Written by Isaac Barber. Media by Joe Hubbs.
Ah Yes… 7 weeks of the National Football League are in the books. And just when you think you have a grip on what the NFL season is going to look like, BAM!!, it just changes. The last two weeks have been filled with injuries, standing changes, and the Cardinals and Red Sox are in the World Series ( Not football related at all, but it is the World Series, I love the Red Sox so they make this article). Now on to our winners and losers of the first 7 Weeks of the NFL season.
Losers
NFC South
The NFC South only has one bright spot in the entire division so far, and that my friends are the New Orleans Saints with a record of 5-1. I know the season is still fairly young, but the production of this conference is pretty low. The Atlanta Falcons were picked by many experts to be a Super Bowl contender, and some went as far as even as to pick them as their Super Bowl winner… they are 2-4 and the playoffs aren’t looking to promising for them. The Carolina Panthers are at .500, they have yet to win a conference game, and Cam Newton is still underachieving as a Number 1 pick. The Good ol’ Tampa Bay Bucs have not won a game yet, and the likelihood of them winning a game is greatly decreasing because of injuries and lack of production at the quarterback position- headlined by the unusual handling of a certain Josh Freeman.
Media by dailyme.com
New England Patriots
This is the time where all the Tom Brady Haters rejoice and be glad. The Pats are the worst 5-2 team in the NFL. They are continuing to limp out of games, and have not been the Patriots people have come to love and hate-more hate than love of course. Tom Brady looks uncomfortable, their offense isn’t as explosive as it once was, and Bellichick is still wearing that ugly sweatshirt. Despite their 5-2 record, people are still looking at the Pats with confidence.
The Bears Defense
The Bears defense has many struggles that Bears fans typically don’t pay attention to because they are either too caught up in hating Jay Cutler, or they are too caught up in the Monsters of the Midway hype. But once we are being honest with ourselves, we can clearly see that the Bears defense is playing very poorly this year, so let’s take a little pressure off of Jay please. They are not the turnover hungry defense they have been over the last couple of years; outside of Tim Jennings, Peanut Tillman, and Julius Peppers, players have crucially underperformed this year (i.e. Lance Briggs). A front office that forced their defensive leader Brian Urlacher into retirement should not be surprised when we mention that the Bears have allowed the third most points in the league.
Media by bostonherald.com
Winners
Kansas City Chiefs
This past weekend @RileyO18 tweeted
“The @nfl season can be summed up in this next phrase: the only undefeated team is the Kansas City Chiefs. #WHAAAT???? @espn”
I have finally come to the realization that the KC Chiefs are for real. The state of Missouri may have found a new team to bring them national glory. They are currently in first place in the AFC West, in front of the beloved Peyton Manning. Can they keep it up? Will they hit the good ol Chiefs wall? Is Alex Smith the “real deal?”
Pittsburgh Steelers
You may be asking yourself, how are the 2-4 Steelers a winner of the first 7 weeks of the NFL season? Well, let me help you with that. Since starting the season 0-4, the Steelers are currently on a 2 game winning streak (yes I said streak). I am a Steelers fan and that gives me hope. They are entering a promising stretch in which they are playing the limping Patriots, Bills, Browns and Lions. They are making a slow push for the playoffs showing they still have some fight. With Big Ben, Troy Polamalu and Lamar Woodley, the Steelers have the players and experience to pull off a magical playoff run.
Andrew Luck
With a Colts win over the Denver Broncos in week 7 of the NFL season, Luck did 3 things. 1) He beat Peyton Manning in a shootout. Not too many NFL quarterbacks can say they did that, especially a second year quarterback! 2) He made Colts fans a little happier about the risk of taking him and letting Peyton go. 3) He showed the NFL that he is the real deal that all of the hype surrounding him a year ago claimed he was. The Broncos defense has proven to be really good, and Andrew Luck just ripped them apart. There is no sophomore slump for Luck, and he is starting to show that the risk the Colts took will pay off.
Media by www.seattlepi.com
Greenville College Panthers
Just Saying. They are 7-0. You still have 3 opportunities left. 2 at home, and 1 on the road.
Denver Broncos
I would first like to apologize for my constant praise of the Broncos, but when you are the best, you deserved to be mentioned. They are winners because they lost to the Colts this weekend. They have finally gotten that 1 loss out of the way that would have been entirely overplayed in the media if it had come in week 13, 14, or 15. They won’t have to hear the comparison to that undefeated Dolphins team that won the super Bowl over 40 Years ago, or even that Patriots team that won every game but the Super Bowl (Insert Tom Brady boos here). They still have the best quarterback in the league, and trust me; Peyton Manning won’t be losing too many of these games.
Media by cowboysblog.dallasnews.com
Super Bowl Picks
I still believe that the Packers and Broncos will see each other in the Super Bowl. They have the 2 best quarterbacks in the league and defenses that can compete with any offense on a weekly basis. I still have to stick with the Packers winning the Super Bowl. They just haven’t seemed to peak yet, which is really dangerous considering how successfully they have so far dealt with injuries at key positions.
