The most active team was Chicago as they made two trades. The Bears are extremely desperate for young, controllable talent on both sides of the ball. They were able to get the quarterback of the future and did so without mortgaging the future. The Cowboys pick up a talented running back to replace DeMarco Murray. The biggest winner from this draft for me is the New Orleans Saints who used all three picks to select starting caliber players at really good values.

There were several teams I wanted to trade up or down for, but was unable to due to a lack of trade partners or assets. These teams just selected the best player available if the draft spot wasn’t worth the player that was right for the team.

My next NFL piece will be a review of the draft. Until then enjoy both my final mock and the real draft.

Round 1

The post NFL Draft: Predicting the First Two Rounds appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Teams like the Jaguars, Raiders, Rams, and Vikings could all trade up if they fail to address the position earlier in the first round. Also tackles will start to come off the board pretty fast as there is a need for young controllable linemen, although most of the players taken this year will be moved to the right side of the line or inside to guard, there is still a huge need to protect the quarterback.

These picks are what I think teams will do at certain positions based off the needs I believe they need to address, but also from what I’ve been reading about each team from numerous sources. There is an occasional pick where I went with what I solely thought the team should do, but that’s only one or two picks. I did not include trades, but I will in the next mock draft. The three picks I like the most are the picks to Kansas City, New England, and Carolina, all of which I think got steals at their positions either based off value, or a player that I feel is underrated. Here we go, the San Diego Chargers are on the clock.

17) San Diego Chargers:  Melvin Gordon III- RB Wisconsin

The best running back in college football this year with Todd Gurley sitting most of the year out. Even with Gurley playing Gordon would’ve still ben extremely productive and fighting with Gurley for position as the top running back. The Chargers watched their top running back leave for Philly, and even though he was injury-prone, he was a productive back and they have no immediate solution. Gordon will be the perfect fit for the chargers who have a third down back in Woodhead and would allow Gordon to focus on running and limit the number of passing plays he would be a part of as catching is one of his biggest weaknesses.

Other Options: Malcolm Brown, Cameron Erving, Breshad Perriman

18) Kansas City Chiefs: Cameron Erving-OC Florida St.

Erving is one of my favorite players in this year’s draft. He has been playing center for Florida State, but was originally a tackle and should have the ability to play multiple positions on the line. Here he would stay at center where the Chiefs lost their starter to Oakland. The Chiefs have a couple positions to draft on the line and have addressed the need with the acquisition of Grubbs from the Saints. They could also look for receiver here or try to address depth on the defensive side of the ball.

Other Options: Breshad Perriman, Jaelen Strong, Landon Collins,

19) Cleveland Browns: Breshad Perriman- WR UCF

Nobody has seen their draft stock rise faster than Perriman due to one test. His 40-yard dash at his Pro day came out with numbers below 4.24 seconds being reported. On top of that he has good height and hands but again lacks polish in focus and route-running. The browns are in trouble on offense with Josh Gordon facing another suspension and Manziel being in rehab. If they want to succeed with Josh McCown as their quarterback they are going to need to surround him with weapons like he had in Chicago.

Other Option: Malcolm Brown. Landon Collins, TJ Clemmings

20) Philadelphia Eagles: Landon Collins- S Alabama

Landon Collins may be seeing a drop due to an injury he sustained during the season, or it may be that teams reviewed the tape and were not as thrilled as they were originally, for any reason, he is still a quality player and will address a need for Chip Kelly. After their offseason of confusion, it’s a little difficult to predict anything for this team, but this seems like a logical and safe way to go for the Eagles.

Other Options: TJ Clemmings, Dorial Green-Beckham

21) Cincinnati Bengals:  Malcolm Brown- DT Texas

The Bengals could really go a couple of different routes with this pick and if Malcolm Brown is available here I think this makes the most sense. This defense has been hit by injuries and players leaving in free agency, and could really use some depth especially along the offensive line. Being on a talented defense should help Brown’s development as he will probably see very few double teams and will opportunities created by other players on the defense.

Other Options: TJ Clemmings, Dorial Green-Beckham,

22) Pittsburgh Steelers: TJ Clemmings- OT Pittsburgh

Wow this would be a cool scenario for Clemmings to stay in town and play football for the same city he’s played for the last four years for. The Steelers definitely could go defense here, but adding depth along the offensive line to protect Roethlisberger is important. We saw last year, when Big Ben was protected, there was no way to slow down this offense, but Ben also had one of his healthiest seasons in a while. This offensive line has had some injuries and really could use the depth to make sure Big Ben stays upright all year.

Other Options: Marcus Peters, Brad Dupree

23) Detroit Lions: Brad Dupree- OLB Kentucky

The Lions were hurt in free agency this year when they lost Suh to the Dolphins. Adding Haloti Ngata was a great addition and they really could use more help along the defensive line, but their choices here are not great. Still this defense could really some cost-controlled play-makers to help negate the loss of their best player last year. Dupree brings a great rush to stop passers from having time to survey the field, also can be a run-stopper with his great speed. The only thing he needs to work on is his pass-coverage which he will be asked to do more being in a 4-3 system.

Other Options: Green-Beckham, Eddie Goldman

24) Arizona Cardinals: Todd Gurley- RB Georgia

The Cardinals were the surprise team of the NFL last year with how well they played with Carson Palmer under center. Although most of the credit should go to the defense for being in the top five for almost every defensive category last year. The goal now is to try and improve a little offensively to take some pressure off the defense. Gurley would give them the power back they’ve been lacking to convert short third down and short into a new set of downs. He can take pressure off the quarterback and really open the play-action passes while also keeping their defense off the field by extending drives. He is coming off an ACL injury, but his talent warrants the risk at this point in the draft.

Other Options: Dorial Green-Beckham, DJ Humphries

25) Carolina Panthers: Dorial Green-Beckham- WR Missouri

His name has been all over the news lately and this mock draft for other options. Green-Beckham is super talented at 6’5” and 230+ pounds, he runs extremely well and is a ball hawk in the air. The reason he could drop this far is he has a history of off-the-field issues and many teams were concerned, but after the combine, teams see so much talent that they almost cannot look pass him and I expect him to rise up draft boards and make a push towards the top ten. The Panthers really could use a lot of help on offense and another defensive linemen could help as well. Remember this team made the playoffs with a below .500 record so they are a team with a lot of needs, but I felt made several good under the radar moves to try and improve this team. It will be interesting to see who is available at this time because that will most likely determine which position this team will draft.

Other Options: Cedric Ogbuehi, Owamagbe Odighizuwa

26) Baltimore Ravens: Devin Smith- WR Ohio State

I think Baltimore is sitting here hoping a WR falls as drafting Smith here may be a little` bit of a reach. After losing Torrey Smith in free agency, the Ravens will need to replace his production. The Ravens really do not have a glaring need, but do have several areas across the board that could use help, depth, or may start to need a replacement due to aging players. This really allows the Ravens to draft the best available player and not draft a need. Then again how many teams actually draft the best available player instead of a need? The answer; very few.

Other Options: Trade Down, Eddie Goldman, Tevin Coleman

27) Dallas Cowboys: Jaelen Strong- WR Arizona State

The Cowboys really could go a lot of ways here as they have several needs and areas to improve. Really any position could use an upgrade outside of that fantastic offensive line. That said, the idea is to improve and draft the best available player. This team made the playoffs because it is already talented on one side of the ball and the defense really played a lot better than it should have thanks to Rod Marenelli. Adding Strong would be more to protect Dez Bryant and take some pressure off 0f him and I believe Strong is the best available player at this point. Obviously adding any defensive player would help this defense, but that can be addressed at a later point. If addressing the defense is the main concern, I would highly suggest trading down instead of reaching for a player.

Other Option: Eddie Goldman, Trade Down, Benardrick McKinney

28) Denver Broncos: Eddie Goldman- DT Florida State

Denver just lost their starting nose tackle to free agency and really could use a cost-effective solution that has upside. Enter Goldman, who will need to add some weight and would probably be a better fit in a 4-3 system, but he will bring effort and experience. His speed could cause some problems for centers, but the main benefit is being on a talented defense and not needing to perform immediately and could use the time to develop. The Broncos could also go offensive lineman to try and keep Peyton Manning upright, they also could use some depth at the position. Either way, it looks like the trenches is the way Denver to improve.

29) Indianapolis Colts: DJ Humphries- OT Florida

If there is any quarterback that needs a little protection in the pocket it would be Andrew Luck. The Colts have been one of the worst teams at protecting the passer that last two years. It’s actually scary to think how good Luck could be if he had time to throw. Now Humphries will not solve the problem, actually this does not even come close to solve the problem, but it will be a solid start as Humphries projects to be a solid right tackle or a great guard. Either way this is a start, with four other positions that could use long-term solution on the offensive line. Expect the Colts to draft a couple linemen.

30) Green Bay Packers: Kevin Johnson- CB Wake Forest

The Packers are in a great situation where they really do not have a glaring need and really can draft however they feel like drafting. The fact is the defense is solid and the offense is great as long as Aaron Rodgers is under center. Johnson makes sense here since the Packers are at risk of losing Shields in the future and could really use some depth now just to protect in case of an injury.

Other Options: Maxx Williams

31) New Orleans Saints:  Maxx Williams- TE Minnesota

The Saints have two picks in the first round thanks to the Jimmy Graham trade that shocked the whole sports world. If Williams is available at this point I would declare the Saints the winner of the trade. I believe Williams to be a future Graham-like tight end that is an absolute match-up problem for defenses and a ball hawk in the air. The addition of Unger and Williams would really help Brees and the Saints to have a bounce back year.

32) New England Patriots: Marcus Peters- CB Washington

Arguably the most talented corner in the draft, but his stock has taken a hit due to off-the-field issue. Peters has great ball skills and plays faster than his 40 time shows. He can help fill the void left by Revis and Browner leaving this offseason. The Patriots will still need another corner, but getting a starter is more important than the nickel, and they will probably wait until a later round to address that need.

The post NFL Mock Draft: Part 2 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Let’s take a look at the top of the NFC West standings for a minute. Are you surprised with who you see? That’s right it’s the Arizona Cardinals. Now let’s take a look at the top of the NFC standings as a whole. Are you surprised again to see the Cardinals at the top? Would you care to check to the standings for the entire NFL? If you guessed the Cardinals were at the top of those as well, you’d be correct.

That’s right, the Arizona Cardinals hold the best record in the NFL at 7-1. Some expected the Cardinals to follow up a 10-6 performance last year that left them just short of the playoffs with solid run at the playoffs again this season. The more popular opinion was that this team would struggle to overcome the losses of defensive centerpieces like Daryl Washington (Suspension), Darnell Dockett (Torn ACL), and Karlos Dansby (Free Agency) and continue to have an average at best offensive; leaving them as a mediocre team that would be left out of a crowded NFC playoff race. Very few predicted, if anyone, predicted this.

Now the question is worth asking, how good are the Cardinals really? Their record does not match-up with their overall talent, making one wonder if the Cardinals can sustain this over a full season. In this piece, I will focus just on the Cardinals place in the NFC hierarchy (The Broncos and Patriots have best team in the NFL on lockdown). I will make a case for the Cardinals being “for real” and the top team in the NFC and a case for this team being a fraud. After looking at both sides of the argument I will give a final verdict. It’s time to take the team with the NFL’s best record to court.

The Case for the Cardinals

Coaching:  It is time to acknowledge Bruce Arians as the one of the best coaches in the NFL. In 2.5 seasons as a head coach, Arians has a 26-10 record. He filled in admirably two seasons ago in Indianapolis when head man Chuck Pagano took a leave of absence to  be treated for leukemia, going 9-3 with a roster featuring a rookie quarterback and a lot less talent than this current incarnation of the Colts. Arians parlayed that success as an interim head coach to his first full time gig last year with Arizona where he lead his team to a 10-6 record in an NFC West that featured the conference’s (if not the NFL’s) two best teams. This year Arians is once again in that same tough NFC West and has lead his squad to the NFL’s best record, despite having less talent that he did the year prior.

Offensively, Arians has worked magic. Basically serving as the offensive coordinator for this team, Arians weathered a three game storm without starting quarterback Carson Palmer and built an offense to maximize back-up QB Drew Stanton. The star of the Cardinals’ offensive has always been veteran wide out Larry Fitzgerald, but Fitzgerald is heading down the wrong end of the age curve and it’s beginning to show on the field. While Fitz still does lead the team in receiving yards with 513 over 8 games, Arians has a fantastic job integrating several other young offensive weapons to take a burden off of the 31-year old wide out.

Running back Andre Ellington in an all-purpose yards machine, coming up with 1072 yards from scrimmage so far this year and giving the offensive a huge big play threat. Arians has also aided in the development of young wide receivers Michael Floyd and John Brown. Floyd, the team’s 1st Round pick in 2012, is finally developed into what the Cardinals thought he would be when they drafted him, bringing in 389 yards and two touchdowns so far. Brown has been a godsend this year for the Cardinals in his rookie season with 326 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns, most notably his game winner in the final minutes against the Eagles. Arians has taken an offense that lacks overall talent and maximized it. An offense quarterbacked by Carson Palmer/Drew Stanton feels like it should so much worse.

It is also important to point out the impact coaching has had for this team on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles has been the key factor for this team in overcoming the losses of Washington, Dockett, Dansby, and Calais Campbell.  Bowles had found creative ways to overcome the teams what should be glaring weakness on the defensive side of the ball. Starting with the pass rush, without Dockett, Campbell, or John Abraham the team lacked any obvious pass rushers. Bowles overcame this blitzing more than any other defensive in the league.

The result: the 5th best adjusted sack rate in the NFL (per Football Outsiders). With Washington suspended and Karlos Dansby leaving for Cleveland in free agency, Bowles also appeared to have an obvious weakness at linebacker with the veteran journey like Larry Foote appearing to be starters. Bowles overcame once again by playing more “Dime” personal than any other defense in the league. Seeing he had lots of talented defensive backs to toy with, Bowles took advantage of this by playing with 6 of them on over half of his plays, leaving just one linebacker on the field.  This defense is not far off from what it was last year, despite losing most of its big names. That is thanks to Todd Bowles. Expect him to get some head coaching buzz this offseason.

Defense: Let’s continue on the topic of that defense. As mentioned above, it’s still really good! They rank 6th in Defensive Efficiency (or DVOA, per Football Outsiders), 5th in Adjusted Sack Rate, 2nd in turnover differential and 6th in points per game allowed. That’s a really good defense. As mentioned above, they are playing well without significant pieces they planned to have, Daryl Washington and Darnell Dockett were supposed to be on this defense and they have just chugged along without them. Calais Campbell looked like a defensive player of the year candidate before he had to miss two weeks in  the middle of season due to injury but the Cardinals overcame that as well, going undefeated in his absence. Unlike Dockett and Washington, Campbell is back which could spell even more improvement for this unit. That is a scary proposition for opposing offenses.

There are two defining qualities for this defense. Their frightening secondary featuring two superstars, Patrick Petersen and Tyrann Mathieu and several other talented players; and their ability to stop the run. When opposing teams play the Cardinals a couple of things tend to happen. Teams will refuse to throw the ball at Patrick Petersen, they’d prefer not to throw the ball at all when the Cardinals come out with six defensive backs on almost every play. That being said, it’s really hard to run on this team. The Cardinals have given up 3.4 yards per rushing attempt, the 3rd best mark in the NFL and they’ve done playing most with only one linebacker.

This comes back to Todd Bowles and his ability to teach gab responsibility and run fits to his defense. No one is out of place and when that happens it is really hard to run the ball against this team. Factor in their secondary making it really hard to pass against this team, it’s just hard to score points when you play the Arizona Cardinals.

They’ve Played Some Really Tough Teams: The Cleveland Browns are now 6-3 but they have wins over the not so murders row featuring the Raiders, Buccaneers, and Titans and a loss to the Jaguars. The Cardinals haven’t had their path to 7-1 be quite so easy. They have wins over 3 teams that were in the playoffs last year (Philly, San Diego, and San Francisco), wins over 2 teams would be in the playoffs if they started today (Philly and Dallas), and their only loss was on the road to the Broncos where they played rookie 6th round pick Logan Thomas at quarterback for half of the game. They have played the 14th hardest schedule in the league so far (per Football Outsiders). While that is only a little above average, it shows they aren’t feasting on cupcakes and it is about on par with what they’ll see the rest of the way forward.

Football outsiders predicts the Cardinals future schedule as the 12th hardest in the league, featuring two games with the Seahawks, a trip to San Francisco, and match-ups with the Lions and Chiefs as the tough points. That doesn’t sound easy on paper and it won’t be easy on the field but this team has shown they can compete with the tough guys already.

The Case Against the Cardinals

The case against the Cardinals revolves around advance metrics. While the former players that overpopulate NFL talk love this team because of their “grid and effort and ability just get it done”, the advance metrics speak otherwise.

Team Efficiency: Football Outsiders’ team efficiency rating, known as DVOA is usually a pretty good indicator of what teams are actually good and what teams might be hiding behind some smoke and mirrors. It accurately determined that the Seahawks and Broncos were the league’s top two teams last year and only once in the last ten years and has a team outside of their top ten won or even made the Super Bowl (the 2012 Giants). Why is this important? The Cardinals are 16th in DVOA with a DVOA of 1.3%, or just one 1.3% above league average. For comparison, the Broncos have the league’s highest DVOA at 36.4% and the Buccaneers have the league’s worst DVOA at -35.9%. In terms of efficiency, the Cardinals are as average as they come. (Per Football Outsiders)

Where does this put them in the NFC efficiency hierarchy? Well if the NFC’s 6 playoff teams were chosen by DVOA, the Cardinals would not make the playoffs. The Seahawks, Packers, Eagles, Saints, Lions, and Cowboys all have a higher DVOA marking than Arizona. On per play basis, there are 6 teams better than this Cardinals team in the NFC alone. While they may be beating very good teams now it’s hard to imagine that keeping if they continue to play with this level of efficiency. League average teams should in theory, see league average results in the win-loss column in the long run. The Cardinals can avoid this destiny with improved play, but as of right now they are a league average team in terms of efficiency.

Offense: This is an area where both traditional and advanced metrics are working against the Cardinals. While I did give Bruce Arians credit for maximizing the potential of his offense, they still are not very good. They rank 24th in the league in offensive DVOA  and 27th in total yards per game. Those rankings seem about right for a team quarterbacked by Drew Stanton and Carson Palmer with a weak offensive line and developing receiving core. Arians has made the most of what he has and has developed some nice young pieces, but this offense just cannot be relied upon.

So far the Cardinals have had a simple recipe for winning games, play exceptional defensive, win the turnover battle and do not hurt yourself on offense. They have implemented this strategy to absolute success, but it’s worth wondering what would happen if they had to go into a shootout with somebody. The Cardinals do average 24 points per game, but they have never scored more than 30. The Broncos put 43 on their defense in Week 5 and the Cardinals simply could not keep pace. If their defense would begin to struggle in the latter half of the season it’s hard to imagine this offense being able to play catch up.

It’s also worth mentioning with this offense that Carson Palmer has been uncharacteristically careful with the ball this season. His touchdown to interception ratio is 5.5 touchdowns for every interception, much better than his career mark of 2.6 touchdowns per interception. It would not be shocking to see Palmer regress to his old ways in the second half of the season and if he does this Cardinals team would be in deep trouble. This is a team that needs to win the turnover battle and they cannot do that if Palmer regresses. This offense isn’t very good, so it cannot afford to get worse, which is definitely a possibility with Palmer at the helm.

Point Differential and Pythagorean Win Total: Pythagorean win total is the amount of wins a team should have based off their point differential rather than their total win-loss record. This has been proven throughout the years by NFL statisticians to be a better indicator of future performance than actual win loss record. According to their Pythagorean win total the Cardinals should have won just 5 games; since they’ve won 7 their two wins over expectation makes the luckiest team in football.  Five wins is nothing to shake your head at, but it still means this team is over preforming with 7 wins. If the Cardinals were to play like a 5 win team the rest of the way they will go 12-4 and make the playoffs, but it would be a 10-6 type of team that happened to win 12 games. It still seems fair to expect to the Cardinals regress back to the mean in the second half of the year though, how far back they regress will be what defines public perception of the Cardinals heading into the playoffs.

Fumble Recovery Rate: Just a reminder, recovering fumbles is not a skill, the laws of physics dictate where the ball bounces not the team that strips it. This means the rate at which a team recovers fumbles is unlikely to stay constant over an entire season. The Cardinals have recovered the ball 64.3% of the time when  they’ve seen it on the ground this season. That’s good enough for the 3rd best mark in the league. However, since every fumble is a 50-50 proposition it’s likely that this could regress as well back to the mean as well. Above I mentioned the impact of Carson Palmer not throwing interceptions’ on this team, they have to win the turnover battle. If Palmer would regress back to his mean interception rate and they started to fail to recover fumbles at the rate they are now the Cardinals would lose their advantage in the turnover battle. They would also probably lose a lot more games at that pace. This is a stat will likely naturally regress even the Cardinals cannot afford to that happen.

The Verdict

The Cardinals are NOT the NFC’s Best Team: The statistical evidence against the Cardinals was too overwhelming. On a per play basis, this is a league average team that should eventually regress to the mean. It is unlikely that Carson Palmer will continue to play this well, it is unlikely their fumble luck will continue, and if their defense ever has a bad game they do not have to the offense to keep them in it. Good coaching can right a lot of wrongs, but I don’t think this team is good enough to navigate through a very tough second half of the year playing the way they are now. I see them finishing about 11-5 and making the playoffs but being sent home soon after. The NFC’s best team is not located in Arizona, it is more likely to be found in Green Bay or Philadelphia (pre-Nick Foles injury). The Cardinals have been a fun story so far, but it will not keep up and it is very unlikely they will be the first ever team to play in a Super Bowl they are hosting. This isn’t the NFC’s best team. Case closed.

The post Are the Cardinals the Best Team in the NFC? appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The NFL season is just over halfway done but several teams are struggling to find their mojo.  The Green Bay Packers are certainly not one of those teams as they look to become just the third team in NFL history to get through an entire season undefeated.  However, just about half the league is still searching for consistency, answers, and most importantly, wins.  The NFC West applies to just about all three.  While the San Francisco 49ers can clinch the division with a pair of wins, the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Rams are a combined 5-19, the worst trio record in any conference.  All three teams have issues at the QB position and defense.  With 8 games to go for all three teams, they need to figure out if they will play for pride or give themselves more favorable odds in the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes.

The AFC North and NFC North are emerging as the two toughest divisions in their respective conferences.  The NFC North should be considered the toughest division in the NFL right now.  No one looks like they can beat the Packers, although San Diego came close this past Sunday.  The Detroit Lions are an impressive 6-2 but they must show that they are a real threat and not the 2007 Lions who ran out of steam at this point in the year with the same record.  That 2007 Lions squad finished 8-8 after starting 6-2.  The Chicago Bears have surprised all the “experts” with their 5-3 start and have won 3 straight games.  They face a critical point on Sunday as they host Detroit.  If the playoffs started today, the Packers, Bears, and Lions would be there which shows the divisions depth and those teams are a combined 14-3 outside of their division (best in NFL).

The AFC North is likewise in a similar position in the AFC but the Steelers and Bengals still have to show some more if they truly want to be the best.  The Steelers are an impressive 6-2, but their wins are against teams that are a combined 16-32 and the Bengals (6-2) have beaten teams that are a combined 15-33.  The Ravens lead the division as well at 6-2 due to tiebreakers over Pittsburgh but they have two bad losses in Tennessee and Jacksonville.  Yet Baltimore still has a terrifying defense and they will go as far as Joe Flacco will take them.

The highly overrated NFC East is once again living up to their overhyped mantra that they are the deepest conference in football.  Only the New York Giants (6-2) have a winning record in the division which speaks ill for Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington.  The Redskins started 3-0, but after a bad loss by Rex Grossman, John Beck took over at QB to satisfy the fans and media and is 0-4 this year.  In his NFL career, Beck has never started and won a game.  Coach Mike Shanahan’s decision at QB proves that he remains an overrated head coach as he is 108-96 with QBs not named John Elway with zero playoff wins.  The Dream Team Eagles have also failed to live up to expectations as they sit at 3-5 with critical losses to New York, Chicago, and Atlanta.  If the Eagles are to make the playoffs, they must go at least 7-1 due to tiebreaking losses to all three aforementioned teams.  A team that has so much talent after a Madden-like offseason has not worked out and will likely get Andy Reid fired at season’s end.  To New York’s credit, they are proving that they can run with anyone as they had a thrilling comeback against the New England Patriots.  Eli Manning is have a decent season and must prove himself that he belongs at the helm of the Giants’ offense.  After missing the postseason last year after finishing 10-6, winning key games against tough opponents will have to be the staple of Manning’s tenure.  The Giants face the Packers in a couple of weeks and that will be Manning’s biggest challenge of the season.

As the NFL unfolds over the next few weeks, more answers will be provided and the contenders will be separated from the pretenders.  Some division races are likely over like the NFC West and what appears to be the AFC South as Houston looks poised to make their first-ever postseason appearance.  Some playoff races will come down to the end of the season—especially in the AFC East and AFC West—but with so much more at stake for the rest of November, winning at all costs has never been greater.  How many times can teams afford to lose potential tiebreaker games and still have playoff aspirations?  For a lot of teams, especially those in the NFC South, winning now will stack wins in your favor and put so much pressure on the competition that they will likely crack.  Week 9 in the NFL is in the books and the rest of the season cannot come fast enough.

The post The NFL Season at the Midway Point appeared first on KRUI Radio.