Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Three Up, Three Down
We’re three games into the NFL season, which is about the time you can reasonably draw conclusions on how teams are shaping up. With that in mind, here are my winners and losers from the season’s first three weeks.
The Winners
The Cheaters. Yeah, they cheat, but really, it also wouldn’t matter. The Cheaters have destroyed their first three opponents – two of which made the playoffs last year – by 24, 24 and 31 points, scoring 38 points each game. Tom Brady is completing a preposterous 79.5 percent of his passes and Randy Moss has 403 yards and five TDS. (He had 553 yards and three TDs all of last year.)
The Packers. This team had the look of a 6-10 squad coming into the season and was projected to start 0-3 with games against the Eagles and Chargers, and on the road against the Giants. Instead, they’re 3-0, Brett Favre is breaking records by the week (even earning a mention on NPR the other day, though Steve Inskeep struggled with the pronunciation of his last name) and putting up his best numbers since 2004.
Me picking the AFC. My six AFC playoff picks are currently 14-4, with the 1-2 Chargers as the only team with a losing record. The reason for this success? The Jets play in the AFC so I know it better, but these were also pretty easy picks to make (Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Colts, Broncos, Chargers).
The Losers
Me picking the NFC. My projected division winners are a combined 2-10, and none of them currently has a winning record. Seriously, that’s pathetic. Saving myself, I did pick the Panthers and the Cowboys as the wild card (the ‘Boys being a late switch from the Seahawks), but still – it’s hard to do much worse than that.
The Saints. The trendy pick to win the NFC (and yes, my pick as well), the Saints have been downright awful so far this far, tumbling to 0-3 – losing by 31, 17 and 17 points – and looking more like 2005’s 3-13 squad than last year’s NFC runner-up.
The Falcons. Sadly (well, at least for me), only five teams are 0-3 at this stretch in the season so the chance at the first-ever 0-16 team is again remote. But if anyone has a chance to blow it completely, it’s the Falcons. The whole Mike Vick thing royally screwed them, leaving them with no good options at QB (someone rightly pointed out that coach Bobby Petrino would trade all his QBs for his college QB last year, Brian Brohm), a team already defeated and, overall, lacking in quality talent. Throw in Petrino learning the pro game on the fly and this is an out-and-out disaster.
The Winners
The Cheaters. Yeah, they cheat, but really, it also wouldn’t matter. The Cheaters have destroyed their first three opponents – two of which made the playoffs last year – by 24, 24 and 31 points, scoring 38 points each game. Tom Brady is completing a preposterous 79.5 percent of his passes and Randy Moss has 403 yards and five TDS. (He had 553 yards and three TDs all of last year.)
The Packers. This team had the look of a 6-10 squad coming into the season and was projected to start 0-3 with games against the Eagles and Chargers, and on the road against the Giants. Instead, they’re 3-0, Brett Favre is breaking records by the week (even earning a mention on NPR the other day, though Steve Inskeep struggled with the pronunciation of his last name) and putting up his best numbers since 2004.
Me picking the AFC. My six AFC playoff picks are currently 14-4, with the 1-2 Chargers as the only team with a losing record. The reason for this success? The Jets play in the AFC so I know it better, but these were also pretty easy picks to make (Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Colts, Broncos, Chargers).
The Losers
Me picking the NFC. My projected division winners are a combined 2-10, and none of them currently has a winning record. Seriously, that’s pathetic. Saving myself, I did pick the Panthers and the Cowboys as the wild card (the ‘Boys being a late switch from the Seahawks), but still – it’s hard to do much worse than that.
The Saints. The trendy pick to win the NFC (and yes, my pick as well), the Saints have been downright awful so far this far, tumbling to 0-3 – losing by 31, 17 and 17 points – and looking more like 2005’s 3-13 squad than last year’s NFC runner-up.
The Falcons. Sadly (well, at least for me), only five teams are 0-3 at this stretch in the season so the chance at the first-ever 0-16 team is again remote. But if anyone has a chance to blow it completely, it’s the Falcons. The whole Mike Vick thing royally screwed them, leaving them with no good options at QB (someone rightly pointed out that coach Bobby Petrino would trade all his QBs for his college QB last year, Brian Brohm), a team already defeated and, overall, lacking in quality talent. Throw in Petrino learning the pro game on the fly and this is an out-and-out disaster.
# posted by EJ @ 4:17 PM 
