The National Football League’s fourth week is in the books. The cream is beginning to rise to the top, or sink in a putrid fashion to the bottom (hello Bucs and Jags). Here are some key storylines from week four:
1) Gone are the days of quarterbacks managing games.
When you look around the NFL, it’s easy to see why some teams are successful and some aren’t: the quarterback position. There are no more “just don’t lose the game for us” situations in the league, especially now that Mark Sanchez is relegated to the bench/injured reserve. Every team needs a quarterback who can dominate or at least be the primary factor in a team’s victory, and the teams and front office’s that don’t have them will see roster and managerial overhaul until they do. No Rex Grossman or Matt Hasselbeck type is taking his team to the big game this year. One of the league’s superstars, whether it be Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, or one of the exciting young upstart signal-callers like Andrew Luck or Russell Wilson, will hoist the Lombardi Trophy at year’s end. Bet on it.
2) The New York Giants’ philosophy caught up to them.
The Giants have always been a draft and “groom from within” team, not one that goes out and tries to land prized free agents. Now, their roster is old, and their inability to draft immediate stars at positions like running back, linebacker, and to an extent the secondary have contributed to a lack of a running game and insufficient pass defense. With injuries to both the offensive and defensive lines and lackluster depth behind the starters, Eli Manning is getting killed in the pocket and the team is finding itself having trouble generating a reliable pass rush. The NFC East may be wide-open (see: bad) this year, but the 0-4 Giants aren’t going to be a factor in the division race down the stretch.
3) The Minnesota Vikings quarterback situation has become a dilemma.
After Matt Cassell’s workmanlike, but successful, performance as an injury replacement for starter Christian Ponder last week, Minnesota may have a bit of an issue on its hands. Rumors abound that the players feel more confident with the veteran Cassell under center, but Ponder is a former 12th overall draft choice in a make-or-break third year in which the team needs to definitively decide on his long-term future with the club. This upcoming bye week is going to be interesting inside Vikings headquarters. Head coach Leslie Frazier says Ponder will be the starter once his ribs have healed (presumably after the bye), but teams don’t want to risk locker room division. If Cassell shows he’s the best choice to help the team win now (remember, this team made the playoffs last year), Frazier may have to make a very difficult decision to put Ponder on the bench.
4) The Patriots just sustained their most serious loss so far.
Sure, this team is 4-0, and has performed miraculously with undrafted rookies at several key positions. They’ll eventually get Rob Gronkowski, Shane Vereen, and Danny Amendola back to finally put together a semblance of the offense the team envisioned when camp broke this summer. But with nose tackle Vince Wilfork out for the year with a torn ACL, a much-improved defense just lost its best player. Over his career with the Patriots, Wilfork has been the difference between a top-tier run defense and one that statistically ranks last in the league when he’s not on the field. This could have major implications come playoff time.
5) We know who the pleasant surprises are, but which team is most disappointing?
There are several that could hold this title, from the 1-3 Falcons to the 1-2 Packers. But I think it’s the 1-3 St. Louis Rams. It was trendy to say this team was on a major upswing and merely had the poor misfortune of playing in arguably football’s toughest division. But the Rams have massively underachieved to this point. They’re currently last in the league in rushing, making their decision to let Steven Jackson go appear to be a poor one, and third-to-last in defending the run. Sure, they’ve lost to Atlanta and San Francisco, two pretty good teams, but they got demolished by Dallas and were not competitive at all against the Niners, a team they beat and tied last year. Rookie Tavon Austin has had difficulty getting involved in the offense, and Sam Bradford doesn’t look any more confident in the pocket with a supposedly improved offensive line than he did in seasons past. This team needs to right the ship quickly, starting with a confidence-builder this Sunday versus Jacksonville.
The Prohibitive Favorite 