Why is there no great football teams this year?

[K-Ro 25]

the giants won b/c PIT's long snapper got hurt...

They still went down and scored a TD after that including a clutch 31 yd grab on 4th and 5. They won b/c their D slapped Pittsburgh in the mouth and they made plays when they needed to

 

[ScottieC]

Ummm did you watch the Giants game yesterday? By far the best team in the league. They beatdown the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

No way it was a beat down.

But, the Giants look good. Problem is if the old Eli shows up, they will have a hard time winning the/any game.

 

[drew4008]

Pitt lost because their offense was garbage. Ben did not look like himself... just kept making bad throws and bad decisions. The pressure wasn't even that much of an issue on a lot of bad plays. Plus their running game did pretty well against a solid Giants D, so Roethlisberger needs to take the blame here.

 

[lostjumper]

As evidenced in yesterday's Giants-Steelers game, injuries is the #1 factor this year.

 

[denverpatsfan]

It was a smashmouth, street fight, tough football game and the Giants were left standing at the end. Winning on the road is tough in the NFL especially when facing a 5-1 team. The results would be the same if the Giants and Pats play again.

 

[BRiZ]

the Giants are dingleberries hanging off the Patriots @55es. Flukey reigning One Year Wonders should have lost to Pitt if the steelers didnt have to use an OLB to snap for a punt.

 

[D-Money]

The giants will destroy the cowboys without Romo.I hate the giants but it seems like they are built for another run at the superbowl,i hope i am wrong.

 

[chrisfx811]

I don't see a clear favorite either. Last year, it appeared the Pats, Colts, Cowboys, & Packers appeared to be the top tier with the Giants, Chargers & Jaguars next in line.

I'm not counting out anyone at this point, as injuries are spreading like wild fire this year, and I think we'll likely see something similar to last year in terms of an unexpected team, in the truest sense of the word, get it together just in time for the playoffs.

The Cowboys are playing through small injuries right now, but nothing that appears to threaten a potential playoff run. Same with the Eagles & Steelers.

The Pats can sneak their way semi-quietly into the playoffs, but I honestly don't know what to make of this team yet. A blowout loss to a bad Chargers team and an up and down Dolphins team, a blowout win against a Broncos team w/o a full strength QB, and a string of games against poor competition.

I think this season is the epitome of what the NFL has in mind in terms of parity. It will be interesting to see if it pans out for them $$$-wise, as last year was record setting in terms of ratings for single games.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Reasons why the BETTER so called teams are not so great is this...

Pittsburgh has NO offensive line - If you complain about our line it could be worse - The Steelers OL looks horrible

NY Giants - The WRs are erratic at times and not consistent enough,Theres not much other bad things to say about them but Burress needs to step it up a notch

Tennessee - Kerry Collins is hiding behind a GREAT defensive football team,they have one of the best defenses I have seen in quite a while BUT Collins sooner or later will have to show he can come out from under the defense and play like he was the starter before the season began,I am not so sure he can when its time to do it.

Washington - Wins on the road against top opponents but has some inconsistencies as seen in their 2 losses,I think if you want to compare a team to this years Patriots it could be the Redskins on the NFC side

New England - NO Tom Brady

Indianapolis - Manning banged up - NO offensive line

equaling a lot of good teams but no great ones - Giants are the closest to an Elite one IMO

 

[Kontradiction]

Beatdown? Did you watch the game?

I think he means they out-physicaled the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can see it, honestly. The Steelers tried to come out and be physical with the Giants but all that got them was a couple of players being helped off to the sideline. Did you see Jacobs absolutely truck that one Steelers' defender (can't remember which one)? I'll give the Giants their due. They are a very, very good football team.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

If the Titans go to 7-0, then your premises is totally off. The Giants may have already proven your premise wrong.

 

[jmt57]

If the Titans go to 7-0, then your premises is totally off. The Giants may have already proven your premise wrong.

I agree that the Titans and Giants could prove to be great teams by the end of the year. We're only through week 8, so it's way too early to tell. There have been teams in the past few years that started really well but were not considered great at the end of the year. On the other hand, very few considered the Pats to be special early in 2003, but look at how they were viewed by the end of 2004.

I was skeptical of the Giants before the season started, and even before Sunday's game based on their opponents thus far, but should they end up winning back-to-back Lombardi's they will not only be considered a great team, but debate will begin as to who the team of the decade is.

 

[mgcolby]

Pitt lost because their offense was garbage. Ben did not look like himself... just kept making bad throws and bad decisions. The pressure wasn't even that much of an issue on a lot of bad plays. Plus their running game did pretty well against a solid Giants D, so Roethlisberger needs to take the blame here.

Actually what you saw yesterday has been the Big Ben of 2008.

 

[mgcolby]

after yesterday I think im going to give the Gants their due as a great team. They have a suffocating D, great run game and a very good QB. The titans as well are a great team they just are not sexy so people dont like to call them a great team.

The Giants are good and are the team to beat IMO, but the Eli factor is always there. With that said he has improved drastically this season.

The Titans on the other hand are good, but here are the reasons why I don't think they are a great team:

1. Zero passing game

2. If Johnson gets hurt - which isn't unusual of a rookie back with a lot of touches - then they will be struggling, Twinky boy can't carry the load.

3. Can their defense keep teams from scoring all season? Right now they avg 11 ppg. That is insane! If they can, well then by all means they have the potential to win it all, but it remains to be seen. They will be tested during the second half of the season.

 

[Kontradiction]

The Giants are good and are the team to beat IMO, but the Eli factor is always there. With that said he has improved drastically this season.

The Titans on the other hand are good, but here are the reasons why I don't think they are a great team:

1. Zero passing game

2. If Johnson gets hurt - which isn't unusual of a rookie back with a lot of touches - then they will be struggling, Twinky boy can't carry the load.

3. Can their defense keep teams from scoring all season? Right now they avg 11 ppg. That is insane! If they can, well then by all means they have the potential to win it all, but it remains to be seen. They will be tested during the second half of the season.

The Titans have two of the three main ingredients for a Super Bowl team. Suffocating D (even if they start to fall apart down the stretch, they will be there come playoff time) and an excellent running game. The only other thing they need is a mistake-free quarterback (not so with Young, remains to be seen with Collins). But those two ingredients, should they stay injury free, should propel the Titans deep into the playoffs. I think tonight will be the first HUGE test for that defense though. If they can shut down Manning then it's time to say the Titans are for real this year.

 

[mgcolby]

The Titans have two of the three main ingredients for a Super Bowl team. Suffocating D (even if they start to fall apart down the stretch, they will be there come playoff time) and an excellent running game. The only other thing they need is a mistake-free quarterback (not so with Young, remains to be seen with Collins). But those two ingredients, should they stay injury free, should propel the Titans deep into the playoffs. I think tonight will be the first HUGE test for that defense though. If they can shut down Manning then it's time to say the Titans are for real this year.

I agree with that and so far they have 8 turnovers through 6 games. For the record they are +6 in the TO ratio.

Over the past couple of years it just seems that rookie backs tend to get injured when touching the ball 20+ times a game. (Peterson, J. Jones, Cadillac Williams, any Panther RB etc..), that doesn't bold well for C. Johnson, but we will see.

I am not saying they aren't a good team, just that they do have one major flaw (in this day in age) no passing game at all. They remind me of the Steelers from the late 90's and early 2000's. But if they end up keeping teams to 11ppg I may have to change that to the 2000 Ravens.

 

[Kontradiction]

I agree with that and so far they have 8 turnovers through 6 games. For the record they are +6 in the TO ratio.

Over the past couple of years it just seems that rookie backs tend to get injured when touching the ball 20+ times a game. (Peterson, J. Jones, Cadillac Williams, any Panther RB etc..), that doesn't bold well for C. Johnson, but we will see.

I am not saying they aren't a good team, just that they do have one major flaw (in this day in age) no passing game at all. They remind me of the Steelers from the late 90's and early 2000's. But if they end up keeping teams to 11ppg I may have to change that to the 2000 Ravens.

You can also throw in the 2002 Bucs.

 

[mgcolby]

You can also throw in the 2002 Bucs.

Good one, forgot about them. But the Ravens allowed 10 ppg in 2000 if my memory serves me right, which is why I made that last comment. I mean seriously those are insane numbers.

 

[Lansdowne]

The Giants are playing like the champions they are. I don't expect that to last, though. 5 of their next 7 games are against division rivals, in what is clearly the best division in football at the moment.

The Titans are getting it done the same way the Jaguars did last year, through defense and a 1-2 punch at RB. They have no passing game to speak of, really. Justin Gage and Brandon Jones? Pfft. I'm not sold on them as a great team. Last year they would be a 5 or 6 seed in the AFC. It's just a really weak league this year, shades of 2002.

 

[MassPats38]

The Giants look good right now but they need to beat all the teams in their division before they are great. They beat Washington 16-7, before Washington really started to show it could play. The Giants also went into overtime with the Bungals. More significantly, their offensive identity is the running game and I do not think Jacobs has survived a full season without injuries yet. Burress seems like a complete wild card week-to-week. If they can keep it all together, the Giants are certainly a very good team and a legitimate threat to repeat. There is however much season to play before they can talk title defense, so I will be interested in seeing if things start to unravel along the way.

I join the crowd that has doubts about the Titans. You look at the schedule and have to ask who they have proven themselves against. Jaguars? Damaged goods from the word go. Vikings? Ravens? They play the Colts, Packers and Bears in the next three games, all decent teams, so if they can beat two of those teams I will agree they are a threat. If two of those teams win, the Titans look better right now than they really are.

Then you have the rest of the NFL. The Steelers played the Giants tough, so they cannot be left out of the conversation. They also lost to the Iggles. Even a team like the Rams demonstrated it had the ability to beat some good record teams in the Redskins and Cowboys. The rest of the teams seem to flash capabilities but have stinker games as well. Indy has not played well this season but I can certainly see them beating the Titans tonight. With the mess that is the rest of the NFL, I wouldn't rule any 3 or more win team out of the playoffs at this point.