5 Best teams in the NFL?

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by JCTexan

That's fair, but I'm not quite sold on at least three of the teams you have listed as being better either. 49ers have lost big against both the Giants and Vikings, the Packers have lost to the Seahawks and Colts. The Patriots are 3-3 and don't look to be better. And how good is the Ravens defense going to be without Lewis & Webb? The Falcons & Giants look to be the top two teams in the NFL this week.

I understand your perspective.

It's like being a parent. We are always harder on our own kids than we are with other people's kids.

We see every play of Texans games. Highlights of other teams for the most part.

I just EXPECTED more heart from this team last night. I did not expect a win, because I was not deluded about the Packers and their record. I thought we were going to face and elite team and they did what elite teams are capable of doing: DOMINATE.

I think the Texans have the potential to be an elite team in 2012. But I'm not crowning their asses, yet. I want proof, not potential. They've got to earn it!

Originally Posted by Fiddler

This is the main reason I started this thread. I wanted to see how myopic our fans are. I don't mean to call you out, or any offense to you. This... is not about you, or isolated to this board. "Every" Texans fan has the same line of thinking, judging by what I'm hearing on the radio, seeing on TV, & experience around town.

Can't put our team in the top 5 because we lacked heart last night, but I'm going to put a 3-3 team ahead of them. That team lacked heart three times where the Texans lacked heart once.

We got beat. No doubt about it. The 49ers got creamed. Damn near shut out at home. But they belong in the top 5.

Hey, I don't have a problem if you don't think the Texans belong in the top 5. But the 49ers & Packers? The Patriots lost to two teams from what has been regularly thought of as the worst division in the league & neither team was San Francisco, the consensus best team in that division.

But the Texans lack heart.

Perspective.

'eh, I think you read to much into my words. I think our team has lots of heart, which is why Sunday shocked me.

Maybe "heart" was the wrong word (I was still a little aggravated with them yesterday, but over it now).

I just saw them come out flat and never seemed to have a pulse. We were still in the game at the end of the 3rd quarter when the score was 28-17. They could still have won the game at that point if they fought for it.

But they did not fight for it, and honestly it looked like they did not even try.

They were being dominated, and when I perceive an attitude of submission from our team, I question their heart FOR THAT ONE GAME.

Originally Posted by DBCooper

They lacked heart last night.

My thoughts exactly. I should have just kept it to one sentence, too.

Originally Posted by DBCooper

There is a difference between losing a hard fought game and one where you lay down and get steamrolled.

Not in the Win column but in my level of anger, lol

That's how I feel about it. I did not watch those other teams lose to put my finger on the pulse of how they played. So I cannot really elaborate about "heart" as it equates to losing. I'm not an expert from mere highlights like TK seems to be.

Here's how I analyzed my list:

Falcons - 6-0 team. Undefeated teams deserve the benefit of respect

Giants - defending Super Bowl champions

Packers - 15-1 team last year, HoF QB, one year removed from an NFL championship. Veteran team that rebounds well.

49ers - Young team. Harbaugh is going to achieve great things with this team. NFC Championship game in his first year as HC anyone?

Patriots - yeah yeah 3-3 record, BUT, Belichick, Brady, defending AFC champions, this team rises as the cream of the crop every year without fail.

Like I said, the Texans could be considered 6th or 7th, depending on how to you want to frame it. I love our team and want great things for them, but I'm not going to put them in the top 5 just to be a homer about it.

And TK, for YOU of all people to start throwing around the myopic blast? Fo real??

[b0ng]

Falcons
Texans
Giants
Bears
49'ers

Awaiting what they do now that Lewis and Webb are for sure gone: Ravens

While all the teams at the tops do have their weaknesses I think it's still too early to be able to say "These are the definitive top 5 and this is the order they should be in". Falcons Giants and Texans all have their respective issues on defense and offense (Less so in the Falcons case). The 49'ers have a huge hole on offense, and if they can't run the ball it's not going to be pretty for them (They are still really good at running the ball but Alex Smith is who he is). The two Smith's aren't getting near as much pressure in the passing game, as they did last year and it's showing somewhat. And aside from playing Aaron Rodgers, the Bears and the Texans are doing just fine.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by DBCooper

There is a difference between losing a hard fought game and one where you lay down and get steamrolled.

Not in the Win column but in my level of anger, lol

Exactly, you're emotionally attached to the Texans, we all are. We hold the Texans to a higher standard. I do it as well.

That's what this thread is about, perspective. Even with that ugly loss, we're still among the top 5 if you ask me.

Originally Posted by TexanSam

The NFC is stacked this year. If the Broncos win tonight, there will be only two teams with winning records in the AFC, the Texans and Ravens.

Anther thing, this season is still young. Come Jan 3rd, this whole thing can be turned upside down. Remember Chicago came out strong last season, an injury here, an injury there & they don't make the play-offs (I don't think they made the play-offs). Wins & Losses right now should not be the end all be all of who is the best team, who is the worst team. It should be a factor, but the way they play should be a bigger factor.

How many penalties do they have, how good are they at moving the ball, getting 3 & outs, keeping people out of the end-zone, getting into the end-zone. I think Balitimore is one of the better teams in the league, yet they couldn't score more than 9 points against the Cheifs who allowed 27+ to everyone else they played.

We've got our warts, so does everyone else. The Question is do we have the talent & the leadership to fix those warts by January. I think we do. I think the Ravens do. I think the Packers do, the Patriots, the Saints. I question if Philly, Arizona, Chicago, or even Atlanta can. I don't think Dallas, Cleveland, or Tampa Bay can.

[Mr teX]

falcons
giants
49ers
patriots
texans / packers / seahawks

[DBCooper]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

Exactly, you're emotionally attached to the Texans, we all are. We hold the Texans to a higher standard. I do it as well.

That's what this thread is about, perspective. Even with that ugly loss, we're still among the top 5 if you ask me.

Anther thing, this season is still young. Come Jan 3rd, this whole thing can be turned upside down. Remember Chicago came out strong last season, an injury here, an injury there & they don't make the play-offs (I don't think they made the play-offs). Wins & Losses right now should not be the end all be all of who is the best team, who is the worst team. It should be a factor, but the way they play should be a bigger factor.

How many penalties do they have, how good are they at moving the ball, getting 3 & outs, keeping people out of the end-zone, getting into the end-zone. I think Balitimore is one of the better teams in the league, yet they couldn't score more than 9 points against the Cheifs who allowed 27+ to everyone else they played.

We've got our warts, so does everyone else. The Question is do we have the talent & the leadership to fix those warts by January. I think we do. I think the Ravens do. I think the Packers do, the Patriots, the Saints. I question if Philly, Arizona, Chicago, or even Atlanta can. I don't think Dallas, Cleveland, or Tampa Bay can.

The season is young, you are absolutely right.

I don't care about top 5 teams, too BCS for my taste.

Here's my take:

We are the best team in our division = Playoffs
Win enough games = First round bye
Have a better record than the Ravens and Patriots and Broncos for Home field advantage.

Then play with heart and get your ass to the Superbowl!

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by Mr teX

falcons
giants
49ers
patriots
texans / packers / seahawks

Good list. Very interesting to see the Seahawks on there. I haven't seen enough of them to really form an opinion. Sort of like the Vikings in that regard.

I think the Bears and Broncos are also worthy of mention, especially seeing how the Broncos battled back from a 24 point deficit on the road last night. Any team with a healthy Peyton Manning cannot be overlooked.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Good list. Very interesting to see the Seahawks on there. I haven't seen enough of them to really form an opinion. Sort of like the Vikings in that regard.

Definitely feeling the Vikings. Health has been their big thing on both sides of the ball. & if they've got the QB thing figured out... They'll be dangerous. Right now, I think the NFC North is the toughest division. Bears, Vikings, & Packers when Healthy can play with anyone.

Most competitive though, may be the NFC West. SanFran, Seattle, Arizona... even St Louis. All playing great defense right now.

[LondonTex]

Saints
Browns
Panthers
Raiders
Jags

[Mr teX]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Good list. Very interesting to see the Seahawks on there. I haven't seen enough of them to really form an opinion. Sort of like the Vikings in that regard.

I think the Bears and Broncos are also worthy of mention, especially seeing how the Broncos battled back from a 24 point deficit on the road last night. Any team with a healthy Peyton Manning cannot be overlooked.

The amazing thing with that team is that they just keep finding ways to win games. They've got a very mature rookie qb, a solid run game and hellish defense. Everyone knocked them for the Bruce Irvin pick but the guy has really been a solid contributor for them thus far. Don't even get me started on their secondary. If they get more consistent on offense, they can be really scary.

I can't put the bears up there yet b/c of the Jay Cutler factor. We talk about Phillip Rivers and his implosions that single-handedly kill your team, Cutler's been known to have a few of those as well.

The Vikings don't have that stable qb play either. Ponder has progressively gotten worse as the season has gone on...i only know about him b/c i have him in both my fantasy teams.

& yeah, Manning is doing his magic in Denver, but that defense is terrible & will wind up costing them at some point.

[axman40]

Falcons ,Giants,49ers,Texans and Baltimore.

[thunderkyss]

All right. We're through November. Anything change?

My top 5 as of now.

1. Giants
2. Texans
3. Patriots
4. Broncos
5. Atlanta

Totally different from a month ago when the list was NFC heavy. Atlanta is only on the list because of their record. I'd like to put the Colts or Bengals above the Falcons. But out of respect for their record, they had to be in my top 5.

In your opinion, who's playing the best ball right now?

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

In your opinion, who's playing the best ball right now?

Atlanta , Baltimore , Denver , Green Bay , Houston , New England. I have a tough time putting them in any order and really cant find a reason to cut the list to only 5 teams.

[IDEXAN]

I would have included San Fran in the group before yesterdays game, and
I still might but not so sure now ?

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

I would have included San Fran in the group before yesterdays game, and
I still might but not so sure now ?

They probably have the worst QB situation out of the top 5 - 7 teams that most people are listing here (Texans, Broncos, Pats, Giants, Packers, Falcons, 49'ers) and it's starting to show. That whole NFC Superiority bit sure went down in a hurry.

[JCTexan]

Originally Posted by JCTexan

Falcons
Giants
49ers
Texans
Packers

That was my list in October. Right now the QB situation in San Francisco gets them out of my top five. My list now:

Texans
Falcons
Patriots
Packers
Giants

[ObsiWan]

Texans
Falcons
Broncos
Patriots

Packers (reluctantly)

Colts/Steelers/Ravens/Bengals/Giants - Like the Packers these guys are just a notch or so below the first four. Playing winning football but neither is emerging, IMO, above the pack.

[Trap_Star]

texans, texans, texans, texans texans

[ObsiWan]

Originally Posted by Trap_Star

texans, texans, texans, texans texans

I like where your head's at, but the down and try again

[rmartin65]

Top 5 in no particular order:

Texans
Patriots
Giants
Falcons (wont win SB)
Broncos (wont win SB)

[deucetx]

No particular order:

Texans
Falcons
49ers
Patriots
Broncos

- Would say Giants because when they aren't being inconsistent as can be they are probably the most dangerous out there. Too bad for them they are horribly inconsistent and with the remaining schedule harder than the Skins could end up losing the division...

- Would say Packers but the 49ers and now Giants didn't beat them...they pimp slapped them into the ground. Rodgers seems to be alone out there and not enough to beat those teams. If the Giants make it at all.