What is With the Titans?

The Tennessee Titans are 0-6, and people are baffled. The team is baffled. The coaches are baffled. But can they go winless this season? Are they as bad as the 1976 Bucs or the 2008 Lions? Take a look at the following charts. This shows the first six games of each team, and how much they lost by.

Take from that what you will, or take nothing from it. What scares me the most is the fact that the Titans have lost by more points in every game than the last game. It’s as if they’re getting discouraged and giving up. Will the Titans go winless? Let’s take a look at their remaining season:

Vs Jaguars
@49ers
Vs Bills
@Texans
Vs Cardinals
@Colts
Vs Rams
Vs Dolphins
Vs Chargers
@Seahawks

The games against the Colts, Jaguars and Texans can all go either way, divisional games work like that. The only games I can forsee them winning, even a little premonition, are the Rams and the Bills. The Bills have been getting better under Ryan Fitzpatrick, so that leaves the Rams, who may also be winless at that point in the season.

But the question is why?

One player, even a middle line-backer in Albert Haynesworth , would not make the difference. No, I place the blame solely on the defensive coordinate. Jim Schwartz left to become the head coach of the Lions in the off season (And hey, at least they have a win!), and Jeff Fisher promoted Chuck Cecil (who was the defensive backs coach) to the defensive coordinator job (In fact, they just moved everyone up a position. Chuck Cecil used to be the Secondary coach, and Marcus Robertson is now in that position, promoted up from assistant Secondary Coach). Jim Schwartz’s system was extremely complicated, and it worked. I think the worst thing they could have done was promote someone who had never been a defensive coordinator to that position.

Go, good luck Tennessee. You will need it.

Going Under the Radar

We all know of the Broncos immaculate start, defying all odds. We all know that Tom Brady is back, racking up 6 touchdowns in the snow and the Pats defense shutting down the worst team (in my opinion) in the league. We all know that the Saints are running away with the NFC, and we all know that Brett Favre is better now better than he’s ever been. But what about the teams flying under the radar? Watch out for these teams you may not be paying much attention to.

The Atlanta Falcons are 4-1, and their only loss has come to an explosive Patriots team. They’ve beaten a good 49ers and Bears team, and have shown that they will be a force to be reckoned with (Though, I doubt they’ll win the division over the New Orleans Saints). Look for this team to be a fifth seed for the playoffs.

The Seattle Seahawks are a very odd team. They’re 2-4, which is statistically unimpressive. We’ve seen two different teams this season: the team that fell hard to the Cardinals, racking up pathetic numbers, 17 minutes time of possession, only 7 carries in the entire game, and a pathetic 200 yards of total offense, and the team that completely blew out the Rams and the Jaguars (notably, these AREN’T great teams, but shutting a team out is still an accomplishment)

The Houston Texans are 3-3, for some reason. They remind me a lot of the 2008 Broncos, with a Superbowl caliber offense and one of the worst defenses in the league. If Gary Kubiak (Oddly enough, an old offensive coordinator for the Broncos) could learn to hire someone worth his weight as a defensive coordinator, this could be a playoff team easily

Finally, watch out for the Bears. Jay Cutler is turning the ball over way too much, but if he can get his arm under control they could be 5-0 right now. Watch for Jay to get more consistent as he gets more used to this system, and this team could possibly be a sixth seed for the NFC.


My prediction of the Playoffs:

AFC:
1. Denver Broncos
2. New England Patriots
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Baltimore Ravens
NFC:
1. New Orleans Saints
2. Minnesota Vikings
3. New York Giants
4. San Francisco 49ers
5. Atlanta Falcons
6. Chicago Bears

The Undefeated Rankings

Literally. A ranking of undefeated teams thus far.

We are 25% done with the regular season (It’s going way too fast! No!), and that’s definitely enough time to tell what teams are for real and what teams are just getting lucky.
1)The New Orleans Saints are, in my opinion, without a doubt, the best team in football. They have the seventh ranked defense, giving up only an average of 16 points per game. They’re a little lacking in the takeaway category, but I guess when you stop teams in three downs and score a touchdown every time you touch the ball, you don’t really need that. They have had the toughest schedule of all the 4-0 or 3-1 teams, and have performed marvelously in the face of adversity.
2)The Indianapolis Colts, with their rookie head coach, is a surprising team at 4-0. Peyton Manning has proven, though, that he is deserving of the title “Best QB in Football”. Sitting atop every offensive statistic, and fourth ranked in Defense, I feel they are well deserving of the second best team in the league ranking. We’ll see if their offense can hold up against the high powered defenses in the coming games against the 49ers, Ravens, Broncos and Jets.
3)If Peyton Manning is the best QB in football, then All-Day Adrian is the best player. Watching this guy run is like Goliath against David—except he has a stone shield. Brett Favre is throwing better than I’ve ever seen him throw, and this receiving core is extremely dangerous. Their defense might become their Achilles heel in the weeks to come as they have challenges in the following weeks, but they have one of the easiest schedules in the league pushing them forward. Expect these guys to have home field advantage through the entire playoffs this year.
4)The Denver Broncos are the most surprising team in the league this year, but are they deserving of such a high ranking? I believe so, and I’ll show you why. First of all, they’re the number one defense in the league. They’ve defeated both the highly-ranked 2-2 Cowboys and 3-1 Bengals. What people fail to realize is, even against teams that will more than likely be 3-13 or worse at the end of the season, this is still the NFL. It’s extremely tough to beat any NFL organization, and it’s even tougher to hold teams to less than seven points a game over four weeks. Second, their offense is playing mistake-free football. Kyle Orton has not thrown an interception all year. He’s a game manager, and managing the Broncos to a perfect start.
5)The New York Giants organization took a bit hit this week with the news that Eli Manning has Plantar Fasciitis on his planting foot. There’s no cure, so every move he makes he’ll have to weigh the consequences of whether he’ll be able to take the pain. It’s going to severely affect his game, and I would expect to see David Carr in games when they don’t need to come from behind or protect a marginal lead. I’m going to say that the Giants are going to lose a number of their big games down the road, for example against the Eagles, the Broncos, the Saints, and against the Vikings.

Teams to look out for down the stretch: San Francisco 49ers (3-1), Baltimore Ravens (3-1), New England Patriots (3-1), Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)

Quick Picks: Week 4 + Power Ranking Bashing

Even though I had a pretty lowly week last week , all of my upsets went on to lose, I’m still 33-15 on the season. Not too terrible. It’s Week 4 in the league right now and that means the sharks are smelling the fresh blood of heads on the chopping block. Jim Zorn in Washington needs to solidify his rightful place as a head coach by creating a perfect game against the Bucs this week, and Eric Mangini is definitely in need of some sit-down time with his players. Do remember that it was the week between Week 3 and Week 4 in 2008 that Scott Linehan for the Rams and Lane Kiffin of the Raiders got ransacked and booted from their respected teams (it wasn’t until 3 weeks later that Mike Nolan was replaced by Mike Singletary). I do believe it is Coach Hunting Season.

Anyway, onto my picks.

Detroit @ Chicago: Lions Tigers and Bears, oh my. This may end up being a game that you can switch to when your team is being blown out 30-7 on Sunday in the late fourth quarter. Expect the high of getting their first win under an extremely accurate and well-poised Matthew Stafford to radiate from this Lions team, and keep this close. But a seasoned Jay Cutler will pull this out in the end. DET 17 < CHI 23

Cincinnati @ Cleveland: The Browns franchise is, once again, in complete distress. Another day, another head coach should be the mantra of that team. Derek Anderson getting the starting position will rally this team… for about six minutes. Cincinnati is riding on a 2-1 dream, beating two of the top contenders in the league in the last two weeks. Expect nothing less than a romping up and down the Ohio battle today by the Bengals. CIN 35 > CLE 10

Seattle @ Indianapolis: With Matt Hassleback out and a battered secondary trying to match Peyton Manning who seems to be even better than in years past, Seattle will need a miracle to take this explosive Colts team down. SEA 17 < IND 27

New York Giants @ Kansas City: There isn’t much a chance for the Chiefs here, it seems. Matt Cassel might have been able to lead a well established team to 10-6 last year, but he isn’t a miracle worker. This Chiefs team is at one of the worst slumps its been in in its history.

Baltimore @ New England: This could very well be the game of the week, and if it weren’t for the 49ers Vikings game last week (which held up to every expectation and more) I’d say this would probably be the best game thus far this season. A high powered New England offense (The numbers are impressive, but the prospect is even more impressive. Last week alone, Tom Brady threw three balls that were two feet from three more touchdowns) faces off against Ed Reed and Ray Lewis (and the other 9 equally talented players in that defensive scheme). A surprisingly effective Baltimore readies itself to unleash itself against New England’s 6th rated defense (superstars? leaders? Who needs ‘em?). I picked Baltimore mostly due to a gut feeling, but this will be a surprise finish all the way to the end. BAL 16 > NE 13 with a last second touchdown by Joe Flacco.

Tampa Bay @ Washington: This may be a game of desperation for Washington, but Washington has not historically played well when all eyes are on them (In 16 playoff appearances since the merge, they have only won three Superbowls), and this has held especially true since their last Superbowl win in 1991, between their seven different head coaches. The Bucs, on the other hand, will seize the same opportunity the Lions did last week, and get their first win of the season over a struggling Redskins team. TB 10 > WSH 9

Tennessee @ Jacksonville: This is a Titans team is great distress. This being a divisional game anything can happen and it wouldn’t be that big of a surprise, but look for Tennessee to come out guns blazing and score as much as possible. TEN 38 > JAC 20

Oakland @ Houston: Oakland is starting to rebuild a completely broken team. While they will not be as bad as they were last season at 5-11, this will not be one of their six wins. Houston is trying to prove that it’s finally a playoff contender, and at 1-2 they have some ground to make up. OAK 6 < HOU 23

New York Jets @ New Orleans: Another astounding game of the week. Both teams have a high powered offense lead by a great quarterback, and both teams have defenses to go with their offense. However, Drew Brees right now is playing better than I’ve ever see a quarterback play in my life. I think the eight years Drew Brees has under his belt, with the three years Sean Payton has under his belt as a head coach, will be the deciding factor in this game against a rookie head coach leading a rookie quarterback. NYJ 28 < NO 43

Dallas @ Denver: This is one of the games that could really go either way. There are several factors when looking at this game: Felix Jones is out, Marian Barber is in, they’re playing at Mile High in the high-50s, Denver needs this to prove to the world they’re not just 3-0 because they’re playing awful teams, Dallas needs to resolidify themselves atop the NFC East, and many other things. I’m a Denver Broncos fanatic, so I’m not going to pick this game since it would be out of complete bias. However, do not be surprised if this game is decided by the final play of the game.

St. Louis @ San Francisco: If I had more balls, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick the Rams in this game. The Rams gave the Packers a run for their money last week, and I’m sure the 49ers are still just a little bit down at the last play of the Vikings game last week. But since I don’t quite doubt Mike Singletary yet, I’m going with the 49ers to bounce back this week against this divisional opponent. STL 17 > SF 27

San Diego @ Pittsburgh: LT is out once again, and the Steelers are much better than their record shows. Going in to Heinz Field will spell a death wish for a beaten up San Diego Chargers team. SD 10 < PIT 31

Green Bay @ Minnesota: What a great MNF game. Brett Favre taking on his old team in a battle of Old VS New. Green Bay, who has been historically bad at the Metrodome, hope to come in and face the second best NFC team with the best player in all of football today? This is going to be a great, hard hitting contest, but in the end I think we all know what the end result will be. Brett Favre, celebrating yet another record broken, in being the first quarterback to have beaten all 32 teams in his career. Kudos in advance to you, Brett. Kudos. GB 17 < MIN 30

And now one last little opinion I have, something that doesn’t merit its own post. ESPN always has their weekly power rankings up, and on the whole I’ve never quite agreed with them. But now they’ve gone too far. Right now, there are seven 3-0 teams. 6 of them are 1-6, and then the Broncos are half way down the list. Right now, I’ll go ahead and give you the first 6 ranks and the Broncos, who are ranked 13 (the 3-0 teams), and in parenthesis I’ll add up the rankings of the teams they beat and put them there. If their power rankings are close to accurate, the number in the parentheses should be the lowest at the top, and the biggest at the bottom.

1. Baltimore Ravens (Chiefs + Chargers + Browns = 71)
2. Indianapolis Colts (Jaguars + Dolphins + Cardinals = 65)
3. New York Giants (Redskins + Cowboys + Buccaneers = 74)
4. New Orleans Saints (Lions + Eagles + Bills = 58)
5. Minnesota Vikings (Browns + Lions + 49ers = 72
6. New York Jets (Texans + Patriots + Titans = 45)
13. Denver Broncos (Bengals + Browns + Raiders = 67)

So do not use the excuse that the Broncos don’t deserve to be with the rest of the 3-0 teams because they haven’t beaten anyone, because the rankings of the other teams’ opponents are just as high. The Broncos, mind you, also have the number one defense in the entire league. These guys are for real.

Biggest Surprises Going In To Week 4

We’re entering week 4, and that gives us just enough time to draw some conclusions and look around the league for the big shockers.


5) Mark Sanchez is a defense’s worst nightmare. With the failed Favre attempt last year, Jets fans were starting to question the administration of the team. But this experiment is no fault. Mark Sanchez is here to stay—something the Jets have been waiting for for over three decades.

4) Denver is 3-0. Who could have even imagined this. As an avid Denver fan, I gave us a 1-2 start at best after the off-season drama and complete overhaul of the systems. I guess this is what they needed, though. I know, I know, “Who have they beaten”, but it’s extremely difficult to only give up 16 points in three games at any time in this league, no matter who you’re going against.

3) The Lions won a game. Now there’s a record you can be proud of in the Motor city: 1-19. The curse is broken (now where does this leave Jim Zorn?), and the rebuilding can begin. The Lions will win at least three more games this season, Matthew Stafford will be a franchise quarterback to take this team out of the abyss to another average rated team you’ll always have to worry about sneaking up on you in the playoff race. Not this year, but in the coming years, of course.

2) Tennessee is 0-3. Talk about a wow-factor. Tennessee, one of the most productive teams in the league last year, top seed in the nation, has lost their first three games. What happened to the once-great Titans? Remember, Tennessee went 10-0 last year, before going 3-3 to end the season. They’re 3-6 in their last nine games. What’s the problem, Kerry?

1) The Ravens are winning with their Offense. Now this is a change. For the last 7 years the Ravens offense has just been filler for that behemoth defense of theirs. Now with Rex Ryan gone, John Harbaugh, the old defensive backs coach for the Eagles, is taking this offense based around Joe Flacco to the top of the league.

Week 3 Upset Special: Atlanta beats New England

Remember all the way back in when Buffalo was dominating this Patriots team that everyone had counted on to win the AFC East, and we were surprised at how good this new Buffalo team was with Terrell Owens? This is, unfortunately, not the reality of the situation. This New England dynasty is coming to a close, and the door will be shut at the end of this season when the Patriots suffer their first losing season since 2000 (Yes, that was before the division split!) when they went 5-11 under Drew Bledsoe.

First of all, let’s look at players who started during the last Patriots season in which they won the Superbowl, in 2004, who are still starting today:
LT Matt Light
C Dan Koppen
RG Stephen Neal
RE Jarvis Green
DT/NT Vince Wilfork (Going from a 3-4 under Romeo Crennel to a 4-3 under Dean Pees)
QB Tom Brady
Head Coach Bill Belichick
Defensive Line Coach Pepper Johnson
Running Backs Coach Ivan Fearsploo

And that’s it! This team has been overhauled from the ground up since their last superbowl, and anyone using the fact that they’re a dynasty anymore needs to stop.

Now, about this game? I look at two main things. Firstly, I look at Matt Ryan and his targets against the New England Secondary. Over the last two games, Matt Ryan has completed 43 of 63 for 450 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. And he’s not just throwing to hall-of-fame worthy Tony Gonzalez, either. Jerius Norwood, Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Tony Gonzalez all have over 5 receptions. New England’s defense has a mean age of 26 years old. While the defense has done an admirable job keeping up with average players in Lee Evans and Chansi Stuckey, but now you have two super stars in Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez to keep up with. Matt Ryan is in complete control of this team, and I would expect him to roll all over this defense.

The other thing I look at is the New England offense. Everyone knows Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss are a triad to never scoff at. They are always one play away from breaking it big. However, a quick glance at the injury report for the Patriots lists both Wes Welker, who missed last week, and Randy Moss, as questionable for the game on Sunday. Even if they do play, they won’t be 100%, and their speed will definitely suffer. A young defense, a banged up offense, and an excited 2-0 Falcons team will all combine to a 38-24 Falcons win.

A fine for an eye...?

The Dallas Cowboys played one of the more impressive losses in Week 2 on Sunday night, and with the ordeal of icing the kicker in the last second by Wade Philips alongside a record breaking number of people in attendance people almost forgot that a flagrant penalty resulting in an injured Giants defensive end occurred during the heat of the battle.

Flozell Adams is an aging (Age 34) offensive lineman that has been letting more and more people by him in the last couple seasons. So what does he do to fix this? He starts, notoriously, to trip people. From 2007 to 2009, Adams has been the most penalized player in the NFL with 29 flags thrown his way. On Sunday night he made an absolutely blatant trip on Giants Defensive End, Justin Tuck and got penalized for it. A 15 yard penalty in response to something a player did against another play which was against the rules that has kept the other player from practicing due to injury.

Now, what does Roger Suspend-happy Goodell do about this? Why, just a meager $12,500 fine. Flozell makes more than half of that every minute of every game he plays in the NFL. He did something he knew was against the rules, to a player because he got beat off the line, and injured him! This is not something that should get by with just a small fine. Flozell should be suspended for a week for this infraction alone, and should really be suspended for a couple weeks because he’s been doing this for two years unpenalized. Step up and protect the players of your league, Goodell. Quarterbacks aren’t the only ones putting their well beings on the line.