NFL hits halfway point in season

November 12, 2009  
Filed under Sports Archives

By David Sullivan
Round Table reporter

The 2009 NFL season is at least half way over for every team in the league and there have been plenty of surprises, both good and bad. 

After skidding to an 8-8 season last year and missing out on the playoffs, the Denver Broncos are off to a 6-2 start under the new leadership of Josh McDaniels. Despite getting rid of pro bowl quarterback Jay Cutler, almost losing a rising star wide-out in Brandon Marshall, and completely re-tooling the defense, the Broncos are off to a great start.

In New Orleans, the Saints are undefeated despite the low preseason expectations for their defense, which now leads the NFL in takeaways, largely in part to Darren Sharper and the aggressive defensive coaching style of Gregg Williams.

 The Tennessee Titans have not lived up to expectations just one season after posting an NFL best record of 13-3.  The loss of All-Pro defensive player of the year Albert Haynesworth has drastically affected their defense while Kerry Collins has struggled to run the offense due to a lack of quality wide receivers and blocking.

Other teams like the Carolina Panthers and the Washington Redskins, who appeared to be improving and making excellent additions to their teams after mediocre seasons, have fallen apart and appear dysfunctional.

 The Lions won their first game in over a year, and are considered one of the worst teams in the league because that is their only win this season. Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford are a solid beginning, but the Lions will need to find a defense if they want to be successful in the tough NFC North division.

Teams like the St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had disastrous starts, but neither is really a surprise.  Steven Jackson is performing at a championship level; it’s just too bad his teammates haven’t followed his lead.

With all the twists and turns of the first half of the season, good teams falling apart and bad teams now starting to seem unbeatable, we can be certain that the rest of the season will be everything we don’t expect it to be.