POWER SHIFT

Aside from the NFC East, however, the rest of the Conference looks like parody personified. The NFC West is abysmal. Who will win this division by default? The Arizona Cardinals? How about the San Francisco 49ers? Or maybe the Seattle Seahawks. How about the NFC South and North? Early on, it looks like you could take the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Bucaneers, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, roll any one of them out and you have pretty much the same team. No standout in that group of teams. So, beyond the NFC East, there is not a whole lot of note to point to in the Conference.

While the NFC has the power after Week 3, I am not convinced that by the end of the year, that will still be the case. Pittsburgh is strong on both sides of the football and will be battle tested by playoff time, enduring the toughest schedule in football. They are 0-1 against the NFC East, losing to the Eagles, but will have their chance against the rest of the division before season's end. The Indianapolis Colts are not as bad as they have looked in their first three games. Peyton Manning is basically finishing up his training camp in which he missed during the summer due to injury. There is no chemistry at the moment with Marvin Harrison and himself, and his receivers in general. This will come, as will the running game. They have a horse in Joseph Addai and that will open up things for Manning once he gets rolling. One thing hurting the Colts right now is the loss of cornerback Bob Sanders. The Colts defense goes as Sanders goes. The San Diego Chargers showed last night what they are capable of doing. They will be right in the mix at the end as long as Ladainian Tomlinson is healthy. The Jaguars are not as bad as their record indicates and may have turned their corner with the win at Indianapolis on Sunday. Then there are the New England Patriots. Without Tom Brady, it is safe to say that they are not in the running for the Super Bowl this season, but will certainly cause their share of problems for the rest of the league. There are defintely more questions marks in the AFC that have not been seen in some time.

Then there are the question of the unexpected surprises. Buffalo, Tennessee and Denver are all undefeated in the AFC. Will they go on to win their division? It is possible, but I would say it is unlikely for at least two of them. Buffalo can definitely win the East now that Brady is gone for the year. They have good balance, both offensively and defensively. They can run the football and have some nice receivers for quarterback Trent Edwards. Jeff Fisher is always great at getting the most from his team in Tennessee, but how far can they go with Kerry Collins at quarterback and what will happen when Vince Young gets back? I still believe Indianapolis and Jacksonville are both better teams, just as I believe San Diego is a better team than Denver. Denver is getting great play from Jay Cutler and have a dynamic offense, but their defense is certainly lacking. That will eventually catch up to them.