NFL: AFC Contender/Pretender

AFC: Contender/Pretender 

As we get to the last seven weeks of games, we’ve seen teams in the AFC look elite one week to horrible the next. Look at the Ravens, who after beating division rival Pittsburgh last Sunday lost to the Seahawks yesterday. Pittsburgh has gone from good to bad to great to good. The Jets lost three games in a row at the beginning of the season. Buffalo and Cincinnati came out of the gate looking like actual football teams. The Patriots look mortal. With such a logjam in the conference, it’s time to clear up the AFC playoff picture...its time to decide whose a contender, and whose a pretender. 

Baltimore Ravens (6-3; tied for 2nd place in AFC North): Baltimore is one of the most confusing teams I’ve ever watched. In some games, such as against the Jets and Steelers, they look like the best team in the league. Then, when they play teams like Arizona and Seattle, they barely win or lose. That’s a good sign for Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, but the Ravens have too good of a defense to falter late in the year. I don’t know if it will be out of the division or wild card, but Baltimore should be a team that plays deep into the winter. 

Verdict: CONTENDER

Buffalo Bills (5-4; tied for 2nd place in the AFC East): It may be too soon, but you have to wonder if the Bills are re-thinking that $50 million extension they handed Ryan Fitzpatrick earlier this year. In the past two weeks, Fitzpatrick and the Bills have been held to poor performances against the Jets and Cowboys. Fitzpatrick completes a high percentage of his passes, but his arm is weak and he’s starting to make poor decisions with his throws. The Bills still have two games against the Patriots and Jets, along wit match ups with scrappy teams like Denver, San Diego, and Miami. They could be right back in the thick of things with victories over New England and New York, but I get the feeling that the slipper is coming off of this cinderella team. 

Verdict: PRETENDER

Cincinnati Bengals (6-3; tied for 2nd place in AFC North): Yesterday, for the first time all season, Andy Dalton looked like a rookie quarterback. Dalton threw two interceptions and struggled against the Pittsburgh defense. The Bengals got off to a hot start with he benefit of playing poor teams like Cleveland, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis. Over the next seven weeks, Dalton and the Bengals will have to play the Ravens (twice), the Steelers, and the Texans before meeting up with St. Louis and Arizona. I can see the Bengals getting to 9 wins, but it takes 10 to get into the playoffs from the AFC in this day and age. If they can steal a game from Pittsburgh or Baltimore, they might sneak in. I don’t see it. 

Verdict: PRETENDER

Denver Broncos (4-5; tied for 2nd in AFC West): I’m going to get this out of the way right now, the Broncos are not as good as Cincinnati or Buffalo, but they might have a better chance at making the playoffs. Currently, Denver has the tie-breaker over Oakland and Kansas City. To me, it looks like no one really wants to win the division. The Chargers are playing like they never win, Oakland is as bipolar as any team, and Kansas City stinks. Denver, however, is a team with a great defense and a “quarterback” who can run it like no other. As history tells us, a strong defense and a good running game leads to victories. Somehow, someway, the Broncos keep winning. I don’t think they’re good, but they play in a division that can help them out. 

Verdict: CONTENDER

Houston Texans (7-3; 1st place in the AFC South): It looks as though the Texans have already locked up the South, currently standing 2.5 games ahead of the Tennessee Titans. However, the Texans still have to play games against Atlanta and the Titans, so a late season collapse is not out of the question. For all the talk focused on the Ravens, Patriots, and Steelers being the AFC elite, the texans have quietly put together a strong season. Should they stay the course and make the playoffs, they’ll be a scary team to face. 

Verdict: CONTENDER

New England Patriots (6-3; 1st place in the AFC East): For as vulnerable as the Patriots have looked this season, they seemed to have turned it around after defeating the Jets last night. Now in soul possession of first place in the East, don’t look for New England to lose any ground in the coming weeks. When all is said and done, the Patriots will more than likely enter the playoffs with a first round bye and a top seed out of the AFC.

Verdict: CONTENDER

New York Jets (5-4; tied for 2nd place in the AFC East): The Jets had a chance to take first place in the East last night and squandered it. Corner man Donald Strickland got exposed by Rob Gronkowski all night. Now the Jets will have to compete with Buffalo, Cincinnati, and either Pittsburgh or Baltimore for a wild card seed. They hold a tie breaker over Buffalo, but still have to play the Giants, Eagles, and Bills in the next seven weeks. Knowledge says they can afford to lose two more games this season if they want to make the playoffs, but with that schedule it will be no easy feat. 

Verdict: CONTENDER

Oakland Raiders (5-4; 1st place in the AFC West): I thought for sure that the Raiders would have fallen out of contention by now, considering Darren McFadden being injury-riddled and Carson Palmer being...well...Carson Palmer. However, the Raiders looked excellent Thursday night against the Chargers, with Palmer looking like he’s developing quite the chemistry with his receivers. With the Raiders in the division drivers seat, all they will have to do is hold off the Fighting Tebows of Denver to make the playoffs. 

Verdict: CONTENDER

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3; 1st place in the AFC North): If you were going to tell me that after 10 weeks the Steelers would have lost to Houston and the Ravens (twice) and still be in first place in the division, I would have called you crazy. For as weird as the Ravens have been this year, the Steelers have been weirder. Just like the Ravens, Pittsburgh can look dominant one week and porous the next. I think they have the experience and ability to make it into the playoffs out of the crowded North, but there is no telling who will win the division. 

Verdict: CONTENDER

Tennessee Titans (5-4; 2nd place in the AFC South): Oh, what could have been for the Titans this year. With Peyton Manning out and the Colts playing awfully, the Titans had a legit shot to steal the division. Then, Kenny Britt was lost for the season due to a torn ACL. Chris Johnson only just got his first 100-yard rushing day (and first touchdown) of the season yesterday. The Titans are only 2.5 games back of Houston, but it may be a little too much too late for Tennessee. 

Verdict: PRETENDER

PREDICTIONS:

AFC East- New England Patriots (1 seed)

AFC North- Pittsburgh Steelers (3 seed)

AFC South- Houston Texans (2 seed)

AFC West- Oakland Raiders (4 seed)

Wild Card- Baltimore Ravens (5 seed)

Wild Card- New York Jets (6 seed)

Wild Card Round- Pittsburgh over New York; Baltimore over Oakland

Divisional Round- Baltimore over New England; Pittsburgh over Houston

Championship Round- Pittsburgh over Baltimore 

NFL: The Most Overrated Quarterback...Ever

He was a superhuman quarterback in college, there is no doubt about that. 110 combined touchdowns in four season, over 12,000 total yards. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner. Two time national champion. University of Florida hall of famer. Tim Tebow is without a doubt one of the greatest college football players of all time. Not only that, but he is also the most overrated NFL quarterback, ever. 

So often in the NFL we see highly touted quarterbacks with amazing skill sets not being able to produce at the highest level. Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Joey Harrington, the list goes on and on. It seems as though every year there is at least one first round draft pick that doesn’t pan out to his potential. With Tebow, its different. Tebow didn’t even belong in the first round of the 2010 draft. 

Tebow’s combine and Senior Bowl performances showed that he wasn’t deserving of a first round pick. Scouts from all around had him graded as a second round prospect all the way to a seventh round prospect. The criticisms were all the same, he just can’t throw. Somehow, Tebow managed to trick coaches and scouts (particularly Josh McDaniels and the Denver Broncos) into believing that he could change his throwing motion. Remember those ESPN segments? During his pro day at Florida, Tebow revealed a “new and improved” throwing motion that would help him better his passing as a quarterback. The end result was him holding the ball up at his ear, fundamentals at its best. However, every time he reared back to throw, Tebow did the same rotating motion with his arm. Nothing had changed, his release and delivery was still so slow and his arm strength still so weak. 

Watch tape of Tebow in his (limited) NFL appearances. His throws are reminiscent of Chad Pennington, lame duck after lame duck. I’d be lying if I said that I ever saw Tebow accurately throw a football longer than 30 yards and complete a pass. Watching Tebow throw reminds me of the first time that Smalls threw a baseball in The Sandlot. Somebody needs to call Benny the Jet and tell him to teach Tebow that throwing a ball is just like throwing a paper on a paper route. We’ve all seen Tebow throw, we’ve seen him fail to read defenses, and we’ve seen him underthrow receivers by five yards, consistently. Yet, somehow, we still hold him on some pedestal. 

Tebow’s level of overrated is something the sports world has never seen. Some believe that Alex Rodriguez is overrated, but we all know that he can hit a baseball 500 feet. With Tebow, we know he can’t play but people still hold him to a God-like standard. I was speechless when Denver fans put up a billboard calling for the benching of Kyle Orton in favor of Tebow. Orton’s a quality starter who threw for 3,600 yards last year! I understand that its the job of John Elway and John Fox to stand by their starting quarterback, but I blame the “Tebow Mania” on the media. Every morning, I turn on ESPN and they’re talking about Tebow. The craziest thing is that these “expert” analysts seem to be split on Tebow. Some believe that he has the ability and the competitive nature to become a great starting quarterback. The other half see the same thing that I see; a seemingly nice guy who just can’t play quarterback. The old adage is that at some point we all live to see the time when we are no longer meant to play the game we love. Some experience this at 14, others at 40. For Tebow, unfortunately, it looks to be happening now. 

When quarterbacks that are drafted so high come into the NFL and underperform, they’re chastised by the media. It happened to Harrington, happened to Matt Leinart and Jamarcus Russell as well. Tebow, on the other hand, is constantly given the benefit of the doubt. Don’t get me wrong, I admire the fire Tebow brings, and I think his drive is unquestionable. But, when it comes down to it, the NFL is a business. The goal is to produce wins and be the last team standing when the last whistle blows in February. Tebow will never be able to do that, not as a quarterback. These are just words, we all know that when we wake up tomorrow there will still be Denver fans praying to their Tim Tebow pictures and proudly wearing his jersey.