NFL Subplots, That nobody seems to be talking about

Fighting past all of the obvious Peyton-Favre-Brees praises so far this year in the NFL, what do you think of the season so far?

What major subplots is everyone missing or not talking enough about?

Some that spring to my mind:

1. The Houston Texans are 5-3 (+2 games over .500 for the first time EVER) and have a chance to beat the Colts at home. Their other two divisional opponnents are a combined 4-10, meaning, they may actually have a legit shot at the playoffs this year.

2. Meanwhile the Chargers and Ravens might not... they're both only 4-3 looking up in their divisions. Both will have to win 6+ games down the stretch to consider the postseason.

3. The Steelers are 5-2... and that's without the man of Troy for 5 1/2 games and losing two games by 6 total points. Yes, their D isn't as good as last year and their run game is abysmal, but the defending champs are hanging around and under the radar just like every other year.

4. The Pats may be back. Other than their first two games, they've been rolling. Brady looks like Brady again. Watch out.

5. The NFC stinks... or something. 4-3 Bears, Pack, Falcons, Cards; 3-4 Panthers (with Delhomme at the helm) and Niners (who have no WR's), Giants reeling of late, the eventual Cowboys meltdown... Other than the Saints and Vikes (and MAYBE Eagles), who else can make waves?

I'm with you on the Texans. It's crazy to think this is the first time in franchise history that they have ever been 2 games over .500, That's right...first time EVER. I'd like to hear more about Shaub and company. Hard to believe they are doing this well with Steve Slaton having an absolute crap year. (Which is killing my fantasy team.)

The Bengals also seem to be somewhat under reported. This team has made some serious waves this year, but because it's Cincy, it's hard to take them seriously.

I'll be shocked if the Ravens don't make the playoffs. They in my mind are the third best team in the AFC behind New England and Indy.

Assuming the Broncos don't make the Super Bowl. (I'm not delusional, they may/should make the playoffs at this point, but they're not championship contenders.) I'm hoping for a Saints-Colts Super Bowl. That to me would be the best possible championship matchup.

Favre is so much the story, that you hear stories about how stories about him are overblown. That is a Favre coverage black hole I want to avoid. Yes, he is having a good season with a great team.

I'd also like to hear more about the circus going on in Oakland. Because it's the Raiders, stories like head coach breaks the jaw of assistant and then is accused of battering women don't even make us bat an eye, but this is some crazy stuff. Between the insane head coach, the insane owner and his overhead projector, and the ginormous lard of a quarterback who has the same accuracy as bad guys trying to shoot Rambo...the Raiders are one interesting Train Wreck of a team.

Who is the worst team in the NFL? By record it's Tampa, but there are so many teams that truly suck. Bucs, Browns, Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, Redskins, Jags, Titans, Bills...etc. If ever the NFL was going to institute Dave's Toilet Bowl game, this would be the year to do it. They could have an eight team tournament at this point...and they'd be turning away team even with eight involved.

I was thinking the exact same thing. How must that feel to be a team who misses the loser playoffs?

Also ive felt the Steelers for being defending champs have been way underreported. Ive heard more about Big Ben's rape case than ive heard about his performance on the field.

The Texans also have me curious. I was shocked to learn that Matt Schaub led the NFL in passing yards, but then again with a target like Andre Johnson, you should probably be up there anyway. Owen Daniels was no slouch either. ALso curious to see how they react to his injury. I think the biggest question with the Texans is if Steve Slaton will fumble away a potential playoff spot.

That game is in Indianapolis not Houston.

The Rams are offended that you didn't mention them.

I think the Cowboys have been flying under the radar a bit. Is it possible that turning to Miles Austin is going to make their offense click? If they win at Philly this week I think they'll jump to the top of the news.

Now that Alex Smith is at the helm, it's hard to not notice that Michael Crabtree has tore it up in his first two games, and Vernon Davis is making a claim for the best TE in the league. The 9ers have better options than the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys, Bears, Packers, maybe even the Vikings. The only question is their quarterback (Smith was.... not very good in the later stages of the Colts game, and I don't think anyone needs to mention Shaun Hill anymore).

Premature? Very. But I think that they will be a team that regains it's early season steam now that Frank Gore is back healthy. They get the Titans and Bears at home before going out to Green Bay, then the Jags at home, @Seattle, Cardinals, @Phillie, before finishing it up with the one-two punch of Detroit at home and the Rams on the road. On paper your looking at 6 easy wins, a slugfest at Green Bay and Phillie, before a rematch, at home, with Crabtree, against the Cardinals who they already beat.

The Cards have a similar easy schedule but have to take on the Vikings instead of the Eagles. Other than that it's identical except for home/road games. A Cardinals team that looks anemic at times, factor in the weather starting to get a little colder outside (remember when the Pats pounded them last year in the snow in Foxboro?) The 9ers have a team built to make a postseason run while the Cardinals are missing a key element- a running game.

So yeah, the NFC West could ultimately be decided on that day in a few weeks in San Francisco, by two 8-8 teams, but hey, the Eagles proved that an 8-8 team could make a run at the Super Bowl.

And your welcome, for writing the most words about the NFC West this season.

You may want to step back and take a look at those weapons again. I like Crabtree as much as the next guy, and think he will be a stud WR for a while, but he is 2 games into his career. Bruce and Josh Morgan are alright but nothing special, and Frank Gore is an average RB who gets random big games. They have at best even weapons with the Giants and Cowboys, slightly better than the Bears, worse than the Packers, worse than the Eagles, and worse than the Vikings. But they could win the NFC West if the Cardinals don't shape up!

In standard ESPN scoring, Vernon Davis is the #1 Fantasy TE right now.

Well #1 that is just because of touchdowns, and #2 if I'm not mistaken ESPN standard scoring isn't point per reception, so therefore it should never be used anyway.

With Favre, there's no coverage black hole that he'll avoid!

Insert Laughter Here

Holy crap, there are so many teams that suck that somehow I neglected to mention the Rams...let me remedy that...The Rams suck...a lot.

VD is a beast and would have been doing this years ago if Mike Martz utilized Tight Ends in the passing game.

VD is a beast and would have been doing this years ago if Mike Martz utilized Tight Ends in the passing game.

VD is a beast, but there are creams you can use.

VD is a beast and would have been doing this years ago if Mike Martz utilized Tight Ends in the passing game.

VD is a beast, but there are creams you can use.

I almost named my fantasy football team "I Have VD" after I was able to draft him, but opted against it.

Ah the NFC West, once proud stomping grounds of the Seattle Seahawks (for three years)

The West can be summed up in two words: Ugly, erratic

The Cards can light the lamp with the best of them when Warner is on

9ers D is tough, despite the Falcons game

Hawks are just injury ravaged. If healthy, they'd be frisky enough to lose games by less than a touchdown... I think.

Rams are... well, they have a team at least

I hate to discount the 9ers or Cards, but both can't seem to put together strings of consistency.

Cards beat Gints, lose to Panthers... 9ers get destroyed by Falcons, play two completely different halves vs. the Texans and then hang with the Colts...

I believe in the Niners more because when their D is on, they are tough to beat (I think they're 3-1 in games when less than 42 points are scored) and they've got Iron Mike.

Hawks can still play spoilers if they ever man the f-up