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11/17/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The word "arguably" has been kicked around quite a lot by NFL pundits in recent weeks.
The Giants/Titans are arguably the best team in the league.
Kurt Warner/Adrian Peterson/Clinton Portis has arguably been the league MVP through the first two-and-a-half months of the season.
NFL officials arguably don't know their rear ends from a hole in the Texas Stadium roof when it comes to making an accurate roughing the passer call.
Actually, not many people would argue that last one.
The "A" word is also getting used a great deal when it comes to naming the best and worst divisions in the NFL this season, usually in conjunction with a soliloquy on the strength of the NFC East and NFC South, or weakness of the AFC West or NFC West.
Well, I've been accused of being a pundit, so it's time to make my argument on this topic.
A look at the best and worst divisions in the NFL in 2008, in highly dramatic, Casey Kasem-style descending order:
8. NFC West
The Cardinals (7-3) are going to win this division for the first time, and in fact, are going to be able to claim a division title for the first time since they won the NFL's Eastern Division, as the Chicago Cardinals, in 1947. The team's historic title is going to be pretty anti-climactic, though. Arizona could actually clinch the West as early as next Sunday, since the 49ers (3-7), Seahawks (2-8), and Rams (2-8) all appear headed to the Draft's lottery zone. But how good is Arizona, really? We might not know for sure until the playoffs. The four teams in the NFC West are a combined 6-18 when playing outside the division this year.
7. AFC West
This was already a two-horse race before the end of September, as the Raiders (2-8) and Chiefs (1-9) never looked like they were going to trouble the win column very often, and have lived up to that reputation. The Broncos (6-4) and Chargers (4-6) are better, but neither resides anywhere in the neighborhood of the NFL elite. Denver's defense is among the worst in the league, while San Diego's intensity level has never matched its talent. The winner of this division might be 9-7, and that means a tough first-round playoff assignment against the top Wild Card entry.
6. NFC North
Strange that a division without a winning team wouldn't fare worse on this list, especially considering it also harbors the only remaining winless club in the NFL, the hapless Lions (0-10). But the Bears (5-5), Packers (5-5), and Vikings (5-5) are all dangerous in their own way, and whoever emerges with the title will have the pleasure of hosting a playoff game in an environment that will not be much fun for the visitor. What's more, the three teams in the hunt all have a long, contentious history with one another, which will make the race for the division crown a heck of a lot of fun over the final six weeks.
5. AFC North
Back in the preseason we thought this had the potential to be a terrific four- team race, since the Steelers looked to be treading water, the Browns were supposed to be a serious playoff contender, and the Bengals looked like an "X" factor. But Cleveland (3-6) and Cincinnati (1-8-1) have both been major disappointments, and the only team threatening hit-or-miss Pittsburgh (7-3) is mildly surprising Baltimore (6-4). The Steelers look to have too many problems to be considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and the upstart Ravens may have shown their true colors with Sunday's blowout loss at the Giants. Overall, not a very scary group, though the top two teams do play some defense.
4. AFC South
This has been the most disappointing division in football. Remember that all four teams in the South had records of .500 or better last year, with the Colts, Jaguars, and Titans all making the playoffs, and it looked like the young Texans were on the verge of threatening that trinity this season. But other than the Titans (10-0), who have indeed been the AFC's most consistent, if not most complete, team, the other three clubs have underachieved. The Colts appear to be the only legitimate playoff contender apart from Tennessee, and this Indianapolis (6-4) team is not as powerful as those of years past. Jacksonville (4-6) has crumbled under the weight of injuries and internal bickering, while Houston (3-7) has proven it's not ready for prime time.
3. AFC East
On the flip side of the AFC South scenario is that of the AFC East, which looked to all the world like it would be the Patriots and the three dwarfs as the season kicked off. The Tom Brady injury changed that, though we now know that even if Brady had remained healthy, the division would have been light years better than it was a year ago. The Jets (7-3) have ridden Brett Favre and a revamped defense to the top of the division, Bill Belichick may be doing the best coaching job of his career with the still-relevant Patriots (6-4), the Dolphins (6-4) have undertaken one of the great one-year turnarounds in recent NFL memory, and the Bills (5-4) have struggled of late but would be good enough to win at least two divisions on this list. Like the NFC North, this division should be a blast to watch as the weather begins to turn colder.
2. NFC South
It doesn't have the national profile of the AFC East or NFC East, but what the NFC South does possess is four high-quality, well-coached teams that could all provide a difficult matchup come playoff time. The Panthers (8-2) haven't played inspired football against the Raiders or Lions the last two weeks, but have been solid for most of this season and look a real Super Bowl sleeper. The Buccaneers (7-3) are a veteran group that already has a blowout win of Carolina (27-3) on its resume. The Falcons (6-4) have been a pleasant surprise in the first year of the Mike Smith/Matt Ryan era, and it would be unwise to count out a Saints (5-5) team with the most prolific offense in the NFL. Maybe, unlike last year, this division will be deemed worthy of some Pro Bowl citations.
1. NFC East
OK, so it isn't the unstoppable collective force that it appeared to be through the season's first month, though at this moment, there are at least three teams here that will call their seasons a disappointment if they don't reach the Super Bowl. If the Giants (9-1) aren't the consensus top team in the NFL at this moment, then they're no worse than "1-a" behind the Titans. The Cowboys (6-4) haven't allowed their recent injury woes and on-field missteps to alter their goal of being a Super Bowl team, and the talent is there for them to make a similar run to that of the Giants last year. The Redskins (6-4) have some fade potential, but also look capable of beating anyone in the league from week-to-week. The odd team out in the division looks like it will be the Eagles (5-4-1), who looked awful in Cincinnati on Sunday and are already 0-3 in the division. Still, if you want confirmation that is the best division from top-to-bottom in the NFL, watch what happens when the worst team in the NFC East plays the best team in the NFC West on Thanksgiving night.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers will aim
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The Rangers had lost four of five contests to beg
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The 31-year-old France defender has been sidelined since Euro 2008 with an
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JMU clinches bid, maintains top spot in FCS Poll >>
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Backstrom
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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