NFL:  Week 10 Line-ups; Broncos vs. Panthers

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“SPORTS NOTEBOOK” will continue to post its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week---Ed. & Publ., Marvin Leibstone.

NFL:     IT’s the other side of dreams, where some NFL franchises hadn’t thought they’d be two months and two weeks ago, some ahead in the 32 team standings, others behind, a few exactly where they thought they’d be when approaching Week 10 of the league’s 16 week season.

What? Are the Atlanta Falcons really in first place of the NFL’s National Football Conference South “not having lost a game?” Are they really 8-0? They were to be a leading NFL club but not as close to perfection as they’ve been, now approaching Week 10 and a game versus the 3-5 New Orleans Saints (3d, NFC South), which the Falcons are favored to win, though Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been leading a recovery from one of his team’s poorest season starts; last night, the Saints beat the 3-5 Philadelphia Eagles (2d, NFC East), 28-13.

Should the Falcons lose to the Saints on Sunday, and should Week 10 wins go to the 7-1 Houston Texans (1^st , American Football Conference South) and the 7-1 Chicago Bears (1^st, NFC North), the Falcons will be tied with the latter two as the NFL’s leading contenders for a shot at the Super Bowl.

Next in line among teams that have won more than half of their assigned games since Week One are the 6-2 San Francisco 49ers (1^st, AFC West), the 6-2 Baltimore Ravens (1^st, AFC North), the 6-3 New York Giants (1^st, NFC East), and the 6-3 Green Bay Packers (2d, NFC North), all capable of competing for 2012 post-season play as the season heads toward and into Weeks 15 and 16, providing that they maintain current standings and their win/loss percentages.

Two division-leading franchises are now in position for post-season attainment, having won but five games---the 5-3 Denver Broncos (1^st, AFC West), and the 5-3 New England Patriots (1^st, AFC East), each a game up from their division’s second place teams, respectively the 4-4 San Diego Chargers and the 4-4 Miami Dolphins.

The surprise fallbacks to date are the 3-6 Washington Redskins (4^th, NFC East) and the 1-7 (Ugh!) Kansas City Chiefs (4^th, AFC West), franchises expected to have had better records by Week 10, the former from an offense led by star draft pick/NFL rookie QB, Robert Griffin, III, the latter from hopes attached to a defense package (overestimated) and to an offense predicted to have at least put the Chiefs at 3-5 by now.

Still holding bottom positions along with the Chiefs are the 1-7 Jacksonville Jaguars (4^th, AFC South), the 2-6 Panthers (4^th, NFC South) and the 2-7 Cleveland Browns (4^th, AFC North).  .  .  Ten other franchises are still under .500 with but three or four wins as Week 10 waits to mix it up for them. That’s 13 teams, thus more than one third of the NFL failing to master a season.

Broncos vs. Panthers.  There has to be some truth to the six degrees of separation comment, suggesting that we are all closely connected in some way. True for the NFL, anyhow. On Sunday, the former head coach of the Carolina Panthers, John Fox, now Denver Broncos head coach, will attempt to squash the Panthers with a steadily advancing offense led by QB Peyton Manning, and a defense squad much improved since Week Seven of the NFL season, which will mean a fourth consecutive Broncos victory. On Sunday past, the Panthers crushed the Washington Redskins, 21-13, a franchise led by Mike Shanahan, former head coach of the Broncos. Note that several of the winning Panthers were former Redskins teammates. Three years away from Denver and with the Redskins, the former Broncos field boss hasn’t seen a playoff game, the Redskins record under Shanahan is 14-27; yet he’d have been a much better Denver choice for Broncos head coach for another year instead of that what’s-his-name disaster that invaded Denver from New England. But then, current Chicago Bears QB, Jay Cutler, could still be the Broncos QB and the Broncos wouldn’t have Peyton Manning. Like the football that it’s all about, nothing in the NFL stays in mid-air, and often enough the right things fit into place, which seems to be where the Broncos are as Week 10 approaches. It’s doubtful that against the Panthers the Denver team will experience the same fate as the Redskins, but there’s no reason to think that a Denver victory will be easy to obtain from the get-go. The 2-6 Panthers are desperate, and they have the momentum of a team that broke a five game losing streak. And, former Heisman trophy winner, Panthers QB Cam Newton, he hasn’t been to stages of play causing him to be mocked. During Week Four, the Panthers lost to the 8-0 Falcons by only two points (30-28), and during Week Eight QB Newton led a team that lost to the now 7-1 Chicago Bears by only one point (23-22). Vs. Denver on Sunday, Newton passing less and handing off to running backs could be a theme, enabling just enough first downs to show that the Panthers can put up a respectable fight. To stop a Manning-led offense from scoring, the best shot at this will be the Panthers seeking “the sack,” Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson hoping to surpass the two sacks that he achieved vs. Chicago’s QB Cutler this season. This page’s take: the Denver defense will keep the Panthers from enough trips to an end zone for points needed to prevail against those accrued by QB Manning-led drives mostly of incremental gains and then bullet-like pass completions from the 20 or 30 facing goal, lots of Manning-WR Eric Decker and WR Demaryius Thomas connects preceded by Manning-RB Willis McGahee rushes forward; score, Broncos ahead by 10.    

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