It's Official

It’s official: I have an extra week to dwell over the excruciating uncertainty of the Carson Palmer reclamation project, even though I was pessimistic as ever when the trade had initially consummated. Top that off with Darren McFadden and Sebastian Janikowski’s injuries, and I’m a nervous wreck as a football fan. Good thing other aspects of sports have become official enough to marvel over.
It’s official: Calvin Johnson is the best wide receiver in the NFL. Step aside, Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, you’ve been replaced by the most freakish talent at a skill position since Randy Moss. His dominance as a goal line target is utterly unstoppable, his hands are impeccable, his speed is exceptional and his route running is egregiously overlooked. He can run slant routes with the best of them and is deadly after the catch. He gets doubled and sometimes even triple-covered every game, but it doesn’t seem to matter at all. He can beat cornerbacks off the line and beat them deep. There’s nothing Calvin Johnson can’t do as a receiver. Remember when he was on pace to score 24 touchdowns after the first four weeks? He’s still on that pace through seven games. I can watch this every day for the remainder of my existence and say I lived a bountiful life. Megatron will be fighting with Aaron Rodgers for MVP honors this season, and he might just win it.

It’s official: Matt Forte is an elite NFL running back. It does help that he’s become somewhat like the reincarnation of Marshall Faulk under Mike Martz’ offense, but Forte is completely taking advantage of it. Jay Cutler isn’t responsible for even half of the offense because Forte has been so good as both a runner and a pass-catcher. He’s more than just the identity of the offense – he’s the overpowering strength of the whole team. He’s averaging over five yards per carry and 11 yards per catch. Without Matt Forte, the Bears aren’t even close to playoff-caliber.

It’s official: Tim Tebow is who we should think he is. Tim Tebow has been talked about so much that it should be no surprise as to what he’s comprised of as an NFL football player. He’s an overall great athlete with unusual throwing mechanics, will never attain the abilities to throw over 250 yards per game on a constant basis, but is a phenomenal leader and does what he can to lead his team to a victory. So we can stop talking about him now, even though that’s never going to happen. Love or hate Tim Tebow, we all know what his make-up is by now. He gives the Broncos the best chance to win every game, so who cares what it looks like? With Tebow, the value is in the result, not the process.

It’s official: Cam Newton is for real. I know I may have mentioned him once or twice already this year, but I don’t think I’ll stop mentioning him all season. The inevitable NFL Rookie of the Year is zipping the ball down the field and using his legs with uncanny poise. He’s one of the five most exciting players in the NFL right now (along with Megatron, Mike Vick, Run DMC and Adrian Peterson), and he’s turned the Panthers into the friskiest team in the NFL. A rookie quarterback hasn’t single-handedly formed a team’s identity with such immediacy since Peyton Manning. That’s something. The more he performs his trademark touchdown celebration, the more I begin to think he really is Superman.

It’s official: The San Francisco 49ers are a damn good football team. Their last victory came in a defensive battle against the Lions two weeks ago (The Lions have slid since then, but are still a good team nonetheless), and they now find themselves at 5-1 after their bye week. They’re basically locked in at the top of the NFC West for the rest of the season, and a home playoff game against the Lions is virtually inevitable (and is a tasty prospect). Jim Harbaugh has done an outstanding job in bringing in a new culture and disposition to a team with nearly the same exact players as last season. Moreover, the Niners follow the Championship Philosophy more extensively than any other team in the NFL. They’re currently sixth in total rushing yards and second in rushing yards allowed. Patrick Willis and Frank Gore are the anchors and undisputed leaders. For the first time in nearly a decade, the 49ers exude an admirable sense of direction.

It’s official: Hue Jackson is on the verge of having everything blow up in his face. Since Al Davis’ death, Hue’s mission has been to carry out Davis’ legacy. He never said he wanted to take Davis’ position and hasn’t been doing that, but he obviously wanted the culture of the franchise to remain intact. He’s done an amazing job of that and there’s no question that he’s a brilliant offensive mind. However, he does embrace the media a little too much, even for someone who’s a visible entity of the Oakland Raiders.
Once he dubbed the Carson Palmer deal “the greatest trade in the NFL,” things started to crumble a little bit. His bravado and candidness have been admirable since he was anointed the head coaching position, but now that he’s put all his stock into a season by pulling a guy out of retirement for a high price while undercutting Jason Campbell in the process, he’s on the verge of looking foolish. Jason Whitlock is already calling him “Hue-bris” Jackson, which is amusing if you know what “hubris” means. But it’s still too early for that type of classification. It hasn’t happened yet, but if the Raiders come off the bye with a healthy McFadden, yet Palmer picks up where he left off, Oakland could potentially lose three straight division games. If that happens, the exciting expectations this team laid the groundwork for in the first six games will vanish. Jackson says that when the Raiders lose it’s never the fault of the players; he always insists that the blame is on him. If the Raiders indeed free-fall the rest of the season, he’ll get his wish.

It’s official: The Chargers are still the Chargers. As long as Norv Turner is their head coach, they’ll continue to commit horrible turnovers at the absolute worst possible times and beat themselves in the fourth quarter. And I’ll continue to love watching Philip Rivers argue with Turner on the sidelines.

It’s official: We’ll forget the Steelers were ever a mess if they win the next two games. If they beat the Patriots and Ravens consecutively and reach a 7-2 record, will anybody remember how terrible they looked after the first four weeks? Not at all.

It’s official: Andrew Luck will either be a Dolphin or a Colt next season. The Rams have already invested in a franchise quarterback, Tim Tebow is going to get Denver enough wins to stay out of the bottom three, and Christian Ponder seemed competent in his first career start for the Vikings last week. I’m going with the Dolphins because of a daunting stretch to end the season. Has Tony Sparano been fired yet?

It’s official: Sports are really weird right now. Classic Terrell Owens montages and clips of Theo Epstein giving speeches like a newly appointed president? I guess it all came at a respectable time. Happy early Halloween, everybody! At least we have a mesmerizing World Series to keep us on track.