The dreaded week 2 has come and gone. The 0-2 hole is now a reality to several unexpected teams, i.e. my Tennessee Titans. You know what they say, only a handful of teams who go 0-2 have ever made the playoffs that season. Well I think that is a bunch of rubbish. You have to look at more facts other than just the record. For instance, look at the teams you played. In the case of the Titans, Lost to the defending Super Bowl Champions in Pittsburgh in OT. Also, dropping one at home to the much improved Houston Texans by a field goal. These to me are a lot more telling of how the rest of the season will play out rather than just the 0-2 record. There are several 1-1 teams that have not looked nearly as good as the Titans and their forecast for the rest of the season is a lot more gloomy. Take for example, the Seattle Seahawks. Are you telling me they have higher hopes of making the playoffs than the Titans? I highly doubt it. Then there are those teams that are 2-0 that everybody thinks is going to have a huge year and then four weeks later, they fall flat on their face. Some teams start out with a very difficult schedule and some have an easy schedule. It is too soon too tell. Below, I have comprise a list of both 0-2 teams as well as 2-0 teams that I have labeled under two categories, 1) Panic 2) Don't Panic for 0-2 teams. Then for the 2-0 teams 1) High Hopes 2) Don't get your hopes up.
2-0 Record:
High Hopes: NY Jets, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, NY Giants
Don't Get Your Hopes Up: San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts.
0-2 Record:
Don't Panic: Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins
Panic: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions.
Ute Player Watch:
Paul Kruger: NA (2 weeks in a row)
Sean Smith: 2 Tackles, 1 Solo, 1 Pass Deflection.
Eric Weddle: 10 Tackles, 9 Solo, 1 Tackle for Loss (Led team in tackles)
Week 3 Predictions: Record (4-4) **My wife was right, 50%**
Minnesota 34 - San Francisco 17- The 49ers luck runs out this week as they play on the road against the Vikings tough defense. Frank Gore may be a non-factor as his injury will slow him down.
New England 27 - Atlanta 16- I am not conviced that Atlanta is a quality team. Patriots get a good comeback victory after the dismal offensive performance in week 2.
Tennessee 20 - NY Jets 14- Jets' defense keeps them in the game but I would be willing to bet Tennessee's defense shuts down Mark Sanchez after a poor performance against Houston.
NY Giants 28 - Tamp Bay 10- This one won't be close. Tampa Bay's defense is a shell of what it once was and Eli Manning is playing well and has two young receivers who are stepping up for him.
New Orleans 38 - Buffalo 17- New Orleans is starting to look like the team to beat in the NFC. Two dominating performances so far. Look for Drew Brees and the offense to keep the assault going against Buffalo.
Oakland 14 - Denver 10- Two teams that no one cares much about but a close matchup nonetheless. Neither team will show much offense but Oakland will have just enough to get them past the Broncos.
San Diego 23 - Miami 17 - This is a game that I am looking forward to watching. Miami has a decent defense and a tricky offense. They had Indianapolis on the ropes and should have won that game. Same situation this week. Sproles will have another big week and the Chargers offense shouldn't have a hard time scoring a few times.
Indianapolis 28 - Arizona 24 - Nobody is giving Arizona any credit this year. They are a good team but the Colts should win this game. Warner had a great year last year but I don't see him doing the same. The Cardinals should make the playoffs but will struggle early in the season.
2 comments:
I do think Seattle has a better chance of making the playoffs than Tennessee. Seattle is in a weak division and they are competing against the improved 49ers and the super slumping Cardinals. Tennessee has to compete against Indianapolis and Houston as well as perennial disappointment Jacksonville.
Carolina should panic because they won't make it out of a division against Atlanta and New Orleans. I doubt there will be an NFC wild card coming out of a divison not named NFC East. New Orleans looks to be able to win the division and Atlanta will put up a tough fight, but the wild card belongs to Philadelphia and Dallas.
New York looks to be the best team in the league right now so they should win the division after getting a jump start by stealing a win in Dallas.
St Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Denver, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Washington, Miami, and possibly Chicago don't have a very good shot of making the playoffs. Most of these teams are in divisions with dominating teams and won't have the push to make a wild card. I would bet on most of these not being relative come December.
Levi, I think you are right about those teams that you mentioned (1-1) not having a great chance of making the playoffs. I disagree about the chances of Tennessee making the playoffs. NFC West is weak but I think that Seattle is the second weakest team in that division. And I doubt they will be able to make the playoffs. I think Arizona will end up winning the division and as you said, I doubt any other teams outside of the NFC East will make the wild-card spot. Atlanta has a good chance if the East beats each other up.
Post a Comment