What an eventful nine weeks it has been in the NFC East. Trying to make sense of the division is a daunting task. It’s has been a roller coaster ride of exceeding expectations, disappointment, redemption, confusion and whatever is going on over in Washington.  In a division full of ego and history it was bound to unfold with drama and intrigue.

A season that began with Eli Manning proclaiming himself a Top 5 quarterback with the likes of Tom Brady and of course his brother. Then there was the lovely dispute between the Giants and their disgruntled running back Brandon Jacobs. What better way to start a season than your QB putting himself under the microscope and half of your dynamic running back tandem wanting out of town.

Move along to Philadelphia, everyone’s pre-season favorite to come out of the East. And you have Vince Young, newly entrenched in his role as the Eagles back-up quarterback, pro-claiming the Eagles the “Dream Team” of the NFL. (Good call VY, what everyone wants to hear from the back-up, worked well for the Heat too.) Of course the media ate it up, and for the most part all agreed and penciled them in for a deep playoff run.

Down in Dallas the Cowboys were doing what the Cowboys do. Looking great on paper while basking in the glow from their triumphant playoff win over Philadelphia… two years ago. See last year didn’t really count in the eyes of the Boys and their fans since Mr. Romo only started six games. So they were right back where they were heading into 2010. The Star would again rise and fall as would the hopes and dreams of a nation with Tony Romo.

Then there was the heated debate encompassing a nation over in Washington Redskins land. In what has to be considered the worst QB controversy since Brady Quinn-Derek Anderson, head coach Mike Shanahan couldn’t make up his mind in what I can only image is an offensive coordinators worst nightmare that is choosing between Rex Grossman and John Beck.

Now nine weeks in the playoff picture in the NFC East is beginning to clear up… a bit, just not how many expected.  The East is arguably the best division in the NFC, yet as it stands today only one team, the New York Giants would make the playoffs.  Still, with eight games to go including more than half of the division schedule a lot can change with these four teams and probably will.

Here is how the NFC East looks moving forward.

Notes from Shane:

I ranked the Ravens just 9th in the league because I find it hard to reward them heavily after nearly losing to the Cardinals and actually losing to the Jaguars the week before that on Monday Night Football. Still, the win gives them the tie-breaker between the Steelers, and they can take control of the division with a pair of wins against the Bengals.

The Giants haven't been getting as much praise as I think they deserve which is why I ranked them so high. They're one of the most complete teams in the league, and Eli Manning is playing better than almost every other quarterback in the league except Aaron Rodgers.

Notes from Derek:

Rising: Giants. Eli Manning is simply playing out of his mind right now. Winners of 4 of their last 5 the Giants impressed with their win over the Patriots. As it stands now they are playing great football on both sides of the ball and look to already have a stranglehold on the NFC East.

Falling: Eagles. This team can simply not stop anybody and they are not scoring enough to overcome the poor play of the defense. What was supposed to be a terrifying secondary has been scary to no one other than the Eagles.

Like TGS on Facebook

Follow TGS on Twitter

If the NFL season ended after week 9, here's how the playoffs would stack up:

The team that jumps out at me is the Bengals. They've been flying under everyone's radar, but they're now the top ranked team in the AFC. They have yet to start the tough part of their division schedule (Steelers, Ravens games), but it's hard to argue with a 6-2 record in the NFL. Andy Dalton has played better than any other rookie quarterback, and his defense is helping mask any mistakes he makes. Still, their schedule gets very tough in the second half of the season. It'll be tough for them to keep that top spot.

As it stands, the AFC North would control 3 of the 6 AFC playoff spots. While I'd be surprised if they end the season with 3 teams in the playoffs, it makes me wonder. Which one of those teams will be left out? Right now, it's hard to argue against any of them, but the Steelers' divisional and conference records won't be winning them many tie-breakers late in the year. If I had to take one out, I'd leave the Steelers out for that reason.

The Packers are coming off of a shootout win in San Diego, and it seems as if they're aligning themselves for a Turkey Day showdown with their suddenly competitive divisional rival, the Detroit Lions. That's a game that's been circled on my calendar for some time, and it should be the best Thanksgiving Day game we've seen in a long time from the Lions.

The last thing I want to point out is that the 49ers will likely clinch their division in the next 3 or 4 weeks. While that won't mean much until they get into a position to clinch a first round bye, it does allow them to play with more deliberation knowing that they already have a playoff spot locked down. Every year, we talk about teams desperate for a win late in the year, but that won't be the case in San Francisco this season.

Follow @smaclemons on Twitter

Like TGS on Facebook

Follow TGS on Twitter

And then there was one!

It what seemed like a competition that would go down to the wire now appears almost over. The Miami Dolphins destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs to get their first win of the season now leaving the Colts as the only team without a win.

Things are really starting to look good (in these rankings) for the Colts, who might have a Peyton Manning-Andrew Luck QB duo in 2012-2013! The Colts have to be pretty happy with where they stand right now. If the Colts can get out of week 10 vs the Jaguars without a W then they can just about pop the champagne.  The Packers are the best team in the NFL and top all NFL power rankings and the Colts are clearly the league's worst team and on top of all Andrew Luck power rankings!

On a side note, Luck led his team to another victory, keeping Stanford eligible for the BCS National Championship game.

This week we closer look into where teams land on the Andrew Luck power rankings as there was a major shift:

1) Indianapolis Colts (0-9)

What this team does well:

• Keep on losing and losing big
• Losing at home
• Resemble a High School football team
• Their QB is the actor who played sunshine in Remember the Titans
• Having defenders who lack the ability to tackle Julio Jones
• Rookie Delone Carter’s newly formed fumbling issues
• Dallas Clark potentially out for the season

What this team hasn’t does well:

• Phil Simms saying that Peyton Manning wont let the Colts draft Luck
• The fact that Manning might come back at any point
• They play the Jags at home next week which is the most winnable game on their schedule

This song kind of sums up how the Colts feel about getting Andrew Luck:

2) Miami Dolphins (1-7)

What this team does well:

• Still only have 1 win on under their belt
• Still haven’t fired Tony Sparano
• Benching their best cover corner Vontae Davis
• Having mid week fights between players

What this team hasn’t does well:

• GETTING A WIN
• Playing a complete football game for 60 minutes
• Playing the Redskins at home next week in another winnable game
• Reggie Bush beginning to look like a dominating running back
• Brandon Marshall actually backing up his words with his play on the field
• Finding their defense

3 St Louis Rams (1-7)

What this team does well:

• Losing despite soft schedule
• Losing to another Suck For Luck candidate
• Blowing a game which they clearly had won
• Failing to put a man on Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone
• Trying to run the same play again on 4th and 1 after it failed on 3rd and 1. (It didn't work.)
• Repeatedly throwing at Patrick Peterson
• Punting to Patrick Peterson

What this team hasn’t done well:

• Bringing back Sam Bradford
• Playing a competitive game against another Suck For Luck candidate

4) Arizona Cardinals (2-6)

What this team does well:

• Starting John Skeleton
• Kevin Kolb's injury
• Beanie Wells being very inconsistent

What this team doesn’t do well:

• Beating a team who is a Suck For Luck candidate
• Allowing Patrick Peterson to return punts
• Coming from behind in a game that they were about to lose

On the bubble: Seattle (2-7), Washington (3-5)

Unlike an episode of Two and a Half Men, every week matters in the NFL. Fates of men, of players, coaches, fans, hang in the balance. Those that backed themselves into a corner early must fight and claw desperately to survive.

So why do we see teams taking weeks off? Why do we have a team like the Philadelphia Eagles spending the whole game making the equivalent of a hundred Austin Kutcher penis jokes, rather than play acceptable offense or defense? Or, you know, if you're punter Chas Henry, how about completing the wide open pass on a fake punt that you've been practicing all week? 

It's inexplicable to me, but people seem to love that show, or so CBS tells me. Maybe Andy Reid has given up the idea of trying for a Super Bowl victory that never comes, and is going for comedy instead. 

The new look Mike Martz offense, with five man protection, is giving Jay Cutler time in the pocket to use his the suddenly classical style of offence to attack the Eagles. It is not the greatest show on turf and Cutler is not Warner, but he can make the throws when given the time.

Having two rookies along the offensive line was a tough match-up for the veteran Bears defence. Danny Watkins at right guard and Jason Kelce at centre had a tough time picking up Urlacher and Briggs coming through on the blitz while dealing with Julius Peppers moving around the line.

Vick had to step back and get his throws off on three step drops rather than his usual five early in the game. Jackson and Maclin were unable to get down the field and attack the Bears secondary.

Vick started to panic in the first half. He tried to force plays with his legs like he did in his early days with the Falcons. He threw a pick on a drive deep into Bears territory in the first half when he did not see Lance Briggs dropping back into coverage. This is a mistake that he would not have made last week. He was noticeably frustrated, and looked like a shell of a man that dominated the Cowboys last week.

LeSean McCoy, who coming into the game was being called a top five back in the league by many, was also a victim of the early schemes that Rod Marinelli put together for the Bears.

Once rookie tackle Gabe Carimi returns to action, the Bears offensive live could both provide the protection for Cutler and create the holes for Forte needed to allow Chicago to win games down the road

The Eagles secondary got banged up early when Nate Allen went down with a concussion and Asante Samuel lacerated his..groin. Samuel returned in the second quarter, but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie proved why the Cardinals were more than happy to rim themselves of the corner.

Green Bay 45, San Diego 38 – My Hero By the Foo Fighters

Aaron Rodgers is the best player in the NFL right now. This isn’t a debate or a topic up for discussion. This is a fact.

Aaron Rodgers put up a passer rating of 145.8 vs. SD, his 8th straight game at 110+, an NFL record streak for a single season. Rodgers was nothing but surgical once again as he connected with 4 different players on TD passes. As Tina Turner would say: "He's simply the best, better then all the rest!"

As if the Packers offense needed any help, the defense helped up putting up 2 pick 6’s.

Philip Rivers played how he has all season, put up all kinds of yards and played a decent game. However, turnovers continue to plague him as he threw 3 INT’s. Rivers almost lead the Chargers back after recovering an onside kick, but their final rally fell short.

It was an exciting shout out in San Diego, but no one beats Aaron Rodgers. At least not this year as the Pack improves to 8-0.

Watch out 72’ Dolphins, this team is for real!

Your team sucks, and you know it. Sucks bad. Way worse than you expected, or maybe it just hurts more than you expected. Not only does your team suck, but even thinking about your team sucks. In short, if you're a real fan, right now your life sucks. 

Chances are you hate your quarterback. You've been surrounded by Andrew Luck talk that you're already starting to get sick of it, and wonder how anyone can live up to this much hype. And chances are your team has suffered a ridiculous amount of injuries. The carts keep coming out game after game, to where you hate to start rooting for a player because they might be the next to fall.

There are only two things to talk about among the dwindling number of your friends who still claim to be fans of your team: firing the coach, and who is going to replace him.

If this is you, read on for the hot seat rankings.

Follow @smaclemons on Twitter

Like TGS on Facebook

Follow TGS on Twitter

New York Giants 24, New England Patriots 20

There were multiple great match-ups that have been overshadowed by the Ravens, Steelers game later tonight. One of those games was this thriller between Tom Brady and the Patriots against Eli Manning and the Giants.

In a back and forth contest, Eli Manning got the last laugh with a touchdown pass with less than half a minute to play. If that sounds familiar, you may be remembering the Super Bowl match-up between these two teams in which Manning completed a game winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with less than a minute to play.

I think we're all surprised that this game was as low scoring as it was. The game was scoreless at halftime, but the two teams came alive in the second half. More analysis on this game to come this week.

Green Bay Packers 45, San Diego Chargers 38

If Phillip Rivers would quit throwing touchdowns to the Chargers' opponents, San Diego would probably be in firm control of their division. The Chargers did get help, however, as the Chiefs and the Raiders both lost today.

The Packers have to be happy with the win, but their defense wasn't able to pin down the Chargers. Had they not taken two interceptions back for touchdowns, the Packers might not have won the game, even though they put up 31 offensive points.

Denver Broncos 38, Oakland Raiders 24

I can already hear the Tim Tebow faithful rallying their troops. Don't get too carried away with the hype. Tebow completed just 10 of 21, but he was able to throw for two touchdown passes. He also ran for 118 yards. Go ahead Tebow groupies, celebrate now while you still can.

The Raiders blew a golden chance to take control of the division. They've been struggling, as is expected, since Jason Campbell went down, but the good news for them is that the rest of the division is also struggling. They're still tied for the division lead, but if they want that to last, they have to start making plays, especially on offense. Palmer looked better today, but he's still clearly not completely comfortable with the offense. That's something only time can change.

Other Games:

Cincinnati Bengals 24 Tennessee Titans 17
St. Louis Rams 13 Arizona Cardinals 19

Like TGS on Facebook

Follow TGS on Twitter