Mathematically speaking, and believe me I don't say that often, we're one-fourth of the way through the NFL season. With that said, it makes sense to look at some of the surprising good, bad and ugly that's transpired on the gridiron so far.
The Redskins are 3-0. Three and Zero! They are, perhaps, the worst undefeated team in NFL history, winning their games by lulling the other team to sleep with their miserable offense.
I've seen Pop Warner offensive schemes more interesting than the 'Skins'. Yet all of their games have been close, the last one going into overtime, so at least there's been drama.
Still, I'm just waiting for the opposing team to say, "Wait a minute, these guys are terrible," and blow them out, 41-17.
Speaking of 41-17, the New England Patriots got slapped around last week by the San Diego Chargers. The Pats now stand at 2-2, and things don't seem to get much better from here on out.
I must admit, it's tough to play with the back-to-back Super Bowl champion target on your jersey when you're trying to fill your injury-depleted roster with extras from "The Longest Yard."
However, I won't count the Patriots out until they're fully out
The Bengals are 4-0. For a team whose fans sued them several years ago for being so terrible, things are looking good in Cincinnati. Not since the Icky Shuffle in the early 80s has there been this much to celebrate.
Now, with a good defense and a dangerous offense, things are looking good. Or are they? Look at who've they've played. The Browns, Bears, Vikings (in a game where it seemed Dante Culpepper had more turnovers then completions), Texans and the Cincinnati Junior-Senior High School Bobcats. (OK, I made the last one up, but still not exactly a murderers' row.) And yet people are jumping over each other to proclaim them the next big thing.
Hold on fellas! Let's wait till the Colts, Steelers and Jags come to town.
To explain the Arizona Cardinals, here's a little "Oregon Trail" analogy. The Cardinals are the oxen, the sportswriters are the wagon, and they've decided to go right through the river to keep moving. Now the oxen are all dead.
It looks like someone's drowning under the weight of expectations. Once again, never trust sportswriters. They secretly just pick a team at random out of a hat before the season starts and label them "the team to watch out for."
Finally, the New Orleans Saints are 2-2. Despite playing under terrible circumstances, they've managed to give their fan base something to feel good about for a few hours. Despite a "home" game in New York, another "home" game in San Antonio, and, taking a cue from Major League Baseball, next week's "home" game in San Juan, it's great to see how well they're doing.
If the Saints can be 2-2, how can anyone else excuse being under .500?
