I have been watching this season with a certain level of disdain and disappointment. I mean the NFL is typically filled with parity..from week to week you can never be sure who is going to win and because the NFL season is so much shorter than the basketball season (82 games over 6 mos) or baseball season (162 games over 6 1/2 mos) if you fall too far behind other teams in your division it is hard to make a substantial run at the end to make it into the playoffs. This season has been one of the worse I can ever remember. The difference between the haves (those with few to no losses) and the have nots (those with several to all losses) is disheartening. Currently there are 3 no win teams-the Titans, the Buccaneers & the Rams. I will give the Bucs a pass because they are in a rebuilding year. The Rams..ugh..they are just a terrible team every year. I have no clue exactly where the failings lie..it cant just be the players or the coaches..somewhere something is fundamentally lacking with this team. Every year they manage a few wins but they always finish dead last in their division and far out of the playoffs. Where did the team that won the superbowl in 2000 go? Are we just a decade removed? Wow... that's unbelieveable. Even still the Rams have been bad for several years now. The most surprising of the 3 no win teams is the Titans. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Is this the same team that went 13-3 last year? Though they did lose a couple of players in the off-season with the biggest loss being that of Albert Haynesworth on the defense, nothing should have made them go from starting 10-0 last year to starting 0-6 this year. No wins? Not one? Wow..I dont think anyone saw that coming, not even the Titans themselves. Now admittedly they've been injury plagued , but still..I'm at a loss to put a finger on what the heck has caused this complete implosion. Last week in New England they were completely and utterly dismantled and embarassed in a debacle against the Pats where they were spanked 59-0 and where Collins finished the day 2 of 12 completions for -7 yards. NEGATIVE SEVEN. WTH? They even brought Vince Young in on a series who immediately came in a threw an interception. Wow. It boggles the mind. They are on a bye this week..I only hope they can turn the tide before the fans start calling for the head of Jeff Fisher.
Now if it were just the no wins that were bad, I wouldnt mind so much, but alas this is not the case. There a bunch of 1 win and 2 win teams that are just awful. The 1 win teams are the Browns, Chiefs & Lions and the 2 win teams are the Dolphins, Bills, Chargers, Raiders, Redskins, Panthers & Seahawks. That means there are 13 teams with a combined record of 17-55. That's just pathetic. Some teams like the Chiefs, Lions, Bills & Raiders are just gawd awful. Not just this year but every year consistently. The Chiefs and Raiders have for the last 6 years fought it out on which will finish last in the AFC West division. The Browns, Bills, & Panthers have some serious quarterback issues that they will need to address soon if they have any hopes of salvaging the wreckage that is their season so far. The Dolphins, Seahawks & Chargers will get better as the season progresses (Chargers always start off slow). The Lions like the Bucs are in a rebuilding phase after FINALLY getting ride of Matt Millen. It will take at least a few years to undo the damage left behind. The Redskins..wow..what a hot bunch of mess there (I will address this in a separate blog since there is just too much to cover in 1 blog).
Now dont get me wrong I appreciate the no loss teams- the Saints, Vikings, Colts & Broncos and the 1 loss teams- the Giants & Falcons, but with so many teams doing so poorly it gets harder each week when making predictions to pick an upset. I mean yes they happen- who knew the Eagles would lose to the Raiders- but more often than not the teams that stink each week continue to stink. Some games are nearly unwatchable as 2 atrocious teams face off to see which one is worse. As we are fast approaching the midway point of the season I hope that something positive happens to turn some of these teams around and bring back the missing elements in this game right now- parity and unpredictability and fair and competitive games. Believe me, it is desperately needed.
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