The NFL preaches parity.
The goal is that all teams will finish close to 8-8 so every team is in playoff contention until, well basically the playoffs, when they find out they are not. So after week eight, how does parity stand? Well for starters we have two undefeated teams at 7-0 and 8-0. Conversely, two teams are 0-fers at 0-8. In a way, this is parity. Two undefeated teams, two totally defeated teams.

I'm not sure this is exactly what the NFL had in mind as far as parity went. Even so, the disparity in parity creates a fantastic week nine for the fans, unless of course your regionally broadcast home team game supercedes the two undefeateds going at it so you get to watch, well basically your home team instead. Even so, thank you for stars-in-the-sky for aligning just so and bringing us the New England Patriots vs. the Indianapolis Colts to find out which of the undefeateds will stay as such!!

As a football fan, how can you not want to see this game!!! Then, after seeing this game, will the rest of the season be somewhat anti-climatic until these two heavyweights meet again somewhere in the future prior to the Super Bowl because they happen to both be AFC teams? I may have to buy a new couch for this game. Something substantial should really mark the eve of this game, and since I am a coach from the couch, what fonder memory of a piece of furniture can you have than your first spilled your beer on it during an undefeated contest!!

Well enough speculation. Let's review how we got to this point. The Washington Redskins cruised into the week eight show down with New England with a bit of a swagger. They'd been playing good ball to date and probably thought they could give the Patriots a bit of a game, maybe even spoil the undefeated match up. NO SUCH LUCK!! They get blown out 52-7. They go home completely humiliated, all previously mentioned swagger gone. The Pats, in the meantime, start watching film of Peyton Manning and dream of him lying in a field on his back with them piled on top.

Carolina , another team thinking their collective 2007-2008 football fortunes have changed, watch Peyton Manning and Co. score at will in a similar, yet not as overblown score of 31-7. Both the Panthers and Redskins lick their wounds and leave week eight at 4-3. Both the Patriots and Colts leave week eight with a goose egg in the loss column. Who will prevail? For what its worth, Indianapolis sports home field advantage.

So, what happened with the totally defeateds? Miami went to England , the country on a working vacation hoping to get off the snide against the New York Giants. The Giants, on a five game winning streak, were hoping Miami would be just the ticket they were looking for after European jet lag syndrome set in. They were. In a contest not bloody likely to convert English fans to the NFL, the Giants make it six in a row and move to 6-2. Meanwhile Miami remains 0-fer at 0-8. The other 0-fer, the St. Louis Rams, guaranteed a victory at home against the Cleveland Browns. After opening the game with a 14-0 lead, it appeared St. Louis the saint was on the side of St. Louis the team. BUT, St. Brown, if there is such a guy, woke up from his slumber to help the Cleveland Browns pull another one out of the bag. They win 27-20. The Browns are 4-3. Woohoo!! The Rams guarantee meets doodly squat, and they remain 0-fer as well at 0-8. FYI, no NFL team has ever gone 0-fer an entire season and this year we have two possible candidates, although I'm pretty sure this won't keep people up at night in anticipation.

Best Game of the Week - One could argue that the best game of the week was their own team winning. I'll give you that one, but the real best game of the week was the Jags and the Bucs. In a battle of teams from a state the commonly gets wiped out by hurricanes, Jacksonville scores a fourth quarter touchdown and wins by one 24-23. They bounce back from the thrashing they took at the hands of Indy last week and up their record to 5-2 while Tampa Bay drops to 4-4. One could also argue the best game of the week was the Green Bay Packers vs. the Denver Broncos, and it actually was quite a spirited Monday Night contest. Too bad most of the scoring happened early and then boredom ensued during the sleepy period of the game; otherwise you would have stayed awake for an overtime victory going in the Packers favor. Ageless Brett Favre wins again, his wife discusses watching him get plastered on the field week after week, and Monday Night Football announcers ask her stupid question after stupid question while football is played in the background. Final tally? Pack 19-13 over Denver . The kind of bad Broncos showed up this week. John Elway would have turned over in his grave had he been dead and in a grave that he could turn over in. Probably he just turned off the TV.

And on Blowout Boulevard - The Man-we-suck Chargers inched their way back into contention and come close to shedding the Man-we-suck label by stomping the Texans 35-10. Weren't the Texans good just about three or four weeks ago? The Chargers are riding the UP elevator at 4-3, while the Texans are heading toward the basement at 2-5.

The Saints boarded the same elevator as the Chargers and win 31-10 over the 49ers. Chargers move to 4-3. 49ers? Headed for a record the same as their name, now sitting at 2-5. The only thing holding them out of the basement is the St. Louis Rams.

Close games that really, in the grand scheme of things were not that interesting - The Lions beat the Bears, OH MY!! And are sitting pretty at 5-2. The Bears drop to 3-5 on the 16-7 loss. Despite Matt Millen being the worst GM this side of Isaiah Thomas, the Lions keep on winning. John Kitna, soothsayer extraordinaire, feel free to say "I told ya!!" Bills beat the J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS 13-3 in a contest that means both teams still stink, but on a stink scale of apple pie to skunk, the Bills are the apple pie, and the Jets are the skunk. Jets are 1-7; Bills are a sneaky 3-4.

Close games that were kinda interesting - The Titans of Tennessee beat the Raiders that were probably predicted to win, 13-9. Just from reading the score you basically can discern the excitement of the game. The Titans are 5-2, the Raiders just the opposite at 2-5. I'm pretty sure the Raiders will win next week though. Just ask any expert!! The AFC central leading Steelers beat fellow central team the Cincinnati Bengals and pull of the 5-2 record vs. 2-5 record of the Bengals again. Yet another example of disparity in parity, yet somewhat parity like in that two games yielded 5-2 and 2-5 teams.

Games that are left - That leaves the Eagles / Vikings game as the final game of discussion. Back in the day, Eagles / Vikes would have been a must see. This year? Not so much. Eagles win 23-16 making them 3-4 while Minnesota is an awful 2-5. SO, time to go couch shopping. See you next week from the new couch, or more than likely, this same one.