we are starting to learn which teams across the NFC are capable of contending and

With seven weeks behind us on the 2018 NFL schedule Jaire Alexander Jersey , which are afterthoughts. For now, the conference has exactly six teams that are over .500, making it easy to set up the playoff picture as it would stand today. However, all but three teams in the NFC are still in serious contention, with 13 teams within a game of .500 and in striking distance of the Green Bay Packers.Green Bay currently sits in the sixth spot after week seven’s results, which saw the lead flip in the NFC North thanks to a Bears loss and a Vikings victory. Here is how things currently sit.Division LeadersLos Angeles Rams, 7-0 (NFC West)New Orleans Saints, 5-1 (NFC South)Washington, 4-2 (NFC East)Minnesota Vikings Authentic Josh Jackson Jersey , 4-2-1 (NFC North)The Packers get the unfortunate draw of facing the unbeaten Rams this week. Los Angeles continued their trampling of their opponents thus far in week seven with a 39-10 victory over the hapless 49ers, who had pushed the Packers to the brink of defeat at Lambeau Field a week earlier. The rest of the divisional leaders also won on Sunday, with the Saints escaping overtime thanks to a missed PAT by Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.Wild Cards5. Carolina Panthers, 4-26. Green Bay Packers, 3-2-1If the Packers had beaten the Vikings instead of tying them, Green Bay would have the division lead at 4-2 and would sit in the fourth spot thanks to a head-to-head loss to Washington. Minnesota would then be in the sixth position at 4-3.Just OutsideChicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks — all 3-3Dallas Cowboys Youth Jamaal Williams Jersey , Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons — all 3-4Atlanta’s win over the Giants on Monday night got them back in a position where they might be able to contend for a playoff spot, sitting just one game back of even and matching the Packers in the win column. A whopping eight teams in the conference — fully half — have three wins at present.Out of ContentionNew York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals — all 1-6Bad. These teams are just bad and won’t be in the running this season. It’s a race for the top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft at this point.Cheese Curds, 7/20: Packers’ pass coverage needs to catch up to run defense Remember Mike Pettine’s comments about his focus when the Green Bay Packers introduced him as their new defensive coordinator? They were music to the ears of many Packers fans, this writer included.“We prioritize it,” Pettine said about defending the pass. “I think you have to be sound against the run, but you lose a heck of a lot faster when you’re giving up chunks in the pass game.”Perfect.Now http://www.packersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-aaron-rodgers-jersey , here’s the kicker, and it’s something that has been discussed here at APC and in the comments before: you have to be capable of stopping the run in certain situations, like the red zone or late-game situations. Keep the other team out of the end zone and get the ball back to Aaron Rodgers and company late in the game if you’re down. Hopefully, Pettine’s unit can do that — and one source of NFL analysis pegs Pettine’s group as the top run defense in the league at this point.But Pettine’s comments speak to something that we know to be true in today’s NFL: teams win games by passing, and they seal the deal by running the ball. Here’s hoping the investments that Brian Gutekunst has made in the secondary and Pettine’s new scheme helps prevent opponents from doing the former, while the personnel available to him should be able to do a good job of keeping the latter from happening.PFF ranks Packers as NFL’s No. 1 run defense entering 2018 | Packers WireAs discussed above, this is ostensibly a good thing; however, it could incentivize opponents to throw the ball more often against the Packers' defense -- and we all know that even a bad passing offense is more productive per-play than a great running game.While it’s still probably better to have a good run defense than a bad one — for example, six of the top 10 overall defenses by DVOA in 2017 had top-10 run defenses as well — it’s not imperative. The Jaguars led the league in defensive DVOA last year but still had the 27th-ranked run defense.Randall Cobb hosts Football ProCamp in Green Bay | Green Bay Press-GazetteHey look Randall Cobb Jersey , no boot! Hopefully this means Cobb will be ready to go on day one of training camp next week.Countdown to camp: Backfield has proven options | Packers.comAs long as the season doesn't start the way it did last year -- with Ty Montgomery playing almost every snap of the first several games -- this group of running backs should be just fine.NFL and NFLPA agree to put national anthem policy on hold - SBNation.comUnsurprisingly, the two sides can't come to an agreement on how to handle players who conduct demonstrations during the national anthem and there will likely be no movement on this issue from an overall NFL perspective until the regular season is underway.2018 college football season: Top 12 running backs to watch - NFL.comJK Dobbins ahead of Jonathan Taylor? Get out of here with that, Lance Zierlein.Chandler man says HOA is forcing him to remove bat cave - Arizona’s FamilyBats are great. They eat bugs and mosquitoes that bother people. Who is more bothered by the sight of a bat house in a neighbor’s yard than by swarms of biting insects?Finally, Aaron Rodgers made a quick appearance in this fake movie trailer shown at the ESPYs featuring Danica Patrick (who hosted this year’s ceremony) spoofing the I, Tonya film. Come for Rodgers’ great mustache and stay for them playing Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger” during his time on screen.