[Sylvanfan]

The 5 games that most of us regular schmucks could have watched yesterday:
Philly/Atlanta
New Orleans/Denver
San Diego/Miami
Pittsburgh/Dallas
New England/Seattle

was probably the best set of games so far this year. Oddly enough the road team went 4 for 5 in those. I even have high hopes for tonight's game with Cinci and the Giants.

By week 9 teams don't win or lost anything. But it is getting to be the time of the year where any team with 6 or more losses, is probably down to hoping they are still in the hunt for their Division, otherwise the playoffs are getting to be a long shot. Even last years Chiefs were 4-5 at week 9.

Dallas has been the most impressive NFC team to date. But rookies do tend to start hitting a wall in December as they experience the long season for a first time. Dallas does have some decent depth in place and banked enough that they can likely rotate the rookies out a bit if need be. The rest of the Division is certainly in the Wild Card race.

Seattle would seem a strong bet to the win their Division and claim the other bye. Come playoffs, it's always a dangerous team because of their experience and track record. It would seem that they're getting the offence on track slowly. I just don't buy Arizona, and the Rams might get to their famous 7-9.

NFC North, is a a real toss up. Rogers and Co have been plaqued by inconsistent play for 3 of the past 4 seasons. So the fact that they aren't dominating maybe shouldn't be a surprise. The Vikings eventually have started to look like a team that can't do enough offensively to be much more than mediocre, even with a stout defence. The Lions are still the Lions, but have probably been the most consistent squad in that bunch. Really take your pick any of them could win....none of them is going to last past the second round of the playoffs.

The NFC South, might also still be up for grabs a bit. But Atlanta has a pretty significant advantage. One of the Saints or Panthers is likely to lose on Thursday night and even a tie hurts those teams. The Buc's are too inconsistent defensively. So really if Atlanta can finish out at 3-3 it will be hard for them not to win the Division.

The AFC still has a pretty good race in the North, which really get's interesting if the Bengals win tonight. Tennessee is hanging around enough in the South, but Houston has wins in the bank, particulary Division wins. The West is a 3 way battle, and it's likely putting 3 teams in the playoffs. The East is New England, and it's a case of can Miami work it's way into the Wild card picture around the 2 losers in the West.