I’ll start with the NFC.

Division Winners:
NFC East: Redskins – no contest in this division.
NFC West: Rams – close call with the Seahawks but Rams beat them out.
NFC North: Lions – obvious call but Bear fans MIGHT have legit shot at this next year.
NFC South: Bucs – tightest race with Panthers in the running.

Wildcard Teams: Panthers, Seahawks

Wildcard Weekend:
Panthers vs. Rams
Seahawks vs. Bucs

Commentary
You can make your vote in the comments but some things to consider in the Rams/Panthers matchup. Rams have new coach, new lifeblood and opportunity to get better faster. Do the fans of the Rams buy it? Are the fans of Panthers fed up with the Fox way? I’m leaning towards that it is harder to be a Panther fan than a Ram fan. So I’d vote for Carolina.

Seahawks/Bucs – new coach vs. new QB? Seahawk fans are generally more depressed than Tampa fans due to weather. If Seahawks tank a season, not a lot to look forward to as opposed to Tampa.

AFC

Division Winners:
AFC East: Bills – and the latest hire really didn’t help.
AFC West: Raiders – I mean really…was there any doubt?
AFC North: Browns – they command this division, which is hard to do seeing that Cincy is in here as well.
AFC South: Jaguars – I thought about putting the whole city of Houston here. Which team do you root for – Texans or former Oilers/Titans? Texans for not getting in playoffs but so close? Titans and the drama at QB? Jags and their complete lack of a QB and creative game plan? Ultimately, Jags won the division by the slimmest of margins.

Wildcard Teams: Chiefs, Broncos
It’s no contest that right now if you are an AFC West fan, it pretty much sucks. Chargers pull their post-season chokefest. (And when you can explain why Norv got an extension for going 13-3 and losing in playoffs and Marty got fired for going 14-2 and losing – let me know.) The Chiefs…well, they’re the Chiefs. And the Broncos have put in McDaniels the Hun at coach.

Wildcard Weekend
Chiefs vs. Jaguars
Broncos vs. Browns

Commentary
I’m seeing an AFC West sweep this weekend. Jags are historically pretty solid and if they do draft Tebow this year, the fan base will go nuts. The Browns have some winning, have Holmgren, and have Cribbs. Basically…they have hope. The Chiefs are looking better with new Coordinators hires. Broncos are tanking. 2-8 to finish season, Cutler, Marshall, fired Mike Nolan, Scheffler, lost Dennison and Turner to Redskins…I could go on. Time to find sharp metal object.

Put your comments and votes to good use here. We’ll play through the weekend and then move to the Divisional Round.

Would you believe that the Broncos would be 2-0 and on top of the AFC West?

Yes. I did. Because I figured the Chargers would beat the Raiders and lose to Baltimore. Turner and the Chargers have a habit of blowing games they should win at the beginning of the year. The Ravens however look to be a beast of a team this year with Flacco having no sophomore slump so far. I had a hunch KC would lose to the Ravens but beat Oakland. That left Denver as 2-0 and on top of the division. It lasts one more week as Denver plays the Greatness (sarcasm). After this week — the descent begins.

Watching the Chefs implode, squander scoring opportunities, and mismanage the clock was painful on Sunday. The truth of the matter is that KC is talent poor right now. I think Todd H. and Scott Pioli will change that eventually but this is going to be just as long if not longer season for Chief fans as it is Bronco fans.

Alabama/Arkansas square off this Saturday and there will probably be ample enough trash talk for Hog fans that read this blog. Up until last year, the games were very close. I think the Hogs will make it interesting in the first half, then Bama pulls away in the second. Although I’m very proud of one of my former students – Clay – who is on the Razorback team. Roll Tide…then after this weekend Go Hogs.

Of course, Denver’s problems aren’t that much better, just on the other side of the ball. Who’s going to tackle? Who’s going to lead the defense? Who’s going to put pressure on the QB? I’m not sure which problems are better to have…this is why we play the games.

Cutler Saga Continued…
This week, KC Joyner got slammed because of his comments about Cutler as a Bear. For Bronco fans – nothing really new in the article. We were getting tired of the sulking on the sidelines after a bad play, 4th quarter red-zone picks and turnovers. We chalked up the first 2 years as inexperienced, this year they got harder to swallow especially down the stretch with a 3 game lead.

I think the coaches and fan were hoping that he’d grow up and out of that stuff, that Cutler’s maturity would eventually rise up to the level of his talent. It didn’t in Denver. Chicago is hoping it does there. It could happen. Plenty of stories have played out that way.

What I think is bizarre is that particular class of QB’s is turning out to be the Head Case Class of all time. Leinart, Young, and Cutler have not been the most stable bunch of QB’s. All have had their off-field issues and attitude issues. None have exactly lived up to their hype.

Other Random Training Camp Thoughts
The Broncs – Orton doesn’t thrill me but if he can protect a lead, not turn it over in the 4th quarter – I’ll take it. Knowshon Moreno is going to be fun to watch. The defense of Denver is going to be painful to watch. Addition of Dawkins is huge but not sure if it’s huge enough. He’s not a defensive lineman.

Jokeland is pathetic. They already cut their 6th round pick from this year’s draft. I have a few Raider fan friends. I pity them. It’s getting to the point when I see them, I don’t even rag on Oakland even more because it’s just too easy and painful. I just shake my head and move on. I think JaMarcus Russell will back up Garcia this year and gain 75 pounds. I hope McFadden can stay healthy so when he becomes a free agent, he can go to a team with a prayer of a chance to win.

San Diego – getting older, still have ridiculous talent to win. Still not convinced that Norv Turner is the guy to take them there but he manages to scrape by. Last year again – scrapes into the playoffs and makes some noise in the first round. The problem for the Chargers is they don’t come to play every single game. I don’t know why. It baffles my mind with LT, Rivers, and Gates how that can happen but it has the last two years.

The NFL season can’t get here fast enough.

McDaniels as coach — I still don’t get it, honestly. I’m hopeful, just like the next fan but he’s got a lot to prove and he shortened his window to prove it in when the Cutler debacle went down. His draft wasn’t awesome either, neither was the offseason signings. Heck, one of the RB’s he signed didn’t even pass his physical. Trading a next year’s first for a this year’s second on an undersized CB…the list goes on but I also know that if Moreno turns out to be the next TD, everyone will forget the rest.

I’ll dance in the streets if the Broncos break .500 this year.

The Favre Chronicles
It could be argued that this is the number 1 story. I wouldn’t argue a whole lot. It’s just…it’s tiring. Just retire, 4. Look at how 7 did it and just quit. The Jet Experiment left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, going to the Vikings is just going to get worse. It would have been like Elway going to the Raiders. Unthinkable. Plus, the more he sticks around, the more he looks like a prima donna, the exact opposite of his legacy at Green Bay.

Brady Returns
I don’t fully understand the love affair with Tom Brady. He’s a great quarterback, don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see him in Blue and Orange given the options we’ve got. But Cassell took the team to 11-5. Not shabby. To be fair, Brady takes advantage of every mismatch ever on the field…due to coaching or talent or smarts – on one hand it doesn’t matter. He gets it done. On the other hand, I don’t think he’s the greatest ever, I don’t think the Patsies would be done if he got hurt or wasn’t there. Just saying…

Todd Haley at KC
Living in Topeka, I’m flooded with the Chefs info. It’s mildly irritating as they have little to no talent on this team. Their past drafts make Denver and Oakland look like geniuses…and that’s saying something. The biggest problem KC had was addressed this year – their GM and they got a great one. So over the next few years, I expect the Chefs to reach the level of annoyance that they traditionally have – having the ability to show up in your house and just hand it to you for 60 minutes. Making both the fans and the players that they’ve been in a car wreck when the game is over.

(As an aside – one of the most wicked hits I’ve ever seen was Dale Carter lighting up Elway on a roll out pass. It was a late hit, it got a yellow flag…but the entire stadium went silent waiting to see if 7 was getting up.)

But they’re not there yet. Most of the stories around here focus on Todd Haley – the fired up coach from Arizona. It’s been interesting to see the progression of him being a jerk, to just a tough guy, to a good guy who demands a lot from his players over the last few weeks on sports radio. Who knows what he’s really like, he’s in the same boat as McDaniels is in on one hand…but less pressure at this point, I think. Fans here are giving him the benefit of the doubt so far.

What’s been your favorite/least favorite moment of the offseason so far?

Why not keep Spencer Larsen to the MLB position?
Why not keep the current linebackers in when the others get healthy?
Why not just start Pope and Hillis in the backfield, using Bell as relief?
Why not keep blitzing on 3rd down?
Why not keep using Elvis on passing downs instead of every down?

It was the first game this season where the defense showed passion and played smart. The linemen actually kept the linebackers free to make tackles. The linebackers actually attacked the ball. There were still too many mental errors (offsides on a 4th down, 3 big plays at crucial times, dropped interceptions) to be a good defense but we’re beyond that hope. We’ll take acceptable or average and yesterday the Broncos gave us a little better than average performance.

It’s tempting to look at the win against Atlanta and say – “They should have beat this team.” But Denver has a history of choking when playing on turf, in a dome, on the road, in the Eastern Time Zone and against teams that can run the ball. Atlanta was all those things, Denver didn’t play a great game and still won.

Cutler – no picks. Offense – no giveaways. Special teams were special. Defense was average/above average. I’ll take it.

Matt Ryan played like a 3 year player, not the rookie he is. He’ll be a great quarterback.

Dre “Toast” Bly – you got handled all day long, you make one pick on a fair catch ball. Just toss the ball to the ref and shut your mouth. We don’t want to see you celebrate catching a ball my 10 year old could catch after the entire league has abused you all season long.

Winborn – love the passion. Catch the ball.

Peyton Hillis – the definition of a ‘football player.’

Spencer Larsen – see above.

Eddie Royal – special player.

Ryan Clady – a man among boys.

The Chargers losing to Pittsburgh gives the Broncs a 2 game lead in the AFC West. Chief fans – take heart. Yes, you are 1-9 and could likely only win one more game all year. But more than likely that win will be against Denver and it looks like you’ve found a starting QB. Now all you need is a coach.

I hear Norv Turner will be available at the end of the season.