Is Every NFL Team Better, Worse or Equal to Their Records?

While it may be hard to gauge where teams stand in the NFL following just two weeks, those games still do represent about 13 percent of each team's games this season. So, you are going to get forecasters, like myself, who will attempt to figure out where these teams stand.

Some, the Indianapolis Colts, are probably where many of us expected them to be following the news about Peyton Manning. Others, such as the Kansas City Chiefs are disappointing pretty much everyone that projected them to challenge for the AFC West title.

Still, you have a myriad of different expectations and only three different possible record scenarios at this point. Well, if you don't include ties. Currently there are seven undefeated and seven win-less teams in the NFL: The rest are 1-1. Talk about parity. 

Of the undefeated teams, three are in the NFC East and of the win-less teams, two reside in the NFC West. That is probably the way most of us expected it. Yet, how many of us really thought the Buffalo Bills would be 2-0 at this point and the St. Louis Rams would be 0-2?

Today I am going to give my take on where each team stands and whether their record reflects how good they actually are. 

Arizona Cardinals: 1-1

If it weren't for a late game loss against the Washington Redskins last week, Arizona would be looking at a 2-0 record and first place in the NFC West. However, they ended up losing a heart-breaker at the end.

Listen, this is about where I expect the top three teams in the NFC West to be this season: at or around .500. Arizona is giving up over 340 passing yards per game and that was against two quarterbacks who weren't even on their radar during the preseason. I have vigorously stated that the trade of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to Philadelphia in the Kolb deal was bad for Arizona. 

They did "replace" Cromartie with Patrick Peterson, whom I like a lot, but he isn't ready to be a No. 1 corner in the NFL at this point. The injury to Greg Toler does hurt a great deal and Richard Marshall just continues to regress as a defensive back in the NFL.

On the other hand, Kevin Kolb has played pretty well during the first two games and it seems that he and Larry Fitzgerald are starting to find their groove in the passing game.

All three of Arizona's games before their Week 6 bye are winnable: Seattle, New York (G) and Minnesota. Even if Arizona wins two of those three games, they should be looking pretty in the NFC West heading into the second half of the season.

My Take: Arizona is equal to their 1-1 record but still have a lot of issues to fix on defense in order to justify anyone calling them division favorites.  

Atlanta Falcons: 1-1

Now, that was one heck of a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Matt Ryan and the Falcons came through big time at the end to avoid a disappointing 0-2 start. With this Matty Ice continues his tremendous home success as a starting quarterback. 

That said, there are some questions that need to be answered in regards to the Atlanta Falcons and they are not minor. 

The first thing that needs to change is the pressure being put on Matt Ryan. He has been sacked nine times in two games, while Sam Baker appears lost in pass protection. If Ryan isn't given the time to pass it limits the effectiveness of their star playmakers on offense. 

The other primary issue that Atlanta has is the fact that they don't have a No. 1 corner. In fact, their second highest paid player, Dunta Robinson, looks much more like a marginal starter at this point. Atlanta is giving up over 300 passing yards per game and are extremely vulnerable in the back end of the defense. 

Atlanta has one of the most talented offenses in the entire NFL and a true franchise quarterback. Those are two things that perennial winning teams must have. It is just the two areas of vulnerability that should worry them at this point.

My Take: Atlanta is more talented than a .500 record this early in the season would indicate. They had a dud of a game against the Chicago Bears but came on strong towards the end against Philadelphia. Still looking at this team to win double digit games. 

Baltimore Ravens: 1-1

To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what to make of the Baltimore Ravens' first two performances. You go from blowing out one of the best teams in the conference to laying a dud against a vastly inferior team. 

This happened last season after the Ravens beat the New York Jets in the opener they lost to Cincinnati in their second game. John Harbaugh is an excellent coach and this mirage against Tennessee will not have any long term implications. However, Joe Flacco needs to show more consistency in his fourth NFL seasons.

He followed up a solid Week 1 performance by throwing two interceptions and completing less than 50 percent of his passes last week against the Tennessee Titans.  The Ravens also have some issues  along the defensive secondary. They are 28th in the NFL in pass defense, which doesn't bode well for a team that will be playing some pass-happy teams moving forward in 2011. They have the Rams, Texas and Chargers remaining on their schedule.

We all know what this talented team is capable of and they will rebound from a humiliating loss at the hands of the Titans last week. 

My Take: At this point you still have to consider the Baltimore Ravens as the favorite to win the AFC North. They are better than their 1-1 record would indicate. 

Buffalo Bills: 2-0

Tell me that you expected Buffalo to be 2-0 at this point and I want to buy some stock in some really good investment plan from a Nigerian king. Still, the Bills have been incredibly impressive on both sides of the ball thus far.

After destroying the defending AFC West champion, Kansas City Chiefs, 41-7 in the season opener Buffalo came up strong against a good Oakland Raiders team: at least, in the second half.

Buffalo scored five second half touchdowns on five possessions last week against Oakland to come back from a double-digit halftime deficit. To put this in perspective, they scored six total offensive touchdowns in their final five games last season.

Can Buffalo keep this up?

I wouldn't be willing to bet the house on it. While Ryan Fitzpatrick is looking like a stud quarterback in Buffalo and they do have multiple offensive weapons, the schedule gods will not be doing them any favors moving forward. They have seven games against teams that finished above .500 on the remainder of their schedule this season. Additionally, the Bills will have to travel to play both the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

My Take: The Bills are not as good as their 2-0 record would indicate. There does remain some glaring holes on the roster but this team should surprise a lot of people who had them as one of the worse five or six teams in the league. Look for them to get six or seven wins this season and build on that success with a lot of young talent.  

Carolina Panthers: 0-2

The Carolina Panthers are extremely hard to gauge at this point. They look like a one man show and that man is a rookie quarterback. Normally that would mean they are just about as good as their 0-2 record would indicate. 

However, there are many different variables that come into play when looking at this team. Neither of the Panthers' two stud running backs have been able to get it together as of yet. In fact, Cam Newton surprisingly leads the team in rushing. 

At some point the rookie quarterback is going to come down to earth and will have to get some help in the back field. If not, it could be a long remainder of the season for Carolina. 

I do like the way Newton and Steve Smith have come together in a relatively short amount of time. The former All-Pro receiver has caught 14 passes for a league-leading 334 yards conjuring up memories of his previous success.

One of the issues I see with Carolina moving forward is the fact that they will be without both Thomas Davis and Jon Beason for the remainder of the 2011 season. When healthy, they are two of the Panthers' best players. 

My Take: Carolina is about where they should be record-wise but they have looked impressive in both losses. They are no longer anemic on offense and have a lot of hope for the future with Cam Newton. Still, this team is a couple years away from sniffing .500. 

Chicago Bears: 1-1

One week after feeling really good about themselves, the Chicago Bears have dropped back down to earth following a blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints. It would seem that Jay Cutler is too inconsistent of a player to lead a winning team but we all said that last season and they Bears went to the NFC Championship. 

While the Bears do have some playmakers on offense, they are missing that true No. 1 receiver that would make Cutler's job a whole lot easier. Instead, he has to rely on a lot of talented but sporadic weapons on offense. 

The Bears defense is still among the league's best and that will keep them in a lot of games. However, you have to look at the way this team played against New Orleans in order to gauge whether or not they are an upper-echelon NFC team. 

My Take: The Bears record indicates where I believe they will end up at the end of the season. At this point, it is hard to imagine the Bears competing with Green Bay or Detroit for a division title. Additionally, the loser of that division race is probably looking at a wildcard birth. Expect the Bears to stay around .500 for the remainder of the season. 

Cincinnati Bengals: 1-1

This preseason I said that you wouldn't see a rookie quarterback have the success we saw with Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez in previous seasons. While Andy Dalton and Cam Newton have combined for a 1-4 record, they have both looked like pro-ready starting quarterbacks in the NFL. 

Still, one has to wonder whether Andy Dalton will be able to keep it up. The Bengals offense lacks experience at key positions and are not ultra-talented on either side of the ball. The loss of Jordan Shipley will also hurt the Bengals moving forward.

This is a team that many "experts" deemed as the worse in the NFL. Well, that is not the case right now. Cincinnati came really close to starting the season 2-0 before losing to a bad Denver Broncos team. This is what the Bengals MO is going to be for the remainder of the season: lose close games against mediocre competition and get blown out against top-tier teams.

My Take: The future looks much brighter in Cincinnati than it did towards the end of the 2010 season. However, they have way too many holes, are too young and need more talent to compete. Their 1-1 record is not an indication of the Bengals talent. They will probably win three or four games the remainder of the season...at most.  

Cleveland Browns: 1-1

Someone needs to tell the Cleveland Browns that beating the Indianapolis Colts by single digits is not an indication that you are a good football team. Even more alarming is the Browns' season-opener loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

This is a team that many people thought would be taking the next step towards contention in the near future; however, they have not looked that way through the first two games. While the Browns are second in the NFL in passing defense, you have to look at their first two opponents: a rookie quarterback making his first start and a veteran that looks more like my grandfather than an NFL quarterback.

Additionally, the Browns offense has seemed slow over the first two games. They haven't been able to get the real big play and are lacking playmakers on the outside. While their secondary has played well, I am surprised to see Cleveland giving up so much yardage on the ground: that is something I expect to change moving forward.

On the bright side, Cleveland has three home games in the next four weeks against the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks. They are sure to win at least two of those games. 

My Take: I was extremely high on Cleveland heading into the season but those expectations have simmered a little bit recently. I still expect the Browns to be near or at .500 when the season ends, so they are about where I expect them to be. 

Dallas Cowboys: 1-1

Let's be honest here: Tony Romo stepped it up big time against the San Francisco 49ers last week. That said, Dallas was extremely close to being 0-2 on the season and that isn't a good sign. In fact, if it weren't for a fourth quarter collapse by the 49ers, they would be win-less at this point. 

Injuries also have to be a major concern for this team moving forward. Tony Romo will not be at 100 percent for the next couple weeks, Felix Jones is banged up, Dez Bryant didn't play last week and reports are surfacing that Miles Austin isn't a 100 percent. No team can succeed with those type of injury concerns. 

.500 will not be good enough to get the Cowboys a playoff spot this season and I worry that these injuries could continue to loom larger as the season progresses. If these core players get healthy, Dallas does have a chance at the postseason. If not, you are looking at a six or seven win team. 

There are also a lot of issues with regards to offensive line and secondary play when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys. Those are two areas of a team that need to be solid in order for the Cowboys to make a postseason rush. 

My Take: You are looking at Dallas being about an 8-8 team this season, nothing more and nothing less. They have too many holes on both sides of the ball for anyone to seriously believe they will contend with the Eagles for the division crown. 

Denver Broncos: 1-1

The Denver Broncos should really be 0-2 at this point. They have not played winning football in the first two weeks of the 2011 season. Some of this has to do with the play of Kyle Orton and the offense: they just haven't been that good. Orton is averaging seven yards per pass attempt and the Broncos running game is at about 3.5 yards an attempt. 

Another disheartening fact about Denver's offense is that Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal have only combined for 10 receptions thus far. They need these players to step up on the outside for this offense to get the big plays it needs. Denver is just under 50 percent in third down conversions, which is really good. If they can get some more big plays it will make a marked difference for their offense. 

Denver is also giving up 130 rushing yards per game, which lends credence to the opinion that their defense is much worse than what we have seen in the first two weeks. When you are in the bottom third in both rush offense and rush defense, there is a major issue with your team. 

They also gave up over 330 passing yards to rookie, Andy Dalton, last week. Another sign that this defense will continue to struggle in 2011.

My Take: The Broncos are 1-1 at this point but neither game should really impress you. They have to play San Diego (twice), Detroit, Green Bay, the New York Jets, New England and Chicago moving forward this season. Additionally, the Broncos will have difficult matchups on the road against Oakland and Buffalo. I highly doubt this team finishes anywhere near .500 by season's end. 

Detroit Lions: 2-0

Are the Detroit Lions one of the five best teams in the entire NFL? This is a question that has yet to be answered. However, I will tell you they are playing like it. 

The Lions are averaging over 400 yards of offense per game, while only conceding less than 300 yards on defense. This discrepancy speaks a lot to the talent that Detroit has on both sides of the ball. One of the surprising things thus far is that Detroit ranks in the top 10 in pass defense. This had been a major issue for the team over the last couple of seasons. It finally appears that Chris Houston is living up to his high draft status of a couple years ago. 

Matthew Stafford appears to have taken the lead in the race for the "best young quarterback in the NFL." He has surprised even the most optimistic of observers over the course of the first two games. Only Tom Brady appears to be playing at a higher level than the former No. 1 overall pick. 

Jahvid Best is also complementing the passing game really well in the back field. He is averaging well over 100 total yards per game. If they can get that type of contribution from Best, it makes this offense nearly unstoppable. 

The one issue I see for Detroit is their schedule. They won't be playing the Kansas City Chiefs every week. Instead, the Lions have stiff competition over the next two weeks on the road against Minnesota and Dallas. After that, they will be taking on Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta at home the ensuing three weeks. If Detroit is able to come out of those five games at 3-2, they will be in good shape. 

My Take: I know it is hard to imagine the Detroit Lions as one of the best teams in the NFL but that is currently the case. Right now, they are doing nearly everything right. I fully expect them to win double-digit games in 2011, meaning that this 2-0 start is not a mirage. 

Green Bay Packers: 2-0

Hyperbole aside, the Green Bay Packers are the defending Super Bowl Champions and deserve this 2-0 start. That said, they have not been as dominating as some might have thought. 

Following an impressive offensive showing against the New Orleans Saints, which consisted of an equally unimpressive defensive performance, the Green Bay Packers had to come from behind against the Carolina Panthers last week. They took advantage of three Cam Newton interceptions to win by eight points. 

Not exactly the type of game Green Bay Packers had in mind when the schedule was announced. Still, Green Bay is 2-0 and tied with the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North. There is absolutely no reason to believe that this team will not be contending for home field throughout the NFC playoffs.

They have way too much talent on both sides of the ball not to be in contention. Aaron Rodgers is a premiere quarterback in the NFL, Greg Jennings is quickly becoming one of the league's best wide receivers and Jermichael Finley will be one of the best NFL tight ends by midseason. On defense, the Packers have three All-Pro caliber players in B.J. Raji, Clay Matthews and Charles Woodsen.

That said, the injury bug has hit the Packers secondary in the form of long-term injuries to both Tramon Williams and Nick Collins: two of their best defensive players. This team should be deep enough to overcome those issues.

My Take: The Green Bay Packers are every bit as good as their record indicates and will probably be looking at 12-13 wins by seasons end, which will put them in the thick of a No. 1 seed. 

Houston Texans: 2-0

Surprisingly, the strength of the Houston Texans steam up to date has been their rush offense and pass defense. Despite having the league's top rusher last season, Arian Foster, I think many of us expected Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson to take the pre-imminent role on this offense. So far, that has not happened. 

Instead, it has been Ben Tate rushing through opposing defenses and the Texans defense dominating opposing passing games. The ladder is where my surprise comes in: Houston has been among the worse pass defenses in the NFL over the last couple seasons. 

It seems that the additions of Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning have really helped that secondary, not to mention the signing of Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator. 

You can fully expect Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson to play more of a role in the offense moving forward, which should scare the living heck out of opposing defenses. Imagine a running game with Arian Foster and Ben Tate complementing one of the best passing attacks in the NFL. 

My Take: This team looks legit and there is no reason to believe that they are going to struggle down the stretch in 2011. At this point, you would have to conclude that the Houston Texans are the largest division favorites in the entire league. 

Indianapolis Colts: 0-2

Anyone who didn't believe that Peyton Manning was the heart and soul of the Indianapolis Colts received a rude awakening in the first half of the very first game against the Houston Texans. Indianapolis fell down 34-0 at halftime and have not recovered over the last game and a half. 

This team has so many different issues on both sides of the ball that even Jeff George, yes that Jeff George, has been bandied about on various media sites. However, as illegitimate as those reports may be, they represent exactly what is going on with Indianapolis right now. 

Without Manning, this team has absolutely no leadership or direction. They don't seem to be playing with passion and are lacking the necessary talent to be competitive in most games. 

The Colts are 27th in passing offense, 23rd in rushing offense and 29th in rushing defense. The only reason Indianapolis is in the top 10 in pass defense is because there is no need for teams with big leads to actually throw the ball.

I am not attempting to kick a team while it is down, I don't think there is any room for that when writing nationally. However, I do think that it makes sense to point out the issues that every team has and Indianapolis has many of them. 

My Take: If Manning doesn't return this season you are looking at a Colts team that will be lucky to win five games in 2011. On the bright side, it might just put them in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. 

Jacksonville Jaguars: 1-1

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Jack Del Rio are in a between a rock and a hard place right now. They are currently 1-1 and tied for second place in the AFC South. However, it has become apparent that Luke McCown is not a starting quarterback in the NFL. He has completed just over 50 percent of his passes and has not thrown a touchdown yet (four interceptions). 

Do the Jaguars switch to unproven rookie, Blaine Gabbert, and most likely concede the 2011 season? Or, do they go with the veteran and try to contend with Houston for the division title? Del Rio's job appears to be on the line, so I think they will stick with McCown as long as they can. Still, another question needs to be raised: Does Gabbert give them a better chance to win?

Either way, you are looking at a mediocre team with solid talent on both sides of the ball. However, they do not have a super star outside of Maurice Jones-Drew—this in a conference that features a lot of teams with multiple impact players. 

My Take: At this point I think it makes sense for the Jaguars to go with Blaine Gabbert and run with a hybrid youth movement. They have a nice amount of young talent on the roster and should build experience that way in 2011. 

Kansas City Chiefs: 0-2

There are no two ways about it right now: The Kansas City Chiefs are the worse team in the NFL and it isn't even that close. Keep in mind this is a team that won the AFC West last season and returned pretty much everybody from that unit. 

Kansas City has lost their first two games by a combined 89-10 score. Matt Cassel is averaging a bit over four yards per attempt, is putting up only 110 passing yards per game and has a quarterback rating barely over 50. 

Adding insult to injury (bad pun), both Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry are gone for the season. They are arguably the Chiefs' two best players. It gets worse. The strength of Kansas City's defense, their corners, are not playing well either: the Chiefs have surrendered over 260 passing yards per game. 

Overall, the Chiefs are being out-gained by an average of 150 yards per game, have scored one touchdown and given up 11. This pretty much means that Todd Haley is on the hot seat and he should be. Kansas City looked horrible in the preseason and haven't looked any better during the regular year. 

The regression from this team is extraordinary and someone will have to take the fall for it. Haley will most likely be your guy. 

My Take: The Chiefs' record indicates how bad they are right now. There is no other way to go about it. Even without Charles and Berry, this team has talent and now it is time for them to sack up and actually play a game, a real game. Otherwise, you are looking at a team that will be lucky to win three games this season. 

Miami Dolphins: 0-2

Some Miami Dolphins fans inundated me with Tweets when I indicated that Miami would challenge for the cellar in the AFC East this season. Well, at this point they are two games behind each of the other three teams in the division—all of whom are undefeated at 2-0. 

It is way too early to tell if Miami's season is already lost but they need to get their act together in short order. One thing is for sure, they have played two really good teams in the New England Patriots and Houston Texans. In fact, Miami was only one touchdown behind Houston heading into the fourth quarter last week.

That said, you are looking at a defense that is struggling big-time right now. After giving up over 600 yards against New England in the opener, the Dolphins yielded over 200 yards in the first half last week against the Texans before playing much better in the second half. 

On the other hand, Miami's offense has been a pleasant surprise over the first two weeks. Chad Henne has played like a controlled quarterback and is looking starter caliber at this point. They are also averaging over five yards per rush. 

If Miami's defense can settle down, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, Miami will start winning games. Still, this is a team that has two games left against both the Jets and Bills as well as matches against New England, San Diego, Dallas and Philadelphia remaining on their schedule.

My Take: Miami may struggle to a five or six win season but their talent isn't indicative of that. This is a team that should be contending for a wildcard spot in the AFC. Of course, this means that Spags is probably on his way out. 

Minnesota Vikings: 0-2

The Minnesota Vikings are hard to figure out at this point. They looked really bad against a good San Diego Chargers team but almost came away with the victory in the opening week. Last week against Tampa Bay they played flawless first half football only to be beaten in the final minute of the game. 

All this means is that Minnesota is sitting in last place at 2-0 in the NFC North. Their passing game ranks second to last in the league but their running game is third best. This type of unequal distribution needs to be fixed in order for the Vikings to even be considered as playoff long shots at this point.

Donovan McNabb needs to take some pressure off of Adrian Peterson. Otherwise, the All-Pro back is going to find more eight and nine men boxes. No running back can succeed in that situation. Considering Peterson is their most valuable player this has to be considered a necessity. 

How do they do that? That is a question Minnesota needs to answer sooner rather than later.

On defense, the Vikings are allowing way too many third down conversions (13/25) in their first two games. If you want to play ball-control offense with a mix of short passes and runs it is important your defense is actually able to get off the field. 

My Take: Minnesota is a more talented team than their 0-2 record would indicate. However, they are by no means anywhere near the level of Green Bay or Detroit in the NFC North. In fact, they could be looking right into the cellar this season. 

New England Patriots: 2-0

Do I really need to go on about the New England Patriots too much here? Yes, they are every bit as good as their 2-0 record would indicate. Tom Brady is turning up performances we have never seen in modern NFL history and the offense is rolling at a record clip right now. 

The Patriots are averaging over 560 yards on offense. Yes, that is right, 560 yards. Tom Brady is on pace to throw for 7,520 yards. I know that isn't even a possibility at this point but it is an outrageous indicator of what he has done so far.

Still, there remains a couple issues that New England has to address in order to be considered one of the best teams in modern NFL history. First, they might want to play more than two games before getting that tag. Secondly, the Patriots pass defense needs to improve a lot. They rank 31st in the NFL in pass defense, giving up over 380 yards per game. Some of that had to do with Chad Henne throwing the ball up like a mad man in the opener but you could see these issues against San Diego last week. 

My take: New England can get away with winning 35-31 games in the regular season but that doesn't equate to winning football in the postseason. Still, they have to be considered the favorite, if there is one, to win the AFC at this point. 

New Orleans Saints: 1-1

It is hard to fault New Orleans for losing their season opening game against the defending Super Bowl champions in Lambeau Field. It was an extremely impressive performance by the Packers offense. New Orleans rebounded in a great way against the Chicago Bears last week. 

After falling down 7-0 early, the Saints came storming back to beat Chicago and prove any skeptics they might have wrong. There wasn't going to be any long term hangover after an early departure from the 2010 playoffs.

While the Saints pass defense remains in question at this point, their offense seems to be clicking well. Mark Ingram an Darren Sproles seem to be upgrades over what New Orleans had last season in the back field. In fact, Mark Ingram will end up being an every down back before the season is up. He will be taking a lot of pressure off the arm of Drew Brees and give the Saints offense a dimension they have been missing. 

If New Orleans can play more ball control offense and limit the amount of time their defense is on the field, this team will be right in the thick of things when the season comes to a close.

My Take: You have to consider the Saints right up there with Green Bay as the favorites to win the NFC. This was stated by many analysts when the season began and there is no reason to think otherwise at this point. They are much better than their 1-1 record indicates. 

New York Giants: 1-1

The New York Giants "blow out" victory of St. Louis on Monday night has to be considered one of the least convincing double-digit victories in recent memory. If it weren't for the Rams inability to score in the red zone (three field goals) and a costly turnover, you might be looking at a 0-2 New York Giants team.

The Giants pass defense has been absolutely atrocious over the course of the first two games. You are seeing major issues with regard to Aaron Ross, whom the Rams picked on a great deal Monday. If they cannot get that solved it is going to be a long season. The loss of Terrell Thomas cannot help either. 

New York needs their offense to step it up in order for this team to compete in what promises to be a good NFC East division. If not, they are going to be in trouble.

My Take: The New York Giants just don't have the look of a playoff team at this point. Instead, it seems that they are going to tread around mediocrity for the remainder of the season. This will not secure Tom Coughlin's job and it will not get them in the playoffs.

New York Jets: 2-0

The New York Jets are good, really good. However, they are not even the best team in their division: that is scary. This is a team that has the nucleus to contend for the Super Bowl this season.

They have an improving quarterback, Mark Sanchez, and a ton of offensive weapons on the outside. Still, you have to wonder why their running game has not started to go as of yet. They are averaging only 83 rushing yards per game. This needs to change for the offense to improve because the Jets cannot rely on the arm of Mark Sanchez like the Patriots can on Tom Brady.

Defensively, the Jets are downright scary. Their secondary has improved, if that is even possible. And, they remain extremely stout against the run, under 90 yards per game.

My Take: New York just barely escaped the Dallas Cowboys on opening night, which isn't a great sign. Still, they came through when it counted. This is a team that is every bit as good as their record indicates. Look for the Jets to give New England everything they can handle in the AFC East. 

Oakland Raiders: 1-1

Mid way through their game against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday the Oakland Raiders appeared headed to a 2-0 start. They were strolling around with a 21-3 lead when the defense collapsed. By collapse, I mean allowing five second half touchdowns on five possessions—you cannot do much worse than that. In fact, you can't do any worse than that. 

Still, this is a really good Oakland Raiders team and anyone discounting this fact because of one half of a football game would be sorely mistaken. The Raiders have a tremendous amount of talent on their roster. 

Jason Campbell has stepped it up big time so far this season. He is completing over 65 percent of his passes and has thrown only one interception. More importantly, the former Auburn star has only been sacked one time in two games. If the Raiders offense can pass protect as well as they run block, opposing defenses are going to have major issues moving forward.

I am not a big fan of the Raiders defense. They have struggled a great deal this season and appear to be missing a couple key components: mostly in the secondary. So, you are probably going to see a lot more higher scoring games from this team for the remainder of the 2011 season.

My Take: The San Diego Chargers cannot sleep on Oakland this season. This is a talented team with a bunch of nice pieces on both sides of the ball. Darren McFadden may be one of the best pure rushers in the entire league. Oakland might be a year or two away from complete contention but they will surprise a lot of people in 2011. 

Philadelphia Eagles: 1-1

Despite trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and signing Nnamdi Asomugha, the Philadelphia Eagles are on pace to give up more touchdown passes this season (32) than they did last season (31). Now, I understand that it is early on in the season but this has to be alarming to Eagles fans. 

The injury to Michael Vick probably won't cost the star quarterback much time on the pine but it just proved to everyone in the NFL that Philadelphia is not the "dream team." Instead, they have some issues like every other team in the league.

These issues start and end along the offensive line. Vick, despite his athletic ability, has been sacked three times and his teammates, countless times more. This was a primary area of concern for Philadelphia least season and it doesn't seem they have fixed it at this point. 

The Eagles are a star-studded team with exceptional talent. That isn't really in question. My primary concern is that they might not be as good as they thought they were, which could come back to haunt them. Still, when you have talent like this at your disposal there is no way you can be discounted in the long term.

My Take: Philadelphia is better than their 1-1 record would indicate and they should still be the favorite to win the NFC East this season. 

Pittsburgh Steelers: 1-1

I am not sure if Pittsburgh's critics were silenced last week when the Steelers destroyed the Seattle Seahawks. Keep in mind the opponent they were playing. That said, last week's version of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks more like what I expect from them moving forward than the opening game did.

They are still going to have issues in pass protection but this is something that scheme can eventually fix over the long run. Let's just hope Roethlisberger doesn't go down with a serious injury. 

You have to like the play of Mike Wallace at this point. He is proving to be Pittsburgh's new No. 1 receiver and adds a lot to this offense. On defense, the Steelers are as good as advertised. When the offense is struggling Pittsburgh's defense will be able to pick them up a great deal. 

My Take: Pittsburgh is going to be just fine moving forward. The Baltimore Ravens game may have been bad but it could end up being a mirage by the end of the season. This is still one of the elite teams in the entire NFL. 

San Diego Chargers: 1-1

What to make of this team? San Diego thoroughly dominated the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 but still came extremely close to losing. Last week they were beat by a better New England Patriots teams. All indications are that the Chargers are off to their normal slow start. 

A good remedy to this problem is playing Kansas City, Miami and Denver in the next three weeks. Look for San Diego to head into their bye with a 5-1 record. 

You have to love the way Philip Rivers has taken this team on his shoulders over the last couple seasons. He is a true team leader at this point and San Diego seems content on riding his arm the entire season. 

Defensively, the Chargers are pretty darn good. I really like the addition of Takeo Spikes. He is only going to help them with veteran leadership throughout the remainder of the season. This is something that San Diego hasn't had in a couple seasons.

My Take: The Chargers are better than their 1-1 record and should run away with the AFC West. Still, you have to be worried about the inconsistency this team has shown over the last couple seasons. They also cannot sleep on the Raiders. 

San Francisco 49ers: 1-1

Last week's loss to the Dallas Cowboys had to be disappointing to the San Francisco 49ers. They had a 10 point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and completely blew it towards the end. In fact, one thing I know as someone that writes about the 49ers is that it stings the players a great deal—more than you would expect from a week two loss.

Listen, the 49ers are still a pretty darn good team. They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Frank Gore has yet to get started and they have seen their fair share of injures with Michael Crabtree, Braylon Edwards, Shawntae Spencer and Dashon Goldson, all of whom are expected back this week. 

The 49ers look like a more crisp and well-coached team this season. They are plus four in the turnover battle over their first two games and are playing really good football. Now they need this to translate to more wins and execution on the field. 

Right now, San Francisco is No. 1 in the NFL in rush defense, which bodes well for their success moving forward. If you can control both ends of the line of scrimmage and win the turnover battle you are going to win a lot of games. This means that the run-blocking and Frank Gore need to step up.

My Take: I had the St. Louis Rams as the favorites to win the NFC West this season but after two games I am changing that prediction. It seems pretty clear that San Francisco is the best team in the weakest division in football. They will win eight or nine games, which should get them the title. 

Seattle Seahawks: 0-2

If it weren't for the Kansas City Chiefs or the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle would be the worse team in the NFL right now. They are absolutely anemic on offense and are just not playing winning football.

Instead, Seattle is averaging less than 200 yards of offense per game and are minus three in the turnover battle: both are really bad signs. The Seahawks leading rusher, Marshawn Lynch, has a total of 44 rushing yards through two games and they are averaging 2.5 yards per rush. Tarvaris Jackson hasn't been downright horrible, but he hasn't been impressive either. 

At some point you just recognize that a team just isn't that good and we are at that point with Seattle right now. I don't know what the answer to these issues could be. Maybe changing quarterbacks! That said, Charlie Whitehurst probably doesn't exude that much confidence at this point.

My Take: Seattle is in full-scale rebuilding mode right now and will probably finish in the cellar of the weakest division in football. They are a prime candidate in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. 

St. Louis Rams: 0-2

Oh man, it doesn't get much worse than this for a team that had high expectations heading into the season. St. Louis has lost their first two games by a combined 59-29 score. More than that, they are a beat up football team. 

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the Rams' next five opponents look like this: Baltimore, Washington, Green Bay, Dallas and New Orleans. They will be lucky to come out of this stretch with a 2-5 record. 

This is not an indication of the talent that St. Louis has, it is more indicative of the scheduling gods playing games with this franchise. Sam Bradford is a franchise quarterback, Steven Jackson is still one of the better running backs in the league and the Rams have a lot of young talent at the wide receiver position. 

Defensively, the Rams have actually been better than advertised. I am really liking their scheme and the way young players are contributing. 

My Take: While the Rams schedule may be their downfall in the first half of the season, they can make up for that with two games against both Arizona and Seattle later in the season. If the Cardinals or 49ers fail to take advantage of the Rams' early season schedule, this team could make a second half run for the division title. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1-1

Josh Freeman may have had his "coming out party" against the Minnesota Vikings last week. He led Tampa Bay from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit to their first win of the season. And it was an extremely important win for the mentality of this young team. 

Tampa Bay has a tremendous amount of young talent on both sides of the ball. This talent is mixed throughout the roster but contains mostly players with three years or less of NFL experience. This means that the Buccaneers are going to face their fair share of growing pains moving forward this season. No longer are they going to be able to creep up on opponents. Teams take you seriously when you are coming off a 10 win season.

My Take: With the schedule that Tampa Bay faces this season it may be unrealistic to expect them to match that 10 win total from last season. However, this team has one of the brightest futures in the NFL. I would say 8-8 or 9-7 sounds more like what we are looking at. 

Tennessee Titans: 1-1

I bet that Seattle is questioning the decision to let Matt Hasselbeck go at this point. The former Pro Bowl quarterback has looked really good for Tennessee over their first two games. He led them to a surprising blow out of the Baltimore Ravens last week. 

Once Chris Johnson gets his legs back you can expect that offense to be one of the better ones in the entire AFC. Yes, I sad the entire AFC. Kenny Britt, whom I had admonished as overrated earlier, looks to be a real stud. The Titans defense is also playing pretty good at this point. 

My Take: Tennessee probably poses the greatest threat to the Houston Texans in the AFC South. They are a pretty good team with a nice amount of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Still, talent seems to indicate Tennessee will probably finish somewhere near what their current record indicates: 8-8 or 9-7 is my prediction. 

Washington Redskins: 2-0

Rex "the great" Grossman, as I have started to call him is looking like a new quarterback and his team is looking nothing like the Washington Redskins we saw last season. However unimpressive their victory was against Arizona last week, Washington seems to be riding high right now.

Well, I am going to be "Negative Vincent" for a second here. They are not the most talented team in the NFC East. In fact, they are probably the least talented team in that division. Mistakes that I saw Washington make last week against Arizona will catch up with them. Average teams cannot afford to make mistakes if they want to win NFL football games. If Washington doesn't fix these mistakes, this 0-2 start will be a mirage.

My Take: You are looking at a six or seven win team in Washington. That said, they do seem to have a direction: something we have been missing in the capital city for sometime now.