NFL Week 9: Latest Social Buzz Ahead of Key Sunday Matchups

Last week was a microcosm of the insanity of this NFL season. Injuries to top players, Aaron Rodgers' throwing for 77 yards, the Broncos defense, Peyton Manning’s possible rejuvenation, Tom Brady's doing Tom Brady things and Todd Gurley. Heading into NFL Week 9, can we get wonkier?

Let’s start with Colin Kaepernick. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback was not traded before the deadline and has been benched for Blaine Gabbert. Tanking in the NFL is not as explicit as the NBA, but the 49ers are tanking. No one, except Mrs. Gabbert, believes Blaine is an NFL quarterback.

Bill Barnwell basically summed up Kaepernick's future:

Moving on. There are four remaining undefeated teams: New England, Cincinnati, Carolina and Denver. And, while Cincinnati is now 8-0 after its victory over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football, the remaining three unbeatens will try to match it.

New England quarterback Tom Brady is the 2015-16 MVP and is on pace to throw approximately 48 touchdowns and two interceptions, which would be his best season and the most efficient quarterbacking display ever. The Patriots have a popcorn Week 9 game at home against the Washington Football Team.

His career rival, Denver’s Peyton Manning, had a semi-vintage performance on national TV against the Green Bay Packers, completing 21 passes for 340 yards but zero touchdowns. “Peyton looked like Peyton Manning,” said Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, according to Peter King of SI.com's the MMQB.

Denver travels to Manning’s old home, Indianapolis, this week with new addition tight end Vernon Davis, who became the most moved and picked-up free agent in all fantasy leagues.

If you stashed him on your bench hoping for a miracle, kudos to your patience, but it’s not guaranteed that he’ll be a difference-maker the way Julius Thomas was for two years, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. 

"Vernon Davis won't have Julius Thomas' impact because he's not in the same offense,” Renck wrote. “Thomas found space and mismatches in an aerial circus.”

The most impressive display last week was from the Broncos defense, who completely shut down Rodgers and the Packers offense. Rodgers threw for 77 yards in the game. Seventy-seven.

The beatdown on the Packers was so bad, Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. was left in disbelief, per SI.com's King: “We just held Aaron Rodgers to 50 [net passing] yards! Aaron Rodgers! That’s a little shocking.”

As if that weren’t enough, the Broncos are feeling pretty disrespected, as Von Miller said (via the Broncos twitter account), which doesn’t bode well for opposing offenses:

The 6-1 Packers will get an opportunity for redemption when they play Carolina, but the Panthers defense is as suffocating as Denver. With the emergence of Panthers cornerback Josh Norman as a premier player in the league, he’ll feast on an already lacking receiving core in Green Bay. (And Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are playing.)

Norman’s impact has even garnered attention from the opposition. When speaking about the difference between this matchup and last year’s, Rodgers said, via David Newton of ESPN.com, "Josh Norman didn't play that game and he is a difference-maker on the outside.”

But my favorite matchup this week involves the most recently forgotten position in football: running back, specifically, Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson, the new generation and the best of a generation, respectively. Todd Gurley has been on an absolute tear his first four starts, putting up all-time numbers per NFL on ESPN:

Per ESPN Stats & Info, he’s the first rookie in NFL history to get off to a start this hot:

It’s going to be fun to see how motivated Peterson plays this week, considering he still believes he’s a top running back, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, and isn't close to relinquishing his title as the NFL’s best. I agree with Robert Mays. This game has symbolic meaning.

So the Peterson-Gurley duel is what I’ll be watching most.

The number of undefeated teams this season is a nice story, and they will rightfully receive most of the attention, but do you believe in any of these teams?

Who’s the best team in the NFL? The Broncos? The Packers? The Panthers? The Bengals? Is it the Patriots by default?

Do you believe in Andy Dalton, the Packers defense and Cam Newton in the playoffs? What about Peyton Manning in the cold having played eight more games?

The Broncos know that Manning is at the end of his career, going all in with weapons such as Davis and attempting to trade for Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. They're going for it all this year.

The Packers have a terrible run defense and bad offensive tackles. (Did I mention Rodgers threw for 77 yards last week?)

The Bengals at 8-0 haven’t won a playoff game since Dalton took over four seasons ago.

Newton’s numbers are worse than Kaepernick’s, and the knock on Carolina has been its weak schedule.

The most exciting player in football is a rookie running back who played four games.

This season has been so odd that I can’t get a grip on it. LeVeon Bell and Steve Smith were lost for the season in Week 8. Manning, C.J. Anderson and the Broncos offense haven’t produced consistently. Chip Kelly’s Eagles are winning because of their defense. Ben Roethlisberger was injured. Andrew Luck was injured. The Cardinals offense is filled with guys who were thought to be done, only to have a resurgence—Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer and Chris Johnson. The Indianapolis Colts tried a new punt formation where 11 players lined up incorrectly! The Cowboys’ Greg Hardy is still playing.

Is your head spinning, too?

Usually by Week 9, we have a grip on the best teams in the league, but we don’t have that this year. No franchise stands as the definitive best team in football. Each team can fall off at any time, spiraling into a losing streak that makes us look silly for thinking it was good.

This season is a roller coaster, and I’m just along for the ride.

 

Help me calm down in the comments by giving me your best team and why.