Right now, none of this talk means much except to say that turnover is still a constant in the NFL Four teams currently holding playoff spots weren't in the playoffs last year, which is just under the average turnover from year to year. If you can believe it, the teams with the top two playoff spots in the NFC right now are the Cardinals and Lions - the big question there is which team is more surprising to be in that position.
Enough flashing forward. Now, back to Week 9....
1. The Brady/Manning rivalry is the perfect example of too much of a good thing. No one is really at fault in Tom Brady and Peyton Manning facing off at least once every year. Except when at least one of them was hurt (Brady in 2008 and Manning in 2011), they've played against each other every year, and I think that actually takes away something from watching them play. If they went head to head once every three or four years, that would give us something to look forward to. Instead, we get the same talking heads on TV talk about how special their rivalry has been over the years. A match up like Brady vs. Manning would be a whole lot more special and unique if we only had, say, 4 regular season match ups in the regular season instead of 10 (the playoffs are a separate beast).
I realize this entire concept sounds spoiled and unappreciative, and perhaps I will only appreciate their rivalry more when at least one of them retires. Their history is one for the books, and arguably the best rivalry in any sport since Magic vs. Bird in the NBA.
2. Ben Roethlisberger is not human. I don't know what he's been having for breakfast the past couple weeks, but in his past two games, Ben has thrown for 862 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 0 picks. For the entire season so far, he's thrown for 2720 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions. Those are MVP-caliber numbers, and he's never finished at the top of the league in any of those categories. Peyton Manning will actually have some serious competition this year for MVP between Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, and DeMarco Murray.
3. The Goat of the Week Award goes to Philip Rivers. On the other end of the quarterback spectrum this weekend was Rivers. He went 12-of-23 on the day for 138 yards and 3 interceptions, easily one of his worst performances in his career. Rivers injured his hand after being hit by Olivier Vernon in the third quarter, which mercifully ended his day early. By then, the game was already lost, so it was pointless for him to return. The Chargers have their bye next week, giving them some time to rest up and recover after three straight losses.
4. In fact, the road only gets tougher for the Chargers from here on out. The much-needed bye week will give the Chargers the opportunity to recoup from a grueling stretch. Their next two games are both at home and very winnable, versus Oakland and St. Louis. Then their final five games of the season is a virtual murderer's row: at Baltimore, versus New England, versus Denver, at San Francisco, and finish at Kansas City. If they are 7-4 going into those final five games, they'd need to win at least three of them to give themselves a decent chance at making the playoffs.
5. The Eagles' season is hanging in the balance. Nick Foles broke his collarbone at the end of the first quarter in Sunday's game against Houston, and there's no word as to whether he'll be able to return before the end of the season. However long he's out, Mark Sanchez will be starting for the Eagles in the meantime. Sunday was his first time getting in-game action at quarterback in nearly two years, but he did throw a touchdown to Jeremy Maclin with about 4 minutes left in the game to seal the win. Sanchez never had many quality offensive playmakers around him in his time with the Jets, so his true talents as a quarterback will show now that he has some real talent around him in Philadelphia.
6. Bruce Arians is a virtual lock for the Coach of the Year again. Arians won it in 2012 when Colts coach Chuck Pagano had to battle leukemia, and it was well-deserved. Now he's turned around the Arizona Cardinals into the single best team in the NFL in a remarkably short period of time. He'd become the sixth coach in league history to win the award after coaching multiple teams, joining names like Dan Reeves, Bill Parcells, Chuck Knox, Don Shula, and George Allen. That's some impressive company.
7. St. Louis has a chance to play a spoiler in the second half. After both literally and figuratively upsetting the 49ers on Sunday, the Rams have a shot at ruining several teams' playoff chances in the final 7 weeks of the season. They have to play Arizona twice (including this coming Sunday in Arizona), Denver, San Diego, and finish the season at home against Seattle, who they already beat once this season. They won't likely win all those games, but it's not inconceivable that they could ruin at least one team's hopes for the playoffs.
8. The court of public opinion has quickly turned on Jadaveon Clowney. Back in May when the Texans made Clowney the #1 overall pick taken in the NFL draft, most talking heads were quick to anoint him as Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, myself included, and for good reason: He'd be playing alongside J.J. Watt, arguably the best defensive player in the NFL right now. In Week 1, Clowney tore a meniscus in his knee, knocking him out for several weeks. He missed Sunday's game due to the flu, and now there are reports that the Texans organization is already annoyed with Clowney. It amazes me as to how quickly people are labeling him a bust of a draft pick when he's barely played a down in an NFL game. Even if his work ethic is as questionable as Steve Spurrier made it out to be, it doesn't mean he can't straighten out his act. Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith was a headcase in college, but his first couple years in the league were under Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Not only has Smith not had any legal issues in his entire career to date, but he's become one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL. There's no reason why Clowney can't get his head straight eventually either.
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