Parity makes NFL unique

One-third of the way through the NFL season (give or take), guess how many division winners from 2002 are in first place.
None. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
If the NFL season ended today, none of the eight teams that was home for the first playoff game in January would open in front of the hometown fans.
NFL, thy name is parity. Turnarounds abound like no other league or sport.
It's all because of the salary cap and free agency that offer hope to even the worst of teams (well, maybe not the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals, but everyone else).
Sluggish
Nothing has been decided and most of the division winners still have a shot at repeating. But some are off to miserable starts.
The New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers qualify as the league's major disappointments.
The Jets (1-4) started with the same record last fall before taking off and winning the AFC East on the final day of the season. This season, however, quarterback Chad Pennington has a broken bone on his throwing wrist.
The Raiders (2-4) have the deepest ditch to climb out of because the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs are 6-0 and soaring. And if the Chiefs win Monday night in The Black Hole, the defending AFC champions can probably kiss the wild-card race good-bye.
Thanks to their open week, the Steelers (2-4) don't have to worry about dropping their fourth-straight game this Sunday. Instead, they have an extra week to try and get their act together to salvage the season.
Still, Pittsburgh trails the Baltimore Ravens (3-2) by just a game-and-a-half, so it's not an insurmountable lead. Problem is, the Steelers return to face the St. Louis Rams (3-2) at Heinz Field on Oct. 26 at 1 p.m., then travel west to Seattle to play the first-place Seahawks (4-1) on Nov. 2. A 2-6 record is not inconceivable.
Then again, the Steelers play in the AFC North, the league's weakest division this year. As absurd as it sounds, an 8-8 record could win the division and earn a home playoff game.
Of the Steelers' final eight opponents, only one (the Ravens) has a winning record.
Regarding Maddox
The best decision the Steelers made in 2003 was not upgrading quarterback Tommy Maddox's contract to superstar status. It's not all Maddox's fault that the Steelers were blown out at home by the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns. Protection by the offensive live has been non-existent and Amos Zereoue is proving he's nobody's idea of a No. 1 running back.
And the Steelers defense has done little in generating timely takeaways that can cover up an offense's glaring weaknesses.
But Maddox has shown none of the magic that made him the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2002.
The Niners (2-4) have lost three games by a combined five points. Talent-wise, the Niners are loaded with decent players at so many positions.
But many of them are beaten up. In addition to the back injury he suffered before training camp, quarterback Jeff Garcia is believed to be nursing three other ailments.
Close behind
On the flipside, the Tennessee Titans (4-2) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) are the best of the other four division winners. The Titans trail the Indianapolis Colts (5-1) by a game, while the Bucs are two behind the Carolina Panthers (5-0).
The Green Bay Packers (3-3) trail the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) by 21/2 games, while the Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) are two behind the Dallas Cowboys.
Those four teams should be breathing down their competition's necks by Thanksgiving. The other four need immediate winning streaks.
As for last year's wild cards, the AFC's Colts and Cleveland Browns (3-3) are contenders, while the NFC's Atlanta Falcons (1-5) aren't. The New York Giants (2-3) are somewhere in between.
XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write to him at williams@vindy.com.