Spring Ahead, Fall Back: Daylight Saving Time or NFL Standings?
How can anyone else figure out the NFL this season when the teams themselves can't seem to do it?
How do the New York Giants start the season 0-6 but amazingly find themselves only two games behind Dallas in the NFC East? The G-men have a bye this weekend and will cheer for the hapless Vikings to upset the 4-4 Cowboys and the Chargers to come east and knock off the 3-4 Redskins. The NFC East is totally whacked out this year.
Green Bay and Detroit are on top of the Central Division, and Chicago would be a threat, but that depends on the health of Jay Cutler. Right now, that's not good, unless you're peddling silver linings. The South is upside down, as the Falcons were supposed to dominate the division, but they go into today's game a seven-point underdog to Carolina. The Panthers are in second place, two games behind the front running Saints.
The NFC West is status quo, as Seattle and San Francisco are still one-two in the division. The 49ers are pointing toward a rematch on 8 December, as they're looking to avenge a total embarrassment at the Seahawks' hands, or talons, as the case may be. We'll see if the Niners' fans are any more polite than they think the Seattle fans should have been.
Maybe some team meetings actually work. The New York Jets have played better overall this season than the Giants and are only two games behind New England at 4-4. They flaunted the rule book to beat Tom Brady's crew two weeks ago. Miami and Buffalo have been competitive, and the Patriots -- who everyone thought would dominate the division -- will struggle to win it this year.
Even though the Bengals lead the AFC Central, they reverted back to their old Bungles form on Thursday, giving away a game to Miami. Cincinnati will root for the Browns to upset the Ravens this weekend, to maintain their two game lead. Houston was supposed to fight it out with the Colts in the AFC South, but the Texans have been dreadful and the Colts are rolling at 5-2. Indianapolis can put away Houston for good with a win this weekend with a win over the Texans on Sunday Night Football.
Everyone had Denver running away with the AFC West but the Kansas City Chiefs actually lead the division with an 8-0 record. Incredibly, Kansas City has yet to play a team with a winning record. That's about to change. They'll meet Denver two times in three weeks in November, and on 22 December, Peyton Manning will have a say in whether the Chiefs get to play their playoffs on the road or with home field advantage at Arrowhead Stadium.
And now, the Broncos will have to prove they can keep up the pace while Coach John Fox deals with heart valve surgery.
Daylight saving time has ended, and the flex-scheduling is beginning. Both are fraught with controversy, with tailgaters caught in the middle. Hydration is the key.
If only making sense out of the NFL races was that simple.