Thanatos 2,847 Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) Alright, we have come to the halfway point in the 2018 NFL season, (already?), and the elites are beginning to separate themselves from the pack. I think we have a clear top echelon of teams, and some of the early season surprises are fading back into their usual selves. We have a juicy matchup between #1 and #2 this week (spoiler alert), so lets get right down to it. Largest Risers: PIT Steelers (+11), HOU Texans (+9), LA Chargers (+8), NE Patriots (+8) Largest Fallers: JAX Jaguars (-16), TEN Titans (-16), CHI Bears (-8), DEN Broncos (-8) Top Ten Matchups: #1 LA Rams @ #2 NO Saints, #10 GB Packers @ #3 NE Patriots 1. (8-0) (-): LA pulled one out they probably deserved to at least sweat on a bit more. Aaron Rodgers getting the ball with 2 minutes and a timeout only needing a FG is not a situation any defense wants to be in. The Rams are built from top to bottom for success and they are rolling. A huge, potential homefield deciding matchup is up next versus the only other team in football riding a six game winning streak. 2. (6-1) (+7): Nawlins defense has vastly improved since the first few weeks of the season and Drew Brees is not even having to strain himself sometimes to win games. They got a bit lucky last week versus Baltimore, but even so the worst case there is they go to OT. Soundly defeating Minny on their own turf after narrowly taking one also on the road versus Baltimore is a pair of games the Saints really love to come out 2-0 from, especially with a showdown versus the Rams up next. 3. (6-2) (+8): Tom Brady continues to defy Father Time, and yet another year is upon us where the Patriots will cruise to an AFC East title and a likely first round bye. It's easy to be ho-hum about what NE has done, but its honestly incredibly impressive in a league built for parity. 4. (7-1) (-2): The Chiefs Patrick Mahomes is doing incredible things in what is basically his rookie season as a starter, but KC's defense is what brings them down a notch. Versus the Patriots, Mahomes and co. put up 40 points... and still lost. It's hard to win in January with that kind of defense. They looked a lot better versus Cincy last Sunday night, and then held off Denver today. 5. (5-2) (+1): Carolina's dominating win versus Baltimore was simply a great four quarters of football after two straight weeks failing miserably in the first couple of quarters and then trying to mount a comeback, once successfully, and once failing in the opponent's redzone. If Cam plays like he did versus the Ravens formerly #2 overall passing defense, Carolina can beat anyone in the league. But he has to play that well consistently. Christian McCaffrey is a huge weapon in all phases of the game, and it's good to see DJ Moore finally getting some touches in the wake of the Torrey Smith injury. 6. (5-2) (+7): Washington is a very quiet 5-2, with a 1.5 game lead on the Eagles in the NFC East. Alex Smith has been effective, but its Adrian Peterson who is the surprise, looking like a much younger version of himself. He is at least top-5 in rushing yards in the NFL, and looks rejuvenated in Washington. 7. (4-3-1) (+7): The Vikes just got beat by the Saints, but overall in their last four games they have gone 3-1. The NFC North is absolutely up for grabs and I think this is the best team in it. Props to Adam Thielen, who is the first WR in NFL history to start a season with 8 straight 100 yard receiving games. 8. (5-2) (+8): The Chargers are certainly large risers since the quarter point, riding a 4 game winning streak. Rivers has been quietly having a fantastic year and LAC looks poised to make a run in the AFC. They have lost only to the Rams and the Chiefs, but they have also beaten mainly bad teams, with their best win probably being the W versus the Titans. 9. (4-2-1) (+11): Pittsburgh has re-taken their spot as perennial AFC North contenders, winning three straight since the quarter mark to put themselves in first place in the division. LeVeon Bell still hasn't played a snap and James Connor has made that not matter one bit. 10. (3-3-1) (-): Green Bay is at .500 after seven games, and right in the thick of things in the AFC North, only a half-game out of the lead. As they unquestionably have the best QB in the division, everything is right in front of them. They need to put that huge mistake by Ty Montgomery that likely cost them the game versus LAR behind them, and focus on the Patriots. 11. (4-3) (-8): Chicago looked good versus the Jets with a 24-10 victory to get back on track. This team had lost two in a row, including one to Brock Osweiler and the Dolphins, (what). Mack has been a godsend on defense, but even without him versus NYJ, the Bears still pulled out the W. 12. (5-3) (-5): Cincy's defense got absolutely roasted by the Chiefs on Sunday Night football, and then they nearly let Fitzmagic steal a win versus the Bucs. I get that they're 5-3, but this just feels like deja vu all over again. Cincy is going to sneak into the postseason in all likelihood, merely to end up as fodder for the big dogs once again. 13. (4-4) (-5): Back to back losses to the NFC South really hurts Baltimore. They never really had a shot versus Carolina mostly due to turnovers removing any shot at a comeback, but Tucker's first career missed XP was huge versus New Orleans. Baltimore needs to regroup with a rematch versus Pitt coming up, a game they absolutely must have. 14. (4-3) (+4): Only a close loss against the top team in football prevented the Hawks from winning 5 straight. They are looking good, though they are in a loaded NFC and will need to play like they have recently in order to make the postseason. Russell Wilson is playing some fantastic football, and David Moore has stepped up big time recently with four Tds in his last three games to give the Hawks offense some life. 15. (4-4) (-3): Philly needed that win in London to stop the bleeding after blowing a 17-0 lead to Carolina the previous week. The Eagles sit at .500 after 8 weeks, and that seems like a good place for them to be. They certainly look nothing like the defending champions, but only a game and a half back from the division leaders means they still have plenty of time to turn this around. Given the loaded NFC, I doubt a wildcard comes from the East, so a division title is likely necessary to make the postseason. 16. (5-3) (+9): Houston has made a large leap forward, winning four straight to advance to 5-3 which gives them a 1.5 game lead on the Titans in the AFC South, and Houston has looked like the best team in that division for the past few weeks. 17. (3-4) (+2): Dallas' defense is playing very well, one of the best in the NFC in terms of yards and points, but their offense is flat out stuck in neutral. I know a lot of the blame always falls on the QB, but Dak has no weapons to throw to outside of Cole Beasley and Elliot out of the backfield. The midseason trade to get Amari Cooper may have been a hefty price, but the Boys can absolutely compete in the East if they can just get some offense going. 18. (3-4): (+3): Atlanta is looking up at both Carolina and the Saints in the NFC South, three games back from the lead. They absolutely must take the next two matchups versus those division rivals to have any shot at climbing back into this one. 19. (3-4) (+5): Detroit has won 2 of their last three games, but losing to Seattle hurts. It was a game the Lions really needed to take, though with the NFC North all neck and neck, they are still in prime position to make a run. 20. (3-4) (-16): Tennessee had a great shot at taking a game from the Chargers in London, but couldn't quite seal the deal. The run-game has got to step up for the Titans to take some of the pressure off of Mariota's shoulders. 21. (3-5): (-16): There was a lot of talk about the Jags finishing what they missed out on last year. I think they forgot the NFL never gives you anything. Losers of four straight, Jacksonville is in full blown desperation mode, looking up at both the Titans and Texans in the AFC South. 22. (3-5) (+4): The AFC South comes in nearly all back to back, as the Colts find themselves right back in the thick of things at 3-5. Only two games behind Houston, the Colts could easily storm right back into the division race. 23. (3-5): (-8): Denver is likely out of things at the midway point, losers of three of their past four and simply too far back to catch Los Angeles and KC, especially with the latter having two wins in head to head matchups. 24. (4-4) (-7): Losers of 3 of their last four, the Fins do boast an OT win over the Bears. But this team has an easy schedule and will probably end up 8-8 or even 9-7 despite not being all that good. Some of the pieces are there for future seasons, but at least one of those pieces wants out in a bad way. 25. (3-4) (-3): Fitzmagic returned on Sunday versus the Bengals, but it wasn't quite enough to dig the Bucs out of the four-INT hole that Winston had put them in. It will be very very interesting to see if Tampa gives Winston a $20 million/year contract in the offseason, and I'm unsure how much less than that he would take. 26. (3-5) (+2): New York has played some really good games, (the absolute dismantling of Denver comes to mind), and some really bad ones. They're not going to be going to the postseason this year, but Sam Darnold gives them promise for the future. Get the man some weapons and let him see what he can do. 27. (2-5-1) (-4): Cleveland has at least been very entertaining this season, though Sunday's domination by Pittsburgh showed this team still has quite a ways to go to be competitive. Baker Mayfield is electric, the Browns might want to try to move Tyrod to get some compensation for him. Jacksonville might be interested. 28. (2-6) (+2): Buffalo's season is toast at the midway point, they need to just let Josh Allen let it rip for the rest of the season and see what they've got at this point. 29. (2-6) (+3): Arizona has won two games, but both of them were against the Niners, who are bringing up the rear in our midseason power rankings. Josh Rosen has been up and down as a rookie starter, but he essentially just has Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson as weapons on offense. 30. (1-6) (+1): Oakland fell to the Colts in a high scoring affair, another game where the Raiders could have used the services of Khalil Mack. However it is tough to imagine one DE being able to turn this team into a contender, so perhaps Gruden is right not to overpay for him when the Raiders need a rebuild before being a viable contender. Getting a first round pick for Amari Cooper honestly seems like a good trade to me, I don't think he was playing up to his first round status. 31. (1-7) (-5): The Giants played Carolina tough, but outside of that one offensive attack, their offense has been extremely stagnant save for OBJ making insane catches and Saquon Barkley trying his best to win his team the game single handed. Barkley has been amazing, but when your QB can't get anything going at all, it's hard for a RB to carry the team. This should probably be Eli's last year. 32. (1-7) (-3): San Fran's season went into the tank with Jimmy G's injury, and now you almost want to lose a lot of games to give him some more help next season. They played GB competitive on Monday Night, which was a surprise, but they simply dont have the talent to compete every week. Edited October 30, 2018 by Thanatos 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted October 30, 2018 1) Rams 2) Chiefs 3) Patriots 4) Saints 5) Chargers 6) everybody else Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) Don't really get how LAC is above Carolina or Washington. LAC has beaten no one, and got handled by both the Chiefs and the Rams. Carolina dominated Baltimore from the word go and came back from 17-0 to nearly beat Washington and the finished the comeback versus Philly. Meanwhile the Skins have some puzzling losses (to Indy and then the blowout to NO), but overall have a far more impressive resume than the Chargers, IMO. Edited October 31, 2018 by Thanatos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) Nathan Peterman and his Merry Friends 32. Giants (1-7) Positives: Saquon Barkley is the truth, and if they gave awards to offensive linemen, Will Hernandez would be winning rookie lineman of the year and at least be in discussions for OROTY. Giving it to Saquon should be a joint award to him as well. Negatives: Basically everything else? Eli is done and the rest of that offensive line cannot pass block to save his life. The defense has some decent pieces, but Landon Collins isn't the game changing all star that they need him to be, and no one else is really stepping up in that secondary. Olivier Vernon is getting healthy though, which is a big boost. The rest of the defense is on other teams now. 31. 49ers (1-7) Positives: Uh... Some of the young defensive pieces are good? Negatives: Whew boy, was I wrong in thinking this team could do work with or without Jimmy. CJ Beathard doesn't seem like he'll ever be ready to be an NFL starter, the offensive line is weakened after they gave their best lineman to the patriots this offseason, and the defense can't make takeaways. Shanahan is going to need to find some creativity or get some help from his D if he wants to avoid drafting in the top 5 this year. 30. Cardinals (2-6) Positives: Christian Kirk is looking like a future star in this league, and Byron Leftwich through a single game is already twice the coordinator Mike McCoy ever was. Negatives; The offense is stalling out, and for a team deep in a rebuild, they don't seem to be making the moves they need to rebuild properly. The defensive players don't fit the scheme, which sucks because there is a lot of talent there. Trading guys like Deone Buccanon who don't fit the scheme would have gone a long way towards building for the Steve Wilks future... if there is one of those. 29. Raiders (1-6) Positives: This team can play hard for thirty minutes every sunday. Negatives: There are 60 minutes in a football game. 28. Browns (2-5-1) Positives: The team is incredibly talented, Baker Mayfield has more potential than any other QB the Browns have had since Tim Couch, and they just fired the losingest coach in football history (close enough). Negatives: The team drops too many passes, they traded their best player to the Patriots for nothing (sounds familiar), they're still young and get easily rattled, and QB potential is often not lived up to. I know Browns fans had hope, and even though you are making games close, you're just the same old Browns. 27. Bills (2-6) Positives: That defense is stifling and great at forcing turnovers. Negatives: This offense is stifling and great at giving up the ball. Josh Allen is about three times better than Peterman or Anderson, and he's nearly last place on my quarterback rankings. McCoy is invisible, the receivers can't get seperation, and the offensive line is held together with Dion Dawkins and 4 cardboard cutouts who can only vaguely be called linemen. Better Luck Next Year 26. Broncos (3-5) Positives: Von Miller is still a sack artist, and we finally have a running game for the first time since we fired Mike Shanahan. Negatives: Case Keenum is basically just Trevor Siemian but we paid him more, the offensive line can't figure out pass pro, and we have no run stopping power in the middle of the D. 25. Jets (3-5) Positives: When this team is hot, they can play tight against any team in the league. Negatives: About as consistent as a McDonald's Ice Cream Machine. 24. Cowboys (3-4) Positives: That defense found some fire, and that front 7 can really provide a lot of pressure. Jaylon Smith is looking every bit like a guy who should have been a first round pick. Negatives: Dak Prescott simply cannot function without elite line play and at least one receiver who can get seperation. Ezekiel Elliott is still doing fine, but it's clear this offense misses Travis Frederick. 23. Titans (3-4) Positives: This team has a lot of grit, and can win ugly if need be. Negatives: The guy who was supposed to be their franchise QB is running scared, and nobody comes back from that sort of mental damage. Another promising player wasted in Tennessee. 22. Jaguars (3-5) Positives: Not a whole lot recently. Ever since it was revealed Ted Danson was making them win games on the hit TV Show "The Good Place" they've reverted back to normalcy. Negatives: That vaunted defense is getting run over, the offense can't make plays, and they love dropping the football more than anything else. They really remind me of last year's Cowboys who just couldn't function without their star rookie back. 21. Buccaneers (3-4) Positives: The Ryan Fitzmagic cycle has helped them to a lot of wins, and pound for pound they may have the best group of receivers in the league. Negatives: That defense gets gashed open like a hemophiliac at a Michael Myers convention, the running game is pretty weak, and relying on Ryan Fitzpatrick is a recipe for disaster in this league. The Middle of the Road is the Road Less Traveled. 20. Colts (3-5) Positives: Andrew Luck is starting to shake his groove thang again. Marlon Mack, Jack Doyle and T.Y. Hilton are forming the all underrated squad in Indy. Negatives: The defense is opportunistic, but still lack the serious talent to contain top offenses. They can't be counted on to win shootouts every week. 19. Lions (3-4) Positives: The offense is looking like a complete unit, Stafford as a wily veteran gunslinger, and Kerryon Johnson provides the boom running the ball. Negatives: This secondary is too easily exposed, opposing passers can run a train on these guys, and for all the talent the offense has, they can't quite perform up to par for whatever reason. They play worse than they should be, all things considered. 18. Dolphins (4-4) Positives: They really buy into their coaches scheme, and despite being one of the least talented teams in the league, they're getting the most out of their guys. Negatives: They can't stop teams from running on them, the loss of Suh is really being felt, especially since they couldn't get a guy to replace him in the draft. The combination of Brock and Tanny at QB is also a major detriment when games start becoming do or die. 17. Falcons (3-4) Positives: Matt Ryan is making a solid case for MVP this year, keeping his team in games that his defense keep trying to take him out of. Negatives: Oh, got ahead of myself there. With most of their best players hurt on the defensive side of the ball, the gameplan is typically just survive the offensive onslaught and make sure Matt Ryan gets the ball last. 16. Texans (5-3) Positives: That defense is starting to find it's spot after a rough start to the season. J.J. Watt is starting to return to form, and if you remember, he was the best defensive player in the league in his prime. Negatives: While DeShaun Watson is hella dynamic, he is also very sack prone, and very turnover prone. Turnovers will sink any promising team, but the Texans have a fast track to the playoff race in a weak division, and being a member of the far weaker conference this year. 15. Ravens (4-4) Positives: The Ravens defense is stifling once again. Except against Cam Newton... man they did not have an answer for him and those Panther weapons. Justin Tucker is still really good, don't let that XP miss get you down. He just went from infallible god to greatest kicker you've ever seen. Negatives: Well after 8 weeks, maybe Joe Flacco is still who we thought he was? This Ravens offense has failed to impress despite big money additions to the receiving corps. Might be time to cut ties with Flacco after the season ends, and fully commit to the Lamar Jackson experiment, instead of running this wildcat bullhonky. 14. Bengals (5-3) Positives: You got to love Andy Dalton, dude just balls out every single sunday. Too bad he's still not prime time ready. Negatives: This defense is porous and playing stupid. You expect nothing less from a Marvin Lewis coached team, and if they do make the playoffs, you can guarantee an early exit. 13. Packers (3-3-1) Positives: Aaron Rodgers pretty much brings this team up 15 spots or so. Negatives: Jesus christ if they didn't have Rodgers they'd be so so bad. The coaching is disgusting, the lack of talent on defense forces so many bad situations on their end, and boneheaded plays kept them from having a chance against the Rams. At least they traded away their second biggest bonehead. To bad the biggest one is still coaching the team. Wild Cards 12. Eagles (4-4) Positives: Carson Wentz is one of the most cerebral QB's in this league, and a treat to watch every sunday. They're also really talented in the trenches, though they have taken a few hits compared to their dominance last year. Negatives: Suffering from a serious case of mental midgetry. It might be the super bowl hangover, it might be cockiness, but this team is not finishing games. The Titans out ground them, the Panthers came back from 17 down, and the Vikings did just enough to turn their chances of winning to zero with a huge 6 minute drive in the 4th. This team is a super bowl contender, but only if they figure out how to win those close battles. 11. Steelers (4-2-1) Positives: Le'Veon Bell? Who gives a shit. James Conner has slid into the role of Steelers runningback and has done it with aplomb. Like seriously, not enough people are talking about what's he's doing. Bell might be an elusive talent, but Conner is the kind of guy who you can plug in and he'll perform admirably in any system. This offense is one of the best in the league when it's on... and oh baby is it on right now. Negatives: The secondary is still really suspect, but getting Joe Haden off of injury helps a lot. He may not be an elite corner these days, but he can still dance with a teams best option and buy the defense an extra second or two every play. This team is really missing the killer instinct Ryan Shazier provided though. 10. Chargers (5-2) Positives: Philip Rivers is trying to make sure people don't forget his name. He doesn't want to be known as the third guy of that 2004 draft class, he wants to be known as the best guy. The combination of Ekeler and Gordon at runningback make their offense multi talented, and their offense is relatively scar free at this point of the season. Negatives: They're still missing their best player on defense, the mercenary Joey Bosa really gave that team a stifling pass rush, and limited opposing offenses so much. Losing Verrett hasn't been as big a loss as I would have anticipated though, they're getting some good work out of their depth corners. 9. Seahawks (4-3) Positives: A heavy focus on the run has changed this Seahawks identity from a team that needs Russell Wilson to do everything, to a team that can make Russell Wilson thrive. He's always been at his best as a highly efficient passer, and when you give him a weapon or two, he makes a huge difference. The defense is doing a great job forcing turnovers, and while no one will confuse this secondary for the Legion of Boom, they are sitting around 5th in most passing defense stats. Maybe it's time we start giving Tedric Thompson and Shaquill Griffin some noise? Negatives: It's not all sunshine and rainbows for this team, as injuries and roster turnover have depleted their front seven a fair deal. Teams can run with some effectiveness on them, and they don't match up as well against the more physical receivers. 8. Vikings (4-3-1) Positives: I talk a lot about MVP campaigns, but Adam Thielen is certainly the best guy who won't win it this year, because MVP's always go to QB's. Kirk Cousins looks electric and every bit worth what they are paying him. The third down defense has been oppressive as well, the problem is just forcing 4th downs. Negatives: Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers. Kirk is having a lot of fumbles this year and recovering way less than he normally would. That sort of variance tends to level out over time, but the NFL season is short and every data point matters. The kicking game cost them a few wins early in the season, but Dan Bailey seems to have alleviated those problems. The defense has also been maddeningly inconsistent. One second Harrison Smith is Thor on the field, the next he's Loki getting choked out by Thanos. The Vikings are supposed to be the Thanos of the league this season, but they've just fallen short against the real contenders. 7. Redskins (5-2) Positives: Adrian Peterson drank from the fountain of youth. Vernon Davis drank from the fountain of youth. Alex Smith... well he's been what you typically expect from Alex Smith. And that's fine. Regular Alex Smith is the kind of quarterback who wins you games in this league. The Line has been solid, Jordan Reed is healthy, the Kicker is consistent, and the coaching is on point. It's not pretty but that's how you're supposed to win games. They also have a really weak schedule to work with, but NFC East games really shouldn't count for strength of schedule because they all exist within their own chaos dimension where reality is merely a suggestion. Negatives: Speed can punish this secondary. Josh Norman is a very good corner in zones and very physical, but he can't be expected to guard the deep routes. DJ Swearinger is having a great season, but the things that make him great can make him a target in coverage as well. The addition of Ha-Ha Clinton Dix will do a lot to shore up this weakness though, and strikes me as the best move in this flurry of trade deadline moves. 6. Panthers (5-2) Positives: Cam Newton is having a great season, probably his best since his MVP run in 2015. The weapons around him may not be conventional, but they are doing work this year combining speed and elusiveness to make a sort of hydra of threats for the Carolina offense. Combined with good injury luck, and a hungry defense and you've got a recipe for a real strong team. Negatives: Coaching. There are a lot of teams with bad coaching in this league, but few consistently squander the talent around them like Ron Rivera does. Cam Newton is one of the primary playmakers in this league, and can turn a nothing play into something, but he really shouldn't be asked to do that 10+ times a game. That's no key to success. This forces a very talented team to make a lot of comebacks, or rely on big splash plays to get them out of the intelligence hole they get put into. Contenders 5. Bears (4-3) Positives: While this might seem high for the Bears, they've got a hungry defense with a nose for the ball, a QB who is playing with striking efficiency, and a two headed run game that can find daylight no matter the circumstances. This team has a good thing going on, and with a young QB who has a lot of help, you shouldn't really be surprised to see the Bears making real waves this year. Negatives: There is something intangible missing from the Bears though. Whether it's the killer instinct, the "poise" of those great teams, or just a player who can close out games on defense, it feels like they are just missing that key ingredient to take them a step forward. Whether that comes in time or not remains to be seen, but they need to find a way to close out games. They gave up a massive lead to the Packers in week 1 against a hobbled Aaron Rodgers. They had the game in their hands against Miami and blew it. They had the lead against New England, but couldn't put up enough to hold it. They can kill teams but forget to put them away and that will be a critical thing to fix in the second half of the season. 4. Saints (6-1) Positives: Drew Brees is as efficient as ever. Father Time just does not slow him down. This team's dedication and preparation on offense is unmatched. Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas are no slouches themselves, and are proving to be some of the best weapons Brees has ever had in his illustrious career. Negatives: That defense which was so stout last year seems to have taken a step back. We aren't in the worst defense in the league category anymore, like they were in the Rob Ryan era, but they are having a difficult time handling receivers, and giving up a lot of big plays. The addition of Eli Apple should diminish that a little bit, but it's hard to count on a defense when guys run all over them. 3. Chiefs (7-1) Positives: Patrick Mahomes is injecting new excitement in the NFL with every play he makes. This offense has so many weapons, so many ways of killing you, and a guy who prepares like each game is his last. There is a lot of positive to look forward to in Kansas City, and this guy is why. Even when he plays poorly he still does so much for his offense. Negatives: Like the Saints below them, the Chiefs fundamentally lack on defense. Other than handling Primetime Andy Dalton and getting a lot of fluke picks on Bortles, the Chiefs have given Case Keenum his best games of the season, let Jimmy G run wild on them, and made sure Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Tom Brady had their best games of the season against them, putting up tons of points and tons of yards. All of this is a recipe for disaster in the postseason, because as we all know, you need to be at least marginal on D to win a championship. Maybe they can rely on Dee Ford and Chris Jones to make important plays, but wishing for luck gives you the same odds as every other team in this league. 2. Rams (8-0) Positives: They just find ways to win. When Gurley is shut down, they go to Goff. When Goff can't make the magic happen, Gurley is there. When the defense is weak? The Special teams steps up. Aaron Donald is a force in the middle, and adding all the pieces they have to that line is just making that front really difficult to deal with. Negatives: They are going through a murderer's row of a schedule. They aren't winning games with style points unless they're beating bottom feeders, and the defense has shown it can be exploited, especially with the injuries piling up in the secondary. However, they are making a real super bowl push here, and should definitely be considered the favourites this early on. However they have the Saints, Seahawks and Chiefs right before the bye, so it'll be interesting to see if they keep their win streak going. 1. Patriots (6-2) Positives: You've got Tom Brady and you have Bill Belichick. Do I need to say anymore? They might have lost two games in September, but that's just the Patriot Way(c). Josh Gordon gives the offense an absolute playmaker over the top, and getting Edelman off suspension means no third down is safe from the Greasy Wheel. And Gronk is as unstoppable as ever. The defense seems to be clicking these past few weeks as well, getting key plays out of all sorts of players. Negatives: The run game is facing a lot of injuries with Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead both being injured. However James White was a super bowl MVP (in our hearts) two years ago, so it's not really that much of a downgrade as it is an attrition sort of thing. The Patriots still remain year in and year out, the pinnacle in the NFL and the team you need to surpass if you want a Lombardi trophy. Edited October 31, 2018 by RazorStar 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites