Mid-Week 4 Quick Comments

After 3-1/2 weeks of the National Football League I have a few quick comments I like to put out there.  Things that interest me, things I like, things I don't like.  Where's this guy to the left fall?

1. Division Leader I'm Most Impressed With - St. Louis Rams - +25 point differential playing in a weak NFC West.  Sam Bradford has made Mark Clayton look like Randy Moss.
2. Division Leader I'm Least Impressed With - Arizona Cardinals - Oddly enough, both the Rams and Cards are from the NFC West.  I would have guess the least impressive would have come from the NFC West though, just didn't anticipate liking the Rams chances.  Arizona has a -60 point differential, and they're tied for first place.  It will be interesting to see how this thing plays out - Larry Fitzgerald under-utilized thanks to poor quarterbacking, Beanie Wells missing time and being the 2RB, how bad is this defense...
3. Carolina vs New Orleans - Everyone knows I hate the Saints.  I actually hate them.  Which is ridiculous because they should be the new "America's Team", you know, with all the post Katrina love and underdogged-ness.  Well I hate them.  Also, I don't know why, I like Jimmy Clausen.  So I was so ready to see his first win be against the Saints I hate so much.  Maybe next time...
4. Pittsburgh Steelers - If you told me that the Steelers were going to look like one of the strongest teams through the first four games without Big Ben I wouldn't have believed you.  But they are, at least in my opinion.  Is this proof that Ben is overrated?  Maybe, but it will be interesting to see how this progresses.
5. Chris Johnson - 1st game, no fumbles, 100+ rushing; 2nd game, fumble, 34 yards rushing; 3rd game, no fumbles, 100+ rushing; 4th game, fumble, 53 rushing yards.  In games where he has performed well he has had at least one rush of 40+ yards, and in his poor performances his longest rush was 11 yards. Beyond that, his two best games displayed a total of 8 receiving yards.  The Chris Johnson of last year was running and receiving all over the field - it will be interesting to see how things progress, but I knew Pittsburgh was a top defense, I didn't really think Denver would shut CJ down like this.
6. Nominees for the "Can They Keep It Up?" Award - NY Jets, after looking turrible in Week 1, they look like one of the strongest teams in the league - in other words, they're playing at the level they set for themselves on HBO, will it stick?  KC Chiefs, undefeated after 4 weeks thanks to performance and a bye, are they a legitimate threat?
7. Eagles vs Redskins - Personally I felt a little cheated, this game started well, but then after the Vick injury, Kolb's lower than mediocre performance, and Donovan McNabb's average play I was completely bored with the game.  Also, when did Philly fans get so lovey dovey, giving McNabb a standing-O, what was that about?
8. New York Football Giants - after them just beating the now 3-1 Chicago Bears, you have to wonder if this season is the reincarnation of the Tiki Barber Theory.  He speaks and the Giants do well.  Giants were able to move the ball on the ground, and able to play good solid defense - one thing they definitely have to work on is ball security, I'm sure Tommy C will have an ear full for them.  Upcoming Giants schedule, and what I believe the generally expected outcome should be, in parenthesis: @ Houston (L), v Detriot (W), @ Dallas (L), Bye, @ Seattle (W), v Dallas (W), @ Philadelphia (W), v Jacksonville (W), v Washington (W), @ Minnesota (L), v Philadelphia (L), @ Green Bay (L), @ Washington (W).  That would put them at 9-7 if it followed just like this.  Part of being a playoff team is winning the games you're supposed to win every time, and being able to win a few of the games you're supposed to lose.  I honestly don't think the Giants should expect to win two against the Redskins, but they are going to have a rough final few weeks and will likely need a win in Week 17 to close the season.  We'll see how things progress - Nicks looks great, Jacobs played well in his role tonight and was rewarded with a goal line run for a TD after Bradshaw's breakaway fun and ensuing fumble inside the 10.  Beyond the offense, the defense looked really good.  The difference is that Matt Forte is primarily a receiving back in a passing offense - the Giants haven't proven they can stop both the run AND the pass in one game.  They made Joseph Addai in Week 2 look like 2003 LaDanian Tomlinson.

That's all I got - once you get me started on the Giants, the quick comments stretch out for a few hundred more words - sorry.