Week 10 Ramblings

After another gap in posts I figured it was time to post about this NFL season.  After 10 weeks teams finally have their identities figured out but a couple questions remain. 

Question #1: The Texans have the #1 seed in the AFC but can they overcome injuries of Andre Johnson and Mario Williams and maintain that seed?

Can Arian Foster run Houston
all the way to Indy?

I have been all-in on the Texans every year it seems and this year they might finally prove me right. They have clearly taken advantage of a Peyton Manningless AFC South.  Plus, there is no runaway favorite in the AFC. The duo of Arian Foster and Ben Tate along with the return of Andre Johnson might push them to the top.

If Mario Williams was healthy they would be a no doubt Super Bowl contender but their lack of playoff experience might catch up to them. It’s critical for the Texans to gain home-field advantage because it will be very difficult for the Texans to win in New England, Pittsburgh, or Baltimore in January.  

Question #2: Are the 49ers a legitimate threat to the Packers and the rest of the NFC to reach the Super bowl? 

Does this look like a Super Bowl
winning quarterback?

My friend and I have a $50 dollar bet every year on whether or not the 49ers make the playoffs. For years, this was always worked as a nice holiday bonus for me, but for the first time since 2002 it looks like I am going to lose this bet. 

At 8-1 the 49ers have to be taken seriously, but where do they rank on teams most likely to win the NFC? I’m not ready to crown them in the top three yet. They have a couple quality wins but I am far from sold on Alex Smith.  After seven years Smith can’t just turn into a Super Bowl quarterback. The defense is legitimate but they are not an all-time great one and that’s what the 49ers need with Smith as QB.

Question #3: What is going on with the Dream team?

Ever since back up quarterback Vince Young gave the moniker “dream team” to the Philadelphia Eagles a target immediately was put on their backs. After this week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgeralds, they are now 3-6.

Just kidding guys

Five of those losses include blown fourth quarter leads. The problems are abundant: receivers are skipping meetings, the linebackers are too inexperienced, they turn the ball over too much but I think the biggest problem is the absence of a running game. 

This may seem crazy when you look at LeSean McCoy’s stats but the problem with the Eagles is they don’t have the ability to run a four minute offense.  McCoy gets his yard bunches, he isn’t able to grind the clock down.  This allows opponents to have a chance to come back and as we have seen this year, they usually do.

Quick thoughts:

Win or lose big ups to Andy Dalton this week in Pittsburgh. I was dead wrong about him in the draft.

The Lions must have watched too much UFC/Pacquiao this weekend, seemed like they were to win a fight, not a football game.

Brandon Wheedon jumped ahead of Andrew Luck on my fake Heisman ballot, but how will his age effect where he gets drafted?