Midseason NFL surprises and disappointments

Now that there are nine weeks of the NFL season complete, we are starting to see what some of the teams are made of this season and what superstars have decided to come to work this year. As usual, half of the teams that most analysts predicted to win their divisions and advance in January have struggled, while there have also been multiple squads who have surprised everybody and are even leading their divisions as the home stretch of the regular season nears.\nOn the disappointing side of the coin thus far this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have failed to top the list. Not only do the Steelers play in perhaps the weakest division in the NFL, but they returned all of their newly found potent offense from last season and a usually stingy defense, not to mention tough and scowling coach Bill Cowher.\nMuch of the trouble this season stems from defensive struggles and injuries as the Steelers have allowed opposing teams to score more than 30 points in four of their six losses this season. The Steelers are just three games back of division-leading Baltimore and play the Ravens the last game of the season, but if they have any hopes of seeing the postseason they need to go on a run starting with spanking the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.\nLast year's Super Bowl competitors, Tampa Bay and Oakland, have both had awful starts to their seasons as Oakland is 2-6 while Tampa Bay is 4-4. The Raiders playoff hopes are done, and they may need a geriatric plan in Oakland at the end of the year for all their elder players. Meanwhile, teams have figured out how to beat Tampa Bay's mighty defense, and ironically, that plan is to run right at them and play them physically. The Bucs still have a shot to win the NFC South, but Carolina has a much easier schedule, not to mention a two-game lead over Tampa Bay heading into its second match-up this weekend.\nSan Francisco and Green Bay have both underachieved to date, but both came up with huge wins this past weekend to remain in playoff contention in their respective divisions. Brett Favre will not let the Packers go down without a fight, and if Minnesota continues to lose, turmoil may result with Vikings owner Red McCombs already chastising the team after its loss a week ago. The 49ers might have a quarterback controversy now after Tim Rattay led them to a victory over division rival St. Louis, and since loud-mouth wide receiver Terrell Owens has publically stated he prefers Rattay over all-pro Jeff Garcia, who is out with an ankle injury.\nAs many disappointments as there have been in the NFL this season, there have probably been even more surprises. Starting with the sole undefeated team in the league,Kansas City and down through Cincinnati at 3-5, there have been many promising stories of improving teams this season.\nSure, we all expected the Chiefs to be this good, but Kansas City might actually have a shot at going undefeated through the regular season. I am sure now that I have said that, they will lose next week, but if they continue to play as they have the first half of the season, they have a legit shot. Their only tough tests come Dec. 7 at Denver and Dec. 20 at Minnesota (if the Vikings have not imploded by then). We knew Kansas City's offense was explosive, and the Chiefs lived up to the hype by leading the league in points scored. But more important to their success so far and as the season wears on is that their defense has held opponents to the fourth fewest points of any NFL team.\nMinnesota and Carolina both lead their divisions at 6-2, but I am still not sold on the quality of their teams. They may hang on to win their divisions, in part to the easier schedules they have in comparison to their division counterparts, but they will not go far in the playoffs. It is nice to see Randy Moss decided to play football this year instead of bicker on the sidelines and in press conferences. But if things turn sour in Vikingland, it will only be a matter of time until Moss opens his loud mouth and starts complaining.\nSeattle and Dallas might actually be legitimate division leaders and playoff contenders as they also lead their divisions with 6-2 records. The difference with the Seahawks and Cowboys are that they are guided by experienced coaches, and they have come back strong from defeats this season, something Minnesota and Carolina have not done.\nLastly, we have the teams showing promise for future seasons but will not pose a threat this year. Leading the way in this category are the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans. Ironically enough, these two squads meet next week for a shot at their fourth win of the season. Houston has two quality wins over Miami and Carolina and is just one win shy of the four wins it posted in its inaugural season of 2002. The Bengals, meanwhile, have been transformed by new head coach Marvin Lewis and already have more wins (three) than they had all of last season (two). Once they get rid of the big ego and distraction known as Corey Dillon, the Bengals will be focused and tough to handle come next year.