If you’re unfamiliar with my writing, you’ll likely need to be caught up on what this article is. It’s a collection of thoughts and opinions that didn’t merit a full article. They don’t tend to be very long, and they often lack the depth that is shown in many of our other articles. They are short, concise, and to the point. Now, straight to my thoughts.
The question I’ve been wondering about all week has been which of the 3-0 surprises will fall off the wagon first. I tend to think that the Bills are the more stable team. They used to have an established tradition of winning, and I think that culture will help them cope with success. The Lions don’t have a tradition of winning, at least not in the Super Bowl era. In fact, they have a tradition of losing. Their big question will be this. How will they handle their losses? We know they’ll get them. It’s all a matter of their ability to bounce back from defeat, and I’m not sure they can do it.
I’ve been wondering all week if the Falcons and the Steelers are actually playoff teams this season. The Steelers are 2-1, but they looked poor in the game against the Colts, and the Falcons haven’t looked any better. The Falcons are in the more dire position as their record is sub-.500, and they play in one of the toughest divisions in football. Regardless of their current situations, both teams need to pick it up as they move forward, or they’ll be missing the playoffs altogether.
The most interesting division in football may be the NFC West for all the wrong reasons. Let’s face it. That division is terrible, and we could see our second division winner in a row with less than 8 wins come from that division. I believed going into the season that the Rams had made progress, but it appears that they’re as terrible as ever. Kevin Kolb hasn’t been able to turn the Cardinals into a winner. San Francisco and Seattle both look extremely inconsistent. Regardless, I’ll go ahead and predict that San Fran will be in the playoffs this year.
Staying in the west, I want to talk for a moment about the Chargers and the Raiders. Both of these teams look solid, but the Chargers looked like a team with no discipline in their loss to New England. On top of that, they almost lost to the terrible Chiefs. I’ll make another bold prediction and take the Raiders to win the division. Sorry San Diego. I just don’t love you the way I used to.
Finally, I want to address the idea that a team will purposely tank to gain an edge in the NFL draft. No. Not now. Not ever. These are competitors we’re talking about. How many people really think that guys that hate losing will purposely do just that for a perceived edge in the draft? Let’s get real. I know there’s a huge draw in next year’s draft named Andrew Luck, but I would be shocked if a team purposely lost so they could get him. I hope, in this case, I’m right. It would be unfair to the fans if I’m wrong.
That’s all I’ve got today folks. Football is just 1 day away. May all your teams do well and prosper!
