Last season, the New England Patriots came within one loss in arguably the most exhilarating Super Bowl ever played from completing the greatest season in NFL history.
This season, there are two teams chasing NFL history.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions both promise to make a run at exceeding the '76 Buccaneers' 0-14 infamy.
And, before you all go, "but wait second here, Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff, it's just Week 8 and these two teams each have 10 more games to play," consider this ...
The Lions must play the rest of their season with a backup quarterback running the offense. The Lions have already traded away their most dangerous offensive threat, dealing WR Roy Williams to the Cowboys for a collection of draft picks and a bag of new footballs (not so much the balls, really, but that might as well have been a part of the deal).
The Bengals are dysfunctional, but what may be worse is news that quarterback Carson Palmer may be out for the season.
Let's check out the remaining schedules ...
For the Lions: vs. Redskins, at Bears, vs. Jaguars, at Panthers, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Titans, vs. Vikings, at Colts, vs. Saints, at Packers. At least eight of those teams figure to be in the playoff hunt for much of the duration of the season. Even NFL Network's Adam Schefter is getting discouraged by the Lions' chances.
For the Bengals: at Texans, vs. Jaguars, vs. Eagles, at Steelers, vs. Ravens, at Colts, vs. Redskins, at Browns, vs. Chiefs. The most winable games in that slate are this weekend in Houston, and the finale against Kansas City.
Astute football observers will remember 2001. That year, the Lions came dangerously close to 0-16 infamy, going 0-12 before beating the Vikings in Week 14 en route to a 2-14 record. The Bengals recently went 2-14 too, back in 2002. The next April, the Bengals would draft Palmer No. 1 overall and begin a slow trek back to respectibility, which has now quickly crumbled back to pre-Palmer era dispicability.
While the Bengals and Lions are secure in their spots in the "Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer" drop zone, let's check out how the the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM rankings fill out.
Important note!: The Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM rankings include three very basic components: overall win-loss record, how good teams did against other good teams, and my own profound opinion. Each component will count one-third (more or less or so) of a team's overall Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM score in the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM standings.
Here are the latest Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM rankings of the season (just the top 12, or the number of teams that would make the playoffs if the playoff teams were based totally on the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM formula, which isn't really a formula at all because we're not that good at math and don't trust a computer with a sketchy Firewall) ...
1. Tennessee Titans (Previously: 1) -- Have put Colts -- their opponent this week -- in an unfamiliar spot ... looking up at another team in the AFC South standings.
2. New York Giants (Previously: 2) -- Face a Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM-busting matchup with the Steelers in a possible Super Bowl XLIII preview.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previously: 3) -- An unstoppable force collides with an immovable object when the Giants' top-ranked rushing offense meets the NFL's top-ranked defense. Can't wait to see how this game is going to unfold!
4. Buffalo Bills (Previously: 5) -- Off to best start since 1995, but finally face a team in their own division this week.
5. Arizona Cardinals (Previously: 4) -- Came back down to earth during bye week, enter Sunday's game against the Panthers as underdogs.
6. Washington Redskins (Previously: 6) -- Redskins have won 18 of the past 20 against the Lions, their Week 8 opponent.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previously: 9) -- Coach Jon Gruden took a break from preparing for the Cowboys by announcing the World Series Game 2 lineup for the Tampa Bay Rays.
8. Carolina Panthers (Previously: 10) -- Will try to prevent the Cardinals from getting off to their best start in 32 years.
9. New England Patriots (Previously: NR) -- Will Pats be the third consecutive upset victim of coach Jim Haslett's new-look, and suddenly competitive Rams?
10. Chicago Bears (Previously: NR) -- Probably didn't really need it, but Bears get an extra week to prepare for the Lions.
11. Atlanta Falcons (Previously: 11) -- Have been one of the NFL's most pleasant surprises in the early stages of this season, don't expect their Week 8 opponent -- the Eagles -- to have that warm and fuzzy feeling when they host the Falcons.
12. Green Bay Packers (Previously: NR) -- Just thoroughly dominated the team formerly known as the best in the AFC South.
Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer ...
30. Kansas City Chiefs -- So desperate for help at quarterback that they've placed a call to the retired Daunte Culpepper.
31. Detroit Lions -- Once went 34 years without winning a game against the Redskins, their Week 8 opponent.
32. Cincinnati Bengals -- Here's hope for Cincy: The Texans, the Bengals' Week 8 opponent, have never beaten the Bengals. Of course, the two teams have only played each other three times.
Week 8 picks
Ravens over Raiders
Bills over Dolphins
Panthers over Cardinals
Buccaneers over Cowboys
Chargers over Saints
Eagles over Falcons
Jets over Chiefs
Patriots over Rams
Redskins over Lions
Texans over Bengals
Jaguars over Browns
Steelers over Giants
49ers over Seahawks
Titans over Colts
Week 7 record: 10-4 (best week yet!)
Overall record: 64-38
No comments:
Post a Comment