What a difference one year can make.
At this point in the NFL last year, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts were both 8-0 and well on their way to conference championships halfway through the regular season.
New Orleans and Indianapolis seemed to be clicking on all cylinders. While the teams had both improved defensively, their real strength was on offense, where they were led by Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, respectively, elite quarterbacks whose dynamic offenses would end up finishing first and second in points per game. Other teams struggled to keep up with the Saints and Colts, who were consistently putting up 30 or more points per game and controlling the time of possession offensively.
The Saints and Colts were the clear top dogs at the midpoint of the 2009 season, and it was up to the rest of the league to knock them off their pedestals. That, of course, did not happen, as New Orleans and Indianapolis ended up meeting in a highly anticipated Super Bowl XLIV matchup in Miami; the Saints prevailed 31-17.
So far this season, however, no NFL teams have taken charge of the league. Consistency continues to be an issue for many of the league's top contenders, which begs the question: Who really wants to win Super Bowl XLV?
Right now, it doesn't appear to be New Orleans or Indianapolis. Neither team has shown the same kind of dominance as it did a year ago.
The 6-3 Saints have been up and down, losing at home to Cleveland last month before beating the Pittsburgh Steelers the next week. Ranked 24th in rushing and without the services of Reggie Bush, New Orleans has been forced to rely exclusively on the pass, which has ultimately resulted in a much less consistent offensive attack.
In Indianapolis, the Colts have been slowed by injuries and costly turnovers. After losing to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, they now sit at 5-3, good for only second place in the AFC South.
In addition to last year's conference champions, other 2009 heavyweights have failed to assert their dominance thus far.
When faced with the opportunity to be the first team in the league to get to seven wins, the New England Patriots got thoroughly run over in Cleveland, losing 34-14 to the Browns.
As they have failed to do all season, New England could not stop the Cleveland rushing attack, giving up 184 yards and two touchdowns to the Browns' third-year running back sensation, Peyton Hillis. Clearly, New England will need to get more physical on the defensive line if it wants to compete for an NFL title.
The story has been similar in Houston, where the Texans on Sunday lost 29-23 to the visiting San Diego Chargers.
Houston came into the 2010 season with an explosive offense and high expectations for a playoff push, but the loss — Houston's third out of its last four games — dropped the Texans to 4-4 in the AFC South. This slump comes after the Texans began their season with optimism after two monumental wins over the Colts and Redskins. Now, Houston finds itself struggling just to get back into playoff contention in the highly competitive AFC.
At this point in the season, it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite to win Super Bowl XLV in Dallas. While no NFL teams have truly pulled away from the rest of the pack, six teams — the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants — currently sit toward the top of the NFL.
One would think that in the next few weeks, at least one of these teams will put together a string of wins to finally seize control of the top seed in its conference and obtain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, like the Saints and Colts did last season.
But if the league's top playoff contenders continue to be bunched up, it will make for some incredibly important and exciting regular season games toward the end of the regular season.
