Browns, Bengals, and the Wacky first half of the NFL Season

          Browns RB, Peyton Hillis, celebrates his 184 yard performance and a Browns win over the Patriots on Sunday 

            The conclusion of Week 8 of the NFL season leaves many fans scratching their heads in confusion.  Half of the season has past, and although the pre-season favorites to win the Super Bowl have disappointed (Cowboys 1-7, Colts 5-3, Saints 6-3), there still seems to be lots of room for debating the best team in the league.  We’re talking acres and acres of room for debate. 

            Experts seem to like the AFC South (except the teams from Ohio): the Ravens and Steelers sit atop most NFL Rankings (if Colt McCoy played more like a rookie and less like a young Tom Brady against the Pats this weekend, then New England would probably hold the mid-season crown).  The Browns aren’t going to make the playoffs; however, Cleveland certainly has hope for the future.  Colt McCoy won two of his first three NFL starts, upsetting the Saints and Patriots.  Sure the Browns lost to the Steelers 28-10 in his debut, but the kid threw for 281 yards!  If Browns fans’ excessive cynicism prevents them from storing faith in the future of McCoy, they surely can’t ignore the guy he’s handing the ball off to, Peyton Hillis.  The Arkansas grad has run for 644 yards this year and surpassed the century mark on three separate occasions.  I don’t think the Broncos’ GM Brian Xanders sleeps well thinking about the trade he made last Spring (Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn).  Just as quickly as the James jerseys went up in flames, the Hillis and McCoy jerseys should be going off the shelves in Cleveland. 

            Moving on to the Bengals … well at least the Reds had an impressive run this season, because Cincinnati football is ugly.  The Bengals 21-27 loss to Pittsburgh looks like a close loss to a good team, but the national audience watching on Monday night will attest to the one-sidedness of the game.  The T.O. and Ochocinco experiment seems just as silly in November as it looked in July.  Owens has played well thus far, but his fellow VH1 reality show host looks miserable.  Since his 159 yard performance in week one, Ochocinco has caught for a mere 314 yards in 7 games (45 yards per game).

            One of the top receivers in the league has been on three teams this year, Michael Vick has the highest QB rating in the NFL, Wade Phillips got the boot yesterday from Jerry Jones, a Raiders-Chiefs game in Oakland was sold out with much of the country watching on TV, and commissioner Roger Goodell successfully made baseball more of a contact sport than the NFL.  The second half of the season can’t be stranger than what’s happened so far.  Can it?