1. New York Giants (9-1): Coming into the season everyone was raving about how deep and talented the NFC East looked.  There was talk about how talented the Cowboys looked, and how explosive the Eagles were going to be.  It almost seemed like everyone was dismissing the possibility of the Giants even getting to the playoffs.  Now sitting at 9-1, undefeated in the division, and poised to rap up a first round bye, the Giants are literally running over every team they face and are clearly the team to beat in the NFC.

2. Carolina Panthers (8-2): With the Giants stealing most of the spotlight, the Panthers have managed to quietly work their way to an 8-2 start.  Everyone points to their two ugly wins against Detroit and Oakland as a sign of inconsistency, which makes this Sunday’s matchup against the Falcons crucial.  So many comparisons are being drawn between this team and the Super Bowl team of 2003, but the one major similarity is the constancy in the running game.  Carolina ranks 6th in rushing offense.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3): Even though the Vikings aren’t a great team, it really says a lot about Jeff Garcia and that team being able to rally in the 4th quarter and win the game.  Offensively there are some concerns now with Ernest Graham being put on IR, but they have a solid defense, which is the key to success late in the season.

4. Arizona Cardinals (7-3): Kurt Warner is making another serious bid for NFL MVP, playing at the level that he was at back during St. Louis’ “Greatest Show on Turf” days.  Arizona has arguably one of the best wide receiving corps in the league, and Warner is absolutely shredding defenses because of that.  I think eventually the Cardinals running game, or lack thereof, is going to hurt them, but they are clearly going to win their division.

5. Atlanta Falcons (6-4): Okay maybe I’m being a little biased toward the NFC South, but you can’t deny how well the Falcons have been playing.  Matt Ryan is playing as good as any veteran quarterback in the league, and has a very good ground game to lean on.  Defensively there are still some weaknesses, but I think that they have enough offensive firepower to overcome those.

6. Dallas Cowboys (6-4): As much as I hate the Cowboys, with Tony Romo back, and the secondary getting healthy, I think the Cowboys are back in the running.  Now that Tony Romo has Roy Williams and T.O. to throw to, as well as a physical ground game, I expect the Cowboys to get back on track.  They aren’t the Super Bowl contender everyone made them out to be at the begining of the season, but they are still a good football team.

7. Washington Redskins (6-4): After a rough start, the Redskins appeared to be making strides, climbing to a convincing 6-2 record.  The problem is three of their wins before they got dominated by the Steelers,  have a combined record of 6-24.  It’s possible they were a little overrated, now having lost two strait.

8. Green Bay Packers (5-5): Undoubtely the Packers have had their struggles this season, getting out to a fast start, then loosing three strait, but now with Ryan Grant maybe getting somehting going, I think Aaron Rodgers can lead them to another division title.

All that being said, here one reason why the Panthers will not give the Lions their one win of the season: Jake Delhomme had an absolutely horrible game last week.   Despite having some bad games in the past, Delhomme has always managed to rebound from not-so-great performances.  I’m not saying he’s going to throw five touchdowns, just that he is going to come out motivated and ready to play, something the Lions don’t want.

One other, if Delhomme does start to struggle as much as he did last week, just give DeAngelo Williams the ball in the Wildcat.  Williams showed how effective that can be both this season, and two years ago against Atlanta.  With a rush defense that ranks 31st in the league, Williams will probably be pretty effective, even if Detroit is stacking 9 guys in the box.

Keys to the Game

1. Don’t Keep the Lions in the Game- The Panthers did a great job of going up early last week against the Raiders, the problem is, they let the Raiders hang around, and when you do that in NFL, chances are you are going to get beat.  The Panthers simply need to go up early and not look back.  That means pounding the ball with Williams and Stewart, and getting the ball to Steve Smith.  As long as the offense does their job, the defense will do theirs.

2. Be ready for both Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton- The Lions alternated between quarterbacks last week against Jacksonville, and I expect them to do more of that today as well.  Culpepper has had another week to learn the offense, but he still won’t be able to use the entire playbook, in which case Stanton may com into the game.  With Julius Peppers suddenly red hot, things will be tough for Culpepper if he has trouble deciding where to throw the ball.

Really there isn’t much else to say, the Panthers just need to play their game, and they should come out with a win.  With Carolina playing at home, where they have been perfect all season, they should be able to move past the Lions and maintain their one game lead over Tampa Bay and Atlanta in the NFC South.

Panthers 28 Detroit 9

Like Jake Delhomme and his elbow, Julius Peppers has managed to silence any critics that last year was just a down year for him.  Whether it be a transition to left end or just getting over a sickness from last season Peppers is back to being Peppers. Now with all of that behind him, Peppers can continue to move forward and help lead a very stingy Panthers defense that ranks 8th in the league.  Peppers is the second Carolina player to win an award, and the third to be nominated, in the last two weeks.  Jon Beason was the NFC defensive player of the month for October, and DeAngelo Williams was nominated for the Fed Ex ground player of the week award for his performance against the Cardinals.

You could make the case that Carolina’s performance on offense wasn’t entirely due to the play of Jake Delhomme, there were some dropped balls, poor protection at times, and bad penalties, but overall Jake just stunk.  Delhomme was 7 for 27 on pass attempts, with one touchdown and four interceptions.  Delhomme just flat out couldn’t hit anybody.  But before people get to talking about how bad Delhomme played, let’s not forget how the team played without Delhomme last season.  Yeah Delhomme is going to have some bad games, but he is one of the main reasons why they are sitting at 7-2 right now.

Outside of Delhomme’s play there really isn’t much to complain about.  DeAngelo Williams had another great game, racking up 140 yards and a touchdown, 69 of those yards coming on an incredible run in which Williams refused to go down, helping give Carolina a 14-0 lead going into the half.  For me, Williams completely lost his image of a slash back who can’t really run in between the tackles.  Williams showed incredible strength and elusiveness, breaking tackles and avoiding defenders, reminiscent of the DeSean Foster of 2003.

Though Williams had a phenomenal game, Julius Peppers deserves the game ball.  This was probably one of Peppers’ best games in two seasons, racking up three sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a handful of hurries.  Peppers was all over the field,  dominating Raiders linemen, dropping into coverage, and making plays all over the field.  The pressure applied by Peppers, and the rest of the defensive line is what kept Andrew Walker from getting comfortable and moving the ball.  With the kind of defense that Carolina has, the Panthers can afford to have a sub-par game from the offense, because the defense will always keep them in the game.

Special teams wise the Panthers were solid as well, Mark Jones in particular.  Jones had a number of big returns, one setting up the John Kasay field goal that would ice the game.  For the first time since Rod Smart the Panthers have a legitimate return man, and the field position game has greatly benefited from this.

So the win wasn’t very convincing.  It was sloppy, but it’s the kind of game you have to win, and the Panthers did.  Besides, this was not the same Oakland team that got embarassed by Atlanta last week.  They were clearly playing with a lot more motivation, drive, and desire than they did the week before. You have to be happy with this win.

One of the things that we looked at over the bye week was Carolina’s performances on the road.  Outside of that fantastic performance in San Diego, the Panthers have failed to do much away from Bank of America Stadium, averaging a mere 13 points.  The Panthers will have an excellent opportunity to get to 2-2 on the road, as the Raiders are a long way from being a winning football team, not to mention that Darre McFadden is questionable, and JaMarcus Russell is out.

Keys to the Game

1. Offensive Line needs to Mesh- With Ryan Kalil and Jeff Otah expected back Sunday, the offensive line will again be reshuffled.  This will be the first time since week one that all of these players will be on the field together, so it is imperative that the line works well together.  As far as the makeshift lines went, you can’t be too disappointed, as the Panthers have only allowed 11 sacks all season.  It will be key that the line continues that type of pass protection, as well as open up big holes for DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

2. Get the Ball to Williams and Smith- Both DeAngelo Williams and Steve Smith have had an excellent couple of games, and are clearly the team’s playmakers on offense.  Smitty as you know is a game changer, being able to score on almost any play, just like the one two weeks ago against the Cardinals that gave the Panthers the spark they needed to end up winning the game.  Williams is having a breakout season, and should have a big game today against Oakland, which ranks a dismal 30th against the rush.

3. Generate a Pass Rush- With JaMarcus Russell not playing, the Raiders will be left with Andrew Walter to lead a horrific Raiders offense that ranks 29th in the NFL.  Obviously the key to any good defense is a good pass rush, but it is imperative that the Panthers apply pressure and make things difficult for Walter.  The Panthers cannot afford to allow Walter to get comfortable.

4. Don’t get Cocky- This two game stretch is by far the easiest of the season, and the Panthers cannot afford to get ahead of themselves.  No game in the NFL is a lock, and you have to focus on one opponent at a time or you’re going to get beat.  Yes, the Raiders are bad, but it only takes a few mental mistakes on the part of Carolina to keep them in the game, just look at what happened to Tampa Bay last week against Kansas City.

As far as injuries go, the two major injuries are Jonathan Stewart’s heal injury, he is questionable, and DT Darwin Walker is out.

One of the signs of good football teams is that they beat the teams that they are supposed to beat.  This is a game that Carolina is supposed to win.  With the way things are shaping up, if Carolina continues to win, they could be looking at a huge matchup week 16 when they take on the New York Giants for a potential number one seed in the NFC.

Panthers 27, Oakland 9

Jeremy Bridges and Geoff Hangartner have filled in wonderfully for Otah and Kalil respectively, but the sooner the Panthers can get the entire line back the better.  With Kalil and Otah back, the line can really start to build some continuity and chemsitry.  I’m not saying that the line didn’t have continuity with Kalil and Otah out, but it really helps when you have the same five guys starting every week, because it allows for the trust between the players to grow.  Now that Otah is back, look for DeAngelo Williams to have another big day Sunday.  Otah’s specialty is run blocking, so he should really help improve an already potent ground game for the Panthers.

Beason, who leads the team with 64 tackles, has been playing at a pro bowl level since comming into the league last season out of the University of Miami.  Orignally brought in to backup linebacker Dan Morgan, Beason started last season at WS linebacker, but eventually moved over to the middle when Morgan went down in week three.  Beason has shown amazing leadership in his first two seasons, even being recongized as a defensive team captain this season.  With Beason playing at such a high level, there should be no reason to doubt he will playing out in Hawaii come February.

The Panthers have started off the season very well.  Offensively DeAngelo Williams, who is on pace to become the Panther’s first 1,000 yard rusher since Stephen Davis, has really begun to shine.  Jake Delhomme is back and better than ever, showing how much this team really depends on not only his presence on the field, but his leadership off it as well.  The Panthers were able to get past an early bump in the road with Steve Smith’s suspension, going 2-0 without him, which proved pivotal.  The resigning of Moose in the offseason has also done wonders to help improve a previously inconsistent offense.

On the other side of the ball, you can’t ask for much more.  Jon Beason is playing like a Pro Bowler, Julius Peppers seems back to form, and rookie Charles Godfrey has solidified the safety position.  Statistically they may not look great, but they have been playing extremely well as a unit, coming up with important stops, timely takeaways, and doing a pretty good job of keeping opponents out of the endzone.

Special teams has been solid too. The ageless John Kasay has been a perfect 16-16 on all of his field goal attempts, while Rhys Lloyd has proved invaluable on kickoffs, greatly effecting field position during the game.

All of that said there still are some areas that need improving

Apply more pressure: So far this season the Panthers have a total of 13 sacks, tied for 25th in the NFL.  We’ve seen flashes of the Julius Peppers of old, but the fact is that he has no one on the other side of the line to help draw some double teams off of him.  Charles Johnson had a big game last week against Arizona, with two sacks and a forced fumble, but he is going to have to keep up that kind of play if the Panthers expect to get consistent pressure with their front four.  As well as the secondary has been playing, Kurt Warner showed last week how opposing quarterbacks can dissect a defense if given enough time in the pocket.

Improve on the Road: Besides the incredible victory out in San Diego on opening day, the Panthers have not played very well on the road, getting blown out 47-13 against Tampa Bay and Minnesota combined.  It will be imperative that the Panthers come out and play well against Oakland next week, as it will be the last road game they play against an opponent with a losing record.  Again we go back to dividing the season, and if the Panthers can win the rest of their home games (vs Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Denver) and split their final four road games, they are looking at a 12-4 record and possibly a first round bye.

Open up the Offense: So far this season the Panthers offense has been pretty good, but Jeff Davidson needs to start opening up the play book a little more, something he was unable to do last year with Delhomme out.   With Jeff Otah and Ryan Kalil expected back next week, Davidson has a chance to start pulling out some of the stops and fully implementing his offense.  This means get the tight ends more involved, using the “wildcat” formation, and of course getting the ball to Smitty as much as possible.

As Jake Delhomme wisely put it, the only thing that being 6-2 assures you is that you are going to be at least 6-10 at the end of the season.  That type of one-game-at-a-time mentality is fundamental in maintaning your momentum and finishing the season strong.  With the Panthers facing Oakland and Detroit the next two weeks they have to focus on thier opponents one at a time and not get cocky.  If they can win these next two games, they have a great shot at getting to the playoffs and winning, just like they did the last two times they were 6-2 at the half, both years ending up in the Conference Championship game, and in 2003, the Super Bowl.