A Look At The Middle of the Pack: Part 2

The NFL is heading into week No. 8 and teams are starting to take their spots on the league’s totem pole for 2008.

On top are the Tennessee Titans at 6-0, the only unbeaten team left. Right behind are Buffalo, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants, all with just one defeat.

At the bottom of the pole are Detroit and Cincinnati, still winless at this point. Just a hair ahead of them sits the Chiefs and Seattle, both with one victory.

As always, there are a knot of teams bunched up right in the middle. Specifically, we are looking at a dozen teams: those with at least three victories and at least three loses.

Here’s a look at second half of that group and what direction they might be taking on the NFL elevator over the next few weeks. We looked at the first half on Wednesday.

JACKSONVILLE (3-3)

GOOD: The good news for the Jaguars is that several key players who have been out injured are expected back after the bye week: C Brad Meester, S Reggie Nelson and G Chris Naeole. Special teams have kept them in the season so far, especially K Josh Scobee who has improved his accuracy and his kickoffs have gotten longer. RBs Maurice Jones-Drew (above) and Fred Taylor remain productive talents hindered by the offensive line injuries.

BAD: The Jaguars have only eight sacks or one every 24.5 passing plays. That’s the fourth-worst percentage in the league. That lack of pass rush is likely why Jacksonville has the worst third down defense in the league, as opponents convert 48.6 percent of the time.NFL. Defense needs more takeaways as well, getting just nine so far.

AHEAD: bye week, Cleveland, at Cincinnati, at Detroit, Tennessee.

COMMENT: “You can’t really name too many teams that have suffered as many blows as we’ve suffered. To go through all that and still be 3-3, we’ll take it and build off it.” Jags linebacker Mike Peterson.

NEW YORK JETS (3-3)

GOOD: Defensively, the Jets have really played pretty well this season; ranking 12^th in yards allowed and so far they’ve got the fourth best run defense in the league, allowing an average of 83 yards per game. Thomas Jones has run the ball very well. They also have a real weapon in kick returner Leon Washington, who is averaging 28.2 yards per return.

BAD: The offense is hurting this team, especially giving the ball away 13 times, including nine interceptions. There’s no deep ball with Brett Favre either, as the Jets are averaging just 6.77 yards per attempt. Pass protection hasn’t always been sterling.

AHEAD: Kansas City, at Buffalo, St. Louis, at New England, at Tennessee.

COMMENT: “To be a team that’s spoken of with the playoffs and doing great things, we’ve got to go out there and get that one (last Sunday’s game against the Raiders.) By any means necessary, whether it is Leon (Washington) running the punts back, whatever, somebody’s got to step up there and make a play.” Jets linebacker Calvin Pace.

PHILADELPHIA (3-3)

GOOD: The Eagles defense has played very well this year, ranking seventh in fewest yards allowed, fifth in fewest passing yards and ninth in fewest rushing yards. They are among the league leaders in takeaways with 12 and they have 21 sacks. QB Donovan McNabb remains solid and upright, which is helpful.

BAD: Injuries have slowed t his team down, especially with RB Brian Westbrook. They’ve now lost their Pro Bowl right guard Shawn Andrews to a back injury for at least six weeks. Right now they are 29^th in rushing, averaging 85.8 yards per game. K David Akers has slipped as well, hitting just 77 percent of his 17 FG attempts.

AHEAD: Atlanta, at Seattle, New York Giants, at Cincinnati, at Baltimore.

COMMENT: “You very seldom see one team that is able to sustain dominance throughout the year. We can’t worry about anybody else or what anybody else is doing. We just have to go out and handle our business.” Eagles safety Brian Dawkins.

MINNESOTA (3-4)

GOOD: The Vikings defense came into the season as the club’s strongest point and overall the numbers have been good. They are eight in the league in fewest yards allowed and third against the run, giving up an average of just 70.7 yards per game. Scoring defense is out of whack because the Vikings have given up six returns for TDs on offense and special teams; nobody else in the league has given up more than three return TDs. Offensively, RB Adrian Peterson remains the man.

BAD: Special teams have been killing the Vikings all season and it only exacerbates the problems they have offensively in throwing the football with veteran QB Gus Frerotte (5 TDs, 7 INTs since taking over the starting job for Tarvaris Jackson.) They’ve given up five TDs in the kicking game in various forms.

AHEAD: bye week, Houston, Green Bay, at Tampa Bay, at Jacksonville.

COMMENT:”There’s nobody in this building that is happy with the standard right now that we’re playing at. I think the good thing is that it’s recognized by the members of this football team. They want to be better, they want to improve; they’re all pulling for each other.” Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

NEW ORLEANS (3-4)

GOOD: When it comes to moving the ball, nobody does it better right now than the Saints, as they are averaging 402 yards per game. That’s all built on the arm of QB Drew Brees who has been very good, save for a few too many interceptions. Plus, they’ve gotten great production this year out of RB Reggie Bush, especially as a punt returner, where he was averaging 21.9 yards a return. All this has come with plenty of injury problems, with guys like RB Deuce McAllister, WRs Marques Colston and David Patten and TE Jeremy Shockey missing time.

BAD: But now Bush is out with a knee injury, probably for the next three to four weeks. If he gets back for the stretch run, the Saints could make some noise. Right now, they need McAllister, Aaron Stecker and/or Pierre Thomas to step forward. But they also have to have their defense start playing better. They are in the bottom half of the league in almost every category and haven’t generated much of a pass rush or takeaways. Kicker is a real problem as well as they are one of the worst FG teams in the league, making just eight of 13 attempts.

AHEAD: San Diego in London, bye week, at Atlanta, at Kansas City, Green Bay.

COMMENT: “Of course, we’re going to miss him (Bush), because he’s a playmaker and I hope he’s not out very long. But certainly the next guy you hope will step up and do the job.” Saints QB Drew Brees.

SAN DIEGO (3-4)

GOOD: QB Phillip Rivers keeps getting better and right now he’s the leading thrower in the league with a passer rating of 108.5. The problem for San Diego is he’s throwing too much. But he’s averaging 8.75 yards per attempt, with 16 TD passes and five INTs. The Chargers are also getting some very good play out of their special teams, thanks to their strong duo of kickers (Nate Kaeding and Mike Scifers) and return man Darren Sproles.

BAD: The Chargers lost their best defensive player in LB Shawne Merriman for the season, and their best offensive player Tomlinson, is struggling with a sore toe. Tomlinson had just 41 yards on 14 carries in Buffalo last Sunday. Without Merriman, San Diego has lacked a pass rush and opposing quarterbacks are picking them apart. Buffalo’s Trent Edwards completed 25-of-30 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. On the season, they are giving up 254.6 yards per game through the air.

AHEAD: New Orleans in London, bye week, Kansas City, at Pittsburgh, Indianapolis.

COMMENT: “We’re not always going to start (fast) and end up 14-2. We’ve done that, and we lost our first playoff game.” Chargers president Dean Spanos.