Football viewing figures in the UK are down. BT & Sky are presenting a common front, number of factors, varying ways of recording viewing data. Bottom line, people want easily digestible media. Why watch 90mins of Tony Pulis and his banks of four when you can catch the goals and talking points instantly on social media.
Well before you lose interest here, that's almost what I'm selling. Missed the first 1/3rd of the NFL season? No problems. You can catch up here by giving me a few minutes of your time. Get ready for a microwave meal review of the NLF season, after that blur of the first seven weeks of the NFL, where the hell do we stand and what does it all mean?
Well as the great Snake Plissken once said, 'More things change, the more they stay the same'. QB bans, rule changes, sixteen years of supposed gradual physical and biological decay, none of it is stopping the Patriots being the Patriots. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady continue to act like they're sleeping in their own cryogenic chambers each night, both, irritatingly to most NFL fans, poking 'Father Time' right in the eye.
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Apparently Brady swears by Avocado Ice Cream, last week I bought an Ice Cream maker and some Avocados. Worth a go. Football-wise, they're still the dominant force, or so we suspect. They're current Super Bowl favourites, currently 6-1 and have a typically balanced roster that most teams can't quite figure out. Two TE sets, Edelman scrapping on the under routes, Hogan an occasional deep threat. Defensively, they're also impressive. Decent Linebacking corps, useful at Safety and Cornerback. It's same old Patriots, textbook roster assembly and functionality.
Yet, whisper it quietly, I feel they're in a sort of sub-prime mortgage-like bubble. I reckon they've not really been thrown in any, everything on the line, dog-fights (no offence to Michael Vick). It's season management, rehearsed, restrained, etc. I suspect when/if it gets tough in the Playoffs, they'll look more fallible and secretly, most of will feel a deep joy at the centre of our body.
Who else we got then? After the Pats, the bookies have Seattle. I get that, still the most mentally tough defense arguably this century. All the defensive pieces remain, Chancellor, Sherman, Thomas, etc. It's elite and they have a manic, zombie-like aura around the team. Evident the other week when Sherman was sulking on the sidelines, yet the whole team starting doing some sort of Tribal dance and wooed him back into the fold, it was weird, but it shows a togetherness that is rare.
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They have IT. Offense looks more varied than past seasons, especially with Graham occasionally flashing grungy, Gronk-eqsue impressions. Worry is Wilson at QB. He moves a lot, he really moves a lot, because he has to. The O-line is breaks easier than Lilly Allen's weeping heart. They're good, but with vulnerability, an apparent brittleness.
The Vikings are the season's surprise package. Mike Zimmer has built a seriously coveted defense. It's almost sexy, some of the things they do. Blitz packages where they watch which way the centre moves, it's transcendent-defense. Post-defense, defense. Again though, they look limited on offense. We just can't be sure they have the weapons, despite the Bradford trade working out better than Bridgewater, who was a dump-off master. You fancy with a serious talent at WR and Peterson spearheading the running-game, they'd perhaps be Super Bowl bound, they still could be, but it's a big 'could'.
Who's in the stalking pack? The Packers (4-2) are always feared with enigmatic Rodgers at QB. They have mechanical problems on offense though, with some accusing Mike McCarthy of running a 'predictable' playbook. I think they'll figure it out and the D looks well put together. They should be sniffing around come the Playoffs.
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The Cowboys (5-1) look strong despite Romo being out. The rookie core of Prescott and Elliott are getting results behind the best O-line in football. Atlanta (4-3) have been an offensive revelation under Shanahan's direction and Quinn's leadership. Julio Jones in particular putting in some ridiculous displays. They boxed well vs. the Seahawks and I think they're for real. The Seahawks are usually a good measuring stick. TheSteelers (4-3) blow hot and cold but Big Ben is the NFL's equivalent of Humpty-Dumpty. Not sure how many times Tomlin and Co can put him back together again. That's the front runners done. Other storylines of note are the Odell Beckham/kicking net soap-opera in New York (4-3), the guy's a ball catching genius but has a touch of the 'it's all about me' permeating his play. Arizona look a shadow of last season's goliaths, often looking like they could bounce back but then flattering to deceive. Last season's champs, Denver (4-2) still have arguably the best defense in football but the offense looks limited under either Siemian or Lynch.
Cleveland (0-7) look capable of going 0-16 despite the witch-like spells cast positively on the other Cleveland-based sports franchises (Cavs and Indians). San Diego (3-4) look like the best and most unlucky losing team ever. Tampa (3-3), Tennessee (3-4), Jacksonville (2-4) and the Colts (3-4) are all as bad as each other in the south and Kirk Cousins looks good one week, bad the next in Washington (4-3). The Jets are as irrelevant as ever, along with Miami, Baltimore and Chicago. The Eagles (4-2) and Carson Wentz at QB shone brightly early on but have reverted to the mean a little. They beat the Vikings latest though so there perhaps the toughest team to get a read on.
That's pretty much where we are. Familiar faces at the top, a few dark horses, a few surprise packages and some predictable dumpster fires trailing the field. Hope this helps. From now on, we should really see it develop. Tune in and see whether it all makes sense come the Playoffs.
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