It's Anyone's Ballgame

Here's part of why I love the NFL: after nine weeks of football games, and with most teams having played eight games thus far due to bye weeks, here are the current standings:

American Football Conference - 2008 Regular Season
AFC East Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
New York Jets	5	3	0	.625	208	187	21	25	3-1	2-2	2-1	.667	4-3	.571	1-0	2W	4-1
New England Patriots	5	3	0	.625	168	150	18	16	3-1	2-2	1-1	.500	3-3	.500	2-0	1L	3-2
Buffalo Bills	5	3	0	.625	182	169	13	19	3-1	2-2	0-2	.000	3-2	.600	2-1	2L	2-3
Miami Dolphins	4	4	0	.500	171	163	8	19	2-2	2-2	2-1	.667	4-3	.571	0-1	2W	3-2
AFC North Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	2	0	.750	178	116	62	21	2-1	4-1	3-0	1.000	5-0	1.000	1-2	1W	4-1
Baltimore Ravens	5	3	0	.625	171	137	34	19	3-1	2-2	3-1	.750	5-3	.625	0-0	3W	3-2
Cleveland Browns	3	5	0	.375	142	160	-18	14	1-3	2-2	1-3	.250	2-3	.400	1-2	1L	3-2
Cincinnati Bengals	1	8	0	.111	125	236	-111	13	1-3	0-5	0-3	.000	1-6	.143	0-2	1W	1-4
AFC South Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Tennessee Titans	8	0	0	1.000	199	103	96	21	5-0	3-0	3-0	1.000	6-0	1.000	2-0	8W	5-0
Indianapolis Colts	4	4	0	.500	167	177	-10	21	2-2	2-2	1-2	.333	3-2	.600	1-2	1W	3-2
Jacksonville Jaguars	3	5	0	.375	160	172	-12	17	1-3	2-2	2-1	.667	3-5	.375	0-0	2L	2-3
Houston Texans	3	5	0	.375	196	213	-17	24	3-1	0-4	0-3	.000	2-4	.333	1-1	1L	3-2
AFC West Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Denver Broncos	4	4	0	.500	190	221	-31	21	3-2	1-2	2-1	.667	2-4	.333	2-0	3L	1-4
San Diego Chargers	3	5	0	.375	224	199	25	25	2-1	1-4	1-1	.500	3-3	.500	0-2	2L	2-3
Oakland Raiders	2	6	0	.250	107	201	-94	9	1-3	1-3	1-2	.333	2-4	.333	0-2	2L	1-4
Kansas City Chiefs	1	7	0	.125	126	223	-97	14	1-3	0-4	1-1	.500	1-4	.200	0-3	4L	1-4
National Football Conference - 2008 Regular Season
NFC East Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
New York Giants	7	1	0	.875	226	129	97	24	5-0	2-1	2-0	1.000	5-0	1.000	2-1	3W	4-1
Washington Redskins	6	3	0	.667	171	168	3	17	3-2	3-1	2-1	.667	5-2	.714	1-1	1L	3-2
Philadelphia Eagles	5	3	0	.625	220	144	76	23	3-1	2-2	0-2	.000	4-3	.571	1-0	3W	3-2
Dallas Cowboys	5	4	0	.556	216	219	-3	27	3-1	2-3	1-2	.333	3-4	.429	2-0	1L	2-3
NFC North Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Chicago Bears	5	3	0	.625	223	173	50	25	3-1	2-2	3-0	1.000	4-3	.571	1-0	2W	4-1
Green Bay Packers	4	4	0	.500	210	178	32	24	2-2	2-2	2-0	1.000	3-3	.500	1-1	1L	2-3
Minnesota Vikings	4	4	0	.500	182	188	-6	19	3-1	1-3	1-2	.333	3-2	.600	1-2	1W	3-2
Detroit Lions	0	8	0	.000	137	239	-102	15	0-3	0-5	0-4	.000	0-7	.000	0-1	8L	0-5
NFC South Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Carolina Panthers	6	2	0	.750	174	127	47	18	5-0	1-2	2-1	.667	4-2	.667	2-0	2W	4-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	3	0	.667	200	147	53	20	4-0	2-3	2-1	.667	5-2	.714	1-1	1W	3-2
Atlanta Falcons	5	3	0	.625	177	154	23	18	3-0	2-3	0-2	.000	3-3	.500	2-0	1W	3-2
New Orleans Saints	4	4	0	.500	216	195	21	27	4-1	0-3	1-1	.500	2-3	.400	2-1	1W	3-2
NFC West Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Arizona Cardinals	5	3	0	.625	234	184	50	29	3-0	2-3	2-0	1.000	3-2	.600	2-1	1W	3-2
Seattle Seahawks	2	6	0	.250	151	210	-59	16	1-3	1-3	2-1	.667	2-5	.286	0-1	1L	1-4
San Francisco 49ers	2	6	0	.250	171	230	-59	17	1-4	1-2	1-2	.333	2-5	.286	0-1	5L	0-5
St. Louis Rams	2	6	0	.250	125	235	-110	12	1-3	1-3	0-2	.000	2-4	.333	0-2	2L	2-3

We can see that many Divisions have a logjam of teams with the same won-loss records, although each team arrived at their record by different means. No one, really, is running away with a given Division, other than perhaps the Tennessee Titans at 8-0. But even the Titans have some holes and could suffer several losses before the end of the season. No team is dominating the way the Colts and Patriots have in recent years.

Several things really stand out to me. The Buffalo Bills just two games ago looked to be dominant in the AFC East at 5-1. After two consecutive losses, they are tied with NE and NYJ for the overall lead, but are behind on tiebreakers having lost both Divisional games thus far.

In the AFC North, the Steelers look as strong as ever, but the Ravens and their rookie QB are right behind them. With Ben Roethlisberger getting hurt again in last night's game, that Division could be a toss-up.

The AFC South appears to be Tennessee's to lose, but the Colts are always dangerous. It's not inconceivable to think that Indy could string together a couple of victories and challenge the Titans for the Divisional title. Indy does have Bob Sanders back in the lineup, and as long as he stays healthy, he improves both the defense and (strangely enough) the offense of the Colts.

No one seems to want to win the AFC West, with every team on a minimum two game losing streak. A Division leader at 4-4 but riding a three-game losing streak -- and 1-4 in their last five games? OMG!

So much for the NFC East being the toughest Division in football. Things change from week to week, and of course injuries have had a lot to do with the Cowboys being 2-3 in their last five games. The defending Super Bowl champion NY Giants look as good as ever, but it still blows my mind that their one loss came to the 3-5 Cleveland Browns!

The NFC North is anyone's Division at this point. Well, anyone except Detroit. Who ever thought that Chicago Bears fans would be crying over the loss of starting QB Kyle Orton to injury?

The Carolina Panthers have looked good this season, but they still have Tampa and Atlanta right behind them in the standings. The NO Saints have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL right now, but they are 0-3 in the Division and are in danger of missing the playoffs.

The Arizona Cardinals are the one bright spot in the NFC West, and who saw that coming? Seattle has owned that Division for so long, a person could practically pencil in Seattle for the playoffs every single year, no matter what their record was. No longer. Not when the Cards are 5-3 and everyone else is 2-6.

One of the best things about the NFL is that so many teams remain mathematically alive for the playoffs, even deep into the 16 game season. Last year, during the final week of the season, there were only a few games that did not carry playoff implications of any sort. That was pretty amazing. Even teams that are 4-4 after eight games this season could put together a winning streak or two and finish 10-6 or better. An 8-8 team could win the AFC West, and don't think for a minute that Roger Goodell doesn't pray every day for that Division winner to have at least a .500 record!

So there is still a lot of football to be played, even though there are only eight games left for all teams. The Bengals, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Redskins all have byes this week, the last bye week for any team in the NFL. Every game becomes that much more important for the rest of the season. Just one lucky bounce here, one fumble recovery there, or one tipped pass for an interception over there, can completely change a team's playoff fortunes at this point. Any given Sunday, indeed!