Four weeks. Four weeks remaining in this NFL regular season.
You all remember opening weekend, right? It was yesterday.
The Cowboys humbed the Giants on a Wednesday night. The 49ers dominated the Packers AT Lambeau. RG3 was anointed the rookie of the year based on one spectacular play. The Jets, yes, the J-E-T-S scored 48 points. Peyton Manning emphatically announced he was back.
Now one day passed, and six division races are all but decided. THREE rookie quarterbacks may make the playoffs. The Niners are locked in a potentially season-crippling quarterback controversy. RG3 is still lighting up the NFL, but so are Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. The Jets are the laughing stock of the league, and Tim Tebow is NOT starting! Peyton has already made the playoffs.
Four weeks to go, plus four postseason weeks. Here are some bold predictions for yet another wild NFL finish.
1. You read it here first. The Washington Redskins will win the NFC East. After facing Baltimore at home next week, their remaining games are against Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Dallas. All winnable. The team they edged out last night, the Giants, is one game in front. They face New Orleans at home next week, then have to travel to Atlanta AND Baltimore in subsequent weeks. I forsee the Skins winning their last four games. I see the Giants losing at least one of these road games. The Cowboys will find a way to blow it like always. The Skins' NFC East record is currently 3-1. The Giants are 2-3. Washington has the easier schedule. They can win this division at 10-6, or even at 9-7.
2. Get ready for Andrew Luck vs Peyton Manning in Denver during the first round of the playoffs. After the Colts' scintillating comeback win in Detroit this past Sunday, the rest of the league is beginning to believe what I believed since the beginning. The Colts look like a playoff team. However, they do have to face the Texans twice. However, one game is the final week of the season, and it seems that Houston will play their B team that day after already locking up the #1 seed. Plus, that game is at home. The other two games are against Kansas City and Tennessee. The Colts are in good shape. This team believes in Andrew Luck, and how great would it be for ailing coach Chuck Pagano to return near the end of the season following cancer treatments?
3. The Eagles will finish 3-13, and attain the number one overall pick. Let's face it. This team has pretty much quit on the season. We know Andy Reid is done, but the rest of the season is the Nick Foles/Bryce Brown show. Are they the future? Or will Philly be drafting Manti Teo or Matt Barkley. A new era of Eagles football is afoot, and the rabid fans will not stand for a long-term rebuilding project. I'm not suggesting the the Eagles will tank their last four games, but I just don't see them winning again.
4. The Jets will win their final four games, but still fall short of the playoffs. Assuming Rex Ryan names Greg McElroy their starting quarterback for next week's game against the Jaguars, you know this team will be energized by this quarterback change. Not to mention the Jets' schedule is a cakewalk the rest of the way. Maybe if Mark Sanchez doesn't run into his own offensive lineman's rear end and the Jets make one more play in Foxboro do they have a shot. But alas, the Tim Tebow experiment has failed, and its time to see if McElroy is the future.
5. The following coaches will be fired:
Andy Reid
Norv Turner
Jason Garrett
Chan Gailey
Ken Whisenhunt
Pat Shurmur
Now, on to Five things:
1. Yes, the Javon Belcher story is a total tragedy. Sad for everyone involved, including the Chiefs, Kansas City, and all his family and friends. That being said, Belcher does not deserve sympathy. His actions ruined a family, hurt his team and his community, and most importantly, left a three month old baby without parents. Not much more needs to be said.
2. Calm down, Jets fans. Greg McElroy is not the next Joe Namath. He may provide thrills and hope for the last four games of the season. But will he really win you a Super Bowl in the next few years?
3. Charlie Batch not only played the game of his life in Baltimore, but he set his team up for a playoff run. Ben Roethlisberger is presumed to return next week. The Steelers' next four games are winnable. The division title is still a long shot, but do I sense a 2005-like run upcoming?
4. My preseason pick of the Colts making the playoffs is looking pretty darn good right now. See above.
5. Is it possible to have a four-way tie for rookie of the year? Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, and Doug Martin all deserve to win. Each have electrified their respective teams this season, and three of the four may make the playoffs.
The Joe Namath guarantee special: Steelers vs Seahawks. XL rematch in New Orleans.
Top 5
1. Houston
2. Atlanta
3. New England
4. San Francisco
5. Denver
Bottom 5
32. Jacksonville
31. Oakland
30. Philadelphia
29. Kansas City
28. Carolina
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