AFC South Blog: Titans division to lose?

by Bill Young

The Jacksonville Jaguars looked pathetic last night compared to the great defensive performance of the Titan defense and steady play of backup QB Kerry Collins. The performance by the Titans is nothing new. Since their 0-6 start last year, the Titans have won 13 of their last 17 games, which is the best record in the NFL.
With the Colts battling a number of injuries, this could be the year the Titans break through and win the division. The Colts have lost a number of safeties. In addition, Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon got injured in last week's game. Further complicating matters is the injury to RB Joseph Addai because backup Mike Hart is a slower less effective version of Addai. Even Peyton Manning will have a hard time carrying the offense without a running game.
The Titans chances also increased because the Texans lost their best defensive player on Sunday when Demeco Ryans suffered a season-ending achilles tendon injury. The defense was already shaky while Ryans was in the game, but without him, its likely to completely fall apart. The Texans offense will have to carry an even greater load which will become increasingly difficult given the injury Andre Johnson is dealing with and the toll the season will start to take on RB Arian Foster.

NFC East Blog: What we've learned so far

by Bill Young

Dallas Cowboys: This is a team that has consistently underperformed. While a lot of this is coaching related, no amount of coaching can fix the lack of talent on the Cowboys offensive line. Lack of attention to this part of the team the last several years is starting to catch up to the Cowboys. At 1-4, their playoff chances are slim to none.

New York Giants: By beating the Texans and Bears the last few weeks, the Giants have earned a share of first place with the Philadelphia Eagles. Defense is essential for the Giants when the running game isn't working. As always, when Eli Manning needs to shoulder the load, its a bad sign of things to come.

Washington Redskins: At 3-3, the Redskins have been very inconsistent. One week, the Redskins beat the Eagles. Another week, they lose to the Rams. This week they put in a great effort without Albert Haynesworth before falling to the Colts 27-24. One thing you can say for sure about the Redskins is that they hurt people. They hit hard and play the game right. The Colts lost Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon to injury during sunday's game. Unfortunately for Redskins fans, the Redskins could not take advantage of this golden opportunity. When talent catches up to the effort expended by Redskin players, this will be a dangerous team.

Philadelphia Eagles: Kevin Kolb answered his critics with an excellent game against the Falcons last week. Michael Vick was nowhere to be found. The controversy is there, but not a factor. Like the Cowboys, the Eagles have something that has to be going wrong or it wouldn't be the Eagles. The Eagles' QBs have handled the situation well but the coach hasn't. Changing your mind mid-week doesn't really inspire confidence when he went to Vick. When will the next change happen? Will one of them get traded? Too many questions and no answers. Until the team has an identity on offense, the team will really suffer, especially after the injury to Desean Jackson.

NFC East and AFC South: It's all screwed up

by Bill Young

Just when you thought the Eagles might put some distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC East, they handed the struggling Redskins a victory. Between Vick and McCoy's injuries, the Eagles offense was decimated.

Kevin Kolb came into the game and could not throw a pass longer than 10 yards. This was most evident during the fourth quarter. The Eagles needed to go down the field but could not do so against one of the league's worst pass defenses. Precious time was lost as the Eagles routinely threw the ball over the middle for five yard gains leaving only an ending hail mary attempt that was intercepted by Deangelo Hall.

The Redskins and Eagles knocked themselves out of contention last week as Clinton Portis is now out for 4 to 6 weeks. The Eagles offense looks crippled and the Redskins offense looks like it mainly works in the first half. If the Redskins want to finish strong like the Giants and Cowboys will, the offense has to step up in the fourth quarter.

The AFC South also was shaken up when the Colts lost to the Jaguars as Josh Scobee kicked a game winning 59 yard field goal as time expired. The Colts didn't just lose the game; they lost safety Michael Doss and reserve safety James Silva for the rest of the season. While Peyton Manning has shown the ability to carry the Colts to victory time and time again, the depleted secondary will put an increasing amount of pressure on the Colts' offense. This pressure has manifested in more turnovers early in this season.

While the Jaguars always seem to play the Colts tough, this is another sign that the Colts reign atop the AFC South may be coming to an end. The loss to the Jaguars puts the Colts in a precarious position if tiebreakers get involved at the end of the year because they have already lost two division games. Ultimately, all teams in the AFC South are still in the hunt, but the Colts appear to be in the most trouble.