The Superbowl: Contenders

The 2010 NFL season is at the halfway point, and it’s as competitive as ever. No team has less than two losses after eight games, and once again the beginning of the regular season has not failed to deliver its usual dose of behind-the-scenes drama. Two-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was involved in a pre-season rape scandal, legendary wide receiver Randy Moss will have played for his third different team of the year when he takes to the field on Sunday for the Titans, and the Denver Broncos campaign began in tragedy with the suicide of wide receiver Kenny McKinley. But with the season now well under way all eyes are now on the practise of America’s darling sport. Eight games in and the contenders are beginning to emerge, so here’s a breakdown of some of the key teams now heavily focused on the pursuit of Super Bowl glory.

The favourites

Pittsburgh Steelers (7/1)

The 2008 Super Bowl champions are currently 6-2 and tied for first place in the AFC North at the midpoint of their 2010 campaign. They began the first four games of the season without the weapons of evasive quarterback ‘Big Ben’ Roethlisberger, who served a suspension after a series of sexual assault allegations (all, as of this day, unproven) and was reprimanded under the somewhat vague NFL personal conduct policy. Losing a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback would prove problematic for most teams, but inspired by their legendary defence and Rashard Mendenhall’s powerful running game, the experienced Steelers went 3-1 and continued their consistent performances with the return of Big Ben. With their offense stabilised and offensive line finally improved in the draft by the likes of 18th overall pick centre Maurkice Pauncey, the Pennsylvanian team look set to live up to their status as the current bookie’s favourite. If their o-line remains as leaky as last year however, they may once again come unstuck against a team with a good blitz in the post season.

New York Jets (9/1)

The early season favourites and the team everyone’s talking about; the 2010 New York Jets. In 2009 rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez guided the team to an inconsistent 9-7 regular season record, but training camp was characterised by confidence and optimism; head coach Rex Ryan even went as far as to guarantee Superbowl victory on a number of occasions. Their shortened 9/1 odds show that if Ryan’s claims drew few believers in the media, they did amongst the bookmakers. For his part Sanchez has been a much-improved player, cutting down on erratic throws and poor decisions. His completion percentage remains at a lowly 53.5%, but he’s throwing fewer interceptions and protecting possession to allow the Jets to do what they do best; run the football. The New York ground game is beastly; led by backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene, it ranks 4th in the NFL, averaging 148 yards a game. Everyone knows the 2010 Jets are solid in all departments, which only serves to heap more pressure on the still inexperienced Sanchez. So far this season he seems to have found the comfort of college days within his offense, but the question remains as to whether he can stand up to the abilities of the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys of this highly competitive league at crunch time. With a 6-2 record they look dangerous.

The outsiders

Tennessee Titans (12/1) and Philadephia Eagles (14/1)

Looking further down the odds list the Eagles and Titans represent the best value for money; both possess young and dynamic offenses with decent winning records. The Eagles will be hoping for the sustained revival of running quarterback Michael Vick, who so far this season has ousted original starter Kevin Kolb and slotted comfortably into an offense containing some versatile young players in DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin. The team have had one of the league’s best defences over the last few seasons, but a high-scoring offense has allowed them to enjoy big wins over the highly-touted Falcons and Peyton Manning’s Colts already this year. The Titans’ season hinges on an explosive running game led by Chris Johnson, the league leading rusher who gained notoriety for completing the 40m dash in a record-tying 4.24 seconds. Quarterback Vince Young earned his starting position mid-way through last season and has never looked back, but similar to Sanchez his importance in the team relies on keeping the ball safe for the ground game. Unlike Sanchez though, Young can use his own rushing abilities to further strengthen a Titans’ attack that always looks on the verge of exploding into action, and very often does.

Elsewhere the usual big names make up the rest of the bookmaker’s contenders. The New York Giants, the New England Patriots and last year’s champs the New Orleans Saints have all had solid starts, while the Dallas Cowboys are the only big name all but out of contention. One thing is guaranteed from this wide-open NFL season: there will be game after game of intense and extraordinarily competitive sporting action, a whole host of ‘heroes’ and ‘failures’, and ALOT of advert breaks. My money, for what it’s worth, is on the Philadelphia Eagles.