My hometown New England Patriots.
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I'm not going to be biased, I'm going to be realistic. Tom Brady is still on top of the MVP watch and he doesn't even have Gronk to throw to. Did that effect him much? Nope, Tom the Terrific always finds someone to throw to, like Welker, and he ended up leading all fantasy scorers the past week still. I haven't even got to the Pats defense either, talk about opportunistic. The players on this defense have been taught to go for the ball, and force turnovers, and clearly it's worked. The two leaders in the NFL in forced fumbled with 5 both come from the Patriots: Rob Ninkovich and Brandon Spikes. Rookie Chandler Jones adds in another 3 forced fumbles and 6 sacks. Jerod Mayo leads the NFL in tackles with 112. Basically what I'm trying to say is, if you thought the Patriots defense had problems, you're wrong. Ask Andrew Luck and the Colts and Mark Sanchez and the Jets if you don't believe it.
Yes, we allow offenses to get yards against us, we have a weak secondary, but hopefully fitting in Aqib Talib and getting some other players back healthy will fix that up. Plus, our points for verses points allowed differential is +163, the next closest is San Francisco with +121. Our offense has scored a whooping 407 points, where as the next closest (Houston) has scored 327. I'm not going to dive into it much, but lets not forget the fact that the Patriots could be undefeated right now, if it weren't for some uncharacteristic, costly mistakes. The three games we lost were by a combined margin of 4 freaken points. Once we get Gronk back and have him and Hernandez together again finally, we will be deadly.
The Baltimore Ravens, or shall I say Ray motherfucking Rice.
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Ever since Mr. Rice decided to destroy the Patriots including an 80 yard touchdown run on the first play in the playoffs, I haven't doubted his talent. He runs this team, no pun intended, and he is basically their 3rd best receiver too. I also think Joe Flacco is so underrated and doesn't get the credit he deserves. He consistently gets 3,600 yards, literally: 3,613, 3,622 and 3,610 in the past three years respectively. This year though, he is on pace to get a little less then 4,100. That's just about what Tom Brady had his first few years, and we all know how that turned out.
I think if Torrey Smith keeps developing like he is, and the Ravens get another good receiver, you won't wanna mess with their offense. Their defense, on the other hand, which they used to rely on the most, is now unreliable, and might be their downfall. I actually hate their defense because it's filled with dirty players *cough* Bernard Pollard *cough* but they CAN be very tough to get past at times. The key to their success starts with the offense, because the old defensive players they have need their rest, so the longer the offense stays on the field, the better. In addition, I don't think getting Ray Lewis back will help them all that much, he is a beast, but he almost seems better as a coach then what his age allows him to do on the field nowadays. Lastly, I have to mention that Justin Tucker is doing a great job taking the place of the Cundiff.
I'm gunna have to give them low odds cause Houston DESTROYED them and I don't even think Houston is that good.
The San Francisco 49'ers and their QB dilemma.
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I knew the Niners were going to beat the Bears Monday night, but not by 25 points. When you talk about San Fran, you talk about a defense led by Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith, and NaVorro Bowman just to name a few. You might as just well play their whole defense for the NFC in the pro bowl because any defense that scores as much points as an all star QB in fantasy football is amazing. Somehow the excellence of the Niners doesn't stop there, as they also have the most rushing yards per game in the NFL and 2 starting QBs.
That's just it though, that's their biggest problem. What's the point of playing Kaepernick when Alex Smith is by far the best average quarterback there is. I love how he is average, he was made for this team, he doesn't have to be amazing because San Fran can run the ball and their defense scores more points then many offenses. So why have controversy and make a problem over the starting QB position when there was never a problem to begin with, Jim Harbaugh? If I was Alex Smith, and was taken out by a concussion, I would be PISSED if I wasn't put right back in once I was healthy, and oh believe me, he isn't a very happy football player right now. Whether this sparks something or puts a halt to the teams progress - only time will tell. Either way, the Niners aren't losing because of a fumbled punt return this year, and San Francisco may have to call up the championship parade again already.
The New York Giants (dull) (dull) (dull)
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So the Giants... They are notable for playing a shitty regular season then a mean postseason. Someone should tell then that every game is a playoff game, then they would be undefeated. To start, they have a better tight end (Martellus Bennett) then they did last year, and a I can see Ruben Randle figuratively taking the place of Mario Manningham. However, if the Giants play like they did the past three games prior to tonight, they don't even deserve a chance at the playoffs, it'd be BS!
I don't think Eli Manning is a top notch QB at all, I think he can have top notched games, but to be a top notched player, you have to make a positive impact on your team 99% of the time, and he certainly doesn't, but that's not to take away from his skills present. Bradshaw already has more yards then he did all of last regular season, and the Giants defense has some nice games and some games to forget, but I do think they have improved a lot since the start of the season. I also think that dominating Green Bay says more good for the Giants then it does bad for the Packers. Perhaps they are finally ready to compete, and a hot Giants team is a SCARY team.
The Denver Broncos and their win streak
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When the AFC was looking weak, the Broncos started winning, and winning and winning. Now they have the longest active win streak actually, and it's no joke. They are most definitely on their way to an AFC West title, when at the start of the season no one even gave them a chance. Unlike any other QB besides Tom Brady, Peyton Manning can give any receiver, no matter how skilled, a name for himself. Brandon Stokley, Jacob Tamme, Eric Decker and even Demaryius Thomas have all improved miles under the guidance of the future hall of fame QB.
Earlier in the season however, the Broncos lost to three teams they will need to beat if they want a chance at a championship. And losing their top 10 running back in McGahee won't help their cause. If Moreno can be decent, and Manning keeps doing his thing, the Broncos could certainly go undefeated the rest of the way on their path to the superbowl. And their defense has been quiet but very strong lately, especially the pass defense. I see good things stemming from this team.
The Atlanta Falcons, what's their freaking deal?
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Honestly, I love how the Falcons make every game they play so fricken difficult. It's like they want to make their games super entertaining and give Matt Bryant all these chances at game winning field goals. Matt Ryan not ever winning a playoff game and handing interceptions away like he did in a game against the Cardinals may be a problem, but really, that's not his fault. Matt Ryan is GREAT, he is the next big thing, but it's gunna have to take a little more consistency from Roddy White and Julio Jones. And it's gunna have to take a little more intelligence from Matt Ryan. If either White or Jones hasn't been open the whole game, GO TO YOUR GREAT TIGHT END TONY GONZALEZ! The fact that the player with the most receiving yards on their team has been different on a weekly basis with the exception of one two week period is great news for the Falcons.
They have talent but they can be better, their defense is great, but it shouldn't matter how great it is because I know their offense can really light a team up. Matt Ryan needs to shut off the critics, relax, and play his game. The Falcons other big problem is running... Michael Turner could be used in their offense so much better, but overall, they have pretty good team chemistry.
