NFC East: A Muddled, Glorious Mess

By Bob | Permalink | No Comments | September 24th, 2006 | Trackback

There are some weeks during an NFL season when I am thankful not to have a fantasy team. Actually, every week I am happy to not have a team to bore my friends with the endless talk of how it is doing, but this week in particular I was happy to have no vested interest in seeing how many touchdowns Peyton Manning tossed or how many yards Tiki Barber gained from the line of scrimmage.

Nope, instead of worrying about stats, I went outside and got a little exercise. This is sacrilege on a Sunday during football season, but when your team is spanking the 49ers 24-3 at halftime and the Giants are getting annihilated 35-3 by the Seahawks at intermission, there is no real reason to stick around for the second half.

A little sun now is necessary because the way the NFC East is shaping up it is unlikely I will be getting much Vitamin D this year.

First, the Eagles, a team that I proclaimed dead last week. I still think this is the case, but I also know that they’ll do just well enough to break my heart in the end. This week they got to take on the Niners, which is the current NFL’s version of a bye week. The Niners suck big time. They have for a number of years now, which always disturbs my concept of the universe since San Fran was always the team to beat when I was growing up.

While it was a nice bounce back victory for the team from the City of Brotherly Love, the fact remains that the Eagles are softer than Mike Ditka’s belly. They rely way too much on the finesse game and the West Coast offense that the Niners made famous. This works well when you play teams like San Fran which are also soft. The Eagles put 38 on the board, the most they have scored since last season when they finished with 42 against the pathetic team from the Bay Area. Between the Niners and the Raiders, there probably should be a permanent suicide watch in NoCal this year.

Then there are the Giants, the team that saved their season with their second half comeback last week against the Eagles. The only problem is that no one told Seattle this. The Seahawks simply destroyed New York. They made Eli Manning look like the jayvee quarterback he is. They exposed the Giants secondary for the sad group that they are. In the process, they have given a lot of hope to fans in DC and Dallas.

The Redskins got the job done against a Houston team that makes San Francisco look like a title contender. The Skins have started the year slowly, but they have talent on both sides of the ball. They look to be stronger than New York and they always give the Eagles fits. They are cursed by a dislikable owner and coached by a guy who should have stayed retired, but they are still a threat.

Finally, Dallas had a bye week, which gives Bill Parcells another week to whip his team into shape. Sure Drew Bledsoe looks like he should have retired Farve years ago, but the ‘Boys can win despite him.

So what we’ve learned from this week is what we knew all along: the NFC East is wide open this year. Good for football, bad for my health. I might not be watching games for my fantasy team, but there will be plenty of days spent ahead in a smoky bar as I hold onto my own fantasy that some day the Eagles will not break my heart. Unfortunately, mine is an infliction that is worse than even the greatest fantasy league addiction.

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