NFL surpises...

[BuddyLee]

I bet the Pats sign Free Agent John Lynch to replace Harrison.

That is all.

I'll betcha' a tootsie roll they don't.

 

[pixiegirl]

You can be a solid team but that doesn't get you anywhere in the AFC South.

That has been the Colts division for quite some time now. The Jags were pushing for it last season but still couldn't get it. The Titans were a good team but not great enough to have the top spot. That's why I'm so surprised about the Titans; they were able to leap frog both teams in one season.

Last year they were pretty comperable with the Colts. If I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be) they won one and lost one against them and had the same number of wins/losses on the season.

They were solid last year and they're solid this year. I didn't expect them to be at the top of their division but I'm not floored by it either. Being a Titans fan I'm probably biased as I came into the season expecting/hoping for them to do well.

 

[BuddyLee]

Last year they were pretty comperable with the Colts. If I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be) they won one and lost one against them and had the same number of wins/losses on the season.

They were solid last year and they're solid this year. I didn't expect them to be at the top of their division but I'm not floored by it either. Being a Titans fan I'm probably biased as I came into the season expecting/hoping for them to do well.

The Titans were 10-6 last year.

The Jags were 11-5. The Colts were 13-3. Not even close.

The game that the Colts lost to the Titans was the last game of the season. The Colts sat many players to save them for the playoffs. The Titans had to win that game to make the playoffs and they did. However, they quickly lost in the first round. Nobody expected much from the Titans last year because they were a 6th seed with no offense really. This year they have consistency at offense and the defense has stepped it up a notch. They have a chance to put the Colts back 4 whole games in the division this week. That's some of the reasons why people are surprised.

 

[pixiegirl]

The Titans were 10-6 last year.

The Jags were 11-5. The Colts were 13-3. Not even close.

The game that the Colts lost to the Titans was the last game of the season. The Colts sat many players to save them for the playoffs. The Titans had to win that game to make the playoffs and they did. However, they quickly lost in the first round. Nobody expected much from the Titans last year because they were a 6th seed with no offense really. This year they have consistency at offense and the defense has stepped it up a notch. They have a chance to put the Colts back 4 whole games in the division this week. That's some of the reasons why people are surprised.

It was the Jags they were close with. I knew it was one of them. I don't follow it all terribly closely but I wasn't surprised at all. Maybe I'm just psychic!

 

[Beta84]

AFC East

The Jets are better but nothing special with Brett.
The Phish are better, but no suprise, really, with the Tuna at the helm
The Pats are hanging in there pretty good sans Brady
The Bills were a lot of peoples dark horse anyway.

AFC North

B'more and Flacco not so bad-o!
Cinncy. Thud.
Browns, up and down.
Pittsburgh. As good as or better than expected?

AFC South

Indy. Thud.
Jax. So-so
Titans top dog w/Collins
Houston, also ran.

AFC West

Chargers suffering shorts
Chiefs. Or Cinncy? Who is worse?
Raiders. Blah.
Bronco's nothing special


NFC East

Skins looking better than expected, real solid.
Dallas HA!
Giants #1 until proven otherwise.
Philly solid as always


NFC North

Lions bleh
Bears so so
Packers doing just fine with Mr. Rogers
Vikes so so


NFC South

Bucs look real good 5-2
Cats look real good 5-2
Falcons 4-2 FOUR AND TWO???
Saints back to the cellar where they belong


NFC West

Who cares? Are the Cards of note at 4-2?

I usually consider surprises as positive and disappointments as negative, so I'd go with 3 teams doing surprisingly better than expected.

Clearly, nobody expected the Titans to be 6-0 and on top of the toughest division in the AFC (they were expected to be in 3rd/4th).

The only other teams in the AFC that are better than expected are the Jets, Bills, Dolphins, and Ravens. The Jets are actually around what was expected after their binge in free agency and the Bills were a 'sleeper' pick, so both had potential playoff expectations. The Ravens and Fins were two of 4 teams that some columnists eliminated from playoff discussion, yet they aren't in the bottom 4 of the league (or even close right now), so they are both surprises.

In the NFC, the East was expected to be good and the West was expected to be bad...no surprises. The only thing in the North is the Lions and Vikes are worse than expected, but I'm not really surprised. The South, however, has been a surprise. The Panthers were a sleeper pick, but the Falcons and Bucs weren't projected to look as solid as they've been. The Falcons are obviously the biggest surprise of the NFC.

So if I get 3 picks, I've already tossed up the Falcons and Titans as two of them. The last pick would probably be the Ravens, only because they beat the Fins and were projected to be worse than the Panthers, Bucs, Bills, and Jets.

If you want to throw in the teams worse than expected...Colts, Jags, Chargers, Browns, Bengals, Lions, and Saints would be the teams up for discussion, I guess.