This season has been particularly entertaining. Some teams have surged out of the depths of disparity,  others took a one way ticket to the cellar and for better or worse other teams stayed consistently good or bad. So called franchise players changed residences via trades and free agency and one notable prima donna came out of retirement again. Below are a few of the stories that stood out and I’m shaking my head in astonishment that they even happened.

Let’s start with Brett Favre. Depending where you stand you either love or hate him. I’m on the side that cringes every time he’s a segment on SportsCenter. In a word he’s drama. He’s retired, he’s unretired, he says he’s all about the team, but doesn’t show up for mini camp. It seems as long as it’s going Favre’s way he’s okay, but if it doesn’t he’s a bitch. Take his latest episode where Childress almost benched Favre due to Favre’s inability to stick with the game plan. Don’t look now Vikings fan, but your season is imploding right in front of you. Favre’s has lost 2 of the last 3 games and in those games he’s thrown 3 TD’s, 4 INT’s and his passer rating has averaged 75.4. OUCH, must suck to be 40 years old and have large, strong, angry men trying to end your career. This story is going to end either very badly or legendary for Favre, I’m going with badly. Season finale coming soon.

On the other end of the spectrum you have Peyton Manning leading the Colts through an undefeated season. He’s also leading the league in passing yards with 4213 yards and tied with Drew Brees with 33 TD’s. The thing about Peyton is he’s doing with no names and replacements. After losing his favorite target, Marvin Harrison, in the off season and heir Anthony Gonzalez went down with an injury Peyton has  thrown TD’s to 5 different receives named Collie, Garcon, Wayne, Clark and Addai. Scoreboard, he’s just knocking it out again.

Then you have the Chicago Bears and Jay Cutler. Cutler pretty much gave the Broncos and the their new head coach, Josh McDaniels the finger and said trade me or else. DaBears ponied up the future and made the trade. It’s too early to judge the trade right now and give a final grade, but it looks like Denver made out like bandits with all those draft picks. Cutler leads the NFL in INT’s with 25, his passer rating for the season is 71.1 and all his bad decisions has fans and a franchise wondering what in store for their team.

The Denver Broncos started 6-0 and were everyone’s bandwagon team. Josh McDaniels looked like a genius and the next prodigy, but they followed up the hot streak by losing 6 of the next 8. They reminded me of the US Olympic relay team and how they came out fast, lead the pack and then dropped the baton. Things are back to normal in the AFC West and the Broncos are once again looking up at the San Diego Chargers. Although the season may not be a success, I think the Cutler trade will pay off in the end.

The Steelers are another team that has fallen flat on their face. Last year’s Superbowl champs are anything but this year. Once they lost Troy Polamalu, everything went down hill from there. Not only are they going to miss the playoffs, but they look old and Mike Tomlin looks confused. The injuries and lack of depth finally caught up to the Steelers. Could be a while before the Steelers are back on top in their division and the AFC.

Love, the fracking Cincinnati Bengals. Nobody even gave them consideration this year, including me. Even after they kept beating people, everyone kept thinking they would go back to their old ways sooner or later. Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson are back with a vengeance and even Larry Johnson found some life too. Not only are they on top of the division, but they beat they swept their division and didn’t lose one game to the Browns, Ravens or Steelers. The Bengals are also overcoming adversity too. First defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer’s wife dies and then a few weeks later wide receiver Chris Henry died too. It’s good to see the Bengals have some success, I just wish someone would go retro and do the Ickey Shuffle after a TD, C’mon Chad do the dance and pay the fine.

I’m shocked at how many people are Saints fans. The bags are off the head and it’s Mardi Gras 24 / 7 down in New Orleans. After all the years of losing seasons and the devastation Katrina brought a few years back, I’m happy for New Orleans. I’m kind of glad they lost, so the pressure is off and they can just play football and not worry about being perfect. I think they will make a run and win it all this year and I couldn’t be happier their organization and owner Tom Benson.