NFL 1/4 Poll: The NFC Edition

WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW:
Dallas was the only team with a chance to be dominant.
The Bears, Seahawks, and Saints would win their divisions.
Eagles, Panthers, and Redskins would battle for the wild card
The NFC West would be much better
The NFC North would be much worse

HERE'S WHAT I KNOW:
Well I got the Cowboys dominance right. How is it I trumpet the Boys as the best team in the conference and yet I don't grab Tony Romo in either of my fantasy drafts (A few theories there, most of them revolving around me being an idiot)? They're one of 4 undefeated teams, and lead the league in points scored at a blistering 151. Taking advantage of a soft schedule thus far? Could be, but I think the Cowboys will run away with the top spot in the conference.

I am not ready for a world where Brett Favre wins another Super Bowl. I'm just not. I was scared of the Packers defense because they're young and VERY fast. But Favre didn't have much to throw to, he didn't have anything left in the tank, and they have absolutely no one to run the ball. After 4 weeks it looks like I got one out of those three right. Favre was awful (23-42 for just 206 yds with a pick and a 58.8 QB rating) in their opening week fluke win vs the Eagles (honestly, if the Eagles punt returner just lets it bounce, Philly wins that game). In the 3 games since he's 89-128 for a ridiculous 69.5%, 999 yds, 8 TD and just 1 INT. He's been in-his-3-straight-MVP prime. Even the biggest Favre homers in the world (aka the entire state of Beer, Brats & Cheese) could ever have predicted a Renaissance like this. But can it last? FOr me that's the biggest question of the next 4 weeks. Can a team with no semblance of a running game with EVERYTHING going right continue to roll along? Chicago and Washington at home, a bye, and then at Mile High is how October unfolds. After the Brewers collapse, it's good the Cheeseheads will have something to cheer for this month.

The Bears collapse is not as shocking to me as the Saints. I thought the Bears could be in trouble because of the QB situation, but figured the schedule was so soft and the D so good, it wouldn't matter. Ooops. Still a chance to right the proverbial ship against The Favres this Sunday, but the season is slipping fast from Lovie and crew. The Saints? It's like the clock struck midnight and everybody's Cinderella went from Saints to Sinners in 3 quick games. It's not that they're losing, it's HOW they're losing. Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, AND the defense have all been awful. It's really tough to win when even 2 of those 3 are going badly, but with all three playing subpar, it's been tough to watch. In 3 games they've scored just 38 points (12.7 a game!) and have given up- are you ready for this- 103 POINTS!?!?!? IN 3 GAMES!!! That's 34.3 per game! Good gosh almighty you really have to work to be that bad defensively AND offensively. Wow.

Finally the Purple. We're approaching week 5 and I already find myself checking the standings for who's doing the worst (in other words who are the Vikes "competing" with for the #1 pick?), and starting to scout college football for a receiver or difference-maker of some kind in next year's draft (so far? HELLO DeSean Jackson although let's be honest, IF this season continues they HAVE to fire Childress, and therefore we're guaranteed to see a new coach draft a QB early- thankfully there appears to be many good ones to choose from- since he'll have no allegiances to T-Jack). There's just no rational explanation for only giving the ball to AP TWICE in the 2nd half last week. And it's not even like they were running Chester Taylor instead. Nope, they were throwing with Kelly Holcomb. Somehow to Chilly that makes good sense. By the way, the Vikes have outscored their opponents 67-59. That's right folks, the Vikes have given up 59 TOTAL points in 4 games (a shade under 15 pts a game), and yet are 1-3. Maybe it's a good thing I can't watch any Vikings games this year.