NFL: Week 6 knee-jerk reactions
October, 16, 2012
10/16/12
1:45
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 6
| Team | Knee-jerk reaction | Reality or not? |
|---|---|---|
| NFC EAST by Dan Graziano | ||
 | Jason Garrett will never be a good head coach! Clock management, penalties ... it's time to get rid of this guy and start over. We played our best game of the year and still found a way to lose. | You can't fire coaches and start over every two or three years. You don't know that Garrett can't get better as a coach, or Dez Bryant as a reliable receiver. It's tough for fans to be patient, but the people who run the Cowboys have decided they will. So you have little choice but to wait. |
 | The Giants are the best team in the league! Did you see the way they manhandled the 49ers? Alex Smith and his crew never even got inside the red zone. When will people start respecting us? | Everybody respects the Giants and understands they're one of the best teams in the league. If they play the way they played Sunday, no one can beat them. The trick with the Giants is mustering that kind of intensity every week. The "nobody respects us" ploy is effective for Tom Coughlin and his staff. |
 | Fire Andy Reid! Fire Juan Castillo! Fire Marty Mornhinweg! Bench Michael Vick! This is the same team with the same problems as last year, so it deserves the same knee-jerk reactions. | Castillo got the ax Tuesday morning, so your wish for some degree of accountability is granted. They're still not going to turn a still-breathing season over to Nick Foles, but Sunday's loss was apparently enough to convince Reid that something drastic needed doing. |
 | Robert Griffin III once ran a marathon because it was on his way. He speaks fluent French ... in Russian. He once had an awkward moment just to see how it felt. He is The Most Interesting Quarterback in the World. | Griffin is an incredible talent and a joy to watch, and he has brought to the Redskins something they have lacked for years -- a quarterback they and their fans believe can win them the game. His 76-yard put-away touchdown run Sunday was the latest RG3 Play of the Year. |
| NFC WEST by Mike Sando | ||
 | Losses to St. Louis and Buffalo have exposed the Cardinals as fraudulent. | That's too harsh, but the problems that critics foresaw at offensive tackle aren't going away. Arizona's 4-2 record could easily become 5-5 because three of the next four games are on the road -- against Minnesota, Green Bay and Atlanta. |
 | Alex Smith cannot carry the 49ers' offense against a legitimate opponent. | Smith had 30 TDs with six INTs in his first 23 regular-season and playoff games under coach Jim Harbaugh. His 24th game was an ugly one. The 49ers are best winning as a team, not with Smith trying to carry them. |
 | Russell Wilson arrived with his three-TD performance to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots. | This was progress, but it's important to remember that all quarterbacks and especially rookie ones encounter rough stretches. Let's see how Wilson performs against the 49ers on Thursday night. There's no need to overreact either way. |
 | Even though the Rams lost in Miami, their offense turned a corner with 462 yards. | The Rams need points more than they need yards. They haven't reached 20 points in any of their past four games. That has to change with Green Bay, New England and San Francisco on the schedule next. |
| NFC NORTH by Kevin Seifert | ||
 | With three of their next four games at home, the Bears have a chance to separate themselves in the NFC North. The lone road trip is at the Tennessee Titans. | Those home games include matchups against the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans, both in prime time. The Bears prefer to play at home, of course, but this won't be a cakewalk. |
 | The Lions are back on track after their 26-23 victory at the Philadelphia Eagles. | Both of the Lions' victories this season have required significant fourth-quarter comebacks. They were forced to overcome 16 penalties against the Eagles and a rough performance by quarterback Matthew Stafford in the first three quarters. Work remains. |
 | The Packers can't keep absorbing serious injuries. They now have five players on injured reserve, although tailback Cedric Benson can be designated for return. | The same thing happened to the Packers in 2010, and they won the Super Bowl. |
 | The air is starting to be let out of the Vikings' balloon after a 38-26 loss to the Washington Redskins. | The Vikings can right themselves with two home games in five days over the next two weeks. |
| NFC SOUTH by Pat Yaskinskas | ||
 | As the only remaining unbeaten team, the Falcons are the best team in the NFL. | They're not. Just go back and look at how they've struggled to win their past three games. They have yet to put together a complete game, but you get the feeling that's coming soon. |
 | A season that was supposed to end with a Super Bowl appearance is over. | It's still early, but I'm having a hard time seeing the Panthers turn things around. Their defense isn't any better than last year, and their offense is worse. This team looks like it could continue to spiral. |
 | The Saints are getting things together and will still make the playoffs despite their 1-4 start. | They are coming off a bye, and they won against San Diego before that. But has this team shown you any real signs it's capable of winning nine or 10 games the rest of the way? It's a long shot. |
 | The Bucs could challenge for a playoff spot. | There were lots of good signs out of Sunday's victory against Kansas City. But let's take that for what it is -- the Chiefs are a bad team and the Bucs are improving, but they're not a finished product yet. |
NFC EAST SCOREBOARD
Sunday, 9/8
Monday, 9/9
7:00 PM ET Philadelphia Washington - ESPN/WatchESPN
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Dan Graziano
Graziano joined ESPN.com in 2011 after two years as a Senior NFL Writer for AOL FanHouse. He covered Major League Baseball, the Olympics and various other sports during his time at the Star-Ledger and the Palm Beach Post. A New Jersey native and author of two published novels, he now lives in Ridgewood, N.J., with his wife and two sons.
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