After 7 weeks of NFL action (including byes), we're starting to see a relatively clear picture emerge. At least in this state, I think we can all agree that while competitive, the Lions just make too many mistakes to win (witness Drew Stanton's last-gasp interception), and that might be the case for some time. In terms of divisions, the Lions' own NFC North might be one of the weaker ones across the league. The second-place Packers boast a loss to the Redskins, who, while more competitive now than at the season's start, are simply not as good as predicted, and the first-place Bears just fell to the Seahawks while giving up 6 sacks. Jay Cutler finds himself running for his life every time he drops back, and its clear that their situation might not improve unless they add both depth and skill to the offensive line.
The Cowboys continue to come up short despite the wealth of talent on their roster, while the Vikings seem to be improving after knocking off Dallas. In terms of the weekend's primetime games, Tennesse looked steady with Kerry Collins at the helm from the second quarter on in their defeat of the Jaguars.
Looking ahead to Saturday's Spartans-Wildcats battle in Evanston, Northwestern seems to be a consensus pick in terms of the least-skilled 5-1 teams across college football. They possess narrow victories over Central Michigan and Minnesota of all teams, with the one-point win over Minnesota the weaker of the two. Most recently, they lost to 4-2 Purdue going into their bye week. As always, Northwestern's spread offense could give the Spartans trouble, but if the secondary's performance last week against Illiois is any indication, MSU should be able to withstand their aerial attack.
Check back here for specific information on Northwestern's offensive and defensive threats later in the week, and my own prediction for the Spartans' 4th Big Ten contest.
--Beau
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