THE PALMESE GRID

MIDSEASON MUSINGS
BRYAN PALMESE, NFLDB

The midway point of the 2007 season is upon us and it's time to check out some division by division observations. There are some obvious headliners to date not the least of which is the amazing performances put on in the AFC by the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts and their Conference rival New England Patriots. The two heavyweights will square off this coming weekend in a game that could affect home field advantage come December. Some other highlights have been the battle in the NFC Norris between Green Bay and Detroit, the disappointing efforts going on in Miami, St. Louis, Cincinnati and the Gang Green, and also the tight NFC East race. There's a nice distribution of playoff bound teams, middle-of-the-road teams, and bottom feeders that are looking to play spoiler. Technically, it's still too early to write off teams with eight games remaining. However, seeing some of these teams play every week and the glaring holes that get re-opened like an annoying scab with each passing game, one can feel comfortable in starting to look ahead to the 2008 draft. Here is a cumulative review and predictions of who comes out of each division going into the second half of the 2007 season.

Starting in the AFC East, the obvious bread winner is New England. The Patriots' brass have actually made Tom Brady into a more amazing quarterback this year by adding some serious punch to their receiving core. Randy Moss and Wes Welker have been huge this year in helping Brady log some phenomenal numbers. The two-time Super Bowl MVP has already eclipsed last season's touchdown total in half the time. Brady has a mind-boggling thirty touchdowns to two interceptions ratio. Another story in this conference has been of two teams that are a combined 1-15. These inmates of the dungenous cellar, the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins respectively, did not envision their 2007 campaigns to fare this way. The Jets decided this week to bench Chad Pennington and take a glimpse at what the future might hold in second year guy, Kellen Clemens. As for the Dolphins, their starting quarterback and running back are out indefinitely and their defense is showing their age. In a cluttered and strong AFC, these two teams would probably still be denied a post-season birth even if they went undefeated. Ouch.

The Grid's Playoff Representative - New England
The AFC North is a surprising conference that has some dominating defenses along with some explosive offenses, yet only one of these teams possesses both attributes. The front-running Pittsburgh Steelers and first year coach, Mike Timlin has been solid and consistent on both sides of the ball. A balanced running and passing attack along with a stout defense has the Steel City confident heading into the cold months of November and December. Big Ben has bounced back from a mediocre 2006 season and Willie Parker hasn't disappointed by running with the rock to the tune of 726 yards and two touchdowns. The Browns have been a pleasant surprise with the emergence of Derek Anderson at quarterback. After Charlie Frye was shipped out at the start of the season, Brady Quinn looked to be given the keys to the team. Not so fast. Anderson, a sixth-round pick in 2005, has seized the reins and doesn't look to be giving them up anytime soon. The ex-Oregon State Beaver has a quarterback rating of 95.5 and has thrown for over 1700 yards this season. The Bengals defense reminds many of Swiss cheese. The only way they can win games this year is by way of a shootout or the opposing team not showing up. Since the latter is as likely as a Cincinnati shutout, expect the Bengals to win a lot of games in the 38-35 range. Chad Johnson has been snippy all year and trade rumors have even begun swirling in the Queen City.

The Grid's Playoff Representative - Pittsburgh
A short ride down into the South brings us to arguably the most complete division in the league. The AFC South boasts the "other" 8-0 team hosted by Peyton Manning and company. Second year back Joseph Addai hasn't disappointed when he's been healthy and Dallas Clark has been one of Manning's favorite targets. Harrison has been hampered with injuries, but Reggie Wayne has rounded his game and emerged as one of the top receivers in the league. The Tennessee Titans have an impressive, yet quiet 5-2 record. Vince Young has been average, but not unexpected in his sophomore year. The ex-Longhorn quarterback has gotten the job done, and the running back-by-committee has helped shoulder the offensive load. Jacksonville is also 5-2 and equally as stealth-like in attaining their record. Byron Leftwich was shipped out to Atlanta and David Garrard has taken over without missing a step. The Houston Texans aren't anything to sneeze at either. Since joining the league, the Texans are usually viewed as a very winnable game by opposing teams and have lacked star power on either side of the ball. This is not the case for the 2007 Houston team. Out is David Carr and in is Matt Schaub. Former number one overall pick, Mario Williams, and former tenth overall picks Dunta Robinson and Omobi Okoye, have helped give the Texans' defense an identity.

The Grid's Playoff Representative- Indianapolis and Tennessee
Confusion is the first word that comes to mind when viewing the AFC West. The Chargers were a lot of experts pick to go to the Super Bowl and the Denver Broncos were supposed to be heavy hitters this year as well. The former is 4-3 and the latter is 3-4. That's not too bad considering that the first place team, Kansas City, is also 4-3, which would mean that the Broncos are technically only one game out of first place. Another crazy statistic is that over the course of the season, Denver has been outscored 183-119, yet remains only one game out of the division lead. Oakland looked like a much improved team earlier this season, but has spiraled back down to mediocrity. This divisions' roster of stellar running backs have been slightly better than mediocre. Larry Johnson in Kansas City, LaDanian Tomlinson in San Diego and Travis Henry are having solid seasons but not on the level that most expected. Henry has been great in the Broncos backfield, and both Tomlinson and Johnson seem to have turned the corner and should be able to return to form during the second half of the year.

The Grid's Playoff Representative- San Diego and Denver

The Grid's AFC Champion - New England Patriots
Every season, the NFC East provides us with entertaining intra-division games. 2007 is no different and the Dallas Cowboys are at the head of the class. The 6-1 Cowboys are trying to pull away from the pack in the NFC, but the New York Giants are keeping pace and nipping at Dallas' heels. Tony Romo just inked a lucrative deal to be the signal caller for the foreseeable future and Terrell Owens is getting enough touches to keep him from throwing a tantrum thus far. The defense in New York is entertaining and has helped propel the Giants to a five game losing streak after stalling to a 0-2 start out of the gates. Washington is a roller coaster team that impresses you one week and deflates you the next. Jason Campbell looks like the real deal at quarterback and linebacker Rocky McIntosh is a sleeping giant on this young, opportunistic defense. Never count out the Eagles, but Donovan McNabb has yet to duplicate his 2006 season so far. Brian Westbrook has been solid, but the rest of the offense is searching for an identity.

The Grid's Playoff Representative - Dallas and New York
The 2006 NFC Champion Chicago Bears have spent the first half of the 2007 working off the Super Bowl hangover. Only the Rams have given up more points (219) than the Bears (181) and Chicago's defense has shown weaknesses that the Windy City is unaccustomed to seeing. Lovie Smith made a quarterback change from Rex Grossman to Brian Griese prior to their week four game. Cedrick Benson has not exploded onto the scene the way the front office had hoped when they shipped Thomas Jones to the Jets. Conversely, Green Bay has enjoyed a fruitful first half. The Packers young defense is exciting and is very disruptive to opposing offenses. Brett Favre is the feel-good story this year as he is enjoying a very accomplished season. This team is tied with Dallas for the best record at 6-1 and the cheese heads are hoping that Favre has one more Super Bowl run left in the tank. The Lions promised playoffs from the outset, and look like they may deliver on that promise. Sitting one game behind Green Bay with a 5-2 mark, the Lions have depended on Jon Kitna's arm and mistake-free football to keep them in games. A mediocre schedule has helped the Lions cause as well.

The Grid's Playoff Representative- Green Bay and Detroit
Carolina made a bold move when they released wide receiver, Keyshawn Johnson during the off-season. Rookie Dwayne Jarrett was supposed to be Johnson's replacement and give Jake Delhomme another big target to compliment the blazing highlight reel that is Steve Smith. Well, Delhomme is on the shelf for the season with an elbow injury and Jarrett has barely cracked the lineup. Luckily the running game has gotten back to form and the defense has risen to challenges in close games. Tampa Bay lost their stud running back, Carnell Williams in week four and if not for Jeff Garcia would be worse than their current 4-4 record. New Orleans started off terrible, but has won three straight. The offense is the story so far, but not for the right reasons. Drew Brees, Marques Colston and Reggie Bush have been unreliable and Deuce McAllister is out indefinitely to add injury to insult (pun intended). Atlanta made a deal for Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich, but Leftwich has been sidelined already after one start. I think most fans in Atlanta just want to put this awful season behind them and hope that the war room comes up big for them on draft day.

The Grid's Playoff Representative - Carolina
This column declared that the NFC West would be the most exciting and talented division in the NFL. Alas, it is not, and apologies are in order for the often boring football that they have produced in 2007. Seattle is the top team and their defense has been stubborn. Running back Shaun Alexander is showing his age, but Matt Hassleback is a good captain of this ship. San Francisco has battled the injury bug and Alex Smith is in need of a number one receiver next season. Frank Gore has been average, but he, along with Smith, Darrell Jackson, Vernon Davis and Manny Lawson has spent a lot of time with the medical staff. Then there's the St. Louis Rams. Marc Bulger should donate a percentage of his money to charities in the St. Louis community for not producing after his whopping six-year, $65 million contract this past July. Granted, the workhorse Steven Jackson has been sidelined for most of the season in addition to wide receiver Isaac Bruce. At this point, St. Louis is in a race with the Dolphins to see who can get a win first.

The Grid's Playoff Representative - Seattle

The Grid's NFC Champion - Green Bay

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