NFL surprises and disappointments
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by user Pack Mentality
With Week 5 now in the books, all 32 NFL teams have played at least one-fourth of their regular-season schedule. Nobody asked me, but here are the teams that have looked better, or worse, than I expected at the start of the season.
Biggest surprises
- AFC - Baltimore Ravens: I figured they'd be improved over last season. I didn't figure them to carry an unbeaten record into the Monday night game at Denver. Steve McNair was unceremoniously cast out of the Titans organization, but now he's having the last laugh, and providing the kind of offensive firepower Baltimore hasn't seen since the Colts were their team. Granted, that isn't saying much, but so far it's still been enough to get the job done.
- NFC - Chicago Bears: We already knew they had a killer defense. Now, after years of trying to get all the pieces in place, they finally have an offense to match. Now, if they can just (1) avoid the injury bug for the rest of the season and (2) figure out how to carry over their regular-season success into the postseason, where they've been one-and-done in their last two playoff appearances...
Biggest disappointments
- AFC - Pittsburgh Steelers: The Madden Curse seems to have spread to the NFL Head Coach videogame title as well. Bill Cowher was the cover boy for that game, and his Steelers are struggling, especially on offense, where they've never quite gotten used to life after Jerome Bettis. Najeh Davenport's a fine change-of-pace back, but he's no Bus. Ironically, the Steeler offense's best outing, and the team's only win so far, came on opening night - when Charlie Batch played at QB in place of Ben Roethlisberger. Would it be sacrilege to suggest that maybe, just maybe Batch should get another shot?
- NFC - Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Four seasons ago, the Bucs' defense was the toast of the league. Now they're just toast. This would have spelled big trouble for Tampa Bay with or without the season-ending injury to Chris Simms, who isn't (yet) the kind of quarterback who can carry his team like a John Elway or a younger Brett Favre. Time to break out the old orange Bucco Bruce uniforms, methinks.
