180 Degrees In 1/4 Of The Time

When it comes to teams pulling a complete 180, the NFL is like no other league. With 53-man squads and a strict salary cap, it becomes obvious how important the roles of the general manager, coaches and the draft really are. As I look to the division standings, I simply cannot believe what I see. The first quarter of the season is over, and the three teams with the worst records in 2006 - Oakland, Detroit and Cleveland - are a combined 7-5. The teams with the best records in 2006 - San Diego, Baltimore and Chicago - are a combined 4-8. Let's see who needs to step it up in October.

NFC East

Dallas sits atop as one of the NFL's four unbeaten teams. Outscoring their opponents 151-79, they are clearly the elite team of the entire NFC. Washington has a lot to prove after squandering their lead against the Giants, who treated Donovan McNabb like a pinata Sunday night. Luckily it's the NFC, so the bottom three can fight for a wild card, but the Cowboys are going to win this division... by next week.

NFC North

I find it funny that people aren't sold on Green Bay yet. They are making the playoffs, believe me. Their schedule from now on is: Chicago (twice), Washington, Denver, KC, Minnesota, Carolina, Detroit (twice), Dallas, Oakland and St. Louis. They could go 14-2. Detroit is currently looking good, but they have to play defense if they want to win the North. It should be an interesting race between the two. Chicago and Minnesota? You're done, thanks for playing.

NFC South

Since the NFC South has been in existence, the team that has finished last has won the division the following year every single time. Last year's losers? Tampa Bay, who is sittin' pretty atop of this horrible division. They just hammered the Panthers, they've already hammered the Saints, and the Falcons have Joey Harrington playing quarterback and the Son of Sam playing cornerback. Will Cadillac being out for the season give room for Drew Brees and the Ain'ts to come charging back? Don't count on it.

NFC West

The Rams rank 29th in total offense. The Niners rank 32nd. Feeling the excitement yet? While Scott Linehan is warming up Norv Turner's seat and Mike Nolan is wrapping his designer Reebok tie around the ceiling fan, the West is all about Seattle and Arizona. The two-quarterback monster that Ken Whisenhunt has put together beat Seattle already, but the Seahawks get to face Pittsburgh next week, who the Cardinals just beat, so let's pick this up from there.

AFC East

Patriots win.

AFC North

I thought this was supposed to be the best divison in football? Well, the Browns already have two divisional wins, and if it weren't for Timeout Fiasco Part Deux, they would be 3-1. Right up there with Hugh Hefner and the Jagermeister Girls, Mike Tomlin has the easiest job ever. Because unlike Hefner, the Ravens cannot score, and just like the Jager Girls, the Bengals are all flash and never put out. The scene of Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer screaming at each other at the sidelines Monday night pretty much tells the story of Cincy. Maybe they should just start shooting each other again.

AFC South

Now, this is interesting, when you consider three of these teams are making the playoffs. The Colts will win the division, obviously, and then it's just a race for the Wild Card spots. Tennessee is in, since Vince Young could complete 9% of his passes the rest of the year and still go 10-6. Now it's between Jacksonville and Houston. If the Texans can't beat Atlanta on the road, why would I think they could make the playoffs? Congrats, J-Ville, you make the playoffs by default.

AFC West

You get the feeling that the AFC is starting to decline when you really look at it. The Chiefs are currently on top (1-0 in the division, with one less conference loss than Denver), which speaks volumes. Dwayne Bowe is currently booking his tickets to Hawaii, and so is Norv Turner, but for completely different reasons. The way it's looking right now, last year's 14-2 Chargers might finish last in the league's worst division with basically the same personnel. That's fantastic.