This may be the craziest NFL season yet.  With few elite teams, fewer horrible ones, and a whole bunch of mediocrity in the middle, the 2010 slate is shaping up to be one strange ride

SCOTT JACOBS

Well it’s safe to say that we know one thing: no one’s going undefeated this year.  With apologies to Kansas City and Chicago (who were playing as of press time), there is no one who will threaten the 1972 Miami Dolphins or even the 2007 New England Patriots for that matter.  But you knew that.  Because if you’ve been watching the NFL this year, you’ve seen a league chalk full of uneven teams.

> With the first pick of the 2011 NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills select… And that’s kind of a best case scenario for the Bills right now.  After getting walloped by the Jets in their AFC East disaster tour, the Bills dropped to 0-4 (Hard to believe just three years ago they were 4-0). Ryan Fitzpatrick is not the answer for Buffalo, and with Miami, New England, and New York world’s ahead of them, the Bills would probably be better off tanking the season away to get a real quarterback.  You know like one the Rams have.  Andrew Luck would be one hell of an upgrade for the Bills.  Just saying.

> The NFC West may be the worst division in sports.  I’m not ready to proclaim it the worst division in NFL history (there’s still a ways away) but consider this: despite being 0-4 many people will still probably predict the 49ers to win the West.  And who can blame them?  The Cardinals have put together two horrific clunkers on the road together, losing their last two games away from Arizona by a combined — get this — 82-17!  Even more numbing to the Red Birds has been their atrocious QB play.  Derek Anderson has been more than a bust, he’s been an implosion.  After throwing 2 more interceptions today, Ken Whisenhunt finally swallowed his pride and pulled his guy, bringing in rookie Max Hall.  I know it’s been beaten like a dead horse, but that decision to cut Matt Leinart looks worse and worse each week.

> But it’s not just Arizona.  Seattle which got a big win last week at home over San Diego (the team that smoked the Cards), then went on the road to lowly St. Louis and laid a total clunker in the Edward Jones Dome 20-3.  The Seahawks have looked great at home, and terrible on the road.  Which brings us to St. Louis where the Rams are 2-2, doubling their win total from last year and making Sam Bradford instantly the front runner for Offensive ROY.  What’s scary is that the Rams could actually be — believe it or not — 4-0.  That’s right.  They had ample opportunities to beat Arizona week 1, and barely lost to the Raiders a few weeks later. Hard to believe but the Rams may be in this for good.

> Which takes us back to San Fran, whom I believe is the best team in the division on paper, but still 0-4.  They’re going nowhere.  Nowhere could take them to 7-9 and a division crown, but more likely nowhere is Mike Singletary looking like someone punched him in the gut, dying a little more after each brutal loss.  It’s gut check time for the 49ers who get a pissed off Eagles team at home next week.  And I’ll say it now, they won’t make the playoffs if they start 0-5.

> The Saints are that 3-1 Super Bowl defending champ that scares no one right now.  With their offense in neutral and a less than inspiring 16-14 win over rookie QB Jimmy Claussen and the Panthers it’s hard to look at New Orleans as an elite team right now.  Surprisingly it’s their offense that just can’t seem to get going.  Not only has New Orleans failed to score 20 already in 2 games this year, they’ve been held under 30 in all 4.  For a team known for it’s offensive potency and defensive take-aways, winning slugfests is not the recipe for a similarly successful Saints season.  3-1 is a mirage.

> The Chargers got their mojo back on Sunday whipping a pathetic Cardinals team, but it was Denver that pulled off the more unlikely win, going to Tennessee and shocking the Titans.  It was more of a gift really.  Down 4 with just a few minutes remaining and looking at a 1-3 start, Kyle Orton (who has put up some just ridiculous yardage totals this year) chucked a desperation throw towards the endzone to Jabar Gaffney, who was inexplicably interfered with by Ryan Clady, inflicting a game-changing 49 yard pass interference penalty.  It was a good call on Clady who jumped right into the receiver, but it was a devastating blow for the Titans who were in control and on the verge of being 3-1.  Instead, they fell to 2-2, just like the…

> Colts, who went to Jacksonville and struggled mightily against Jacksonville’s previously punchless O.  Coming off back to back beatdowns, the Jags looked like dead meat against the Colts, but Jacksonville salvaged their season and their coach’s and quarterback’s jobs momentarily with a huge win.  But credit Del Rio’s decision to kick a field goal from 59 yards, when most coaches would have taken a knee and played for OT.  Josh Scobee made him look like a genius when he belted the kick probably a good 63 yards (which would have tied for the longest kick in NFL history) to shock the Colts.  Amazingly the Colts are now 2-2, a far cry from the 4-0 and eventual 14-0 start they had last year en route to the Super Bowl, which leaves them with the same record as the Jags.  Maybe that lack of a running game is catching up to Indy afterall?

> Carson Palmer threw for 371 yards, Terrell Owens had 222 yards receiving and the Bengals lost– to the previously winless Browns of all teams.  The Bengals were 6-0 last year within the AFC North and they lose to the Browns?  A headscratcher really, but what it tells me is this: the Bengals just aren’t that good.  They have the talent to be really good, but when push comes to shove you never know what you’re going to get from this team.  They are the only ones to beat Baltimore (more on the Ravens in a second), but they also got blasted against the Patriots and beaten by Seneca Wallace’s Browns.  Weird team.

>  The Steelers fell from their perfect perch in a tough way today as Baltimore outlasted them 17-14 in a heavyweight fight.  While Charlie Batch played well, the Steelers will openly welcome Ben Roethlisberger back next week.  And to be 3-1 with a fresh Big Ben waiting in the wings, means Pittsburgh with that defense looks scary good right now.  As for Baltimore, they won a dogfight of a game despite getting just 59 yards from Ray Rice and Willis McGahee.  Seven Ravens caught the ball, not including Ray Lewis who picked off Batch to seal it as the Ravens improved to 3-1.  As the only team to beat the Jets, the Ravens look like one of the NFL’s elite early on. Boldin had another nice game, but it was T.J. Houshmandzadeh who corralled in the winning score.  Going into the game T.J. had 2 catches for all of 31 yards, but he surpassed that alone today, with 49 yards receiving on 3 receptions, including the afforementioned winning score.

> Who saw this one coming?  The Lions not only almost beat Green Bay in Lambeau today, but Shaun Hill, almost did it single-handedly. Hill threw for 331 yards and 2 scores, and led the Lions rushing with 53 yards on 4 carries.  Unfortunately he also was picked off twice.  Still, you have to feel for the Lions who are 0-4 once again, but don’t play like an 0-4 team. The Lions have now lost 3 of their 4 games by a frustrating 10 points, including that back-breaker against the Bears in week 1.  I’d make the argument that with Shaun Hill the Lions have held their own and once Stafford comes back, Detroit could eventually be formidable.  Unfortunately that and two cents gets you last place in a NFC North filled with the Bears, Vikings, and Packers.

> The Jets continued to roll today, dismantling the hapless Bills in Orchard Pack to move to 3-1.  While seeing the Jets arrogance appalls me, their winning ways are backing up their big mouths.  And a 3-0 clean sweep in round 1 of Jets meet East, simply confirms that New York is the class of their division and arguably the conference.  They were one decent offensive series against the Ravens from beating them, and since then they’ve beaten everyone thrown their way.  In a league chalk full of question marks, the Jets are getting better each week.  Add Santonio Holmes to the mix and they could be downright scary.

> The Eagles-Redskins game was supposed to be about McNabb’s return to Philly, but what it became was the end of the QB debate for the Eagles.  Mike Vick left early on with a rib/chest injury and the Eagles seemed lost the rest of the night.  Kevin Kolb played it safe and conservative and even on a day where Washington’s offense checked out after the first half, it wasn’t good enough to beat the Redskins. Blame it on rust, or blame it on lack of snaps, but Kolb looked shaky again, like he did against Green Bay.  And how fast the tide turns: some people are now comparing him to Scott Mitchell, the former Lions washout, who never amounted to nothing.  I won’t go that far, but Kolb is falling out of favor quickly in the City of Brotherly Love, and the impatient Eagles fans booed him mercilessly on that last drive.  Not exactly a recipe for success.

Photo: Getty

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