Contender or Pretender

Here's a quick look at the Division leaders this far and the K&S experts opinion about their chances this season. Enjoy.

 

AFC

The Bills @ 4-0 in the East

Pres K says – Contender – With Tom Brady out in New England and the Dolphins in a rebuilding process the division is weak.  The Jets will give the Bills competition though.  The Bills haven't had the easiest time beating bad and mediocre teams – Seattle in Week 1, Raiders in Week 2 and at Seattle in Week3 – which is a concern I have.  But come back victories show something of a team and the pieces in Buffalo seem to be fitting. 

Chairman says – Contender – Like Pres K said, this division is wide open. The problem is that now with the Pats losing Brady then the Jets, the Bills, and the Pats are all at the same level. I look for the Bills to hang on to this division because they have such a nice head start. That doesn't mean that they will be the best team in the AFC East at the end of the year though.

 

Pittsburgh @ 3-1 in the North

Pres K says – Contender – The Steelers have a stout defense ranking 4^th in points and 2^nd in yards, but the offense is struggling with the O-line missing assignments and injuries to key running backs.  Pittsburgh has a tough schedule from here on out, but the division is still wide open with Baltimore and the struggling Browns and Bengals.

Chairman says – Contender – The Steelers are benefited now from playing in a loser division. A lot of people thought the Browns were going to be good teams again this year but those people were wrong, very wrong. So now the Steelers just have to fend off the Ravens and the Ravens are sure to fade with a rookie QB and head coach. So again, like the east, the Steelers just need to hang on to make the playoffs.

  

Titans @ 4-0 for the South

Pres K says – Pretender – This is a tough one, but I'm going to say Pretender.  Being in the same division as Indy and the Jags, I just don't see the Titans staying at the top.  They have a good, young defense and, right now, Kerry Collins is doing well, but they have to Indy twice and the Jags twice and I just don't see it happening.    

Chairman says – Contender – When I say contender, I am saying it as in the sense of a Super Bowl Contender! These guys are what football is supposed to be about. They are smash mouth, line up and whip the guy in front of you football. I like that style of football when it comes to winning playoff games. Indy is old and rusty and the Jags are underachievers like Macaulay Culkin's acting career. So, look for the Titans to keep up this pace, as long as they keep VY on the bench. Jeff Fisher is too good a coach to go back to VY when he can ride Kerry Collins to another Super Bowl.

 

Broncos @ 3-1 for the West

Pres K says – Pretender – They are in a division with the Chiefs and Raiders.  Although the Broncos just dropped a game in KC, they squeezed out a victory against the Chargers.  Cutler leads a high potent offense, but the team lacks a defense.  San Diego has two tough losses, but will eventually take over the lead in this division.      

Chairman says – Pretender – The Broncos are the bottle rocket in the fireworks show. They shot out quick then their bubble pops before any real action. Simply put the Chargers were robbed of the victory by stupid rules in and a bad call in against these Broncos. Other than that game we would be talking about the Chargers as contenders instead of the Broncos as pretenders today. You have to play on both sides of the ball to win in this league and the Broncos are nothing but overrated jokes when they don't have the ball.

 

NFC

Giants @ 3-0 in the East

Pres K says – Contender – The Giants are playing at the same level as at the end of last year during the Super Bowl run.  It's the toughest division with Dallas, Philly and Washington are seeming to compete early.  The team is balanced – good defense, good offense.  I expect them to compete, and are definitely a contender in my book.

Chairman says – PRETENDER – This team struggled to beat the Bengals at home. They are playing nothing like a team that took down the undefeated Patriots and a large part of it is because this is a totally different defense. This team is also falling apart. Their best player Plax I beat my wife all day Burress is another problem wide receiver who is Eli's only decent target. Simply put this team is not good enough to outlast their division. I would expect them to come in last in this division before I would expect them to come in first.

 

Packers @ 2-2 in the North

Pres K says – Pretender – Based on their play thus far, I see too many uncertainties.  Aaron Rodgers still looks to be injury prone and the defense does not look to be as forceful as it was last year.  I see the Packers competing for the top spot in the division with Chicago and Minnesota, but ultimately see them losing out.

Chairman says – Pretender – The problem with this team is that the rest of the division is getting better and they are getting worse. Aaron the Anointed One doesn't figure to make it through the season and his beginners luck is running out. The running game is not nearly good enough to beat Minnesota or Chicago at this point.

 

Panthers @ 3-1 in the South

Pres K says – Contender – The Panthers have beat San Diego and Chicago, two teams I expect to compete for the playoffs.  The only quarterback in the division that has proven to better than Delhomme is Drew Brees, who is playing at the top of his game.  However, it is the defense of the Panthers that I think will help take this team to the playoffs.  It may not always be pretty with this Carolina team, but scrappy play goes a long way.    

 

Chairman says – CONTENDER – Jake the Snake (recently named Offensive Player of the Week) is back and that means that the playoffs will be back in Charlotte. The Panthers beat the Falcons like a drum last week and showed that along with Steve Smith and Moose Mohammed that this offense is capable of resting the defense to keep a fresh unit on the field in the fourth quarter. The rest of the division is a middle of the pack kind of talent level while Carolina has a solid squad in every aspect of the game. If the Panthers continue to improve week to week then they are a solid contender for big things come January.

 

Cards @ 2-2 in the West

Pres K says – Contender – Can the Cardinals finally be good? Perhaps this year is their year.  Veteran Kurt Warner is still slinging the ball to some high-target receivers.  The defense is okay and the running game could be better.  But, the Cards are in the division with the 49ers and Seattle will contend in this unsettled division.

Chairman says – Contender – This division is about as wide open as Paris Hilton's you know what. There is no reason the Cardinals can't win this division. Despite their terrible defense last week this team will be good enough on defense to keep them in the rest of their games. As long as wide out Boldin returns to form once he gets over his sinus problem then this team will roll as the season goes along. Seattle is old and focusing on Coach Mike's retirement party. San Francisco is run by a bunch of ego maniacs who think that coaches and owners are the stars. St. Louis just turned its team over to the head of the worst defense in the league for the rest of the season. So, the Cardinals are easily the only contender out west.