Zsports! + 2008 Week 11 State of the League + The Media Leader

AFC East (tough conference, everybody has a chance)
Patriots (6-3) - Nobody told Matt Cassel or Bill Belicheck that this season was lost in week one when Tom Brady got hurt. They enter Thursdays game tied for the division lead, and don't look like they have missed that big of a step. With Oakland and Seattle still on the schedule along with their three division opponents their fate is in their own hands.
Jets (6-3)- With two more wins than they could muster last year, and a first place tie in the division, they are Favre-u-lous. Old #4 has not lost a step and is still getting acclimated to his team and teammates, but they have won three in a row. Kris Jenkins is a beast; And Calvin Pace and Kerry Rhodes are covering the whole field on defense. Thomas Jones (750 yards rushing, and 9 TD's) has the running game at a blistering pace behind a much improved line. The team recently signed Ty Law for some inside dirt on the Pats, and smart safety play? From Jets fans everywhere across the land.... Thanx Packers! They couldn't have done it without you.
Bills (5-4)- Talk about cooling off in Buffalo, after a (4-0) start the team is (1-4) in the last five games. As good as Trent Edwards was in the first 4 weeks, it is easy to say he is still feeling the effects of the Adrian Wilson hit from week five, and if he doesn't recover: neither will the Bills. The defense is no longer playing anywhere near the same caliber. The running game has disappeared, and unless they take advantage of the softest part of their schedule (The next four games) this division will pass them by… again.
Miami (5-4)- Bill Parcells presence has had a huge effect on a team that lost 15 games last year. The pick up of steady Chad Pennington (92.6 QB rating), the Wildcat formation which shows off the talents of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, and a young hungry team have put the Dolphins in the thick of the playoff hunt. Their schedule from here on out includes Oakland (this week), St. Louis, San Francisco, and Kansas City, so the Dolphins will have a cake walk to 9 wins.

AFC North (2 on top / 2 on the bottom)
Steelers (6-3)- With Willie Parker now back from injury, the road to the top goes through Three Rivers Stadium. Balanced on offense and with a Steel Curtain defense the guys from Pittsburgh share the division lead. Big Ben has stumbled recently, without fast Willie running the ball, but he will pull through now that he has the offense's full stable back on the attack.
Ravens (6-3)- Nobody would have guessed that Baltimore would have an offense at all, let alone one led by a rookie out of Delaware. Joe Flacco and the Ravens have won four in a row, with their typical dominant defense, and now potent offense. They have three productive running backs, and an apparently inspiring rookie head coach in John Harbaugh, and a share of the division lead with 7 games to go. Unfortunately, six of those games will be; the Giants, Eagles, Redskins, Steelers, Cowboys, and Jaguars, so maybe the joy in Maryland will be short lived (but, hey, it has got to be uplifting none the less).
Browns (3-6)- A far cry from last year (10-6) this team has only had one good four quarter game all year (in typical Cleveland fashion it was against the best the NFL has to offer: the Giants). The rest have been abysmal from start to finish (except the last two where the Browns held double digit 4th quarter leads and still lost). The Thursday night game at home against the Broncos gave a whole generation of Cleveland fans flashbacks to the late 80's. They have made one big switch, finally putting Brady Quinn in at starting QB and it should pay immediate dividends, (if Braylon Edwards remembers how to catch a football), unfortunately with no defense against the pass it won’t mean playoffs this year. If they do not improve drastically from here on out, look for a mass exodus amongst the Cleveland coaching staff in the off season.
Bungles (1-8)- Scrap the team, the coaching staff, the uniforms, and start over. Better luck next year.

AFC South (not as tough as we thought, except Tennessee)
Titans (9-0)- UN-de-feated, with Kerry Collins as the starting quarterback. Talk about the mighty, mighty Titans! Can you say defense wins championships? Coach Jeff Fisher has done his best job yet, and he has been doing a great job for years. Steady quarterback (?Kerry Collins?), amazing defense (Albert Haynesworth for MVP), and a great running game (rookie Chris Johnson 723 yards rushing, LenDale White 11 rushing TDs), have the Titans sitting alone atop the NFL, and looking for more.
Colts (5-4)- Finally looking like the team we are used to, and there is still enough time for them to seal up a wildcard playoff seed. Peyton is back to his role as the best Manning to play QB in the NFL, where he was firmly entrenched last year at this time. Indianapolis still has to answer a lot of questions: Why can't they run the ball, or defend like last year, will Marvin Harrison ever look like a Hall of Famer again? Just to name a few.
Jaguars (4-5)- Questions, without answers, surround Jacksonville. The offensive line is in shambles, and you can't run or pass without blocking, but that is still no reason to ever lose in Cincinnati (unless you play for the Bengals, where any excuse will do). More bad news, the schedule only gets tougher from here on out. Coach Del Rio had better find answers quick; the Titans come to town this week.
Texans (3-6)- Uhh Houston, we have a problem. The Dec. 21 trip to Oakland looks like the only winnable game left for a team that was on the edge of being good last year.

AFC West (Denver or San Diego will win by default)
Broncos (5-4)- Talk about streaky, its feast or famine in Denver and nobody knows which Broncos will show up from week to week. At least they still play division (and league) bottom dwellers Oakland and Kansas City. Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and rookie Donald Royal have all put up impressive numbers, but somehow inconsistently.
Chargers (4-5)- After playing among the NFL's elite for a few years, Norv Turner’s bunch has regressed dramatically. Rivers has some staggering numbers, but.... it is between San Diego and Denver to see who will win the division, and who will be the streaky-est team in the NFL. LT is averaging 3.8 yards a carry, huh?
Oakland (2-7)- Fire the owner, and come back next year.
Kansas City (1-8)- Still in the hunt, for the worst team in the NFL.

NFC East (Still the toughest division, barely)
Giants (8-1)- The G-men still on the same torrid pace, scary good. Big, fast, strong, and well coached across the board. Eli has officially come of age; Brandon Jacobs (806 yds rushing and 9 rushing TDs), Derrick Ward (490yds), and Ahmad Bradshaw are all averaging over 5 yds per carry. The receiving corps is just as amazing with Plaxico Burress, the other Steve Smith, and Amani Toomer, sharing the ball and the stats. Oh yeah, they still have one of the toughest defenses in the NFL, and lead the toughest division in football by two games.
Redskins (6-3)- One of the biggest surprises in the league will still have to face some tough competition, starting this Sunday night when the Cowboys come to town. Clinton Portis is making headway in the MVP race with 995 yds rushing (at 5 yards per carry), and seven rushing touchdowns. First year head coach Jim Zorn does have some games to look forward to; namely Seattle, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. The Skins will have to battle it out in the division (and in this division) hope to come out alive.
Cowboys (5-4)- Even though the media has them written off for dead after a (1-3) slide without Tony Romo. Nobody in big D is worried, Romo is back and so are the Boys. If they can win this week in Washington (no easy task) then they get Seattle and San Francisco in consecutive weeks, which could put them at (8-4) with a gauntlet of games for the last 4 weeks of the regular season to get them ready for the playoffs, after all they are opening the biggest stadium in the world next year.
Eagles (5-4)- Missed a huge opportunity to make up ground, by letting the division leading Giants run past them in New York last week. Donavan McNabb is having another pro-bowl year, and Michael Westbrook is healthy and back to his regular amazing self, but something is different in Philly-where is the feared Jim Johnson run defense? Could prove costly in this division, maybe it all ready has.

NFC North (3 teams still in log jam mode)
Vikings (5-4)- Adrian Peterson has the MVP trophy wrapped up at this point (1,015 yds rushing), but there is a lot of football left to be played. Gus Frerotte has filled in decently, but this team is built to run and play intense defense, with arguably the league's best D-line. Scary thought but the defense is getting better with star safety Madiew Williams only in his third game of the season after a long injury. Look for Minnesota to creep past the rest of the division if everyone holds up.
Bears (5-4)- If Kyle Orton is ok this is a great team, with rookie star running back Joe Forte leading the team rushing (713 yds), and receiving (37 catches). Not to mention the re-born monsters of the midway defense, Da' bears should stroll into the post season, BUT if Orton is hurt and Rex Grossman is playing QB, Chicago will go into a wicked tailspin and miss the playoffs, or even a chance at playoff contention.
Green Bay (4-5)- Well they did put their money where their mouth is by signing Mr. Rodgers to a multi-year 11 million dollar a year contract, but this team won 13 games last year. Other than the quarterback position the same squad is in tact, but they will struggle to win 9 games this year. That’s sad for quite a few reasons (I can name 4), not the least of which an undaunting remaining schedule that includes Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, and Jacksonville (and Chicago twice, including this week).
Lions (0-9)- By far the worst team in the league. Culpepper can't save his career, let alone the paper Lions.

NFC South (2nd toughest division in football)
Panthers (7-2)- With DeAngelo Williams (662 yds rushing 6 TDs), and rookie Jonathan Stewart (383yds 5 TDs) running roughshod, and Moose Muhammad (40 catches for 545 yds and 3 TDs), and Steve "superman" Smith (34 catches for 622 yds and 4 TDs) catching almost everything Jake Delhomme throws, the offense is as potent as ever in Carolina. The Story of this team, as always, begins on defense; a resurgent Julius Peppers leads the team with 7 sacks and leads a D line playing at a very high level all year, "the beast" Jon Beason is third in the NFL in tackles, and leads a line backing crew that along with Na’il Diggs, and Thomas Davis covers every inch of the playing field. Chris Gamble, Ken Lucas, Richard Marshall, Chris Henry, and rookie Charles Godfrey smother opposing receivers’ week in and week out to form one of the NFL's best defenses.
Falcons (6-3)- Nobody expected Atlanta to win 6 games at all this year, let alone 6 out of 9! With an unproven rookie head coach in Mike Smith, an unproven rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan (Matty-ice has 1,909 yds passing, 11 TDs, and an 89.9 QB rating), and an unproven first year starter at running back Michael (‘Burner’) Turner ( tearing it up to the tune of 890 yds rushing and 7 TDs). Where did the dominant defense come from? A healthy John Abraham has 11 sacks, and the defensive backs are led by a rejuvenated Lawyer Milloy. Is it possible that the Atlanta Falcons could make the playoffs (while Mike Vick is in prison), nobody could expect that except.... apparently the Falcons.
Buccaneers (6-3)- Tampa bay is looking a lot like the Bucs of the recent past, outstanding defense (so they’re not that old), good ball control offense (so they’re not that old), and solid coaching. This team won the division last year with very similar play, and they still have Oakland and Detroit left on the schedule. As long as the rest of the division did not pass them by (with wins over Carolina and Atlanta all ready I guess they haven't) this division race could go down to the wire.
Saints (4-5)- Drew Brees' gaudy numbers have not led to the W's that everyone in the big easy was hoping for. The Saints travel to Kansas City this week where they look to get back to .500, and they will try to take the next step after that, but without a running game or a running back (Reggie Bush is a receiver that lines up in the backfield), its gonna be tough.

NFC West (1 team / four cities)
Cardinals (6-3)- They have a great coach, a superstar quarterback Kurt Warner (2,706 yards passing 19 TD's a 106.4 QB rating, and averages 297.3 yds/game and over 30 pts/game), and the best set of receivers in football: Anquan Boldin (49 catches 606 yds and 10 TDs), Larry Fitzgerald (57 catches 791 yds and 6 TDs), and Steve Breaston (46 catches for 624 yds, and 1 TD), and they play in this division. This ain’t rocket science, its football, and Arizona is the only team in the NFC West that can play (at all).
49ers (2-7)- They made the right move firing Mike Nolan, but they had better sign coach Mike Singletary (before he does something else drastic), he is a real football guy/coach/ex-super intense amazing middle linebacker for Da' Bears. If they don't lock him up NOW, someone else will.
Seahawks (2-7)- Bye-bye coach, can they fire the team?
Rams (2-7) Why do they even show up (oh yeah, they don't)?

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