Final Observations

I will not be writing any more NFL Observations posts. I've enjoyed the process of watching all the games the last two years, posting all my thoughts, getting feedback, and repeating the next week. I've learned a ton about the NFL while improving my writing. But the whole thing takes so much time there has to be financial motivation. With the dissolution of the betting corp, that motivation is gone. Unless I find a publisher that pays more than The Exception, there will be no more Observations.

I still love watching NFL football of course - this isn't the end of football-related blogging. I'll keep posting the picks as well as weekly power rankings, and a giant season recap is already in the works.

Thanks to everyone who has read the Observations, and special thanks to all those who have posted a comment. The Observations have been an important stepping stone in my writing "career" - a career I will be talking more about in a few days.
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Fascinating things are happening late in the season - things we thought we knew for sure are now in doubt. Contenders are coming out of the woodwork, while the perceived juggernauts are fading fast. Many teams appear to be peaking or cratering right this moment.

The power rankings reflect this. Yellow signifies a team ranked higher than they have been at any point the last six weeks, and red signifies a team ranked lower than they have been at any point the last six weeks.

32. Detroit (32)
31. St. Louis (31)
30. Kansas City (30)
29. Seattle (29)
28. Buffalo (25)
27. Tampa Bay (27)
26. Cleveland (28)
25. Oakland (24)
24. Washington (23)
23. Chicago (26)
22. Jacksonville (21)
21. New York Jets (20)
20. San Francisco (17)
19. Atlanta (19)
18. Carolina (22)
17. Miami (16)
16. New York Giants (14)
15. Tennessee (11)
14. Houston (18)
13. Denver (15)
12. Baltimore (13)
11. Pittsburgh (12)
10. Cincinnati (9)
9. Arizona (10)

The Contenders

I see no difference between #8 and #1 at this point. But if I had to rank them:

8. Philadelphia (4) just cause I don't trust Andy Reid
7. Indianapolis (1) because they have angered the Football Gods by throwing an undefeated season in the garbage. Can they really go four weeks between trying and expect to be the same team?
6. San Diego (7) is obviously going to suffer an upset loss now that everyone believes in them
5. Green Bay (5) will have to win three tough road games to make the Super Bowl
4. Minnesota (3) is not the same team without E.J. Henderson
3. Dallas (8) is getting tremendous play from its defensive line, and this is the time of the season when defensive lines take over.
2. New Orleans (2) is suffering from mass sphincter-tightening
1. New England (6) is peaking on offense and defense and is still the best-coached team of the contenders.