By Michael Nerantzis
It sure would have been sweet to see Peyton Manning walk out of Indianapolis with a win; however, after a Denver loss, media members around the country who predicted an undefeated regular season are reeling, trying to find a new team to throw their confidence behind. Also stealing headlines this week are Robert Griffin III as he returns back to his rookie year form and the Chiefs’ surprise start lead by their vaunted defense and hearty head coach Andy Reid (a.k.a Big Red). Sadly enough, this week will mark the halfway point for the regular season.
I have been reluctant to write about the Redskins up to this point, mostly because I haven’t had anything positive to write about. However, after a shootout victory against a very good Bears team (albeit beat up), the sun is once again rising in the nation’s capital. I remind you that this position is nothing new to Washington, as it looks eerily similar to last season when the Redskins started 3-6 and won 7 straight to win the division. If Robert Griffin III’s mobility hadn’t looked as improved as it did on Sunday, I wouldn’t see the ‘Skins finishing any better than .500.
Thankfully, it felt like I was watching the Robert who lit up the Cowboys on Thanksgiving last season rather than the Robert I saw floundering last week in Big D. With the addition of the zone-read attack in the offense and the emergence of Roy Helu Jr. as Alfred Morris’ backfield partner, I see no reason why this can’t be the second-best points scoring team in the NFL. As Mike Shanahan said during training camp, “Every time we lined up on the ball, we were the most dangerous offense in the league.”
On a side note, I must admit that the Chiefs were not a team I thought would carry their success into the middle of the season. Not only have they had success, they have not lost a game — hard to believe for a team who fired its coach in the off-season and brought in a new starting quarterback, Alex Smith. Everyone knew the Chiefs had talent, with 6 Pro-Bowlers being selected of their 2-14 squad for last season, but it is newcomer Andy Reid who has led this team to believe. The only two knocks on the Chiefs is that they don’t win big and they don’t win pretty, and those characteristics for a team have proved fatal when playoffs come around. Regardless, I GUARANTEE you not a single person in the entire United States of America would have believed that the Chiefs would have a better record than the Broncos up to this point, but such is life.
