to mention that the Steelers are downright terrifying. Who's the most valuable QB in the AFC right now? Big Ben. The Steelers are not a team you want to play. I would pick them to beat the Pats right now. Why? They are the most physical team in football...just ask Ray Lewis. How do you take the Pats receivers out of the game? Put them on the ground early and often. The Pats beat you in space. The Steelers beat you man on man. The Steelers have the best chance right now because neither team matches up well against each other.

The NFC is another story. The Cowboys right now are getting the same treatment that Ohio State got last week. They're "America's Team" so they are the favorite over the Packers. The book on the Packers is that they haven't been able to run the football all year. Then last week they played the #1 rushing defense in the league and Ryan Grant threw up 119 yards on them for an average of just about five yards a carry. By the way, whenever you get a shutout in the NFL, you have done something pretty substantial.

The catch is the Packers have to play a good Lions team on the road on Thanksgiving which is always a tough spot for anyone to play. They are at Dallas on Thursday the next week where they never play well. In fact, I don't think I remember the Cowboys ever going to Lambeau. At least in a game that mattered. Regardless if the Packers in fact lose one of those games, they will lose the inside track to home field advantage. The Packers also have the Bears left to play and that's a huge game regardless of the records. No one understands that other than Packers/Bears fans.

I want you to understand one thing. If Brett Favre wasn't the Packer quarterback, they might have two wins. There is no question that he is the NFL MVP. Someone tell me that there is anyone more valuable to their team and what they have done this season. Brady? Moss is the most valuable player on that team and if you don't think so, go back to reading GQ. Moss makes everyone on that team better, but without Moss, they would still be a 13 win team. The Packers are where they are because they have Brett Favre, who is playing some of the best football of his career. Will Favre win the MVP? Probably not. It's riduclous that he won't.