Monday, September 29, 2008

Does anyone know what's going on around here?

One of the chief reasons for optimism for Colts fans is that it's pretty difficult to figure out who in the AFC is actually any good. Yesterday was a prime example. Buffalo and Tennessee both won moving to 4-0. We all know enough to take the Titans sort of seriously, although you have to wonder how things will shake out when Vince Young gets 'healthy' (whatever that completely entails). I'm willing to say that this team is legit(ish). They obviously have had an excellent defense for some time, and the offense is just trying to stay out of the way. It can't believe what terrible luck it was for the rest of the NFL that he got hurt. If Young could only have stayed healthy, the Titans could have been counted on to be a second tier team.

After the Titans though, it's anyone's guess. San Diego and Jacksonville both sucked out yesterday and came away with wins. Denver wandered into their own house of horrors. I suppose if Baltimore beats the Steelers tonight, we can assume they are good. I'm still not sold on Buffalo, though I freely admit that I can't articulate why off the top of my head.

If the Chargers or New England had bolted out of the gate, I think we'd all feel pretty sick right now. As it stands, the Colts are still right in the thick of things, although it's basically imperitive to win 3 of the next four games (including at the Titans) if they hope to keep their division hopes alive. Three of those games are on the road, although whether Green Bay is any good is anyone's guess (MMTTB will be fun this week!).

Links:
It's from last week, but I avoided the media last week. Whitlock gently wonders about Dungy's coaching schedule. It's a fair question, but I think that there are enough other things that have clearly gone wrong. Unless the rest of the NFL is practicing on Friday nights, I doubt this is the culprit.

This Star piece on Irsay's daughter was great yesterday.

Peter King claims he isn't shocked over the state of the NFL. His nonsensical intro (in which he claims that the topsy turvy-ness of this NFL season is to be expected) actually helps me articulate why I don't trust the Buffalos of the world. Because it's a long season, and a chunk of the league hasn't even played 4 games yet, it's just silly to talk about the NFL like there has been some sea change. I can buy Tennessee because we've seen this coming from them for some time. All it took was removing VY from the equation. As for other pretenders like Buffalo, it takes a lot more than 4 games to convince me that they've arrived. King would be better served telling people not to overreact to four (three!) games worth of data and just calm down a little. Instead he acts like the way the standings look now is the way they'll finish up.

7 comments:

shake'n'bake said...

"I'm still not sold on Buffalo, though I freely admit that I can't articulate why off the top of my head."

Because they almost lost to the Raiders?

Deshawn Zombie said...

Yes, that will do it.

Anonymous said...

Looking at our schedule vs. the Titans, I suspect that unless they implode (i.e. VY comes back to start), we will have to win BOTH games against the Titans to have a good shot at winning the South. A lot will come down to how "hot" teams are when each of us plays them but our remaining schedules aren't that different (as you'd expect being in the same division). At this point the Colts are probably looking at 10-6 or 11-5 at best (unless they really get hot...which is possible though not probable.) Tennessee is probably looking at 12-4 or 11-5so if we don't sweep the series with them we'll probaly be a wild card team (assuming we correct the problems we know are there and can get to back to playing good Colt football).

Deshawn Zombie said...

I'm not sure the Titans are a 12 win team. I'm not saying they'll fold, but 12 wins is a lot. They've looked solid, but I'll be stunned if they come out and put a 12 in the win column. Eventually, they'll have to throw to win and the fact that they built their team for one type of QB (re: no WRs) and now they have another will come back to bite them. Had they been built for Collins, I'd be worried.

Unknown said...

We're less than a quarter of the way through the season. The Colts have played 3 games, and are one of the most injured teams in football. We've played one divisional game, and lost on a 51 yard field goal.

The Titans worry me, because they're a better version of Chicago, Minnesota, and Jacksonville. They rely entirely on their running game, and have a dominating defense, complete with their own stud DT in Haynesworth.

The South looks weak this year, Colts included. If I had to bet my life on who would win, I'd say the Titans, but I've been wrong before.

If the Colts can correct themselves, they're still good for a 3-6 seed. If not, we could luck our way into a Wild Card.

I don't trust New England to let Cassel manage the game, and Moss is already dogging it.

I don't trust Norv Turner to pull another rabbit out of his ass and stabilize San Diego.

I don't trust Buffalo to keep the momentum going and win against tougher competition.

I don't expect the Steelers to keep Big Ben healthy for even half a season. I do however expect him to become significantly more acquainted with the turf of a number of stadiums.

I don't trust the Browns to be anything other than the Browns.

I don't trust the AFC West to do anything against decent competition.

At this point, I don't trust anyone in the AFC to do anything. It's too weird to go "Hey, will Buffalo get the #1 overall seed?" or "Check out those Titans! They're in first place in the AFC South, and are being lead by Kerry Collins!".

shake'n'bake said...

the early week 4 DVOA ratings say Indy has been the most consistent team so far, eww.

Anonymous said...

That Collier kid from Jacksonville is paralyzed from the waist down and had his leg amputated. Terrible and sad.