National Football League

Crashing the parity in AFC South

Published Oct. 11, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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As we await tonight’s Favre-to-Moss sideshow, we must admit that the word “parity” has returned to the NFL in full-throttle form. After five weeks there’s no longer one unbeaten NFL team — the last time that happened was 1970 — and unless you live in Baltimore or Pittsburgh, you’re wondering what team can actually go all the way.

Now, there are four winning teams in the AFC South — they are all 3-2 — but all of them have discernable flaws and none is more distinguished than the other. This used to be the Colts’ kingdom. They have won six of the last seven South titles, but their gutty win over the Kansas City Chiefs hardly stamps them as clear favorites anymore, even with Peyton Manning.

Let’s first consider the Jacksonville Jaguars. Two weeks ago, they had been pounded twice by 25 points only to recover to beat the aforementioned Colts and then escape from Buffalo yesterday with a win in what would have normally been a trap game for them. The "Fire Jack Del Rio" signs have been put away for another week and now we’re wondering if tight end Marcedes Lewis, who already has five touchdown catches, can break the club record of 10 set by Reggie Williams in 2007.

Yes, this is a franchise that has had such low standards for years now. Long forgotten are those glory-filled formative seasons when Tom Coughlin built a reliable playoff team thanks to some great drafting and free-agent signings. Yes, the Jaguars made the playoffs in 2005 and 2007, but they couldn’t get by New England on either occasion.

In Buffalo, the Jags got behind by 10 points, but recovered for a 36-26 win and now have a showdown game against AFC South rival Tennessee next Monday night. The Jaguars haven’t won a division title since 1999, when they lost the AFC title game to the Titans.

“We talked about the fact that we had not followed up wins against Indianapolis with good results,” Del Rio said. “I thought we showed some grit hanging in there in an adverse situation and really took control of the game.” Plus, Del Rio keeps saying that his team still hasn’t played its best football.

In the three wins, quarterback David Garrard has been super, throwing for eight touchdowns against one interception. Big recruit Aaron Kampman’s motor is running like it used to in Green Bay, assuming leadership of a young front four while a rookie name Deji Karim played in his first NFL game and rushed for 70 yards and had 145 kick return yards. His 51-yard return in the second half led to the go-ahead touchdown.

Now, the Titans epitomized bend-but-don’t break in Dallas. The defense allowed the Cowboys 511 yards and 27 points, but they also put Tony Romo on his back six times and intercepted him three times, one saving a touchdown and another that set up a touchdown. With the score tied 20-20 midway through the fourth quarter, defensive end David Ball deflected a Romo pass that rookie Alterraun Verner intercepted at the Dallas 12-yard line, setting up a Chris Johnson touchdown.

Johnson stamped his approval by stomping on the Dallas end zone star after scoring. It seems that Johnson still holds a grudge against Jerry Jones for selecting Felix Jones over him in the 2008 draft. Jones had his best day of the season with 109 yards, but Johnson won the duel with 131 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.

The Titans have always been respectable under Jeff Fisher. In 15 seasons, Fisher has had six winning seasons, plus another five 8-8 years. The dean of NFL coaches, Fisher is trying to win with an inconsistent Vince Young. In Dallas, Young played smart and also found Kenny Britt deep a couple of times. As long as Young doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, the Titans should stay in the race until the bitter end.

I’m not convinced that is also the case for the Houston Texans, the most disappointing South team on Sunday. The Texans entered the game against the Giants with the league’s top-ranked rusher in Arian Foster (537 yards) and proceeded to get dominated. They resembled the Texans of previous seasons, rushing for a franchise-low 24 yards.

However, the most alarming concern in Houston is the erratic play of quarterback Matt Schaub, last season’s passing yardage champion. Schaub isn’t playing nearly as well as a year ago. His decision-making is way off and when under pressure — he’s already been sacked 14 times — he’s unloading some flutter passes and simply throwing too much off of his back foot. The other bad omen is that Rashard Butler, subbing for suspended left tackle Dwayne Brown, couldn’t cope with Osi Umenyiora, who had two sacks, once causing Schaub to fumble. Butler’s run blocking was also very suspect.

Everything was grand in Houston after its one-sided win over Manning on opening day, but now you have to wonder. Gary Kubiak can right the ship by beating the Chiefs next week. If that happens, they can regroup during their bye in Week 7 before their big showdown game against the Colts in Indianapolis. After that game, we should all have a better understanding of the AFC South.

Gambling’s Not a Good Thing

Todd Haley and Steve Spagnuolo must have talked to each other this week. Both coaches opened their games with onside kicks, stealing a page from Sean Payton’s Super Bowl magic, and both results were disastrous. Spagnuolo’s Rams were overwhelmed by the Detroit Lions’ team speed in a 44-6 loss while the Chiefs lost their first game, 19-9.

Granted, the Chiefs battled the Colts, holding Manning under 300 yards and minus a touchdown pass for the first time this season. But Haley’s decisions may have cost his team dearly. Not only did the Colts score after the bungled opening kick, but on the ensuing drive Haley declined to attempt to the tie game with a field goal, preferring to go for it on fourth-and-two at the Colts 8-yard line. The play failed and Kansas City lost a ton of early momentum.

Speaking of the Rams, all those good thoughts after winning two games could be headed to the dumpster with the loss of Sam Bradford’s favorite deep man, Mark Clayton, for the season. Danny Amendola is a tough little receiver, but he simply doesn’t produce many touchdowns. Can anyone say Vincent Jackson?

Speaking of Quarterbacks

That was a gritty recovery act by Alex Smith last night, but the 49ers still don’t protect him as well as they should and he remains too careless with the football. One turnover led directly to a Philadelphia touchdown. Now winless after five games, the 49ers must face facts that they either should have traded for Donovan McNabb or kept Shaun Hill, who passed for three touchdowns on Sunday.

Back to McNabb: he hung in there until the Packers’ Clay Matthews couldn’t chase him anymore and delivered a beautiful bomb to unheralded Anthony Armstrong to keep the Redskins atop the NFC East. Mike Shanahan’s team is hard to figure, but the one thing they aren’t doing right now is beating themselves. McNabb was sacked five times and hurried another 12 times, but had only one turnover.

There must be concern in Cincinnati now. A playoff team a season ago, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was outplayed by Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman on Sunday. Hey, Palmer can no longer be considered a top-10 quarterback. He was intercepted three times while Freeman, who was starting his 13th game, produced the big sideline throw that led to the game-winning field goal. Freeman, who was 3-6 last season, is off to a 3-1 start this year.

The Bears better hope that Jay Cutler has a clear head next Sunday. Todd Collins was brutal in Carolina, throwing almost as many interceptions as completions (4 to 6) in a 23-6 win over the winless Panthers. Collins, who will turn 39 next month, was the oldest quarterback to ever start for the Bears. And based on that performance, Lovie Smith may never call his number again.

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