AFC East

Right now the AFC has one of the tightest playoff races in the NFL and is coming down to the last week. The Dolphins, Jets, and Patriots are all vying for the division crown. Right now the Dolphins are the only of the three that are in control of their own destiny. With a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs this week they went to 10-5 and if they win next week against the Jets they will be the AFC East Champions after a terrible 4-12 season last year. They are being led by former Jets quarterback Chad Pennington who was let go to aquire retired legend Brett Farve. Now Pennington will have the chance to go up to New York and show the Jets the mistake they made. The Jets however need to both beat the Dolphins and have the Patriots lose. The Jets however just came off a big loss to the Seahawks, while the Dolphins are on a 4 game win streak. I see the Dolphins coming out with a win on this game and taking the division. The Patriots are going to need to go into Buffalo and get a win while also have the Jets beat the Dolphins. I see the Patriots holding up their part of a playoff bid in beating the Bills. Matt Cassel is looking very good right now coming off 3 wins and yesterdays 47-7 win against Arizona the NFC West division champs. They also have one of the best nig time recievers in the game in Randy Moss who will come up in the clutch if they need him too. I would like to see the Patriots win out and the Jets win so that they get into the playoffs but i just dont see the Jets beating the Dolphins. You cant ever completely rule them out though with such a great quarterback, Brett Favre, leading them. Him and Jerricho Cotchery will place keys roles in the game if they are able to pull out a win.

NFC Pro Bowl Selections

Ill start off the NFC with the quarterbacks also. Starting QB will be 11 year Cardinal veteran Kurt Warner who had a great season this year even though he was not the starting quarterback at the begining year playing behind Matt Leinhart. Behind Kurt will be AFC's Peyton Manning's brother, Eli Manning. This is the first time in NFL history that brother quarterbacks will be playing against eachother in the Pro Bowl. The recievers will be Cardinal teammates Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Steve Smith from Caronlina who is my favorite wide reciever was also voted in along with Falcons wide out Roddy White. Adrian Peterson was voted in as the starting running back in front of Michael Turner and Clinton Portis. Another noticable on offense was Dallas Cowboy tight end Jason Wiiten. Now to the defense, some noticeables on the defensive line are Jared Allen, the Williams brothers from the Vikings, Julius Peppers, and Jason Tuck. The starting linebackers will be DeMarcus Ware, Lance Briggs, and Patrick Willis. At corner back Charles Winfield and Charles Woodson got voted in as the starters. The Safeties will be Nick Collins and Adrian Wilson.

AFC Pro Bowl Selections

This weekend the Pro Bowl selections were released for this season. Ill start with discussing the picks for the AFC. The starting quarterback for the AFC team will be Peyton Manning. He will be backed up by a legend and future hall of famer lock in Brett Farve and Denver quarterback and up and coming star Jake Cutler. Peyton will be throwing to a familiar target in Reggie Wayne, and also Andre Johnson, Cutlers teammate Brandon Marshall, and Wes Welker. The quarterbacks will also have two big targets in tight ends Tony Gonzales and Antonio Gates. These two tight ends are the best in the game right now and will most likely be the x factor in the Pro Bowl game. The ball will be handed off to starting running back Thomas Jones. The other backs will be Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown and Titans speedy running back Chris Johnson. The studs of the Defense for the AFC will be two of the arguably best safeties in the game right now in Troy Potamalu and Ed Reed. These two have a combined 13 interceptions this season. Another notable is Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Dolphins trash talking linebacker Joey Porter. The defensive line will be rounded out by former first overall draft pick Mario Williams, Indianapolis veteran Dwight Freeney, and Titans Albert Haynesworth. The AFC is my pick to win the Pro Bowl this year with too much talent on defense and three very good quarterbacks two of which throwing to one of their own recievers.

Playoff picture

Its getting to the point of the season when the playoffs are in sight and teams are starting to make reservations. Ill start by discussing the NFC in the east, where my New York Giants have already clinched the division with a Dallas loss last week. In the NFC north the Minnesota Vikings are barely holding on to lead with the Bears right behind them. Even though it pains me to say it because i am not a big fan of the Vikings i think they will hold on to their lead in the north and win the division. They are on a three game winning streak right now and it is hard to pick against a team that is hot in this part of the season. The only possible scenario where i see the Vikings not winning the division is if the Williams brothers get suspended and the Vikings defense falls apart. The Carolina Panthers are currently sitting atop the NFC south with a big win over second place Tampa Bay last week. I think that the Carolina Panthers are too good to not keep it together and win the division, also they have who i think is one of the best players in the NFL right now in Steve Smith. The only thing the Panthers have against them right now is a not so easy schedule for the rest of the season. Their last two games are away and at two very good football teams, Giants and Saints. In the NFC west the Arizona Cardinals have already clinched the division. This is the first time they have won the division since 1975 when they were in St. Louis. It will also be the first time they host a postseason game since 1947. That wraps up the NFC...now lets get into the AFC.

Ill start with the AFC East where there is a three way tie in the top of the division between the Patriots, Jets, and Dolphins. I personally am liking the Dolphins to grind it out and win the division. Next week they have a home game against a not very good 49er's team. The week after that they go to Kansas City where if they play even close to decent they should pull off a win. The division will most likely come down to the last week where the Dolphins go into New York to play the Jets. Many of the panelists on ESPN think it will be too cold for the Dolphins to win in New York but i dont think that really matters to the athletes. In the north division the Steelers are currently on the top and i dont see that changing. Although the Ravens are a very good team i think that the Steelers with their number ranked defense in the NFL will grind out the rest of the season. The Tennessee Titans have already clinched the south division and now are playing for home field advantage. In the west division i see the Broncos staying number one with the only over .500 record in the division.

The Blitz

In this blog i plan to talking about the latest news in the league during the week, from on field things to off field. My post last week is a good example of the types of things i might talk about. However, it is not only limited to bad things in the NFL. I might also go through the match-ups for the week or make picks. When the playoffs come around the blog will most likely be all about them. Then after the season i will have to write about off season transactions and incidents.

Week 12 troubles

Week 12 of the NFL was not good for a few players and for the leagues image. First, six players were suspended for the use of banned water pills that have a substance in it that mask steroids. The players that were suspended were Duece McAllister, Charles Grant, and Will Smith of the Saints; Kevin Williams and Pat Williams from the Vikings; and Bryan Pittman of the Texans. All of these players will be suspended for 4 games, which is the rest of the regular season. I think that these suspensions will hurt the Vikings the most because the Williams brothers are the best two defensive lineman on the team and the Vikings defense relies on the stopping the running game. However it is also a big loss for the Saints because Duece McAllister is an instrumental part to their offense.

Another bad headline from the end of week 12 was the Plaxico Burress incident. On Monday Burress was charged with two felony counts of criminal weapons charges. He got himself into this trouble by accidently shooting himself in the thigh Friday night at a nightclub in Manhattan. Following this the Giants suspended him for four games and put him on the non-football related injury list. This means that he will be out for the rest of the season and playoffs. He will also lose out on 27 million dollars. This will most likely mean that Plaxico Burress will not be a Giant next year and looking for a new job.