Jon Kitna has been left dazed and confused by an aging line.

Detroit Lions – Offensive Line
One thing I’ve heard way too often this year is how the offensive line doesn’t get enough credit. Well then give them credit where credit is due but Kitna’s protectors deservedly get none. The big boys in blue have let up a league-leading 40 sacks this year. That’s about four and a half per game, and eight more than the team with the second most, the Philadelphia Eagles. How much abuse can QB Jon Kitna take? They do realize that his backup is Dan Orlovsky, a third year play-caller that has attempted a whopping 17 passes in his NFL career, all of which were back in 2005. It doesn’t help that the line is also beginning to age, with two of the starters playing in their ninth season and two in their seventh. It’s about time the Lions looked past the wide receivers in the draft and got themselves a couple of million dollar roadblocks. Interesting stat: the Lions have allowed 19 sacks in their three losses, as compared to 21 in their six wins.

Minnesota Vikings – Understand How to Play the Pass (on both sides of the ball)
The Vikings are less competent in the air than a penguin, they hold the league’s worst pass defense and the second to worst passing offense. With the most explosive (and probably most talented) running back in the league, Minnesota is putting up 20 more yards a game on the ground than through the air. Why not? With Adrian Peterson in the backfield, it would seem logical to do nothing but run the ball. Last in the division behind a depressing Bears team is why not to be one-dimensional. Now that Boy Wonder is out, what are they going to do? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team so polar in their game on both sides of the ball (they rank first in the league in rushing and third in stopping the run). If the Land of a Thousand Lakes wants to give Peterson the championship contending team he deserves, it’s time to start getting serious about protecting their air space.

The Bills, Jets and Dolphins – A Different Division
With the New England Patriots elevating their game to inhuman levels, the entire organizations of these teams can safely make January vacation plans for the next few years. This Patriots team is for real and ready to prove that they deserve dynasty status. Yes, technically teams like this year’s Buffalo squad have a statistical chance at making the wild card spot. However, with their remaining schedule and the depth of contending teams in the AFC, it’s just that: statistical. In reality, none of these teams will see the playoffs for years. At least they’ll get a lot of high draft picks.

San Diego Chargers – Coach
Have you ever seen a team that had won such a huge game and looked so deflated? I think these players have less faith in their coach than Detroit’s citizens have in Matt Millen. They had just beaten the defending Super Bowl champions, grabbed a solitary seat at the head of the AFC West, and those that walked into the post-game locker room would’ve thought someone had died. With a 14-2 record last year and arguably the most talented team in the league, why shouldn’t they be upset at 5-4? I doubt they’ll bring Schottenheimer back during the offseason, but if they can find someone to replace Norv Turner (coax Bill Cowher out of retirement perhaps?), they may find themselves Super Bowl contenders.

Denver Broncos – A Run-Stopper
A rising offense led by promising QB Jay Cutler, a stalwart pass defense ranked eigth in the NFL, and a rush defense giving up 151 yards per game. The blame lays mostly on the defensive tackles, as the starters have combined for 15 tackles on the year. Sam Adams is now entering his 14^th NFL season and needs to be shown the door. His lack of speed removes any expectations of him making tackles behind the line of scrimmage or outside the tackle box. The only thing he’s still got going for him is he’s fat. Unfortunately for Adams and the Denver Broncos, fat doesn’t exactly cut it in the NFL. The Broncos need to look into acquiring a young, versatile DT in the ’08 draft to replace this 350 pound obstacle and get Denver back on track to being a contender.

Miami Dolphins – Wide Receiver
The Miami Dolphins need a lot of help, but this seemed to be the best place to start. The top two receivers in the Miami statbook have not added to their Dolphins totals since Weeks 6 and 7. The Miami front office for some reason decided to trade away their top receiver, Chris Chambers, in the middle of the season. Then the unexpected happened and their star running back, Ronnie Brown, goes down with a season-ending injury and now they’ve lost a player who actually led the whole team in receptions. Now the team is left with WRs Ted Ginn Jr. and Marty Booker. Booker’s time is coming to an end, and to be honest was never really there to begin with. Marty has really only had two good seasons and they were ages ago. The supposed future of Miami’s receivers, Ted Ginn Jr., has explosive speed but not much else. It’s time for the Dolphins to take a page from the Millen book of draft strategy and grab a couple of talented wideouts in ’08.

Baltimore Ravens – Quarterback
Steve McNair looks twice as old as he did in 2005 when he was named to the Pro Bowl. His replacement, Kyle Boller, is considerably younger but not much better. He averages a touchdown every 30 pass attempts, and an interception for every touchdown. With RB Willis McGahee in the backfield and an aging but still impressive defense on the other side of the ball, all that’s missing is a solid and dependable quarterback. You could hear the frustration in LB Ray Lewis’ voice after Baltimore got destroyed on Monday night. He knows his side of the ball can hold up their end, and that you can’t repeat a 13-3 season while showcasing the 28^th ranked scoring offense in the league. Baltimore needs to scrap their entire quarterbacking corps during the offseason and acquire a dependable QB that can quickly take over this team before age gets the best of them.

San Francisco – A Playmaker
No one on this team has more than three touchdowns. The biggest play they have had this year was a 47 yard pass to WR Ashley Lelie. It wasn’t even for a touchdown. I’d rather watch C-SPAN than this team, they couldn’t be more boring if they tried. They have yet to reach 21 points this year and have scored 10 or less four times. RB Frank Gore came into this season with high expectations and has failed them on all counts. His single-game high for the season is 88 yards and has not found the endzone since Week 2. I don’t need to write anything comical or witty to accompany this. Their performance is amusing enough. It’s time for something or someone to spark this offense.

Green Bay Packers – Running back
It’s quite sad to see the great QB that is Brett Favre have next to no chance to win the Super Bowl at 8-1. Not only is this the year of New England, but Green Bay won’t go far into the playoffs with the worst ground attack in the league, especially with rising NFC teams such as the Cowboys and Giants. When the immortal Brett Favre finally decides to leave this league, the Packers will be reduced to depending on unproven backup QB Aaron Rodgers. That date can’t be too far away, so the Pack has a brief window to snag a franchise quality RB and become a Super Bowl contender.

New England Patriots – Class, Dignity, Gamesmanship
Reading this title, you probably figured this team to be as far off of this list as possible. They’re basically perfect right? Well, from a purely football standpoint, yes. This is the best team to have played this game to date and probably will hold that title for many years to come. Unfortunately however, they have yet to become a great team. What makes a great team that they are missing? First of all, there is Spygate. I’m sure there are many other teams that have done this, something similar, or something worse, but the fact of the matter is that they got caught. The saying “Don’t regret doing things, regret getting caught,” comes to mind and I think that’s exactly what the mastermind Bill Belichick regrets, getting caught. Unfortunately for them they’ve reacted in entirely the wrong way. Bill has removed all personality from the organization. The players’ press conferences all sound like machines, programmed for Super Bowl victory and world domination. Even Randy Moss is shutting up. They’ve also taken their shame to the field, punishing inferior opponents with disgraceful running-up-the-score tactics. When people think of “great” teams they think of personality, honesty, integrity and a show of respect to their opponents. The Pats lack all of these.