Hot Takes: NFL Week Nine

Fresh from the week nine oven, get them HOT TAKES!

1.Broncos Fall to Colts

It was supposed to be easy for the Broncos. An undefeated team whose offense finally got on track and playing lights out defense against a struggling Colts team with a poor defense and a coach ready to be fired. 

But it wasn’t.

Andrew Luck went mistake free against a Broncos defense that feasts on mistakes and Peyton Manning continued his average play with some untimely interceptions. The Denver run game, which everyone thought was fixed after last game, went back to doing nothing. It was a huge win for the Colts, who needed to prove that they could anyone outside of the AFC South, and a potentially huge loss for the Broncos, who may’ve lost their first round bye if the Patriots and Bengals keep taking care of business. 

The Broncos defense is still a top five defense in the league, as long as they keep their fingers to theirselves, but the offense is actually being held back by Manning. He’s obviously not the same guy he used to be, and while he’s still really good, he’s a detriment to the team right now with all the interceptions he’s throwing. As good as their defense is, it’s a lot to ask of them to bail out Manning on quick changes. If they could get a consistent run game going, that would take a lot of pressure off of Peyton, but until that happens the offense will continue to struggle. 

2. And Still…..

While the Broncos fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, the Patriots, Bengals, and Panthers took care of business. The Bengals and Patriots had an easy time with the Browns and Redskins, while the Panthers were having an easy time with the Packers until the defense nearly fell apart again in the fourth quarter. 

The Bengals are finally getting the respect that they deserve, but “experts” are still hesitant on the Panthers. Last week they were fifth, behind the one loss Packers, in many power rankings and I suspect that they’ll now be fourth, behind the one loss Broncos, in some power rankings this week. 

I understand the concern with the Panthers. Their wide receivers don’t scare anyone, their quarterback in inconsistent, and they aren’t closing out teams. All I know is that they’re 8-0, have a two game lead in the NFC, and a three game lead in the NFC South. They might not look like world beaters right now, but what does it say about a team that is undefeated despite not playing their best football?

Also, chew on this stat for just a second. Here are the combined records of the teams that the three undefeated teams have beaten: 30-36, 26-40, 28-38. I’ll let you figure out who owns which. 

Hint: The Panthers have played the teams that have won more, the Bengals have played the teams that have won less. 

3. Replacements Win

The Titans fired their coach and the 49ers benched their quarterback. Both teams picked up victories over the weekend. 

Whether it was the release of Ken Whisenhunt, the return of Marcus Mariota, or the terrible Saints defense; the Titans picked up a victory in New Orleans against a Saints team that everyone thought was a dark horse for a wild card spot in the NFC. Instead, the Titans are now a dark horse to win the AFC South because the AFC South is garbage. I wouldn’t put too much stock in this victory unless your Dustin James, who is still writing Mariota’s Hall of Fame speech. Yup, it’s that long. The Titans play the Panthers this weekend. It looks like an easy win for the Panthers, but I’m sure they’ll make it much tougher than it needs to be because that’s just how the Panthers roll. 

Then there’s the 49ers, who benched Colin Kaepernick in favor of Blaine Gabbert in hopes of, well I’m not really sure what they were hoping for, but what they got is a victory over the Atlanta Falcons, who basically handed them the game when Dan Quinn decided to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 from the 1 instead of going for it. Gabbert wasn’t great, or even good (15/25, 185 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) but the defense played well and the Falcons are on a downward spiral after starting 5-0. As a Panthers fan, it’s nice to see the Falcons struggle and essentially hand the Panthers the division. 

The rule here is, as always, changing a major piece of your team (the head or the quarterback) almost always leads to a victory that week. And then the team goes back to sucking.

4. Greg Hardy

The Panthers being undefeated since they released Hardy and the Cowboys being winless since Hardy has started for them isn’t karma. It’s football. If the Panthers go undefeated and win the Super Bowl, it won’t be because they released Hardy, it’ll be because they are a good football team. If the Cowboys never win another game as long as Hardy is on the field for them, it won’t be his fault, it’ll be because they suck.

You know what karma would be for Hardy? If someone hit him with an illegal chop block that never allowed him to play football again. 

We’re a country of second chances, but what exactly did Hardy do to deserve one? He sat out all last season but got paid. He missed four games this year, the same punishment the NFL tried to give Tom Brady for deflating footballs, and is currently playing. He didn’t serve jail time like Michael Vick, the league didn’t blackball him like Ray Rice. He just came back and started playing football again despite showing no remorse for his actions.

I don’t celebrate the fact that the Cowboys are losing. They’re a poor team with Hardy and they’d probably be worse without him. Fact is, Hardy shouldn’t be in the league. Jerry Jones signed him because he thought Hardy would help on the football field, and he has. But he never should’ve been given this chance. He should be in jail and the owners should’ve united against signing him. But Jones had the right to sign him and Hardy, like or not, has the right to play. It’s a shitty system 

5. Playoff Races

We’re now at the halfway point of the season where every team has played at least eight games. That means we’re getting a clearer look at the playoff picture. Let’s take a look at the division and wild card races.

The Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, and Panthers all lead their respective divisions by at least three games. I wouldn’t say that they’re 100% locks to win their divisions, but it would take a big collapse for them lose the division. The Panthers still have two games remaining against the Falcons, the second place team in the NFC South, so it’s possible for the Falcons to gain some ground that way. The other division leaders have already played and beaten the second place team once. 

The Cardinals have a two game lead on the Seahawks and Rams. The Rams already hold one victory over the Cardinals and the Seahawks have two more meetings with them, including one this week. The Cardinals certainly don’t have things wrapped up and they’re one Carson Palmer injury away from disaster.

Perhaps the most surprising division is the NFC North. Two weeks ago it looked like the Packers would run away with the division as they were being crowned the best team in the NFC. Two weeks later, the Vikings and Packers are tied at the top at 6-2. The Vikings have a much tougher schedule moving forward, but the final game of the season at Green Bay could be a huge one. 

No one cares about the AFC South or NFC East. 

The Wild Card in both conferences are pretty murky. In the AFC, four teams are well alive for two spots. The Raider, Bills, Jets, and Steelers are all in the mix with a big game this week between the Bills and Jets. The Steelers are reeling with another injury to Ben Roethlisberger and the Raiders are probably a year away from competing. It looks like second place in the NFC North will take one wild card spot, which means there’s only one other spot up for grabs. The Falcons have fallen off lately, but still have a favorable schedule, while the Seahawks and Rams need to figure things out quickly if they hope to make up ground. 

Quick Takes

*Are the Chargers the most disappointing team this season? It has to be between them and the Ravens, right?

*Hey look, the Dolphins are now playing good teams and suddenly aren’t winning by 50 points. So much for Dan Campbell being the best coach ever. 

*I don’t think Lamarcus Joyner intentionally meant to concuss Teddy Bridgewater. I know the hit looks bad and Gregg Williams has a history of wanting his guys to injure opposing players on the offense, but to me it looked like a guy leading with his shoulder, unfortunately making contact with the head of Bridgewater as he was sliding down. Things happen so fast in the NFL that it’s tough to let up and change your intentions in a split second. I do think that Joyner was trying to lay a big hit on Bridgewater, who was still standing when Joyner lined him up and left his feet, but I don’t think he was trying to put him out of the game.

*The Browns need to cut ties with Johnny Manziel if they’re going to keep playing Josh McCown over him. It’s obvious that they think very little of Manziel, otherwise there’s no reason to keep playing McCown, a proven loser, over Manziel, a guy who has potential.