Week Four in the NFL. Things have settled down. Last week, I picked 'em decently enough, but credit to the Cowboys for picking up another "W", despite the fact that I sincerely thought the Pack could grind one out at home. The Packers have a good football team, but the NFC East is quickly becoming a league of its own, and I can't say enough about them. Yes, they only play one game out of the division this week, but that is a very winnable one for the Eagles, and the East could very well be a perfect 9-0 against the rest of the league heading into week five. That's a bit more difficult than it sounds, and the beauty of it is that each divisional contest will hold the significance of a playoff game. That's a lot of good football on the slate.

CLE 14 @ CIN 28: Carson Palmer and Cincinnati showed resolve last week, and played well to give the defending champs a serious run for their money in the Meadowlands. Cleveland, has fallen short of every single expectation of them this season, and they'll be the team to continue on winless through the first quarter of the season.

HOU 7 @ JAC 20: Jacksonville drove down the field to beat the Colts in Indy last week, just after Peyton had apparently nailed the coffin shut. Houston has been another disappointment this year, and will be a nice stepping stone for Jacksonville as they make it back to .500.

ATL 16 @ CAR 21: Atlanta's been averaging over 200 yards on the ground through the first three. That will take a lot of pressure off of a rookie quarterback, and that will make this game interesting. However, it won't be enough to topple the Panters. Carolina will ultimately bounce back from last week's setback.

ARI 35 @ NYJ 20: One ancient quarterback versus another, but on the bright side, they are high-profile old-timers. Arizona and that offense is just too much for the Jets to handle though, and Favre just doesn't have a good enough grasp of the offense yet. Hey, Chad Pennington's looking pretty good over there in Miami. Maybe the Jets could trade for him?

MIN 13 @ TEN 17: This week's defensive struggle, and one of the better games this week. These teams are very similar, with great defense and great running games. Tennessee has the better QB in Kerry Collins though, and he can still manage the game consistently and efficiently. Titans grind out the win at home.

GB 28 @ TB 20: The game will not be as close as the score suggests. In the NFC, the teams could be divided into two divisions: the NFC East, and the Rest. Green Bay, coming off of a loss to Dallas, is still the best of the Rest.

SF 27 @ NO 17: The Niners haven't beaten impressive teams, but that's not to say they haven't impressed. From where they were last year, to be looking at 3-1 through the first four has to inspire some confidence. New Orleans is ####ed up on offense, and their defense has played poorly, as expected. No Shockey, and their top two wideouts will be absent from this contest as well. Not looking good for the Saints.

DEN 45 @ KC 10: Denver is explosive on offense, and while the defensive play is a huge concern, their isn't much to worry about against the Kansas City Chiefs. An exciting one for Broncos fans to watch, but not so much for the rest us. Kansas City is in rebuilding mode, but what remains to be done is the removal of Herm Edwards.

BUF 35 @ STL 17: Scott Linehan got to go. The Rams need something, and it's not coming this year. Watching the Rams play the Giants in week two, it was fairly easy to draw that conclusion just by looking at the guy's demeanor on the sideline. He's wound tighter than a clam's ####, and that's certainly not what a football team that is beaten and getting blown out week after week needs. Bills to move to 4-0.

SD 31 @ OAK 13: The San Diego Super Chargers pull back to .500 this week against a Raiders team that won't have a whole lot of fight left in them, as Al Davis continues to do whatever it takes to drain that from the team. Kiffin is still here, but having him on the chopping block is a bad situation if you're looking for wins. Back to the Chargers, all of the sudden an 0-2 start becomes nothing to worry about, especially with former AFC heavyweights dropping like flies around them.

WAS 23 @ DAL 20: Yes, I am not showing Dallas the love they've earned to this point. Dallas has more talent, but I like the way Washington's been playing, and that offense will progress with each week, as they become more comfortable with the scheme. Just how has Washington been winning games, pulling wins out against the Saints and the Cardinals, gives reason to believe in them. Washington is 1st in the league in turnover differential, currently at +5. Dallas is tied for 27th, at -3. Teams can have a world of talent and win games without winning the turnover battle. However, once they get into close contests against tough opponents (exactly what they are slated for this week), losing the turnover battle means losing the game. That's why I'm going way out on a limb here in picking the Redskins for the upset.

PHI 24 @ CHI 13: I wasn't sure if Philly was the real deal after what I saw out of them in Dallas. Granted, at that point, I wasn't sure if Dallas was all they were hyped up to be, as both teams looked sloppy at times in the Monday Night match-up. Philly bounced back the very next week though with a defensive performance that will send chills through offensive coordinators scheduled to play them. Jim Johnson and this Philly "D" at full force in a Philly win.

BAL 10 @ PIT 20: Pittsburgh's defense played considerably well in Philadelphia. The offense just couldn't get anything going, and for this defense to reach the sideline and then turn around, head back onto the field, and continue to play well shows they have great durability. Yes, Big Ben was sacked countless times and the Steelers converted 15% of their third downs (2/13). However, the question of whether this Baltimore offense can move the ball on a defense that has allowed the second fewest points in the league  and the third fewest total yards is a great one. Take Pittsburgh.

With trap-game weekend over and a colossal regular game winning streak brought to an end by a team known most recently for its rather ugly losing streaks, we are left with five 3-0 squads here in the NFL. Oddly enough, it's hard to find any of these teams as a pseudo-undefeated squad. They all have talent, and while one could make the argument that Denver should not be on the list, they still had to drive the length of the field to go down and punch it in. With what was thought to be the class of the AFC in the Steelers losing a tough one to the Eagles, there is a tilt to the NFC at this point, despite the AFC having three 3-0 squads.

1. Dallas Cowboys: Natural inclination would lead me to put my Giants in this slot, as they are 3-0 and coming off a run for the Lombardi trophy. However, Dallas has been battle-tested more than any team in the league, just three weeks into the season. The Browns have proven to be not worthy of the hype to this point, but putting up 41 points (34 on offense) against a Jim Johnson defense is always worth noting. And they beat a tough Packers team that is proving they can play without Favre, and the kicker is this one wasn't at Texas Stadium either. The Pack got beat at home, and the Cowboys stuck it to them pretty good. No need to reel off a list of Pro Bowl names for you, as they will get plenty of attention throughout the season.

The only danger this Cowboys team may be in is a danger that every team in the East faces: falling asleep on your divisional rivals. Just as well, that is a message to the rest of the division. Dallas has five games left in the East, and outside o####ame in Pittsburgh, those are looking to be perhaps the only ones that the Cowboys are really going to have to fight for. The rest of the East has to beat Dallas if they want to challenge for the division crown, because the rest of the league is looking in poor shape to pick up the slack.

The East is no longer the class of the NFC. The NFC East, unbeaten through week 3 of the season, is the class of the NFL.

2. New York Giants: This Giants squad, known primarily as a defensive team, relied on its offense to pull one out against Cincinatti. Yes, the Giants faced an 0-2 Bengals team, but let's not forget how ferocious an offense that can be when they are on their game. Carson Palmer is still a priemere quarterback, and Cincinatti has enough offensive weapons to rival Dallas when playing as a unit. The Bengals O-line gave up three sacks over their first two games, arguably the only positive for that offense over that stretch. However, for the Giants to sack Palmer six times and for Palmer to be able to keep the Bengals in it was nothing short of spectacular. The Giants defense didn't control the tempo in that one, which I don't think they are used to.

But for this Giants offense to come to fruition and win a close game when called upon is the mark of a championship caliber squad. The Giants offense was the hallmark of inconsistency in '07, and they have looked revamped with several new dimensions in '08. Eli Manning has been able to rely on a receiving core that led the league in dropped passes last year, allowing him to spread the ball around beautifully. The Giants' backfield once again reared its ugly head and demonstrated why it is just so dangerous.

I likened the rivalry between the Giants and Cowboys to that between Ali and Frazier for a reason (and long before Howie Long ever made the reference), and that is because these two teams are going to fight tooth and nail for a full fifteen rounds every time they face each other, and right now, they are the best in the league, with Philadelphia being very close as well (didn't make the cut though because of a loss to Dallas).

3. Buffalo Bills: Looking for a proven winner? Let's try Buffalo, who has won two games against playoff squads of '07 in our short three week season (Seattle and Jacksonville). Trent Edwards has thrown a single pick and completed 67 percent of his passes through his first 3 games. The receiving core has been dynamic, with Josh Reed making some sizable contributions that tend to go unnoticed with the gaudy numbers that Lee Evans puts up (20.33 yards per catch over 12 receptions to this point). Marshawn #### is a workhorse and can put on some catlike moves when the situation calls for it, and the defense has been solid.

The story surrounding the Bills however, is just how with every passing game, it seems more and more likely that the Bills are going to run away with the AFC East. The division is hurting outside of Buffalo. Belichick showed us all that he may not be the guru that he's choked up to be, as his defense had absolutely no answer for an 0-2 Miami Dolphins offense that dropped 38. Last time I checked, Tom Brady does not in fact play defense, but it seems the Pats are falling hard without him. The Dolphins and Jets are fairly impossible to gauge, but it would appear more than likely that they will not contend for the division title. Facing a decidedly easy schedule up ahead, it's quite possible that the Bills, yes, the Buffalo Bills, could pile up 12-13 win season. They are young, healthy, and poised to take advantage of the opportunity that has presented itself.

4. Tennessee Titans: The Titans may have even gotten a boost by having Collins under center. Despite what people are saying of Vince Young, I stil think he has potential to be a solid, versatile QB in this league. But he needs a break, to get a chance to break some bad habits and improve his passing skills. Kerry Collins is a solid quarterback. He won't dazzle you, but his IQ hasn't diminished, and he never was a mobile quarterback, so not a whole lot lost there. His return can be likened to that of Kurt Warner and what he is doing for the Arizona Cardinals, in providing consistently solid play from the quarterback position. I've watched Collins for some time now, as he was a Giant for a good number of years. He can play.

Now, the play of the rest of this Tennessee squad speaks for itself. The defense has been exceptional, and though they have yet to undertake a real test, holding three NFL teams to 9.7 points per game still exemplifies solid play. In the backfield, the rookie Chris Johnson has been explosive. Everybody knows it, but I will reiterate that Tennessee has one of the best front sevens in the league. A strong running game and a solid defense will win you games, plain and simple. But, there is still a lot of talent and a lot of heart in that AFC South. Tennessee is looking like a solid playoff contender, but they are going to have to grind out a division title. No way around it.


5. Denver Broncos: The Broncos land fifth on the list for two reasons. The first being that they are undefeated partly due to a blown call by Ed Hochuli. The second reason to give is that while this team's offense has been explosive, there defense has been allowing 28 points per game. More or less, the Broncos are this year what everybody had hyped the Saints up to be (once again, missing the mark however), which is an offensive juggernaut that can score enough points to compensate for an average defense. Jay Cutler has been phenomenal (68% passes completed, 914 yards with only 2 picks), and his receiving core, headed by record-breaking rookie Brandon Marshall, has been stellar. However, the old adage that defense wins championships is more often than not true, and the Broncos really need to pick up their defensive play.

Forget the call by Ed Hochuli. All in all, the Chargers shouldn't have allowed them to drive the length of the field. The Chargers' defense even got a second chance to win the game on a put-up or shut-up two point conversion attempt. They lost the game twice after Hochuli blew the call. For those of you that remember, a blown call on a botched field goal attempt cost the Giants a game in the wildcard round against the 49ers. The game could have been won on that play, but it certainly wasn't lost on that play. No, with 20 minutes to play, the Giants allowed 25 points, and the 49ers advanced. The Broncos won, plain and simple. Bad calls happen all the time, and the Chargers had opportunities (and I stress the plural) to compensate for that call but did not.

Still, the Broncos need to improve their defensive play. The playoffs are where the teams that epitomize great defense emerge, and a great defense can make a great offense look helpless. Take a look at the record-breaking Patriots' offense of the '07-'08 season. The ended their season because a great defense had schemed their offense perfectly, and when it came down to the battle of defenses, New England played well but could not match the intensity of the Giants' "D". Which team held the record for most points scored before the Patriots? It was the Minnesota Vikings, and only god knows which year, as nobody talks about it because they didn't even make the Super Bowl that year. The Chargers have serious talent and could be the #1 seed in the AFC come January. But will that amount to a serious playoff run? Not unless they sure up that defense.