E-Mail This Article to a Friend The NFL at the halfway point BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Through the midpoint of the 16-game NFL slate for 2004-’05, it has become obvious that there are just two elite teams in the league as it presently stands. Not surprisingly, they share the best record, as well as the same conference.

I don’t think it’s a case of provincialism or bias for me to state that the New England Patriots are one of those two teams. At 7-1 and with games already won against the likes of the 4-3 Colts, the 6-2 Jets, the 5-3 Seahawks, and the 4-4 Rams — and with few tough tests remaining (road contests at KC and the NYJ, along with a home game with the Ravens) — the Pats are likely to rack up at least 11 wins, and that should be enough for a post-season berth.

The other premier team at this point is, surprisingly, Pittsburgh — a team that went just 6-10 last season and was forced in just the second game of the season to insert a rookie quarterback into the starting line-up. That greenhorn, Ben Roethlisberger, wasn’t even from a top Division I program, but instead built his first-round-draft-pick status at the University of Miami. No, not that one, but the one in Ohio. Since replacing Tommy Maddox in the Steelers’ second game, the 23-year-old signal-caller has started and led Pittsburgh to six straight victories, including impressive wins over Dallas and then-unbeatens New England and Philadelphia.

Now, of course, one might say, "Hey, speaking of the Eagles: they’re 7-1, too; why aren’t they mentioned as one of your ‘elite’ teams?" Well, if you’re a 7-0 team and come into a venue where the home team (in this case the Steelers) is bound for a bit of a letdown (after breaking the Pats’ 21-game win streak), I think that squad should put up a little better showing than it did in a 27-3 shellacking at Heinz Field. Add to that the fact that the Eagles haven’t really been tested otherwise (home wins against the Giants, Vikings, and Ravens mark the "iron" of their schedule to this point) — and that the Terrell Owens chemistry factor may be rearing its ugly head after Sunday’s loss — and you have a team that may indeed be the best the NFC has to offer. But that’s not saying much.

So we’ve got two AFC powerhouses at 7-1, and they have already played each other. Still, the Steelers must admit that their emotional victory was notched against an injury-riddled New England team that was missing its star running back from the outset and its $10 million cornerback (plus numerous others) to injury for the bulk of the contest. We’ll see how those two fare against each other should they earn themselves a playoff match-up.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at the mediocrity that pervades the rest of the league.

In the AFC East, the Patriots have a one-game lead, but that’s only because the Jets suffered a stunning loss at Buffalo (then 2-5) on Sunday to fall back to 6-2. New York to this point has also benefited from an easy schedule (although in retrospect its six-point win at San Diego in week two seems impressive). Let’s see how the Jets do when they face the likes of the Ravens, Steelers, Pats (again), Texans, Rams, and Seahawks in their brutal second half. Buffalo? The Bills have rebounded from a 1-5 start to post a modest two-game win streak, but the upcoming weeks will see Drew & Co. meet the Patriots, Rams, and Seahawks. That will provide the true test as to whether first-year coach Mike Mularkey’s team has indeed turned things around. Not likely. Miami’s only win was a lopsided home victory against the Rams, but otherwise coach Dave Wannstedt’s group is just playing out the string now, and they’ll be lucky to collect more than three wins overall. Miami’s proud defense is fifth-ranked in the AFC, but the Jay Fiedler–led offense is just 15th out of 16, and therein lies the problem.

In the North, we already discussed Pittsburgh. Bill Cowher’s coalition is in the catbird seat, with only a road game in Jacksonville on December 5 posing a remote threat to its top-seed spot in the AFC. Roethlisberger’s numbers at the helm haven’t been awe-inspiring, but he’s getting the job done, and the NFL’s second-ranked defense has mopped up after him. That’s why they’re a force to be reckoned with all the way until early February — especially if they secure the home-field advantage throughout the post-season. Baltimore (5-3) is woefully inconsistent, and despite its 30-13 thrashing of the Maddox-led Steelers in week two, the Ravens have yet to show that they can contend on a weekly basis. After all, Baltimore’s only other victories have been at the expense of Cleveland, Cincy, Buffalo, and Washington, and it’s lost to the 3-5 Browns and Chiefs along the way. Speaking of the Ohio teams, both squads had high hopes entering the 2004 campaign, but lackluster defenses have stymied both teams’ efforts to reach .500.

Jacksonville at 5-3 leads the remarkably mediocre AFC South, where Indy is just 4-3 heading into its Monday-night shoot-out with the Vikes, and Houston (4-4) and Tennessee (3-5) have also yet to showcase any kind of meaningful defense — the kind that lands playoff berths. The Jags won their first three games and survived a brutal first half to rest atop the division, but upcoming games against the Steelers, Vikings, and Packers are critical to the team’s hopes for its first playoff spot in five years. The Colts had lost two straight heading into the Vikings’ tilt, but the rest of the schedule is free and clear for the Horseshoes — at least until they wrap up the campaign against the equally explosive Chargers offense and the always-tough Broncos at Mile High. Houston, at 4-4, is not bad for a third-year team, but injuries and free-agent defections have likely KO’d the Titans’ chances for a winning season.

In the West, Denver’s where it should be at 6-3, although the Broncs have some ’splainin’ to do regarding their back-to-back losses to Cincy and Atlanta. Still, the real story in the division is the resurgence of Drew Brees and the Chargers, who at 6-3 already have more wins than three of the last four Bolts teams have posted for an entire season. On the flip side, the Chiefs (3-5) have been busts thus far, with losses to Houston, Carolina (the Panthers’ only win to this point), and Sunday’s debacle in Tampa. KC’s season will likely sink or swim depending on its week-11 face-off with the defending champs at Arrowhead. Oakland heads into the bye week with a 3-6 record, and despite Sunday’s victory in Charlotte, ought to stay on hiatus.

Over in the NFC East, we’ve mentioned the Eagles, but don’t write off the Giants just yet despite their ridiculous home loss to the 3-5 Bears on Sunday. Coupled with a week-seven loss at home to Detroit, New York should be demoralized, but it’s also captured some big wins, and the rest of the slate isn’t too imposing. You’ve got to like the Giants’ chances more than those of Bill Parcells’s Cowpokes, who have fallen to 3-5 despite a 2003 playoff berth and a supposedly ferocious D. Hah! Dallas hasn’t given up fewer than 20 points since week three, and it still has to play the Eagles twice more. Off into the sunset anon rides the Tuna, methinks. The Redskins at 3-5 are also irrelevant in this discussion.

In the middling North, the Vikings at 5-2 are just a game ahead of the Lions and Packers, and two ahead of the dreadfully unpredictable Bears. If wideout Randy Moss misses significant time, Minnesota will be lucky to hang onto the division crown. Either way, the playoff representative from the North will likely get smoked in the first round.

Atlanta’s 6-2 in the NFC South, and that’s good enough for a three-game advantage already. New Orleans? Stinks. Tampa Bay? Blows. Carolina? The NFC representative in the 2004 Super Bowl is 1-7 and improbably headed for oblivion despite last season’s Cinderella season. That leaves the Falcons, and since the second half of their schedule is as creampuff as the first, they should win the division handily — before also reaching a playoff dead-end early on.

Which leaves the West, where media darling (and Super Bowl hopeful) Seattle hasn’t been the same since its late-game choke against the Rams in week five (blowing second-half leads of 24-7 and 27-10). Since then, the Hawks have lost at New England (no shame there) and Arizona (plenty o’ disgrace there), and have beaten only the woeful Panthers and 49ers since. Still, the Seahawks have the NFC’s fourth-ranked offense and the third-ranked D, so they should hang around and perhaps even land a first-round bye. The Rams were exposed for what they are on Sunday against New England, and surrendering 40 points at home to any team when you’re coming off a bye week is unacceptable. The Rams are frauds again. If you have any doubt, let’s see how they deal with Seattle this week, four road games in the next five weeks, followed by season-enders against the Eagles and Jets. The Cardinals (3-5) and 49ers (1-7) are also in this division, and that’s about the best we can say.

Too close to call who will reach the post-season at this point, but I think we can safely say that the Pats and Steelers are in from the AFC (with Jax and/or Indy sneaking in from the South), with Denver and San Diego left to fight it out for West supremacy. The Jets could emerge if they survive the difficult second-half stretch, but they’re a bit of a long shot. In the NFC, Philly’s in, barring a second-half collapse, as should be Minnesota, Atlanta, and Seattle, with one wild card going to the Giants and the other given out (while holding one’s nose) to either the Rams, Packers, or Lions.

We’ll leave you on this note: the top eight AFC teams are 12-3 versus NFC teams; the top eight NFC teams are just 8-7 against the AFC.

That’s but one reason why you’ll see another AFC rep crowned Super Bowl champ in Jacksonville on February 6. Just who that will be remains to be seen.

"Sporting Eye" runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com