New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens at the top of the class

I can’t believe it.  The first quarter of the 2010 NFL Season is just about over.  You know what that means.  Quarter exams.  In Week 4 in the NFL, some teams passed their exams, some barely survived and others failed miserably. 

Top of the class.

The New York Jets are leading their division and LaDainian Tomlinson (LT) is running like he is in his twenties.  Buffalo did not have a chance against them yesterday.  The Jets won easily 38-14.  The Baltimore Ravens defense rallied and gave the Pittsburgh Steelers their first loss of the season.  Ray Lewis had an interception late in the game that sealed the Ravens 17-14 victory.  The Steelers were without their starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, but defense wins championships.

Just passing.

The Altanta Falcons barely beat the winless San Francisco 49ers, 16 -14.  The Washington Redskins won yesterday 17-12 against the Philadelphia Eagles (making Donovan McNabb’s return to Philadelphia pretty sweet), but the Eagles were without their new savior, Michael Vick.  The victory does not elevate them because they are in a division in which every team has loss twice.  The New Orleans Saints offense is struggling.  Luckily, they brought back 46 year old, John Carney, who made 3 field goals that put them 16 -14 over the Carolina Panthers.

Failing.

The Indianapolis Colts are not playing to their potential and have a disappointing record of 2-2.  The Chicago Bears only managed a field goal in a loss to the New York Giants.  The Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Carolina and San Francisco are looking forward to their first win of the season.

Incomplete.

Shockingly, Kansas City Chiefs is the only undefeated team left in the league.  Like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they had a bye in Week 4.  These teams will finish up their first quarter next week.  If the Chiefs pull out a victory over Indiana, teams will start to take them seriously.

New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins play tonight on Monday Night Football.  Both teams have former Michigan quarterbacks as starters.  Tom Brady (Patriots) may teach the younger Chad Henne (Dolphins) a few things, but I don’t think that the Patriots defense will stop Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown or Brandon Marshall.  I’m going with Miami to win and take second place in the AFC East.

In college football, Oregon moved to #3 in the rankings.  Boise State is still undefeated, but they already had a week off so they are only 4-0.  Even with an unblemished record, we may see Boise State move down again.  They do not have a challenging schedule.  So, if a team like Auburn or Nebraska beats a ranked opponent it will look more impressive than Boise pounding on San Jose State.

Alabama #1 dominated Florida #14 (they moved down from #7).  A week after they almost suffered a loss to Arkansas, the Crimson Tide rolled over the Gators and held them to just 6 points.   They only have 3 more ranked opponents on their schedule, Auburn #8, LSU #12 and South Carolina #19.  After this weekend’s game against South Carolina, they will not face any tough competition until November.

Ohio State #2 and Terrelle Pryor are still leading the Big Ten, but they made Buckeye fans worry on Saturday.  Although they won, they struggled against an unranked Illinois team.  Considering that Alabama crushed a top 10 team, it’s surprising to me that the Buckeyes still received a first place vote in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.  

In other areas of the Big Ten, star quarterback, Denard Robinson, saved Michigan #18.  His 277 passing yards and 217 rushing yards are the reasons Michigan is still undefeated.  Michigan State #17 upset Wisconsin #20 adding more intensity to their match up against Michigan on Saturday.  The rivals will enter Michigan Stadium without a loss and battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.  Paul has been away from Michigan for a couple of years.  After Saturday, he’ll back in his plush arrangements in Ann Arbor.  Am I biased? Of course.  Go Blue!

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets