It's not over

Horrible game on Sunday. No way we were gonna lose to the Giants. That's what I thought when they announced the schedule months ago, and after the outstanding draft and quality FA signings, in addition to the Tiki and Coughlin scenarios, I was feeling extremely confident. Add to this the first two games of the season, and I'd say you were a fool if you thought the Giants would win this one by 18.

However, it is what it is. The Giants can continue to ride this easy schedule to a 6-2 mark and a few wins away from clinching a playoff spot in a very weak NFC. For the Niners, it ain't over. It can't be. It isn't. Things will change. They have to. ASmith will definitely be back for New Orleans. Gore will be fine. The defense will get hot again. Still got ten games to go, and none of them are impossible. This is rock bottom. Losing to the Giants? It doesn't get any worse.

Just one game back of the Seahawks, and man is that NFC terrible. Really no standout games this week; we knew the Cowboys were good, we knew the Rams were terrible. Everything else in between was quite ho-hum. No huge wins or killer losses, although I credit the Eagles and Cardinals for bowing out of the playoff race so early. Helps to clarify some things, at least. Lions? 'Skins? Bears? Vikes? Teams that be beaten anywhere anytime. But hey now, don't count the Saints out of the South. On the other hand, home games against the Falcons should not be close. It's still the Cowboys' conference.

So the Pats and Colts travel down to Florida into places that developed into mild houses of horrors for those two franchises, and they blew the doors off of each one. Not good for the rest of the AFC. Titans have been very sloppy the past few weeks. I definitely want to see KC make the playoffs over the Ravens. This is such a good conference; despite a big loss by Jacksonville, the Jags, Steelers, and even the Texans are playing far better than most AFC teams. Still not impressed by the Broncos or Bengals despite two big wins at home by both.

Last words...does it get any better than November 4? Final score of That Game: 52-49? It's really amazing to think of how Brady and Manning have transformed these two franchises. I remember the days of the old AFC East when Jim Kelly and Dan Marino were making the playoffs while Hugh Millen's Pats and Jeff George's Colts were stuck at the bottom. Complete 180 now. Memorable playoff clashes, broken records, Super Bowl rings, smart coaching, clutch play...this just might be the best regular season game we've ever seen. And it's still thirteen days away. Don't anyone miss it.