With the season 6 weeks deep now, let's start to whittle away at the NFC teams that are pretty much no longer threats to occupy playoff berths. We'll be updating every week:
Dead and buried:
The Lions, although perhaps one of the most improved teams in the league, find themselves at 1-5 (should be 2-4), despite having a +6 point differential. They'll win some games this season, but their playoff hopes are done.
The Panthers stink.
On life support:
Oh, how sweet it is to see the Cowboys sitting at 1-4. They're 2.5 games behind both the Giants and Eagles in the NFC East, and are a complete mess. I can't kill them off yet though.
The NFC West is the worst division in football, which is the only thing keeping the 49ers alive at 1-5.
Bad teams with respectable records:
The Rams, Seahawks, and Cardinals all have a legitimate shot at winning that terrible division, as do the aforementioned Niners. So unfortunately, one of these garbage teams will occupy a playoff berth. The Buccaneers have looked spry at times with Josh Freeman at the helm, but let's not kid ourselves about them.
Overachieving:
Based upon record alone, the Bears, at 4-2, probably fit this category better than the Redskins. The Redskins have impressively knocked off 3 teams that are more talented than them - the Cowboys, Eagles, and Packers.
Underachieving:
The preseason favorite Packers and Vikings are disappointments so far, sitting at 3-3 and 2-3, respectively.
The Enigma:
I really have no idea what to make of the Falcons, and I won't try. They've won a few games lucky, and looked downright awful yesterday. But still, they're 4-2 and have plenty of talent, so it's tough to put them lower than this.
Alive and Kicking:
The Giants, Eagles, and Saints (in no particular order) are the 3 teams that seem to be playing the best football in this lousy NFC so far this season.
From here on out, a full obituary will be written for every team that dies. I think it might be fun to have our community members write up the obits for each team (something short and succinct that sums up their crappy season - about 2-3 paragraphs). You can choose the team you wish to eulogize (first come, first serve - choose your team in the comment section), and when I feel that they're done, I'll email you letting you know it's time to get to work. We'll also continue it through the playoffs. I call the Cowboys!
Lions | Dead - Bob_Q |
Panthers | Dead - Eagles805 |
49ers | Henry de Koeyer |
Bears | Wormburn |
Buccaneers | PF_Flyers |
Cardinals | oldasquick |
Cowboys | JimmyK |
Eagles | Nobody. We'll all be too bitter. |
Falcons | Open |
Giants | Get Jackson a better nickname |
Packers | Udalango |
Rams | Rujasu |
Redskins | PolishMiracle |
Saints | bigmeanie08 |
Seahawks | Tracer Bullet |
Vikings | EREX21 |