The struggle to watch the NFL

Published 10:58 am Tuesday, December 8, 2015

This NFL season hasn’t been any good and borders on mediocre. For the life of me I can’t think of any team that is actually good, other than the Carolina Panthers.

Now I’m not a Panthers fan by any stretch of the name, but I’ve enjoyed watching Cam Newton since his days at Auburn and am glad to see him come into his prime.

In 13 weeks, Newton has been the better passer of his opponents seven times averaging almost eight yards a pass. He’s also thrown 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and has done what he’s done since college, which is prove he can score with his feel with seven rushing touchdowns.

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There are four teams with 10-2 records and only one of them I have faith in during the postseason.

Tyrann Mathieu looks to be the aggressive and agitating player on defense he proved to be at LSU while silencing critics along the way.

His fellow Bengal Tiger Patrick Peterson and former Oklahoma Sooner Tony Jefferson each have had a hand in securing a win for the Arizona Cardinals and the resurgence of Larry Fitzgerald has made them, to me, a threat to the Panthers, if they were to meet in the playoffs.

Too bad these teams play in the same conference, otherwise they’d make for an exciting matchup for Super Bowl 50.

Glancing over the AFC, the Patriots seem to lose a player every Sunday and the Bengals haven’t really done anything worthy of remembering. The Broncos are starting to get traction without Peyton but every football fan knows he’s not going to sit the rest of the season.

Can a 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck lead the Colts deep into the playoffs and to Santa Clara, Calif? I’m not holding my breath on it.

The parity of the rest of the NFL is what makes this season so boring to watch.

Teams who normally are poised to make a run in the postseason — the Packers, Falcons, Seahawks, Saints, Steelers and Colts — as of Dec. 8, look to be no different then the Eagles, Buccaneers and Chiefs.

Injuries have played a prominent role in the season being as mediocre as it has been and I would be singing a different tune for teams who were healthy.

A healthy and mature Tony Romo with an unstoppable Dez Bryant, in addition to a troubled yet brick wall of a defense, would’ve made the Cowboys a clear choice to head to the Super Bowl.

But they would’ve had to run into a team with a quarterback with an amazing arm, a young running back, an equally unstoppable receiver and a good defense up in Wisconsin.

I don’t know who’s good or bad and I’ve prepared myself to not be surprised at whoever makes it to the most iconic Super Bowl ever. In a silent protest, I’ve gone one Sunday without watching games and another Monday without the prime time night game.

Alex Swatson is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at alex.swatson@vicksburgpost.com.