The Bears and Colts destroying competition
With the completion of week six, the top teams are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. We’re seeing a lot more out of rookies than we ever expected. A pair of powerhouses somehow avoided improbable upsets by rookie quarterbacks to get to this point undefeated. Here’s a look at the top three teams and some insight on a couple of the big surprises of the season.
Surprise, surprise
A team that is making quite a name for itself is the New Orleans Saints. At 5-1 they have nearly doubled their wins from last season. 2005 was filled with concerns as the team was forced out of its home like all of its New Orleans neighbors. Now an icon of the city and its rebuilding, the Saints play at a high level of emotion and pride as they represent. The next game will be against the defensive specialist Baltimore Ravens in week eight with a bye during week seven. Drew Brees and company will look to continue to stay undefeated at home while rookie sensation Reggie Bush excites the crowd.
3. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots just know how to get it done. Bill Belichick is among the best coaches in the league and making him look so good is a solid defense and, well of course, Tom Brady. No one on the team has standout numbers but as a team they know how to win. With a record of 4-1 the Patriots lead the AFC East as they are undefeated in the division.
The big victory over the Cincinnati Bengals was impressive. After that the Patriots shouldn’t be tested again until week nine when they face the Indianapolis Colts. New England will easily win the AFC East. Unless the Jets turn it on, the Patriots are already walking into the postseason.
This week New England will go up against the Buffalo Bills in a rematch of the season opener. At Buffalo earlier this year the Patriots escaped with a narrow victory thanks to a second-half comeback and a fourth-quarter safety to put New England up 17-19. It would seem that this week would be a different story, since the game is to be held in Buffalo. However, with Brady running the offense with precision and the defense getting the job done, this is a much different Patriot team than earlier this season.
2. Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have come out of their bye week undefeated at 5-0.
While the Colts are undefeated, they have hardly been dominating their opponents. In week four they received quite a challenge as they faced the lowly Tennessee Titans. Down 7-13 to start the fourth quarter, Manning was able to manufacture a touchdown scoring drive and avoid the upset. The games against the New York Jets and New York Giants were equally unimpressive victories. With that said, they still pulled them off.
The Colts are able to pull off these victories because of their resilient leader, Peyton Manning. With a QB rating of 95.6 and over 1,200 yards so far this season, he is proving to be as consistent as ever. However, in order to remain a dominant force, the Colts will need to step up their defense or risk another quick playoff exit.
1. Chicago Bears
As the most dominant team in the league, the Chicago Bears can take care of business on both sides of the ball. They have the second ranked defense in the league, led by Brian Urlacher and company. Rex Grossman has nearly 1,400 yards, and 10 touchdowns as he’s been connecting on long passes to Bernard Berrian and short ones to Muhsin Muhammad.
With all the power that the Bears have to offer, their performance on Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals was unprecedented. The defense and special teams came through in the end, as they delivered what the offense couldn’t: points. After the Cardinals held the Bears scoreless until a field goal in the third quarter, the Bears’ defense was able to score off of two forced fumbles and special teams took a punt return to the house to make the score 24-23.
The Chicago Bears’ performance on Monday was their worst offensively, so far this year. Don’t expect this to be typical. Expect the Bears to be back in stride after their week-seven bye. With San Francisco and Miami on the schedule for week eight and nine, the Bears should be expected to increase their win streak to at least eight.
