What a difference a month makes.
It seems like yesterday that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was giving the replacement referees a pat on the back. The New Orleans Saints were ready to use the bounty scandal and season-long suspension of head coach Sean Payton as motivation to get back to the Super Bowl. And nobody was taking the NFC West seriously.
Times, they are a-changin’.
Numerous storylines and surprises have littered the first month of the NFL regular season. Here’s the best and worst of the NFL in September:
THE BEST
The NFC West
Gone are the days when the NFC West consisted of four teams striving for mediocrity to clinch the division’s automatic playoff berth. The San Francisco 49ers have continued last season’s hot streak that led them to the NFC Championship Game.
The Arizona Cardinals are one of three NFL teams still undefeated after the first month of the season. A stifling defense and surprisingly steady quarterback play from Kevin Kolb has made Arizona a team to reckon with.
None of the four NFC West members have a losing record after September, even though Seattle can thank the replacement referees for its victory over the Packers via “The Fail Mary.”
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan
“Matty Ice” is on fire.
Through four games, Ryan has thrown 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions. More importantly, the Falcons are 4-0.
The knock on Ryan has always been that he doesn’t show up when it counts. Overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit against Carolina on Sunday shows he’s ready to buck that trend.
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt
Just give Watt the Defensive Player of the Year award.
He’s the anchor of the best defense in the AFC and leads the league in sacks with 7.5 in only four games.
Watt is making the Texans’ front office look like geniuses after letting former No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams walk in the offseason. Don’t expect his performance to drop off as the season progresses. He’s nuts.
THE WORST
The NFC South
Besides Atlanta’s hot performance out of the gate, the NFC South has left much to be desired.
Carolina (1-3), Tampa Bay (1-3) and New Orleans (0-4) aren’t even sniffing .500.
The Saints can’t stop anyone, the Panthers have been inconsistent and the Bucs are still recovering from blowing a big lead against the New York Giants in Week 2.
What looked like the most competitive division in football has turned into a one-horse race. The three teams in the cellar must be fans of Green Day’s hit, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson
Fantasy owners are probably shaking their heads in disgust at the mere mention of Johnson. After taking the NFL by storm in 2009 and 2010, Johnson sat back, relaxed and counted the millions of dollars the Tennessee Titans gave him.
Through his first three games, he only managed 45 yards on the ground. Johnson tried to make up for a terrible start by tripling his production in Week 4, running for 141 yards against the Texans in a 38-14 loss on Sunday.
Have no fear, Johnson is optimistic things are about to change.
“Yeah, it was a pretty good game, running the ball or whatever,” Johnson said after the game. So, there’s that.
The three weeks of replacement referees
Week 4 of the NFL season couldn’t have gone smoother. The reason why? The replacement refs are off the field and filling out applications to officiate the Lingerie Football League.
Sure, there were some questionable calls as usual, but you could sense the games were played at a faster pace.
For once, I have to applaud Goodell for getting something done for the good of the NFL.
