NFL mid term grades

We are at the halfway point of the 2010 nfl regular season. Time to pass out some mid term grades.

A

New England: The Patriots hit the half way point with the league's best record, their only loss was on the road to a tough Jets team. Oddly enough, New England seems harder to game plan for now that Randy Moss is out of the picture. Defense and special teams have made timely plays as well.

Pittsburgh: The Steelers are a solid 6-2, their only losses to Baltimore and the defending champion Saints. Not only did Pittsburgh survive the four game suspension of their star quarterback, the Steelers won two road games against winning teams with their fourth string quarterback.

St. Louis: Yes. The St. Louis Rams get an A. An A for effort. Lets keep in mind the former greatest show on turf won a total of six games the past three seasons. After eight games in 2010, they are sitting at 4-4 with a rookie quarterback and no wide receivers. Job well done St. Louis.

B

Tennessee: The Titans bounced back from an 0-6 start in 2009. At 5-3, Tennessee sits one game behind division leader Indianapolis with two head to head games remaining. With newly acquired Randy Moss, the Titans will have the capability to force a defense's hand on whether or not they want to double Moss or keep an eighth man in the box to stop their best weapon Chris Johnson.

Kansas City / Oakland: Be honest, when was the last time you cared about a Chiefs Raiders game? Well this weekend's match up will no doubt shape the division race as Oakland (4-4) sit a game and a half behind Kansas City in the afc west. I am having a hard time figuring out which team has been most surprising. Both deserve B's.

Indianapolis, Baltimore, New York (Jets and Giants), Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia all get B's.

C

New Orleans: Call it unfair, call me spoiled. At 5-3, the Saints just look average. The running backs are now M*A*S*H cast members. Drew Brees has been turning the ball over more often and the defense is turning opponents over less often. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas will be back soon which should no doubt help the offense. BUT, the division is much tougher this year with the Bucs and Falcons showing no sign of falling off.

Green Bay: Joining the Saints in the M*A*S*H green room are the Packers. Green Bay has been decimated with injuries to key players and have already had a couple of head scratching losses. As bad as the Vikings are this year, Green Bay still can not seem to pull away in the division.

Other C grades go to Detroit, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, Miami and Houston

D

San Diego: Here we go with another rendition of "Norv Turner and the Chargers always finish strong." Even with their come from behind victory over the Titans last week, the Chargers (3-5) sit a game out of the afc west dweller. Were talking about a division with the Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders!

Minnesota: So many places I can go here, but let's keep it on the field. The Brett Favre retirement tour should have been cancelled before the season started. Everyone who boarded that plane last August should be waived. Brett Favre is a fierce competitor but with all of his effort, the body is simply not holding up. The passing game that fueled this offense a year ago has slowed to a painful sputter. A final super bowl run will elude Mr. Favre. The only song left? A swan song for head coach Brad Childress.

Other D nominees include Cleveland, Denver, Jacksonville, San Fransisco, and Arizona.

F

Dallas: Where do I start? The Cowboys have literally invented new and creative ways to lose this year. Dallas (1-6) is off to their worst start in over 20 years, with basically the same roster that won a playoff game a year ago. The Cowboys are so bad, owner Jerry Jones referred to his team as being 1-7 after their stunning blowout loss to Jacksonville last week. Maybe Mr. Jones was already looking ahead to this week's match up against the Packers. Wade Phillips and the entire coaching staff are officially lame ducks and the season was lost on Halloween. How poetic, trick or treat.

Buffalo and Carolina bring up the rear with their terrible play. F!