Spare me two gripes going into this: yeah, I've been a bit grumpy with my blogging of late but I've had two surgeries that weren't too pleasant over the past two weeks. And, yeah, the fact that the Redskins stink does contribute a small bit to what I'm about to write. But not much more than that.
This has the makings of being a really bad NFL season.
That's not to say it's unwatchable. Far from it. There have been some very exciting games and interesting results. Someone is going to win the Super Bowl but it's highly doubtful that the team who does will really be "great". There just isn't any of those kinds of teams out there. The league is filled with mediocrity and piss-poor franchises.
That's not to say it's unwatchable. Far from it. There have been some very exciting games and interesting results. Someone is going to win the Super Bowl but it's highly doubtful that the team who does will really be "great". There just isn't any of those kinds of teams out there. The league is filled with mediocrity and piss-poor franchises.
So here are the reasons I believe all of this:
THERE ARE TONS OF REALLY BAD TEAMS: Every year has its fair share of bad teams and I doubt that any of this year's crop will match the Lions 0-16 mark last year. That's because these crappy teams will happen onto another crappy team and beat them. Seriously, there are some very bad teams. The Rams, Lions, Buccaneers, Browns, Bills, Raiders and Chiefs are horrid. The Titans and Panthers ... two division winners of a year ago ... are a combined 1-8. The Redskins are a mess with their only two wins against the Bucs and Rams (and two of their losses to the Lions and Panthers).
THERE ARE TONS OF REALLY BAD TEAMS: Every year has its fair share of bad teams and I doubt that any of this year's crop will match the Lions 0-16 mark last year. That's because these crappy teams will happen onto another crappy team and beat them. Seriously, there are some very bad teams. The Rams, Lions, Buccaneers, Browns, Bills, Raiders and Chiefs are horrid. The Titans and Panthers ... two division winners of a year ago ... are a combined 1-8. The Redskins are a mess with their only two wins against the Bucs and Rams (and two of their losses to the Lions and Panthers).
The fact that there are so many bad teams means that mediocre and good teams will pad their records with wins over these teams.
AND I MEAN THEY ARE REALLY BAD: The Raiders are averaging less than 10 points a game this season. The Rams are averaging less than 7 points. How does that happen???? The Browns average 11 points per game. Those three teams have been outscored by a combied 259 points this year. Yikes.
AND I MEAN THEY ARE REALLY BAD: The Raiders are averaging less than 10 points a game this season. The Rams are averaging less than 7 points. How does that happen???? The Browns average 11 points per game. Those three teams have been outscored by a combied 259 points this year. Yikes.
THE SUPER BOWL CHAMP HAS PROBLEMS: The Pittsburgh Steelers had a good shot to repeat as champions. They brought back basically the same team and have a much easier schedule. But they haven't looked too sprite. Yeah, they are 3-2 but they struggle running the football and the defense is seeming to wear down late in games.
Injuries have been a issue but this doesn't look like the same team that tore through the league last year.
TOM BRADY ISN'T BACK: One thing that baffled me was how many "experts" expected Tom Brady to just waltz back into the saddle after having his knee destroyed a year ago. It rarely happens. Brady has struggled a bit. He doesn't seem to fully trust his knee and the fact he's not stepping into his throws are the ball is sailing on him a bit. He isn't the main problem. The fact that the defense lost a lot of veteran leadership is showing a bit. You don't just lose Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi in one swoop and expect to keep on rolling.
DENVER AND CINCINNATI ARE ATOP THEIR DIVISIONS: How in the heck are the Broncos and Bengals a combined 9-1? How? And the one loss was when Cincinnati lost to Denver. How did this happen? The Bengals were 1-10-1 at one point last year. Denver completely imploded in the second half of last season, lost their Super Bowl winning head coach, lost their Pro Bowl quarterback and have had to deal with a grumpy Brandon Marshall. Yet these two teams sit at 9-1 a have wins over the Steelers, Ravens, Cowboys and Patriots on their resume.
Again, this isn't to say that there aren't good teams out there. The New York Giants just look like a Super Bowl squad. New Orleans defense is adequate enough to help out that awesome offense. Minnesota has feasted on an easy schedule but still has talent everywhere. Peyton Manning is looking like an MVP again for the Colts. Atlanta and Chicago are lying in the weeds.
DENVER AND CINCINNATI ARE ATOP THEIR DIVISIONS: How in the heck are the Broncos and Bengals a combined 9-1? How? And the one loss was when Cincinnati lost to Denver. How did this happen? The Bengals were 1-10-1 at one point last year. Denver completely imploded in the second half of last season, lost their Super Bowl winning head coach, lost their Pro Bowl quarterback and have had to deal with a grumpy Brandon Marshall. Yet these two teams sit at 9-1 a have wins over the Steelers, Ravens, Cowboys and Patriots on their resume.
Again, this isn't to say that there aren't good teams out there. The New York Giants just look like a Super Bowl squad. New Orleans defense is adequate enough to help out that awesome offense. Minnesota has feasted on an easy schedule but still has talent everywhere. Peyton Manning is looking like an MVP again for the Colts. Atlanta and Chicago are lying in the weeds.
But every week it seems like we are feasting on five blowouts and the rest are up in the air.
Can't wait for the Giants-Saints game!!!
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