(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Week four of the NFL season ended Monday night with the Vikings beating the Packers. The league as a whole is basically a quarter of the way through the season.
While no team is completely out of a playoff spot at this point in the season there are teams that have to make a quick turnaround. There have been surprises as far as how good some teams are and how bad others are.
Since a quarter of the games this season have been played let’s look at what we have learned so far this NFL season. Starting with teams with the best record we will look at all 32 teams.
4-0 Teams
The Giants could be the best team in the NFL. They have a solid defense and special teams.
The young receivers Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks are getting better each week. Eli Manning has Steve Smith as a dependable target.
New York’s running game is one of the best in the league with the load being carried by Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. The offense and defense can carry this team far this season.
The Giants have to be considered top Super Bowl contenders. New York is only two years removed from a great playoff run that ended in a world championship over the Patriots.
The Colts just keep plugging in new players and still keep winning. Indianapolis has lost Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison but there is one constant. That is Peyton Manning at quarterback.
The Colts have moved Joseph Addai and Reggie Wayne in to the starting lineup to keep winning games. As long as the Colts have a defense that can keep games close and have Manning at quarterback the Colts will always be in games.
This team might not have many more winning years in front of it but until Peyton starts to decline as a quarterback this team will be a playoff contender. The Colts are still a Super-Bowl-caliber team this season.
Offense the last couple of seasons have not been a question in New Orleans. Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been outstanding during his time in New Orleans.
The question is can the Saints defense make stops for the offense. The first four games of the season the defense has done its part.
The Saints have to keep winning and get home field advantage if they want to go far in the playoffs. The offense will slow down in the bad weather if this team has to go on the road in the post season.
In the dome the Saints can keep putting up points and not have to worry about the playing outside. The defense will be the key on how far this team will go. Early on that looks pretty far.
Minnesota Vikings
The biggest thing this team might have done was luring Brett Favre out of his second retirement. The Vikings already had the best running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson.
Minnesota needed a quarterback to help them win games when teams decide to not let Peterson beat them. Favre at quarterback makes Vikings opponents respect the pass.
As long as Favre does not wear out this team will be a contender. The defense will be one of the NFL’s best.
The Vikings were a playoff team last season and the main question this team had was quarterback. The addition of Favre at the quarterback position was a big upgrade.
Minnesota will find out good they are with games against Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and a road game at Green Bay. The Vikings needed a miracle pass to beat the 49ers and have not really been challenged in their other three games.
This team could face a late season slide depending on Favre. If Favre does not have a letdown, this could be one of the best teams in the post season.
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