The War of Five Kings (of the Pigskin): The AFC Midway Point

Now the reason I choose this title is because while there are two legit Super Bowl contenders in this conference, there are 3 teams that look to shock and ruin those teams chances to stack another Super Bowl appearance onto their legacy.

1. Division Clinchers

  East: New England Patriots

I remember watching the Monday Night Football Game between the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs, and I personally knew the Chiefs were going to win the game but I didn't think it would be a blowout, and boy was I wrong. But what I didn't see coming was that everyone thought that New England was dead in the water and that Tom Brady was washed up. They then went to demolish Chicago, Cincinnati,  Buffalo and what's left of the New York Jets. This team scares me more than Denver because while I know what Denver can do, New England for some reason seems to be in the running for a championship every year. The only question they need to address is the defensive backfield especially when they play Detroit the week before Thanksgiving. Can this backfield be labeled the best after that game or will they be the goat of the game and cause them a pivotal loss? We shall see.

 North: Baltimore Ravens/ Cincinnati Bengals

While Cincinnati has swept the season series against Baltimore, there is no way I can seriously tell you, the fans, that Cincinnati will win the division. I think this divisional crown will come down to best record, and it also means that Baltimore has to win out for the rest of the division games, and hope that Cincinnati loses a game in the division and ends up with a worst record than them. One of these teams will more than likely have the top wild card of the AFC, while the other will be faced against a wild card team, possibly the 2nd place team in this division.

 South: Indianapolis Colts

This team has been a factor since Andrew Luck's emergence into the NFL. My problem with him? He is exactly what Peyton Manning was when he was a Colt: Great in the regular season, but HORRIBLE to average at best in the playoffs. I can't understand the level of admiration Luck gets, because to me, he hasn't proved anything to me but hopefully this becomes the year when he does. 

 West: Denver Broncos

What can be said that hasn't before? You have Manning, one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league. Possibly the best receiving corps in the league. But whats the difference from last year? That defense. They look more deadly than last year that allowed the Seahawks to hang 40 on them in the Super Bowl. But can this defense play when the pressure isn't just in the 4th quarter but the entire game? Only time will tell and that time is becoming sooner than later.

2. Dark Horses

      East: Buffalo Bills

What? The Bills? The Buffalo Bills? Yeah I know this seems like a bad joke but Buffalo has been making some noise. After getting a new owner and being inspired by Jim Kelly beating cancer, this team is playing like gang-busters and they want to win every time they go onto the field. They also are doing it without a legit starting quarterback, which is amazing, but having rookie receiver Sammy Watkins helps out a lot. I see this team getting a wild card spot and make the city of Buffalo proud, no matter how far they go.

     West: San Diego Chargers

This team was my favorite to shock the AFC West, and granted they haven't been playing well in the past couple of weeks. But I still think that this team will make the playoffs, IF. And you're probably wondering why I put an IF there. Well take a look at the standings. San Diego has 5 teams on their heels for the second wild card spot in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Miami and Cleveland. Now the game between Baltimore and Pittburgh will knock one back, so will week 10's Thursday Night game of Cinncinati and Cleveland if the Bengals win. All the SuperChargers have to do is continue winning and hope that none of those teams go on a hot streak.

3. Disappointment

For the disappointments, the following teams are so bad that they don't even deserve a description. just google new search them and you'll see for yourself.

South: Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars

East: New York Jets

West: Oakland Raiders

Possible AFC Title Matchups 

For every other team not named Patriots or Broncos vs Patriots or Broncos

Its hard for me to look at the other teams that have played against New England and Denver and say that they can legitimately go into those environments and win but there is one team that can: the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens, in that playoff run of 2 years ago, beat both Denver and New England on their home turf. If Baltimore can make the playoffs, then they are a legit threat.

Denver vs Broncos( week 9 rematch)

As I said in the NFC piece, I don't want to jinx the game but I will say this: This game, if it happens will be the 17th meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Without going further these games have decided who goes to the Super Bowl, so take my advice, watch the game, sit back grab a snack and enjoy.

The Lion, The Birds, and the Cowboy: The NFC Midway Point

After 8 weeks and seeng how week 9's sunday game begin in a couple of hours, lets look at a wild NFC and see how the 16 teams break down into our categories (follow this link to understand the categories)

1. Division Clinchers

    East: Dallas and/or Philadelphia

You're going to understand why I have 2 NFC East teams in here after reading disappointments, but lets get to both of these NFC East rivals. These two teams play each other later in the season, so more than likely one of these teams will end up holding the crown at the end of the season. But if we have to look at how has been more dominant, it pains me to say that the Cowboys, a team I rarely root for, has been playing like they want to live up to the title of "America's Team". Philadelphia has been playing okay but they need to find their rhythm from earlier this season in order to be a threat in my eyes. The only thing that will ultimately decide how far these teams go is how much can Philly count on Nick Foles to win them a game when it really counts and how healthy will the NFL-leading rusher Demarco Murray be going down the season and can Joseph Randle be helpful?

     West: Arizona Cardinals

Where you expecting someone else? Maybe a team that plays in Santa Clara, California? Or maybe you were expecting the defending NFL Super Bowl Champions from that little town in Seattle? Either way, get ready for a changing of the guard in the NFC West. Arizona has been playing like they aren't afraid of the 49ers or the Seahawks and with them having a win over San Francisco, Philadelphia and now scheduled to play in two possible NFC championship defining games ( Dallas this week and Detroit in 3 weeks), expect them to get hot late in the season as it seems they aren't just running away with this division, they might just be one of the few teams to be playing in a Super Bowl.... at home.

    North: Detroit Lions

No Calvin Johnson. No Reggie Bush. No Stephen Tulloch. All 3 Starting Tight Ends out. Now if I told you that about the Detroit Lions, you would tell me they aren't going to be 6-2 and leading the NFC North, but that they would be 4-3 and barely holding on to second place in the NFC North. But these aren't the Lions of old. With Jim Caldwell at the helm, and with Teryl Austin turning a dysfunctional defense into the number 1 ranked defense in the NFL, these team needs to be looked at as a legitimate threat in the NFL, not just the NFC. I believe in my heart of hearts that the games between Dallas, Detroit, Philly and Arizona will decide who wins the NFC. The Lions schedule prior to the start of this season looked grim, but now with a schedule that has them playing against only 3 teams with a record above .500 and having Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, Eric Ebron, Brandon Pettigrew, Joe Fauria returning to the team along with rookies Kyle Van Noy and Tj Jones coming, expect the roar of Detroit to go from loud to thunderous.

2. Dark Horses

   West: Seattle Seahawks

I'm sorry to every San Francisco and St. Louis fan, but lets face facts: each and every year, this division is a 2 horse race. And this year, neither of these teams are good enough for the playoffs while Seattle is. Now while the game against Arizona will decide those games, I think Seattle slides off a bit and loses one of those two games, ultimately returning to the playoffs as a wild card team. With the defense and the Legion of Boom losing some players due to free agency was harmful to their defense, the fact that Percy Harvin was traded away for draft picks (dumbest move I've seen), him being an issue that drove Golden Tate to Detroit, and now the rumors that Marshawn Lynch will not be returning to the team after the season, that Super Bowl of last year might be more treasured than before, if they can't right the ship.

 North: Green Bay Packers

As a NFC North fan, and a Lions fan, there is one rule I have learned: Never count out Aaron Rodgers. Never. As much as I can point out the issues that the Green Bay Packers have: extremely suspect defense, running game that in my opinion is worse than Detroit's, Corners that can't cover a bowl of soup, Aaron Rodgers keeps them in the playoff hunt each and every year. But I think they end up getting the 2nd Wild Card slot because as good as Rodgers is, Detroit has Stafford who was given weapons of Calvin and Golden Tate. And while having those weapons is good, the reason Packers fans should be worried because as good as Rodgers is, Stafford of the Lions has the x-factors and potential to be just as good.

3. Disappointments 

Notice: before I go into the Disappointments, understand that none of this is personal but your team deserves to be called out.

 West: San Francisco 49ers

All that talent, a okay defense, and they can't get right. I don't know what the true issue with this team is but I can point to 2 things that stick in my craw about this team: The Over-hype of Colin Kaepernick. Im sorry but I don't think he is that good, he can run but if I needed to win a game, and its 3rd and 20 in the 4th quarter, I don't trust him, as a passer, to get someone open and get 21 yards or more. The second thing that sticks with me is the coach. Look, lets be honest, the GM of the Niners needs to make a decision: either give Harbaugh the contract he deserves, or let him walk. Enough of this "oh, we don't know" and "Well it's Jim's decision, not ours", do the right thing. Either sign him to a multi-year contract or let him go. Trust me, he won't be out of a job for long, there is a little school in Michigan that wear's Maize and Blue that would LOVE to have his services.

  North: Chicago Bears

I hate being the one that said I told you so, but I told you so. I said that this team would be in trouble with the rest of the division because of the defense, which allowed a whopping 51 points to the New England Patriots. But a defense that reminds me of the Walking Dead isn't the main reason that Chicago sucks, its that offense. You have Martellus Bennet, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Matt Forte. And they are 3-5 and a game away against Green Bay that, barring a miracle occurring, will have you eliminated from playoff contention for the 4th straight year.

 THE ENTIRE NFC SOUTH

No offense but no team from this division, and I mean even if one of these teams has a miraculous run to get to 8-8, deserves to be in the playoffs. If they do, it means that a winning team will not make the playoffs due to this horrible division getting a playoff spot. Where do I begin? Carolina can't stop anyone on defense and Cam Newton only has one target to go to and even he isn't making a big contribution, New Orleans and Atlanta's defense both had the Detroit Lions dead to rights and both teams blew it and allowed the Lions to step up and knock them down, and then there is Tampa Bay. Do I really have to say anymore?

Possible NFC Title Matchups

1. Detroit vs Dallas

This one will be a rematch of last year's thriller. I think both teams will be healthy but the biggest questions going into this possible matchup is can Demarco Murray go off on the Lions dangerous defensive line, and can Detroit shoot the lights out against Dallas' defensive backfield?

2. Dallas vs Arizona (rematch from week 9)

Being the kind of person that doesn't want to jinx a matchup, I legitimately don't know what to expect from this matchup. I think that if it does happen, it will be better than the week 9 matchup due to the fact that Tony Romo won't be out of the game with a back injury and Patrick Peterson will be playing on Arizona's defense, as he is questionable for the week 9 matchup with a concussion

3. Arizona vs Detroit (rematch from week 11)

This game like the Dallas vs Arizona game is something I can't call because I don't know how impactful this game will be, but I will say this: if Arizona is 8-1 and Detroit is 8-2 going into that week 11 game, the winner will be in the driver's seat to win the NFC championship game.