The 2009 NFL regular season is half of the way through. After eight weeks we are starting to see the contenders separate from the pretenders. Today is report card day for the NFC. Let’s take a look at some teams on the Dean’s List and some teams who are worthy of a big fat “F” for fail.

There are several different components I take into account in grading the teams. The first is overall won/lose record. The second is quality of competition and how teams played up or down to their competition. Third, are these teams over or under achieving based on pre season projections and analysis? Fourth, I take into account coaching and how well teams have been prepared and whether any coaches have made decisions that won or lost games. Fifth, overall individual efforts from team players are definitely taken into consideration in both positive and negative grades. With that said, let’s hand out the NFL First Quarter Report Cards for the NFC.

Dean’s List -
The New Orleans Saints

This may be the kiss of death, because I put the New York Giants on the Dean’s List in the first-quarter report, and they have collapsed since. The New Orleans Saints are a truly special team. They are getting it done in all phases of the game. Even more impressive is that they have had to come from behind in the last couple of weeks and been successful in doing so. I don’t think the Saints go undefeated, but I have no idea who is going to beat them in the playoffs. Drew Brees is on another level from every quarterback in the NFL and Darren Sharper may be the NFL MVP at the mid-way point on defense.

Grade A -
The Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings get another A here and were on the fringe of making the Dean’s List. We can debate referee calls all day long, but you could make an argument that they should be undefeated. The Vikings like the New Orleans Saints, are getting it done in all phases of the game. Something that did bother me was the second-half comeback by the Green Bay Packers last week. I hope the Vikings defense isn’t getting tired, because they have been a very active defense this season. The Vikings need to get Antoine Winfield back after the bye week or this team is going to be very susceptible to the pass. The great news here is that their schedule down the stretch almost looks too easy other than the Cincinnati Bengals game. This is a team that could realistically run the table the rest of the way down the stretch.

Grade B -
Green Bay Packers
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys
Arizona Cardinals

The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team to get a B in both the first-quarter and mid-season report card. The Cardinals, Cowboys, and Packers both improve from C grades. If not for the Eagles letdown against the Oakland Raiders, they would have gotten an A grade. The Cowboys have turned their season around with the emergence of Miles Austin and a revamped offense. The Packers are a team to me that is a pretender who will destroy bad teams, yet struggle with anyone over .500. The Cardinals were rolling recently before being upset by the Carolina Panthers. In the end, I would only expect one of these teams to make the NFL playoffs when it is all said and done.

Grade C -
New York Giants
Chicago Bears
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
San Francisco 49ers

The biggest drop off from the first-quarter report card would be the New York Giants. I think we were all fooled by their schedule. I also think the Giants have been hurt badly on defense to the point where teams are now starting to bully the Giants defense. The Giants have lost three straight and don’t look to be a team that will turn things around in the near future. This team desperately needs a true #1 receiver, a better linebacker, and some healthy guys back in the lineup. The Bears have a 4-3 team and like the Packers, beat the bad teams and struggle against the good. Matt Forte has finally scored so maybe that is the start of a mid-season turnaround for the Bears. The Panthers have finally realized that the best way to win is to take the ball out of Jake’s hands. The Falcons were red hot earlier this season, but are really struggling on both offense and defense. The 49ers have  never recovered from their last-second loss to the Minnesota Vikings and are a team another year away from really making a splash in the NFL.

Grade D -
Detroit Lions
Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have to be one of this season’s most disappointing teams. There were big expectations for the Seahawks offense with a new coach and new receiver, yet we are stuck seeing the same old Seahawks. I never believed in Jim Mora but this is just ridiculous. The Lions had a lot of promise earlier this season, but injuries to their two franchise players have bitten the Lions hard. There is now talk that Kevin Smith will share more time in the backfield and Calvin Johnson, JR. hasn’t played in weeks. I think this is a good team in the making, but unfortunately this isn’t the year of the Lions.

Grade F -
Washington Redskins
St. Louis Rams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Rams and Buccaneers stay consistent with F grades, while the Redskins move down a grade. The Washington Redskins have such a good defense, that it is a shame that they can’t get their offense going. The coaching mess will haunt this team for the rest of the season. The Bucs are horrendous period. The Rams are struggling this year more so than anyone expected. Sure, Marc Bulger has been hurt but he has struggled even when he has played this season. Steven Jackson is racking up the numbers, yet only has one touchdown this season to show for it. The Rams are a team that needs to be blown up and completely disassembled before they turn their franchise around. I don’t see anything different for any of these teams when we take another look in the 3rd quarter.

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The 2009 NFL regular season is a quarter of the way through. After four weeks we are starting to see the contenders separate from the pretenders. Today is report card day for the NFC. Let’s take a look at some teams on the Dean’s List and some teams who are worthy of a big fat “F” for fail.

There are several different components I take into account in grading the teams. The first is overall won/lose record. The second is quality of competition and how teams played up or down to their competition. Third, are these teams over or under achieving based on pre season projections and analysis? Fourth, I take into account coaching and how well teams have been prepared and whether any coaches have made decisions that won or lost games. Fifth, overall individual efforts from team players are definitely taken into consideration in both positive and negative grades. With that said, let’s hand out the NFL First Quarter Report Cards for the NFC.

Dean’s List -
New York Giants

I know, the Saints and Vikings are undefeated but the Giants are in a completely different class. Both the Vikings and Saints have won big games, but the Giants have dominated. The Giants have won in Dallas and Arrow Head which are both terribly difficult places to play. The Giants offense is back to being multi-dimensional with many different receivers stepping up. I just think whether all teams are undefeated or not, the Giants are in a class all by themselves thus far.

Grade A -
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints

Both teams are undefeated and deserve a lot of credit for this. It doesn.t matter who it is, but for the Vikings to plug a brand new quarterback in and win out thus far is impressive. Both teams have played up to their competition and won some incredibly close games. The only thing separating the Saints from the Dean’s List is that both teams have struggled at times on offense and defense, where the Giants have hit on all cylinders. The Saints need a little more consistency on defense before I am ready to anoint them in the same class as the Giants. Great win by the Vikings on Monday, but not enough for the Dean’s List.

Grade B -
Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
San Francisco 49ers

All of these teams are one loss away from an A mark. The one common denominator here has been questionable defense. The 49ers have been more consistent, yet still gave up critical points to the Vikings. The Bears just allowed close to 30 points Sunday from the Lions. The Eagles have looked great against subpar opponents, but may or may not have been exposed against Drew Brees and the Saints. The Falcons are a nice, steady team but the loss in New England reminded me why they weren.t the pre season favorite to win the NFC South. Additionally, their defense is terrible and ranked 30th overall at this point in time.The other common denominator here is that all three of these teams had high expectations coming into 2009. So far, the jury is out on whether any of these teams can come up big when it counts. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see two of these teams move up and two move down at the halfway point.

Grade C -
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions

The Lions may seem like the odd team out here with a 1-3 record. However, the Lions have played consistent football all season. They have hung in there with everyone and are playing at a very high level of football. This is a team that could turn into a major spoiler come December.

Conversely, the Packers and Cowboys had huge expectations coming into the season. We were all told the Cowboys would be different without T.O. The Cowboys are different, they are much worse without Owens. Romo has been a disaster in critical situations and has arguably cost his team two games. The Packers have been a big disappointment on the offensive side of the ball. If not for some last second heroics in Week 1, they could be 1-3 right now. There is something that is just not clicking for them right now. Considering they were a Super Bowl pick by many prognosticators, their record is a huge disappointment and worthy of a “C” or satisfactory.

Grade D -
Washington Redskins
Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are a tough one, because they are missing their franchise quarterback. At the same time, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots last year show that there is life after your franchise quarterback if you do the things you need to do to win. The Seahawks were embaressed Sunday against the Colts and Jim Mora looked just as clueless on the sidelines as he did in Atlanta.

The Redskins are a whole story in itself. They have the honor of being the first team in a season and a half to lose to Detroit. The coaching has been just God awful at times. Particularly, in the Detroit game. Jason Campbell looks like he has regressed since last season. Jim Zorn is in way over his head. The Redskins had to fight for a win Sunday against winless Tampa Bay. This team is a disaster is on the borderline of turning into the biggest laughing stock in the NFL.

Grade F -
Arizona Cardinals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
St. Louis Rams
Carolina Panthers

Who would have guessed that two teams playing in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs last year, one going on to the Super Bowl, would be terrible one season later? The Panthers and the Cardinals are huge underachievers right now and are more worthy of an F – than an actual F. Jake Delhomme looks like he has lost all of his confidence and that defense is coming up small. Arizona can’t get in sync and Kurt Warner looks every bit of an old, beaten up quarterback. The Rams and Bucs are winless, yet both teams have showed some glimpses the last few weeks. The Bucs or Rams will likely move up a grade by mid-season. Unfortunately for the Cardinals and Panthers, they could be looking at detention at this rate.

Read the ESPN Fantasy Football Guide 2009 week to week for tips by clicking here.
Get your NFL jerseys discounted now on Amazon.com by clicking here

Play and Win Fantasy Football with the National Football Post – Buy Now

Use Fantasy Football Commissioner for all of your FF needs at www.fflcommish.com/.

Your favorite NFL teams and players gone big – Fathead.com

Order the Madden NFL 10: Official Strategy Game Guide by clicking here.