Top 25 Most Pressing NFL Questions Heading into Week 10

Now that Week 9 of the 2011 season is behind us, we can see the impact that it had on the various division races across the NFL. The races got incredibly tighter in most divisions, except for the NFC West, which is basically over already. There is a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East and AFC West, and that sets up great intrigue for the second half of the season. 

Most teams have just finished the first half of their season, so Week 10 will represent the true test or grind for teams that are faced with the prospect of playing eight games in eight weeks, with no weeks off in between. For one team, they will be playing their third game in an 11-day span, which seems incredibly cruel. 

There are many interesting stories that are popping up heading in to Week 10, so for today we will focus on what we believe are the top 25 most pressing questions in the NFL. 

How Has Tim Tebow Rallied the Broncos to One Game Out?

Tim Tebow has rallied his Denver Broncos to be only one game out from first place in the AFC West. Tebow has won two of his three starts so far, and with the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers all losing on Sunday, the Broncos suddenly find themselves just one game out of first. 

Can they possibly be a playoff contending team? Clearly this is a division that has a number of losing streaks going on. The Raiders have lost two in a row, while the Chargers have lost three in a row. They play each other Thursday night, so one of them will add another loss to the streak. The Chiefs started out with three straight losses, while the Broncos themselves also lost three in a row. 

It was rumored that if Tebow turned in another sub-par outing on Sunday, that the Broncos were prepared to turn to Brady Quinn as the starting quarterback. According to the Denver Post, the Broncos were ready for Quinn to go in for Tebow if he started playing poorly again. But Tebow probably put those rumors to rest with his performance against the Raiders. 

As we mentioned Week 10 kicks off the second half of the season, and the Broncos schedule looks fairly tough going forward, as they play the Chargers, Kansas City twice, the Jets, Bills, Patriots and Bears. If Tebow continues to lead the Broncos to wins, I think that they have to keep letting him start. If the Broncos drop three in a row again, then it is time to reevaluate. 

Is There Any Dominant Team in the AFC Conference?

After nine weeks of games, you would like to think that one team has been able to emerge out of the AFC Conference that appears to be head and shoulders above everybody else. But as I try my best to identify who that team is, I am at a loss for being able to find the answer. 

The Baltimore Ravens have set themselves up to take control of the AFC North with their thrilling last-second victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. The Ravens, though, have many question marks on offense. Joe Flacco has three games where he has failed to top 200 yards in passing and Ray Rice has three games where he couldn't top 45 yards in rushing. They had clunker games against Jacksonville and Tennessee and that first half against Arizona all make me think that they aren't the AFC dominating team. 

The Patriots have Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski, but their defense gives up more yards per game than anybody else. Pass. 

The Jets turned in a solid effort against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and they seem to be rounding into form. But like the Ravens, the Jets have turned in their share of clunkers as well, as their defense allowed at least 30 points to be scored on them in three straight road losses. It is possible they turned a corner on Sunday, but need to see more consistency from them. 

The AFC West as we have already detailed, has no team above .500, so clearly nobody there is dominating anybody. That leaves the Steelers, the Bengals, the Bills and the Texans. We will discuss those four teams in the next slide.  

Dominant AFC Team Part 2

The Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills are two of the feel-good-stories of the AFC in 2011. The Bengals are currently riding a five-game winning streak, but they are fast approaching a very difficult stretch of their schedule. Over the next five weeks, the Bengals face Pittsburgh twice, Baltimore and Houston. It is good that Cincinnati was able to string five wins together to give them momentum and build their confidence level coming into this stretch, because I would not wish that schedule on anybody. 

The Bills have surprised many people with coming up with five wins in the first half, but their three losses followed a disturbing trend, as they all came against very physical defenses in the Jets, Giants and Bengals. The Bills have seemingly faced the top pass rushing teams every week, and yet Fitzpatrick emerges unscathed most games. But, the offense has trouble moving the chains in their losses, and the defense is out there way too long. 

The Steelers defense failed to protect the end zone with the game on the line Sunday night, and allowed for Joe Flacco to throw a ball over their heads to win the game in the final 10 seconds. A dominating team would not allow for that to even be an option. The other concern is that the Steelers defense is getting old in the tooth, and that they will break down physically at key positions. Being swept by the Ravens is another strike against them being considered a dominating team. 

The last team to address is the Houston Texans. They are playing well in what has to be considered another weaker division, especially in light of Chris Johnson and Peyton Manning both being MIA. The Texans are getting by without Andre Johnson, Mario Williams and Danieal Manning. Johnson and Manning will likely return after their bye week in Week 11, so for now they are nursing a 1.5 games lead on Tennessee.

Can DeMarco Murray Keep Up the Torrid Pace?

DeMarco Murray took the first six weeks of the NFL season to get acclimated to playing in the pros. He had only gained 73 yards up to that point, but with a limited training camp, and no mini-camps, a slow start was understandable. 

But from Week 7 on, Murray has made the rest of the league stand up and take notice. He has clicked off games of 253, 74 and 139 yards. He has vaulted himself up to No. 13 in the overall rushing category, and his average yardage per rush of 6.7 yards per carry is tops in the NFL out of all the running backs, and is just second to quarterback Michael Vick (8.1 yards per carry). 

Murray has now gained 539 yards on just 80 carries. His fantasy owners would probably like to see more than just the one touchdown, but he was probably on a number of waiver wires coming into Week 6, so his owners can't be that unhappy with the early Christmas presents he has been providing. 

Murray and the Cowboys face the Buffalo Bills this Sunday. In 2010, the Bills were dead last in the NFL in their rush defense. But after eight games, the Bills have only allowed two rushers to top 100 yards in a game, and the ceiling each time was 104 yards. That was done by Cedric Benson and Ahmad Bradshaw. The Bills held LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles (when he was healthy), Michael Vick and Darren McFadden to less than 100 yards, to give you an example of how they have improved. 

If Miles Austin is declared out this coming Sunday due to his hamstring injury, that might mean more emphasis on the running game, and therefore more carries for Murray. 

Is Phillip Rivers Lying to Us About His Health?

What in the world is going on with Phillip Rivers? He is generally considered one of the top-five or in other experts minds, a sure top-10 quarterback, but he can't seem to stop throwing interceptions. 

Rivers leads the NFL with 14 interceptions on the season. He has thrown at least two interceptions in six of the Chargers eight games this season. That is an alarming rate and it shows no sign of slowing down. To be considered an elite quarterback, you need to show a ratio of two touchdowns for every one interception you throw. In 2011, Rivers has 11 touchdowns to 14 picks. That doesn't sound very elite to me. For his career, Rivers has the 2:1 ratio down pat, with 147 touchdowns to just 72 interceptions. 

Rivers insists that he is healthy. He has been getting hounded with questions about his health for the past few weeks, as the media is trying to wrap their collective arms around the topic of why Rivers is making so many horrid passes. If Rivers is in fact hurt, he is either trying to hide it to keep defenses honest, but in doing so he is hurting his future credibility with the media. 

Rivers was hurt by some deflections, but there are also some very questionable throws that were made against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The Chargers lost by seven points, yet Rivers allowed the Packers defense to score 14 points just in the first quarter on two interceptions returned for touchdowns. 

The Chargers have a reliable backup in Billy Volek. If Rivers is hurt, he should let Volek run the offense until he is able to rehab his injury. If he is not hurt, then when will the real Phillip Rivers start showing up this season? Maybe he has taken a few hits to his head and is just playing in a fog out there. Something just doesn't seem to be right. 

Will the Tennessee Titans Bench Chris Johnson?

The Chris Johnson saga continues. So far on the year, Johnson has carried the ball 121 for 366 yards, which is a paltry 3.0 average yards per rush. That is just far too below average for the kind of money that Johnson demanded from the Titans. 

Pro Football Talk says that the team is now exploring the possibility of finding a way to escape out of Johnson's contract so that they won't be on the hook for the whole amount, especially for a player that appears to have lost some of his trademark speed.  

Another possibility is that the Titans may just bench Johnson and go with backup Javon Ringer, who is averaging 3.4 yards per carry. In the eight games so far, Johnson has only registered two rushes that have gone for at least 20 yards, which out of 121 carries means that he isn't close to resembling the player we used to know. 

Are Cracks Starting to Show on the New England Patriots?

During the loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, there were several arguments that were occurring on the New England Patriots bench. It is one thing to be upset about losing, but it is another to start sniping at each other. 

Albert Haynesworth was getting into it with his coaches after Brandon Jacobs scored a touchdown. Then, Tom Brady was shown yelling at Chad Ochocinco in the fourth quarter, after the two failed to connect again on a pass play. That seems to be the normal outcome of Brady targeting Ochocinco, failing to connect. 

The Patriots offense continues to move the ball, but the number of interceptions from Brady has to be a concern. He is just one year removed from his MVP season, when he threw an unbelievable 36 touchdowns to four interceptions for the whole year. With his 10 interceptions already, Brady has eclipsed the number of interceptions he had in 2010 and the 2007, when he had only eight picks. 

Then we come to the defense, who is giving up 416 yards per game, worst in the league. We have seen in the past how defense wins championships, but it is hard to imagine how this current version of the Patriots will be able to emerge in the second season with a defense that has so many holes. That is just putting too much pressure on Brady to produce. 

Are the Buffalo Bills Still a Playoff Contender?

The Buffalo Bills had a great start to the season, but have now dropped two of their past three games, losing to both New York City teams, the Jets and Giants. Those teams are considered to be more physical than the Bills, and that is understandable, as the Bills were giving up big yards via the running game last year and were getting pushed around at the line of scrimmage in 2010. 

The Bills added some size to their team with players like Marcell Dareus, Kellen Heard, Kraig Urbik, Erik Pears and Scott Chandler. The Bills now have a chance to be more physical at the line of scrimmage, but they still have a ways to go, especially if you watched the game on Sunday against the Jets. 

The Bills have been missing Kyle Williams and Demetrius Bell. Williams will miss the Cowboys game on Sunday, but they hope to get Bell back in the near term. It is possible that Williams may need to go on I.R., but that won't be determined immediately. 

The Bills will continue to roll with Fred Jackson, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Steve Johnson, and let the three of them lead the team. It is not exactly like the old days of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed, but this trio has been responsible for breathing some life back into Buffalo's offense this year and making their games among the most exciting in the NFL. 

Breaking up the past 24 games under the direction of Chan Gailey in eight game sections, the Bills started out 0-8, then went 4-4, and now have gone 5-3 in their last eight games. These are all signs that the Bills are headed in the right direction. 

Are the San Francisco 49ers for Real?

In a way, you have to wonder if it actually hurts the San Francisco 49ers to play in the NFC West. Trust me, I realize that it's great to know that coming into Week 10 you practically have a playoff berth already wrapped up. But in terms of how NFL teams play to the level of their competition, can it set them up for future failure after they have to play the likes of St. Louis, Arizona and Seattle? 

During the second half of the season, the 49ers get to play the Cardinals twice, the Rams twice and the Seahawks once. That means they should win those five games, which would give them at least 12 wins, and no doubt a high berth in the NFC playoff picture. But it is the other three games they have in the second half that interest me the most. They play the New York Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens. 

How the 49ers fare against those three teams will tell me a lot about how real of a contender they are. First up is their Week 10 opponent, the New York Giants. The Giants are coming off of a 3-0 sweep of AFC East teams, so they are on a high note. If the 49ers win Sunday, then count me as impressed. If they lose, then I wonder if they are more of a pretender than a contender. 

Anybody Emerging from the Bottom 8 Teams?

Right now there are eight teams in the NFL with two wins or less. They are Indianapolis (0-9), St. Louis and Miami at 1-7, and then five teams that are 2-6, Minnesota, Carolina, Seattle, Arizona and Jacksonville. 

If any of these teams are going to start showing signs of turning around their season to give their fans hope that the team is headed in the right direction, the second half of the season is a good time to start. In one of the earlier slides we detailed how the Bills went from 0-8, 4-4 and then 5-3 as an example. Is there a team that is starting to show signs of life and turning things around? 

The Seahawks had a nice win over the Giants and then proceeded to lose three straight. The Vikings started out 0-4, and then have went 2-2 over their last four games, so there is progress with Christian Ponder. The Rams and Dolphins have each recorded one win during the past two weeks, and the Dolphins are playing hard under Tony Sparano, which is a good sign. 

The Jaguars snapped a five-game losing streak with an upset of the Baltimore Ravens. But the team that appears to be well positioned to jump is the Carolina Panthers. If they can surround Cam Newton with some talent next season, they are looking like a team that could make a collective jump in 2012. 

Are the Pittsburgh Steelers Starting to Slide?

As the injuries begin to pile up, the Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to replace their grizzled veterans with youngsters that are high on energy but green on experience. The Steelers have had to play lately without James Harrison, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley on defense and Hines Ward and Emmanuel Sanders on offense. 

The linebacking trio is of the most interest, as the Steelers have a rather deep collection of wide receivers to fall back on. Finding linebackers that can play at this level is not that easy, and when one or more is missing at a time, it will be difficult for the Steelers to make up for their absence. 

I am still scratching my head about how Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau decided to play the final drive against the Ravens Sunday night. How he could not be defending the end zone with no more than two plays remaining is beyond me. 

Going forward, the Pittsburgh Steelers will attempt to show the Cincinnati Bengals who the real AFC North playoff team contenders are. Not sure how many of their injured stars will be able to play yet, but that will be one of the keys to watch as the rest of the week unfolds. 

Is This Gut Check Time for the Cincinnati Bengals?

This Sunday the upstart Cincinnati Bengals will host the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals fans should be turning out in droves for this game, as the Bengals have a chance to place the rest of the AFC North on notice that they have arrived. 

The Bengals have gotten over that Carson Palmer has returned to the NFL without playing for them, but that they now have some generous high draft picks to play with going forward. What the Bengals also have is the confidence in knowing that their rookie combination of Andy Dalton to A.J. Green continues to produce and that their defense is ranked No. 4 in the entire NFL.

One of the wilder stats for me is the fact that all four defenses of the AFC North teams can be found ranked in the top six spots of the current NFL rankings. That is both a reflection on how competitive the division is, along with a reflection on the caliber of the offenses in the division as well. 

The Bengals season isn't at a make or break point this Sunday, but winning this game would help to erase some demons and give the team a big boost to begin the second half of the season. 

Can Anybody Beat the Green Bay Packers?

For a team that is giving up basically 400 yards of offense every game (399.6), it is somewhat amazing that the Green Bay Packers are still undefeated. There is no doubt that Aaron Rodgers is having an unbelievable season, and his emergence continues to take the Packers offense to new heights. 

The Packers offense is ranked No. 4 and they will need to stay in sync each week to make up for a defense that is giving up yardage in huge gobs. The saving grace of the Packers defense is that they are making up for the yardage allowed by leading the NFL in interceptions, as they edged ahead of the Buffalo Bills with their bounty haul against Phillip Rivers. 

As defending Super Bowl champions, the Packers were supposed to come into the 2011 season with a target on their back this year. The closest margin of victory they had was six points against the Minnesota Vikings, who is their opponent this week on Monday Night Football. 

Still remaining on the Packers schedule are two games with the Detroit Lions and a game with the New York Giants. If the Packers are to lose one game, you would think it would be one of those three games. But if they can win those three, I like their chances to go the rest of the way, and cap off the 16-0 season. That is just how good they are playing under Aaron Rodgers, and I don't see them slowing down at all. 

Did Tony Sparano Save His Job Last Sunday?

When Tim Tebow Day was held in Miami recently, you could see the tea leaves starting to form a plot that Urban Meyer would suddenly be announced as the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins, or something of that magnitude. 

Jon Gruden spoke up as being interested, and without any wins on the season, what sense did it make to retain Sparano, who was basically serving out the season as a lame duck coach to begin with. 

But the Dolphins battled the Broncos and the Giants before succumbing to both teams in the second half. Then there was the impressive win against Kansas City last Sunday, as the Dolphins snapped the Chiefs four-game winning streak. 

You realize that the Dolphins continue to play hard each week, and even though they are hopelessly out of the AFC East race, they continue to work and try to win for Sparano. That is a good sign. It appears that his job is safe for the time being, but based on consecutive seasons of losing, it would not be a surprise if he is let go at the end of the season. 

Will Julio Jones Continue His Breakout?

Julio Jones was welcomed back to the starting lineup by the Atlanta Falcons, and he responded in a big way. Jones had missed some games due to a hamstring injury, but he looked like he hadn't missed a beat as he caught three passes for 131 yards and the first two touchdowns of his NFL career. 

In six games so far this year, Jones has topped the century mark three times. He has made 28 catches for 489 yards, and is averaging a whopping 17.5 yards per catch. 

The Falcons have a huge game this coming Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, with first place on the line. How will Jones respond to the pressure of that situation? 

According to future-Hall-of-Famer Tony Gonzalez, Jones has the most talent of any rookie he has ever seen during his career. He has a very bright future and is just scratching the surface of what he can do. 

We will see if he can turn in another gem on Sunday. Falcons fans sure hope so, based on what they had to give up to acquire him. 

What Did the Chargers Do to the NFL Schedule Maker?

Whoever is in charge of creating the NFL schedule certainly didn't do the San Diego Chargers any favors this season. The Chargers were scheduled to play three games in an 11-day stretch, which seems like unusually cruel punishment. 

The first contest was held on Monday Night Football, October 31st, at Kansas City. That Halloween evening was the first trick or treat for the Chargers as they lost a heart breaker in overtime 23-20. That was followed by a short week to prepare for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers last Sunday, which again the Chargers dropped 45-38.

Finally, the Chargers end the nightmare with another short preparation week by playing on Thursday Night Football when they face the Oakland Raiders in a game to determine what team will have at least a share of first place in the AFC West. If the Chargers drop this game, and wind up losing the AFC West by one game, they can easily point to the three-game obstacle course as a main reason. 

Can Eli Manning and the New York Giants Win the NFC East?

The New York Giants are now in the midst of a three-game winning streak. They have three out of four games at home, and just as important, have won three out of four games on the road. 

The Giants have a solid defense that leads the NFL in sacks. The Giants get contributions from Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tolleson and Osi Umenyiora. They have played without Tuck and Umenyiora and been able to keep applying the pressure. At some point in the next few weeks they will get first-round pick Prince Amukamara back from his broken foot, and that will help out their secondary.

Eli Manning has been playing solid ball all year, and his current ratio of 15 touchdowns to only six interceptions is a sign that he has turned a corner towards becoming one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. His turnovers are down and that is one of the reasons why I like the Giants. 

They beat Tom Brady and the Patriots without Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks, and that is a good sign that a team can lose their best players and not miss a beat. I expect to see the Giants continue to roll towards a NFC East division title. 

Will Darren McFadden Play Thursday Night for the Raiders?

Since losing Jason Campbell, the Oakland Raiders have lost two straight games. The Raiders played without Darren McFadden last week, and they might not have him again for the game Thursday night against the Chargers. 

It would be an immediate boost for Carson Palmer to have McFadden there to take some of the pressure off of him. Inserting McFadden into the lineup means that the running game would be back to full strength, and gives Palmer another target to throw to. 

As of now, it seems like McFadden is more doubtful than probable, so the rest of the Raiders will have to step up and pick up the slack for McFadden. Luckily there is still time for the Raiders to catch up, but the loss of McFadden and Campbell has led to a couple losses that the Raiders weren't counting on. 

Will the Bears Take Care of Matt Forte?

The Matt Forte saga continues. He is the Bears leading rusher and their leading receiver. But, in the Monday Night Football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, it was Forte that fumbled the ball twice in the game (his first two fumbles of the year) that hurt the Bears and led to some easy points for the Eagles. 

The Bears are dragging their feet regarding Forte's request to sign him to a contract extension. Forte has been a good soldier, and has turned in a solid effort despite the contract distractions. The Bears continue to turn a deaf ear to him, and may resort to a holdout during the 2012 training camp rather than accept a franchise tag tender. 

You have to wonder if the constant line of questioning from the media is starting to get to Forte. The two fumbles tonight were the first clear sign that he wasn't the same and might be the result of a slight lack of focus. Curious to see what the Bears say or do in the near term. Their chances to reach the playoffs this year might hang in the balance. 

Can the Detroit Lions Extend Their Lead on the Chicago Bears?

Since the Bears were able to rally in the fourth quarter on Monday Night Football to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, the Detroit Lions are just one game ahead of the Bears in the NFC North division.

Considering that the Bears are hosting the Lions in Week 10, this will be a big game for the NFC Central race. The Bears could conceivably be tied with Detroit, which would have to be a boost to the Bears, considering that Chicago owns tiebreakers over Atlanta, Tampa Bay and now the Eagles.

In the 2010 season, the Bears swept the Lions. But, Detroit already owns one win against Chicago this year, and another win on Sunday would give the Lions a huge tiebreaker advantage, which is what the wild card playoffs could come down to. This contest will be one of the key games of the Week 10 slate. 

Chicago might be rounding into form. The Bears didn't give up a single sack to the Eagles talented defensive line, which shows how well the Bears offensive line has been playing this year. This should be a hard fought contest on Sunday. 

Can Tampa Bay Stop Their Bickering and Win a Game?

With a record of 4-4 the Tampa Bay Bucs can still salvage their season, but after dropping their second straight game last Sunday, you have to wonder if all is well in Tampa Bay. 

Watching the video replays of that loss to the New Orleans Saints you saw quarterback Josh Freeman yelling at the offense. You saw players yanking other players and trying to throw them off of the field towards the sidelines. Then there was LeGarrette Blount taking a swing at a Saints player and drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty. That allowed him to receive a stern counseling session from Raheem Morris. 

If you didn't know better you would have thought there was a full blown mutiny on the Buccaneers ship. Most teams have a few bad games each season where things seem to spiral out of control, and the game against the Saints could have been that bad game. But the Bucs weren't going to be sneaking up on teams this year, the way that they did in 2010. 

The Bucs need a good week of practice to correct some of the mistakes. They have a big test against the Houston Texans this week, and another loss would drop them below .500. Not a spot they want to be in if they are trying to reach the playoffs. 

Is There a More Unpredictable Team Than the Chiefs?

The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the hardest teams to get a handle on in the 2011 season. They start out the year dropping their first three games, losing players like Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry for the season, and get blown out in the process. 

Then the Chiefs go on a four-game winning streak, as the team is able to rally and pick up the slack for their injured stars. Then they get blown out by the Miami Dolphins, a team that had failed to win a single game on the year. Will the real Kansas City Chiefs please stand up? 

Coming into Week 10, the Chiefs are now hosting the Denver Broncos with a chance to claim a share of the lead in the AFC West. Or they could lose to the Broncos and be in a three-way tie for second place at 4-5. Either way, it just seems like there is no way to predict what kind of performance you will see from Kansas City each week, and that is a scary identity to have. 

Can the Houston Texans Hang on Until Andre Johnson Returns?

The Houston Texans are sitting the AFC South with a 6-3 record. They are leading the division, as the Tennessee Titans are 4-4, and the Texans seem like the division is theirs for the taking. 

Their best receiver Andre Johnson is still not ready to come back from his hamstring injury, but he is clearly getting closer with each passing week. If the Texans can just hold on and not go into a prolonged losing streak, they should be able to advance to the playoffs for the first time in team history. 

The key is trying to go the playoffs with all of their weapons intact. The running back duo of Arian Foster and Ben Tate is as dynamic as any running back duo in the NFL. Now, if they can just get Johnson healthy, they will be a threat to do well in the playoffs, because they are playing a better brand of defense under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. 

The big question is how soon do they try to get Johnson back into a real game? 

Is the Philadelphia Eagles' Season Over?

In 2010, the New York Giants failed to reach the playoffs with a 10-6 record. Following their loss in Monday Night Football to the Chicago Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles are now sitting at 3-5, tied for last place in the NFC East with the Washington Redskins. 

If the Eagles were able to go 7-1 over the last half of the season, they might conceivably have a shot to reach the playoffs, but the team continues to come up short in key fourth quarter scenarios that makes a huge second half comeback fairly unrealistic. 

The collection of talent is there, but putting it all together seems to be beyond the domain of Andy Reid. It is one thing to have a number of great players; it is something else to have them all mesh together into a great team. Just ask the New York Yankees or the Miami Heat. Their dream team success rates have been well documented. 

The Eagles start their long march in the second half of the season in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals don't expect ex-Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb to play this week, so the Eagles should be able to notch one more win. Can they start to reel off a long winning streak? They will need to if they have any prayer left. 

Did Mike Shanahan Lose His Credibility in Washington?

The Washington Redskins have only been able to amass 11 points in the last eight quarters of football. The inefficiency of the offense has been so dreadful that long-time Redskins fans call the current team unwatchable. Ouch. 

Mike Shanahan felt that the combination of John Beck and Rex Grossman were good enough to run his offense, that the team could bypass drafting any of the rookie crop of quarterbacks that were available in the 2011 draft. Shanahan put his reputation as an offensive mind on the line with his decisions, and those calls he made have been blowing up in his face with regularity in the last two weeks. 

Being shut out by the Bills and giving up 10 sacks has to be a low point in Shanahan's career. If the Redskins can't defeat the Miami Dolphins, who are at 1-7, then the Redskins will fall to 3-6 and the season will probably be over. Things could start getting even uglier in Washington. If Shanahan isn't fired, then he might have to remove his son from his coordinator post. 

That wraps up our 25 most pressing questions for Week 10. If you have another issue you feel needs to be addressed, feel free to leave it in the comments section.