After several weeks of play, the 2009 NFL season is starting to take shape with a few surprise teams at the top—and at the bottom—of the standings.

Without further ado, here’s a look at each of the divisions through Week 4:

NFC North

The addition of Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings was arguably the biggest news heading into the season. Playing alongside standout running back Adrian Peterson, Favre has not only produced headlines, but also wins an epic Monday night performance against his former team—and division foe—the Green Bay Packers.

The Chicago Bears also acquired a big-time quarterback in Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. After struggling mightily in the first game of the season, Cutler has the Bears firing on all cylinders and looking to challenge the Vikings for the NFC North title. And after a 19-game skid, the Detroit Lions finally recorded a victory when they beat Washington in Week three.

NFC East

Aided by a consistent offense and a solid defense, the New York Giants (4-0) lead the pack in this perennial powerhouse division and are regarded by many as the best team in the league. In second place, the Philadelphia Eagles—despite losing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb in the first game of the season—are 2-1, while Dallas (2-2) and Washington (2-2) round out the division.

NFC South

One of the biggest surprises of the year is the New Orleans Saints. An offensive juggernaut heading into the season, the Saints beefed up their defense with additions like veteran safety Darren Sharper and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. With second-year signal caller Matt Ryan at the helm, the Atlanta Falcons are perched at 2-1. The two bottom feeders in the division are Carolina and hapless Tampa Bay.

NFC West

Barring an unbelievable, last-second play by Favre, the San Francisco 49ers would be listed among the unbeatens. If running back Frank Gore can remain healthy, the Niners will be the favorites to win this cream puff division that includes Arizona, Seattle, and St. Louis.

AFC North

The Baltimore Ravens and the surprising Cincinnati Bengals sit on top of this division. The Pittsburgh Steelers—last year’s Super Bowl winners—have struggled out of the gate at 2-2. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns are—well, the Cleveland Browns are 0-4.

AFC East

Tom Brady is back from injury to lead the New England Patriots while rookie Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets has been turning heads. Miami and Buffalo sit at the bottom.

AFC South

Peyton Manning has the Indianapolis Colts sitting pretty at 4-0 while Jacksonville and Houston each hover at 2-2. Last year’s division winners—the Tennessee Titans—have inexplicably fallen to the bottom at 0-4.

AFC West

Despite all the offseason drama that swirled around them, the Denver Broncos are undefeated and have silenced the critics of first-year head coach Josh McDaniels. The San Diego Chargers—division winners for the past three years—are 2-2, while Oakland and Kansas City take their usual spots near the bottom.

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Niners, Crabtree come to terms

Former Texas Tech star and current 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree has finally signed a contract with his pro team after an extended holdout. Crabtree signed a six-year deal worth upwards of $32 million which could become $40 million if the receiver plays up to his potential. In his  sophomore season at Texas Tech, Crabtree caught 97 passes for 1,165 yards.

Edwards headed to New York

One team’s season is in shambles while the other only needs a few missing pieces to become one of the NFL’s elites. The Cleveland Browns made a deal with the New York Jets that will send receiver Braylon Edwards to New York for two players and a couple of draft picks. Edwards, who was recently accused of punching a friend of LeBron James outside a Cleveland nightclub, has had his share of dropped passes and off-the-field issues. However, he may provide the Jets with the deep threat they need to make the playoffs.

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An uneasy silence fills the air on Saturday afternoons on campus at UVU—a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of a normal school day. There are few cars to be seen in the parking lot, no tailgating students eagerly awaiting a big game, and definitely no cheering crowd to be heard faintly in the distance.

At most world-class universities across the country, college football provides and sustains the spirit of the students, the publicity of the school and the funding for its athletics programs. Without football—these things are forgotten.

It’s no wonder that on any given day on campus you can walk through the halls and pick out a number of students sporting BYU football apparel. There is no cohesion or school pride at UVU. As soon as Saturday rolls around, UVU green finds itself in the bottom of the dirty-clothes hamper and is replaced by BYU blue or U of U red.
There are definite challenges to be faced if UVU is to ever add a football program. Although it would take time and funding, the long-term investment could be extremely beneficial to the university.

Imagine a day when UVU students are proud to be Wolverines and school spirit extends into the stadium and onto the gridiron. When navy blue BYU shirts and red U of U hats are non-existent on campus, and UVU can build an identity of its own.

I’ve only seen this school spirit manifest itself once. Last December, when USU, along with the majority of its student body, made its way down to the McKay Center to take on Ryan Toolson and the gang in men’s basketball, the arena was filled to capacity. The MAWL actually took up an entire section and the students were proud to be wearing UVU green. There was, for the first time, a legitimate sense of pride among the students.

Unfortunately, this has happened just once. On any given day, at any UVU sporting event, the opposing team can hear the coaches game plan in its fullness as their voice raises above the silence of the home crowd. This doesn’t have to be the case. A football team, something for the students to emotionally invest in, would actually make this schools university status complete. It would bring students together and instill in them an enormous amount of pride.

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Ai Mitton/UVU Review

“Seriously? They really want to have a football team here?” was my initial response when someone pointed out to me the possibility of such a thing occurring. I was frankly amazed. Of course, you’re about to get an earful from me about why such an idea is…well I’ll be kind and just say bad.

It’s easy to recognize that in becoming a university we will want to have all the things that come with large and well known schools – prestige, graduate programs, pomp, circumstance, and yes, a myriad of student sports teams including football. It’s easy now that we are a university to make the same mistake as the new doctor who buys a Ferrari the day he graduates from medical school, before he even makes his first paycheck. We must maintain, however, and realize that there are many things ahead of football on the proverbial list.

Our role has never been to be the prestigious institution whose name alone gets you into grad school.  To be sure, you can get a top-notch education here (I’m enrolled after all), but we are the people’s school, so to speak. We have and should continue to serve the community by providing a cheap education to anyone who would come and sign up.

How does football serve this purpose? It may be that a football team is a symbol for the community and the student body to rally around. With a sports team that draws those connected or potentially connected to this school, we can tighten bonds and therefore benefit the school, and receive some much-needed attention. School spirit; bonding; all nice things.

It is not clear how this helps students to get a better education though. Football teams are expensive operations. Contrary to popular belief, they are not money makers. A football team here will be nothing but tremendous drain on every other program.

Student fees already contribute huge sums of money to athletics, and a million-dollar sports team would not lessen that burden. Only the biggest and most well-known college teams ever turn a profit from their teams, and that requires nationwide exposure, news coverage, and a fan base that we can never hope to have. Expecting this is an illusion at best.

Of course, anyone in favor of a football team would have to realize all this. The fact remains that we have a clear role to fill, a clear history of collegiate service to Utah
Valley to which a football team (dare I say the entire sports program) simply does not contribute.

Just ask yourselves these questions: How many scholarships could be offered with the amount of money necessary for football? How many students could be sent to conferences to represent our school? How many much-needed rooms could be added to the halls? Unless we are willing to loose all of these things and more, we cannot consider establishing a team.

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