The Perfect Ones

Three weeks into the season, there are ten teams with a “3” at one end of their win-loss-tie column. Five have three wins, and five have three losses, so as we reach the point where teams are starting to settle and the big surprises will be less frequent, which winners can keep it up and will any of the losers breaks out of their streak any time soon?

Three-and-ohs
Dallas Cowboys
Who’ve they beaten? Giants, Dolphins, Bears

Have they flattered to deceive? No, they’ve looked genuinely good. They won a shootout with the Giants and they outlasted the Dolphins before crushing the Bears in Chicago. This is a good team.

Are things about to get tougher? A home game against Minnesota should be manageable, and then they have a bye week which is good. It’ll give them time to freshen up before a punishing run of three consecutive divisional games, two of which are on the road.

Punishing schedule? Well the NFC East is always competitive, and their other games include visits to Detroit and at home against Green Bay which are unlikely to be easy wins.

How long can they keep it up? They should beat Minnesota at home, and they’ve shown the ability to outgun teams as well as just getting what they need for the win so they’re not one-dimensional winners. If they manage to get through weeks 9 to 11 (@ Giants, @ Eagles and Redskins) without losing then they’ll be ready to prove themselves the best team in the NFC. I don’t see them going 3-0 in those games just because divisional fixtures have a way of coughing up surprising results, but they’ll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

Green Bay Packers
Who’ve they beaten? Eagles, Giants, Chargers

Have they flattered to deceive? Not really, the Eagles weren’t at their best and the Giants struggle to convince regularly but the Chargers made a good comeback and looked set for the win before the Pack burst down the stretch. With Brett Favre looking revitalised, Green Bay are capable of good things.

Are things about to get tougher? I’d say so. Away at Minnesota is a game they can win but it won’t be easy, then they’ve got visits from the Bears and an unpredictable Washington team before their bye week, followed by games against AFC West clubs Denver and Kansas City.

Punishing schedule? Their division is hard to call this year but they’ve clearly been the best team so far, but their non-divisional match-ups include a lot of big name teams so at this stage it’s hard to say what their end record could be. There’s a lot of games in there that could be very close and a touchdown one way or another will make a big difference in many of those games.

How long can they keep it up? Two NFC North games in a row is very tough and I think either Chicago or Green Bay may snatch a win from them. They’ve been excellent up to now, but teams have a long time to study the way they play and as the season gets older, defenses will get smarter and they have a few tough defenses to crack down the line. Reaching their week 7 bye without a loss would be huge.

Indianapolis Colts
Who’ve they beaten? Saints, Titans, Texans

Have they flattered to deceive? Not at all. They trounced the Saints before getting battling, well-deserved wins over Tennessee and Houston. They’re not looking at their overbearing best at all but they’re still winning, and that’s crucial.

Are things about to get tougher? Not especially. The Titans and Texans have proven themselves as decent teams so far, they’ve got Denver coming up followed by Tampa Bay, a bye, Jacksonville and Carolina. Decent teams, a couple of which have the ability to give them a fight but won’t scare Indy. The hardest part of their schedule comes in 6 weeks time. A game at home against the Patriots followed by a game on the road against San Diego.

Punishing schedule? Their AFC South rivals are looking better as a group of teams than some might have expected which along with Indy having games against a host of AFC West teams and a game in Baltimore shows that if they get to the playoffs, which they should, they’ll be thoroughly deserving.

How long can they keep it up? Come the week 9 game when they entertain the Patriots, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for them to be 8-0. I wouldn’t possibly like to call it beyond that at this stage, especially when the game after is in San Diego against the Chargers who might be back to something like their best by then.

New England Patriots
Who’ve they beat? Jets, Chargers, Bills

Have they flattered to deceive? Not even a tiny bit. They’ve faced two weak teams but they’re still the real deal. This is a team with realistic Super Bowl ambitions.

Are things about to get tougher? Yes. Their defense should send them through a potential shootout with Cincinnati (but don’t bet against the Bengals altogether) and the Browns should be beaten in week 5, following that New England face potential banana skins Miami and Washington in weeks 7 and 8, book-ended by week 6 and 8 games on the road against Dallas and Indianapolis.

Punishing schedule? Their division has been weaker than expected so far, but they’ve got plenty of hard games. As well as the week 6 to 10 schedule mentioned, later they have a run of consecutive games against the Eagles, Ravens and Steelers. Not an easy schedule by anybody’s standards.

How long can they keep it up? It’s hard to predict that any team will win so many big games in the regular season, but if anybody looks capable of it then it’s the Patriots. They could slip up almost anywhere in their remaining schedule, but it won’t happen often. This team will make the playoffs in style before they begin their assault on the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Who’ve they beat? Browns, Bills and 49ers.

Have they flattered to deceive? Yes. They’ve won and won well, but sterner tests are on the way for Pittsburgh.

Are things about to get tougher? Undoubtedly. No disrespect but a lot of teams would have gone 3-0 over the teams Pittsburgh beat. They’ve got much trickier teams to face from here on in.

Punishing schedule? In their division, Cincinnati are inconsistent but have the potential to devastate great offenses, Baltimore are unspectacular but difficult to break down and the next time they face the Browns the era of Brady Quinn may have begun. Aside from a game at Foxboro, their non-divisional schedule could have been a lot more brutal than it is.

How long can they keep it up? Games away in Denver and Cincinnati might provide their first defeat this year, but if they win those their momentum could carry them on a stream of wins well into the latter half of the season.

Oh-and-threes
Atlanta Falcons
Who’ve they lost to? Vikings, Jaguars, Panthers

Do they look as bad as the record suggests? Pretty much. They’ve shown flashes of ability on both sides of the ball but struggled to maintain any good form. There’s been more incompetence than brilliance against teams who haven’t always looked particularly special.

Are things about to get any easier? No. Games against Houston, at Tennessee and against he Giants could see their season well and truly sunk.

Punishing schedule? They look unlikely to threaten their divisional opposition in the standings, and games against Seattle and Indianapolis look like they can be chalked down for losses right away based on current form.

Is it just a blip? They have players of talent but they’ve allowed too many defensive players to get up, close and personal with Joey Harrington in the worst way to believe they’re going to mount a challenge on a league, conference or divisional level.

Buffalo Bills
Who’ve they lost to? Denver, Pittsburgh and New England

Do they look as bad as the record suggests? It’s hard to blame them for losses against three good AFC teams, but they’ve looked singularly toothless for much of the time and aside from a game that Denver ought to have killed much earlier Buffalo didn’t seem like they were going to cause any scares.

Are things about to get any easier? Nope. While the Jets are beatable in week 4, they’ve then got a bye week sandwiched by matches against Dallas and Baltimore.

Punishing schedule? NFC East teams to face, a division that’ll be very hard for them plus games against dangerous teams such as Baltimore and Jacksonville and a Cincinnati attack the Bills just don’t look capable of repelling promise to make this a brutal season for the Bills and their fan base.

Is it just a blip? I’m afraid not, unless they have hidden depths to rival the Marianas Trench.

Miami Dolphins
Who’ve they lost to? Redskins, Cowboys, Jets

Do they look as bad as the record suggests? They’ve been a mixed bag. The defense has failed to live up to their billing as one of the best in the NFL while an offense that has mostly been as drab as expected has managed to show flickers of life. There’s no shame in losing to the teams they’ve lost to, but they’d have hoped to do better.

Are things about to get any easier? Probably. Up next is Oakland who are another team who seem unable to play to their strengths right now as, like Miami, they’ve under-performed on defense and over-performed on offense. An away game at Houston will be difficult and that’s followed by a journey to Cleveland. In week 7 they have New England, so they could do with getting a win or two under their belts before then.

Punishing schedule? Their division will be a struggle if the Jets start to play like they did in 2006, and three games littered throughout the remaining schedule are against Baltimore, Cincinnati and New York (Giants) which will cause problems for Miami if they don’t shape up soon.

Is it just a blip? Hard to tell. The offense was never expected to flourish by many, but the inability of the defense to dominate as it did last year is a major concern and they need to sort it out fast because they won’t have an offense able to carry them.

New Orleans Saints
Who’ve they lost to? Colts, Buccaneers, Titans

Do they look as bad as the record suggests? Amazingly, they really do. Being squashed by the Colts is one thing, but looking so impotent against the Titans and the Bucs when they’re meant to be Super Bowl contenders is inexcusable. This time last year they had 76 points from three games rather than 24, and Sean Payton was squeezing great performances out of his roster. This season they still look susceptible to letting the big play get past their defense and on offense they’ve been completely uninspired.

Are things about to get any easier? Most teams prefer their bye week to be later, but the Saints need this week 4 bye badly. It won’t be a rest though, they essentially need to treat it as a two-week camp and pretend they’re starting again for 2007. Study where things have gone wrong, look at how to improve and allow Sean Payton to sort out the running game sans Deuce McAllister.

Punishing schedule? Carolina will be two tough games and after their bye they really need to hit the ground running. Philly at home and Chicago on the road is a tough way to end the season but if they can recover and there’s nothing there’s nothing these players shouldn’t be able to handle and still put up a respectable record by the end of the year.

Is it just a blip? It has to be, surely? Even with part of their running back tandem done for the season, you look at some of the players on the roster and have to think they’ll turn it around sooner rather than later but stranger things have happened than a seemingly good team bombing the next season. I think they’ll recover to challenge for their division but they need to make the most of this bye week.

St. Louis Rams
Who’ve they lost to? Panthers, 49ers, Buccaneers

Do they look as bad as the record suggests? Pretty much. A talented offense has floundered and don’t have the back-ups they need to steady an injury-hit offensive line, and their defense looks no better than it did last season.

Are things about to get any easier? The five games before their bye include Dallas, Baltimore and Seattle (not to mention a divisional showdown with Arizona and a game against the Browns) so I wouldn’t say so.

Punishing schedule? Yeah, two Seahawks games are always hard but aside from those usual fixtures, they have Dallas, Baltimore, Green Bay, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to play this year… plenty of teams with players capable of doing well against the sloppy Rams defense.

Is it just a blip? It’s to say it is when their O-line is beat up and their defense is full of holes once again. Maybe the Rams should look forward to a decent draft pick in 2008 and try to build a competitive defense in the meantime.