As the NFL season moves closer and closer to the playoffs, now is as good of a time as ever to see how the league currently looks and to see how things might shake down as the season comes to a close.
As usual, there are some teams that are having surprisingly successful years as well as teams that are not living up to the expectations set before them this season.
This season has been particularly fun to watch because of all the parody in the NFL. Every week it looks like there is another new team at the top of the food chain, and as soon as they get comfortable another team bumps them off.
Just last week the Atlanta Falcons dropped their first game of the season to their bitter rivals the New Orleans Saints, up until their loss to the Saints the Falcons were looking like the team to beat across the NFL.
And they still might be, but the reality is that this season has become too difficult to determine who the alpha dog is.
For example, even when the Falcons were the only undefeated team in the NFL they still didn’t get all the respect they deserved. Other teams in the NFC were still holding the label as the “top team.” Both the defending champion New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers have been viewed as the best team but have since dropped games and have looked weaker and weaker.
Plus, there are two teams in the NFC North that could both very easily represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. The Chicago Bears have had a very stellar season so far, only losing two games to the Green Bay Packers and the Houston Texans.
Speaking of the Packers, somehow a lot of people have forgotten that Green Bay won a Super Bowl two seasons ago — the league needs to be on the lookout for the Pack.
Not much has changed in the AFC. Rex Ryan and the Jets are still looking up at the Patriots wondering if they will be able to pull past them. Texans are running the South and look to be maybe the best team in the NFL. The Ravens and Steelers continue to hold the AFC North with a tight and brutal grip. And the AFC West is, well, up in the air as usual.
The AFC pretty much has the same teams fighting for the top spot as they do every year, not much variety comes from that part of the NFL.
If the season were to end soon it would be hard to pick a winner to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The Texans have one of the best defenses in the league and could easily be the favorite, but at the same time it is hard to look past New England in the playoffs.
As the season gets closer and closer to the finish it will get more and more exciting to see what teams come out on top.
Currently it would be hard to choose who will reach the Super Bowl. There are many questions in each conference. Prepare for an exciting finish to the season.
Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to
tyrollason@yahoo.com.
