Some Thoughts On The NFL Season Thus Far. Whoda Thunk It?
I know that whoda thunk it isn’t actual proper grammar, but nonetheless, that is going to be a reoccurring theme throughout this article. When I look back at some of the things that have panned out in this NFL season thus far, as opposed to what my thoughts were coming into this season, I’m left asking myself only one thing. Whoda Thunk it? To say that there have been surprises in this 2010 NFL season so far would be a vast understatement. So lets take a look at some things that have transpired thus far, that have me scratching my head and thinking, whoda thunk it? The order I list these in doesn’t necessarily list them in terms of importance, but I believe everything on this list should be categorized in terms of the unbelievable, unthinkable and just plain weird.
1: The Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys met yesterday in week 6 to decide who was going to win their 2nd game of the season first. Whoda thunk it?
I know that teams struggle from week to week and things can change suddenly in the NFL, but I still can say that I never saw this coming. Before the season started, I was thinking that both of these teams were set to make a serious run at the Super Bowl, and I actually expected the Minnesota Vikings to be there in the end. The Vikings were one game from making a Super Bowl appearance last season, and one Brett Favre interception late in the game, was the only thing that kept them from beating the New Orleans Saints. Brett Favre has more interceptions than he does touchdowns this season, and has already thrown as many interceptions this year, than he had all of last season. The Dallas Cowboys are now 1-4, and would have to go on a three game winning streak just to get back to 500. The Cowboys are also the second most penalized team in the NFL this season, with only the lowly Detroit Lions having more. They’ve had 11 penalties called against them in two separate games this season and are averaging 10 penalties a game.
2: The Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs were among the last teams in the NFL this season that were sporting perfect undefeated records. Whoda thunk it?
When I was pondering who would be among the unbeaten teams in the NFL at the start of this season, the Chiefs and the Bears never even entered my thoughts. The Indianapolis Colts or the Minnesota Vikings? Sure. The Baltimore Ravens or the New York Jets? Yeah, ok, I could see that as well. But the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs? Never in my wildest imagination did I see that happening. Before the season started, I thought the Bears were going to be lucky to win 7 games. Even after they’ve been thoroughly dominated by the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants, they still have a winning record, and are in first place in their division. I still don’t think that they are for real though, and after getting beat by the Seahawks in Chicago yesterday, they are starting to look like the Chicago Bears team that I thought I was going to see all along. Maybe if the Bears offensive line were to give Jay Cutler more than 1 second to get rid of the ball and give Matt Forte actual holes to run through, they could be an actual playoff contender, but I just don’t see that happening.
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3: The San Francisco 49ers are 1-5, and the San Diego Chargers are 2-4. Whoda thunk it?
Many experts picked the 49ers to win their division this year and be serious contenders come playoff time. When I thought about teams that would be 1-5 before the season started, teams that immediately came to mind were the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions. I honestly didn’t look at the 49ers and think, “Now here is a team that’s going to start the season 1-5.” I think what I find just as shocking though is, the San Diego Chargers are 2-4. When they opened the season losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, I think that shocked just about everyone including the Chiefs themselves. Its not only shocking to me that they’re 2-4, but it shocks me equally to know that they already have losses this season to the Chiefs, Seahawks, Raiders and Rams. I don’t know what other surprises this 2010 NFL season holds in the very near future, but I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll be left shaking my head and saying, “Whoda thunk it?”
By Pete Monstwillo
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer