NFL: Week 7 knee-jerk reactions
October, 23, 2012
10/23/12
1:30
PM ET
By ESPN.com staff | ESPN.com
You’ve heard the chatter by the sports pundits and on the talk shows. Heck, you may have even heard it here. So are the knee-jerk reactions about your team based in reality? Our NFL bloggers weigh in.
NFC Knee-jerk Reactions | AFC Knee-jerk Reactions
WEEK 7
| Team | Knee-jerk reaction | Reality or not? |
|---|---|---|
| AFC EAST by James Walker | ||
 | Stick a fork in the Bills -- they're done. Any team that loses to the lowly Titans at home is definitely not a playoff contender. | That is the reality for Buffalo. The Bills (3-4) now have back-to-back road games against Houston and New England. A 3-6 record looks very likely. It's a wrap. |
 | Did you see those games in Week 7? The AFC East looks extremely weak. Miami is now the favorite to win the division. | Not the case, Miami fans. The Patriots are in first place and still the class of the division. Second place is reachable but Miami must get by the Jets this week. |
 | I don't know about those Patriots. This team may win the AFC East by default but it's probably one-and-done in the playoffs. | The Patriots don't look good now. But anytime you have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, they're always dangerous. Let's wait to see how they look in December and January. |
 | I told you the Jets are contenders! They took the vaunted Patriots to overtime in their house! See you in the playoffs! | Slow down, Jets fans. Your team is 3-4. It's going to take at least nine or 10 wins to make the playoffs, and I don't see that happening. |
| AFC WEST by Bill Williamson | ||
 | The Denver Broncos are the clear favorite to win the division. | The Broncos have to feel good about themselves. They are improving and there are good signs, but it would be premature to label them as the division favorite. We need to see some consistency from Denver first. |
 | There is no excitement about his team after the bye. They are 1-5 and in total disarray. The season is over. | It's difficult to argue those points. Of course, the Chiefs still have a bit of a heartbeat, but if they lose at home to Oakland on Sunday, there will be very little to feel good about in Kansas City. |
 | The Raiders are a legitimate AFC West title contender after beating Jacksonville to improve to 2-4. | Being one game behind with 10 games to go is not a bad place to be, but the Raiders have to continue to improve. They have a good chance to do that by playing Kansas City and Tampa Bay in the next two weeks. |
 | The wheels are falling off in San Diego. The Chargers have blown two straight double-digit leads, the team upset the fan base on its website and the NFL is investigating allegations that the team used an illegal substance. | Things are not good, and there's a lot of smoke building in San Diego. Of course, the Chargers can quiet the storm by winning a few games. If they don't, though, there could be big trouble ahead. |
| AFC NORTH by Jamison Hensley | ||
 | This season is over without Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb. Joe Flacco once again flopped on the road. | Let's remember that the Ravens are still 5-2 and can regroup during the bye. Sure, Flacco is inconsistent, but he's always been inconsistent and the Ravens have made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons. |
 | The Bengals are going to fail once again to put together back-to-back winning seasons. Fire the head coach. Draft another quarterback. | There's no way to put a positive spin on this three-game losing streak. But the Bengals can get back on track with home games against the Broncos and Giants after this week's bye. |
 | Pat Shurmur should've gone for it on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. It's these types of decisions that cost the Browns close games. Jimmy Haslam is going to fire Shurmur at the end of the season. So, why not do it now? | It's hard to defend Shurmur's 3-9 record in games decided by seven points or fewer. But the players also have a hand in this as well (see Josh Gordon's drop near the goal line). But this team does have the feel of just playing out the final nine games with Shurmur at the helm. |
 | The Steelers are back! They proved they can win on the road and physically beat up the Bengals. The Ravens are banged up; this is the Steelers' division again. | Before we crown the Steelers division champs, let's remember that they still have to make up a 1½-game gap on the Ravens. They also have to win two games in a row first. But the Ravens are more vulnerable than at any point in the season. |
| AFC SOUTH by Paul Kuharsky | ||
 | The Texans aren't losing again. That'd be pretty sweet, wouldn't it? Rolling into the playoffs 15-1? The AFC stinks. We do not stink. Enjoy the bye people. Because after that, you're going to see a lot more Bull on Parade. | Settle down. Yes, the Texans are a good club. But teams evolve as the season progresses. Houston is bound to hit a lull somewhere. And someone else will get good to contend for AFC supremacy. As for not losing again -- there are upsets every week, and at least one more team is going to beat Houston. |
 | Say it with me: playoffs. We're an up-and-down team, but look at the steady progress we're making, and look at the upcoming schedule -- at the Titans, the Dolphins, at the Jaguars. The Colts can win at least two or three of those and then everybody will be talking about Indy as a playoff possibility. Get on board early. | There is no such thing as a guaranteed win for the Colts right now. This is a hard-working team that's making progress. But it's still capable of getting creamed by a middling team like the Jets. Indianapolis is probably going to exceed most expectations, but the playoffs are a bit beyond that. |
 | We stink, and now we go to Green Bay without the injured Maurice Jones-Drew. What's the world record for margin of defeat? | It's not a good team right now by any means, and it's probably a bad time to be making a trip to Lambeau Field because the Packers seem to be ironing out their early-season troubles. But games that look like blowouts don't always pan out that way. |
 | We're back in it, baby! No way can we lose to the Colts at home Sunday, and that win will get us to 4-4. After the 1-4 start, that's a pretty big achievement. Let's open things up and not count on the defense. We can totally compete for a wild-card spot. | No matter how well the offense can play, Chris Johnson isn't going to run like he did against the Bills on a weekly basis. There is at least a degree of uncertainty around this team until Jake Locker is healthy and reinserted at quarterback. There is no surviving this defense, which can't tackle and rarely finds big stops. |
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Bill Williamson
Williamson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Denver Broncos for the Denver Post. He previously covered the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
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