The Story So Far....

“The more I see the less I know for sure” John Lennon

Once the malaise of the NFL lockout had passed, journalists, commentators, ‘experts’ and  fans alike turned their attention to the upcoming season and took comfort in all that was ‘known’ to be true. Approaching week 5 of the 2011 NFL season it seems like we knew nothing; the dismissed Redskins sit atop the NFC East, Cam Newton is on record setting pace, and ‘Hotlanta’ looks to be cooled.

As we all reach for a slice of humble pie Brit Coast Offense will be keeping an eye on some of the more interesting developments:

__________________________

Detroit Lions - Contenders?

__________________________

Having amassed 10 straight losing seasons and the only 0-16 record in the history of the NFL, the Lions, along with the Superbowl winning Packers, are undefeated heading into their division matchup with the Bears.

Aside from the week 2 destruction of the Chiefs (who frankly can be beaten by any half-decent team) the Lions greatest margin of victory is just 7 points. So are they a powerhouse on their way to a perfect season or just a mentally rejuvenated team, grinding out wins against relatively soft opponents? I don’t think there has been a consistent enough performance on either side of the ball to come to a conclusion; at this stage I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lions either secure or fall short of one of the NFC’s eight playoff spots.

________________________

Game over for the Colts?

________________________ 

Some small but important comparisons of the 2010 and 2011 Colts, going in to week 5:

                                

In short, a Manning-less Colts are just not that good a team. Barring a miracle recovery from the four-time league MVP it would appear the 2011 campaign is a write-off (Brit Coast Offense prediction - look for the Colts to aggressively address the Quarterback position in April’s draft).

_____________________________

Minnesota Vikings - ?????????

_____________________________

In the past four weeks The Vikes have put on a solid display for 30 mins of every game they have played, their only problem is that a game of football lasts 60 mins. In the first three weeks the Vikes were ahead by 10, 17 and 20 points respectively at halftime and this past week trailed Kansas City by a mere 2 points; they went on to lose all four games.

People are very helpfully suggesting that they need but put the ball in AP's hands and rely on the defensive front and all will be well. But if you look at this a little more closely, these areas don't seem to be the problem:

“give the ball to AP” -  he currently leads the NFL with 81 attempts and is the third best rusher in the league.

“Put more pressure on the quarterback” – the team are joint third with 12 Sacks, Jared Allen has the second most in the league (6.5).

So what is the problem?


There are many who would rightly argue that such posturing is irrelevant; given the fact that NFC North is home to the Superbowl Champions, undefeated Lions and a talented Bear team, the team’s concern should not be coming to an understanding of how they are 0-4 but how they are going to avoid being 0-8; the time to right the ship is now. There are grumblings of a shake up at Quarterback and at this point there is nothing to lose. In the past few seasons the Vikings have been more than willing to gamble with the QB position; after the failed Favre experiment they have turned to a declining McNabb, who does not look to have improved much after a torrid season in Washington. It is surely a matter of time before Ponder gets the nod, despite what Leslie Frazier may say to the contrary.