OK, confusing title aside, it has come to my attention that the NFL is pretty confusing. I mean, that's obvious to readers by looking at my picks each week, but it's hard to get a grasp on this League from week to week. Not that that's a bad thing. I was going to do some Power Rankings, but it seems just wholly unnecessary at this point in the year. So instead I'll just write the things that have surprised me most from each division.AFC East - OK, bad example. This is the one division that has pretty much gone according to plan. The Patriots are really good (though probably even better than everyone thought), and the rest of the division is bad. The Patriots are 3-0, the other 3 teams are a combined 1-8. And the win was an inter-division win.
AFC North - I thought Pittsburgh would be good, but maybe not quite this dominating, as they have outscored their opponents 97-26. The other surprising thing is how atrocious the defenses of Cincinnati and Cleveland are. I mean, they've given up a combined 200 points so far. Of course, 96 of them came in one game, but still, it could be a long season for those clubs.
AFC South - Could this be the best division in football? At this point, it looks like it. Obviously, they are strong at the top with Indianapolis. But the rest of the division has looked very solid. Jacksonville is coming off of a win against Denver, Tennessee looked very impressive Monday night, and the Texans are 2-1. Not a bad start to the year for these teams.
AFC West - What has happened to this division? I thought Denver and San Diego would be 2 of the best teams in the AFC... both have looked very mediocre. What in the world has happened to those 2 teams? Denver has struggled for 2 wins against mediocre teams, and then got beat by Jacksonville. The San Diego offense has not picked up where it left off last year. Elsewhere, dormants Kansas City and Oakland have done what we've expected.
NFC East - How can the Eagles (and more specifically Donovan McNabb), look so bad over the first 2 weeks, and then score 56 in week 3? This is what I don't understand about the NFL. On a positive note for this division, the Cowboys appear to be the best team in the NFC. Of course, that could change next week... it's not really that hard to envision 0-3 St. Louis beating Dallas next week.
NFC North - The Bears have finally decided (according to reports) to go with Brian Griese as starter. I'm glad it only took them a little over a year to see that Grossman wasn't that good. Green Bay is playing great at 3-0, though I'm not sure how long an offense that consists of no running game and Brett Favre throwing 45 passes per game is going to last. But you have to give credit where it's due... this is working so far.
NFC South - Ladies and gentlemen, the worst division in the NFL! Seriously, what happened to the Saints? They look like the worst team in the NFL at this point... and they were my preseason NFC Super Bowl pick! Elsewhere, the Panthers are talented but inconsistent. Meaning the Bucs look like they may be the best team in the division. The defense is back.
NFC West - I don't really know what to make of this division, other than the fact that the Rams are a lot, lot, lot worse than I thought they would be. Everyone is else is so maddeningly inconsistent. I don't know what to think.
What has surprised you most about the NFL season so far?