10 Things We've Learned After Seven Weeks of the NFL Season

Another year, another batch of surprises and short-comings by the NFL.  Some teams are leaping off the paper and proving themselves to be the class of the league.

Others began the year on that page, and are now stumbling towards the finish line.

We can sit here as experts and/or fans every single year and make preseason predictions, but it's around this time in the football year that we really start being able to generate ideas about the identities of each team.  After seven weeks of football, I think it's safe to say that we know (roughly) what to expect week in and week out.

These 10 lessons are those expectations that we can take thus far.

The Baltimore Ravens May Not Be as Good as We Thought

A 12-7 loss to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football?  Really, Baltimore?

One hundred and forty six net yards of offense is all that the Ravens could accumulate on Monday night.  To add salt to the wound, the league's worst offense defeated the league's top defense.  It may not have been much, and the Jaguars were by no means impressive in this game—but these are facts.

There's no doubt that Baltimore has the talent to succeed, and that's why only a week ago, I was writing about how they'll be the No. 1 seed in the AFC.  Now, I really need to rethink that.

It's not that I don't think they CAN; it's more that they're so inconsistent that the reality is, how can they?

Flacco has thrown for under 200 yards and at least one pick in three games this season.  Ray Rice has only reached the century mark twice.

The defense?  Well, they're incredible as usual, but the lackluster offense has been defeated by Tennessee and Jacksonville.  Neither of those teams are top-notch opponents.

Cam Newton Can Play in the NFL

I can stand up like a man and say that I was one of the guys who quickly jumped on the "Cam Newton can't play in the NFL" bandwagon.  I was on it for a long time, too.

Now, here we are after seven weeks, and Cam Newton has thrown for over 2,100 yards, good for fourth in the league.  He's got eight touchdowns and nine picks.  Obviously, that stat line isn't good, but what more can you expect from a man whose only good receiver is an aging Steve Smith?

Due to a lackluster running game, Newton has had to pick up the slack.  In addition to having some really good passing stats, his personal running game is picking up right where it left off at Auburn.  He's seen the endzone on his own two feet seven times.

Keep your heads up, Panther fans: Newton is going to take this team to the top in just a few short years.

Tony Sparano Is Just Awful

OK, so maybe Sparano doesn't have much to work with in Miami, but come on, the madness has to stop eventually.

His play-calling is erratic, and the plays themselves just make viewers scratch their head.

The team is fumble-prone. No quarterback on their roster can throw for anything, which makes Brandon Marshall look ineffective.

You know there are problems on a team whose kicker is their best player.  I'm seeing a lot of similarities to the 1-15 Dolphins in 2007. 

The Cincinnati Bengals Are Re-Building, Not Falling Apart

With the departure of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, experts began to imply that the Bengals were in even worse shape than 2010 (a 4-12 season, mind you).  Following that were the shenanigans by Carson Palmer.

Once it was determined that none of these guys would return, everyone basically scratched the Bengals from any conversations, calling them a lost cause.  Now, six games and four victories later, people are beginning to turn their heads.

Andy Dalton and A.J. Green are proving to be a couple of the best draft picks the 2011 draft had to offer.  Green, the Bengals first-round selection, has caught 29 passes for 453 yards, putting him on pace for a 1,000-yard season.

As for Dalton, he's been good (not great), with occasional speed bumps along the way.  He has racked up over 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns.

In addition to an offense that is coming together, the defense has been top five in the league all season.  If both sides of the ball can continue being effective, they could make a shocking 2011 run.

One thing is for certain—this team has not fallen apart, but are coming together and growing fast.

Arizona's Efforts to Find a Quarterback Are Still on-Going

The Cardinals traded away their best defensive player in order to get Kevin Kolb, an unproven, yet hyped quarterback from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Six games in, the Cards are 1-5, and Kolb is a big reason why.

He's been inefficient in just about every game except for the win, which came on Sept. 11.  He's thrown at least one pick in every game since then, and often has trouble placing balls into the proximity of receivers.

In fact, he couldn't manage to throw a touchdown in the team's fourth or fifth games.  A two-week hiatus from throwing touchdowns won't earn you much respect.

Sit back, Cardinal fans:  You aren't too far off from being a contender in the "Suck for Luck" games.

Matthew Stafford Is, in Fact, a Top-Tier Quarterback

This past week's loss to Atlanta was Stafford's first bad performance of 2011, as he threw for well under 200 yards and a single touchdown.

Overall, however, Stafford has been a stud.  First of all, he's avoided the injury bug that has plagued him for his first couple seasons in the NFL, so there's a victory in and of itself. 

Secondly, he's got a 4:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.  The Lions have been looking for a quarterback for a million years to try to bring some prestige back to Detroit.

Finally, Stafford is right around the 2,000-yard mark as we enter Week 8.  His pass efficiency has been very good, and he's got plenty of help on the field from Calvin Johnson.

At this point, he is definitely a top 10 quarterback.  By the beginning of 2012, he'll be in the top five.

Rex Ryan Is Going to Be Wrong..... Again

When guys make preseason predictions, most of them are sensible enough to guarantee something not so astronomical.  They may predict a certain number of wins or maybe a playoff berth.

As for Rex Ryan, he goes all out.  He's guaranteed a Super Bowl victory for the third straight season.  For some reason, the man just can't seem to help himself.

Last year, I kind of agreed that the New York Jets were the team to beat in the AFC.  Then I watched their 2010 campaign play out, and I was less than impressed.  In 2011, I'm even further down that ladder.

Mark Sanchez is only a couple steps above Curtis Painter, and Shonn Greene is one of the biggest running back busts of the last ten years.  Between the two of them, that makes the Jets' offense more ineffective than it is ever actually effective.

I'm aware they beat San Diego in Week 7, but that's the whole blind squirrel finding a nut thing.

The defense isn't bad, but really, if you can't put up points in the NFL, it really isn't going to make a huge difference (unless you're the 2000 Baltimore Ravens).  Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis can't bail out the offense all season long.

Peyton Manning Is the Most Valuable Athlete in Sports

I feel as though this slide just doesn't need justification.

Peyton Manning has basically had the same team to work with the last couple seasons.  Donald Brown and Joseph Addai as the running backs, throwing the ball to Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Dallas Clark, so on and so forth.

This has been, for years, accompanied by a pretty bad defense.  It never mattered to the Colts, because their golden boy could be under center and lead them to the playoffs (which he did for the last 12 years).

Now, the Colts are 0-7 without their fearless leaders.  He may not be the BEST quarterback to take the field, but we are now certain as to how much he meant to the Colts' organization.

Jim Harbaugh Is the Answer in San Francisco

Until Jim Harbaugh is in a boxing ring with Jim Schwartz, he's found a home in San Francisco.

He's led the 49ers to a 5-1 start in 2011, their best in quite some time.  Their stats aren't really that impressive, but let's look at their list of defeats:

• in Cincinnati, 13-8
• in Philadelphia, 24-23
• vs. Tampa Bay, 48-3
• in Detroit, 25-19

Those are victories against three teams with winning records and the self-proclaimed "dream team."  In addition, their only loss was in overtime against the Dallas Cowboys.

They're really isn't a new identity on the field to help the 49ers—it's been Harbaugh's game plans.

The offense is performing better than years past (though that isn't saying much) and the defense has really stepped up their game.  Harbaugh has breathed new life into San Francisco, and they're riding a wave of momentum into Week 8.

Green Bay Is the Class of the League

There is absolutely no one in the league right now who can stop Aaron Rodgers and this raging Packers' offense. 

Rodgers has thrown for well-above 300 yards in all but one game this year (297 against Chicago) and has multiple touchdowns in every game.  I'm rather enjoying this, as Rodgers is my quarterback in every fantasy league I'm in.

More to the point, James Starks and Ryan Grant are putting out a running game that's good, but not great.  Still, this is a passing team.  The offensive line is top-notch, as it was during last year's Super Bowl run.  Finally (on the offensive side at least), name a receiver on the Packers' squad that's no good.  If you named any receiver or tight end, you're dead wrong.

The defense hasn't been quite as dominant as the offense, but they'll get there.  They're led by defensive back Charles Woodson and linebacker Clay Matthews.  These two are a couple of the best defenders in the game, and once the defense really begins to click, this team will be downright bulletproof.

Green Bay is 7-0 through seven weeks; how likely is 16-0?