Team that is really good but likes to play down to their competition: Chiefs

As I predicted, the game against the Rams was much closer than it needed to be. We tend to play at the level of our competition. That is good news when we play a team like the Chargers or 49ers. It’s not great news when we play the Colts or the Rams. The good news is we play the Bengals this week so we should see a better performance from our offense. After that we play the Broncos and Texans and those teams are so bad, I don’t think we can play down to their level even if we tried.

Teams that can score enough points to beat the Chiefs: Eagles, Dolphins, Bills, Bengals

These 4 teams have weaknesses for sure. But in order to beat the Chiefs you have to be able to put up points. All 4 of these teams have what it takes from a coaching and talent level to have the potential to outscore the Chiefs. Right now, I think these 4 teams and the Chiefs are the only ones with a realistic chance of winning the super bowl. I’m most skeptical of the Dolphins. We will know if they are legit over the next 3 weeks as they play 3 road games in a row against the 49ers, Chargers and Bills. (Although, I am sure the Chargers game will feel like a home game).

Teams that look like super bowl contenders one week but can lay a super dud another week: 49ers, Cowboys, Vikings

A lot of this comes down to quarterback play. Due to the NFC being sort of a mess, I actually think all 3 of these teams along with the Eagles have a chance to represent the conference in the super bowl. But on the biggest stage the only one I sort of trust is Hurts. Jimmy G obviously has his limitations and on top of that, they are the most injury prone team of all time. Elijah Mitchell got hurt again, Deebo is banged up and McCaffrey left the game for a little bit with an injury. The only stadium that takes out more players than sofi is what ever stadium the 49ers play in that week. Despite having more upside than Jimmy G and being surrounded by talent, I don’t trust either Dak or Cousins in big situations. And the Vikings D doesn’t put up much of a fight against other teams either.

They are who they are…and who they are is limited: Titans, Ravens

These are two really good football teams led by really good football coaches who have a very clear identity. The problem is they simply can’t throw the ball on any consistent basis. Lamar is on my fantasy teams and so I watch a lot of Ravens football. He has missed at least 5 or 6 wide open people on deep balls that would be touchdowns. His inaccuracy combined with injuries has led to this team being basically a run only team. Because of their schedule, that might be enough to win the division but not enough to win in the playoffs. The Titans have similar issues. The goal of the other team is basically stop Henry and make Tannehill beat us. That can work against lesser teams but doesn’t pan out against good teams like we saw on Sunday. They will never lose big…but they won’t win when it matters most.

Teams that are way better without Zach Wilson: Jets

Zach Wilson has been a disaster. I thought we would see Flacco this week but instead they went with Mike White. I know he has a generic name but he’s a real person, I promise. And he played a hell of a game. In games that Zach Wilson doesn’t play, the Jets lead the league in passing yards. In games that Zach Wilson does play they are 31 in passing (this still seems high). I know they played the Bears who have more holes in their defense then the movie Holes. But still the week before Wilson had less completions than punts. That is quite the turn around. Wilson’s career might be over.

Teams that had a running back have a big game and then wear a big hat: Commanders

Brian Robinson is on my fantasy team. Unfortunately he was on my bench. It was a rough week in my family league as I started Dameon Pierce and JuJu over Robinson and Chris Godwin. Needless to say, I did not win. Anyway, after the game Robinson wore an unusually large hat. It’s worth a google. You won’t be disappointed.

Best team in the league that doesn’t have fans: Chargers

Name a Chargers fan that you know. I’ll wait.

Team about to lose out: Giants

It was a nice story but sometimes your record is based upon who you have played. The Giants have dropped two in a row and now face Washington and the Eagles twice, Minnesota and the Colts. Sure they might win a game or two but I would not be shocked if they lose out. Now that I have said this they will probably win most of these games. You’re welcome Giants fans.

2023 AFC South Champs: Jaguars

They have lost one game by more than one score and that was only by 10. This is a very well coached young football team that is only going to get better. They are too far down to catch everyone in the playoff race but look out for the Jags next year.

Team that just lost to the Raiders but is still glad Russell Wilson isn’t their quarterback: Seahawks

Terrible loss to a bad team and they let Josh Jacobs run for like a thousand yards. Seahawks are starting to get exposed but are still at least fun and best of all don’t have to suffer through Russell Wilson playing quarterback.

Team that used to be great and now is irrelevant: Patriots

The Patriots without Tom Brady are pretty worthless. They beat the Jets in a game that had one exciting play at the very end. Then they lost to the Vikings in a game that had lots of exciting plays but not enough good ones for them. They are well coached and do enough well to win games but they are destined to be 8-9 or 9-8 for the foreseeable future.

Team that has a quarterback who really likes massages: Browns

Too soon?

The 2020 NFC East: The 2022 NFC South

This division finds ways to get worse every week. The Bucs lost in overtime to the lowly Browns. The Falcons literally threw away the game against the Commanders. I almost forgot the Saints were still a football team. Apparently so did their offense. The only winner this week were the Panthers but they beat the Broncos and that barely counts. This has all the makings of an 8-9 or 7-10 team making the playoffs. Hopefully there is another set up where one team loses on purpose and keeps another team from winning the division. That always makes for good tv and at least one angry fan base.

Team that still sucks but is starting to be a little more fun: Packers

Yeah they still lost but at least they are scoring points now. And Christian Watson is fun. They have good players so I am not sure why they are so bad. Maybe they will play Jordan Love and he will play well and he can end Aaron Rodgers career just like Rodgers ended Favre’s. Time will tell.

Team that refuses to ever have a losing record: Steelers

I don’t believe Mike Tomlin has ever had a losing record. Going into last night’s game, they were sitting at 3-7. Now they are 4-7. They can lose one more game and still finish 9-8. They have the Falcons, Ravens twice, Panthers, Raiders and Browns on the schedule. I mean it doesn’t look impossible for them to go 5-1 during that stretch. Maybe they can fit a tie in there somewhere and finish 8-8-1.

Team that is undefeated since their quarterback cried in public: Raiders gonna Raider

All it took was a few tears to win back to back games in overtime. Hosting the Chargers this week is a perfect set up for overtime game #3.

Team that should have hired me instead of Jeff Saturday: Colts

While Jeff and I have a lot in common as far as a resume to be a head football coach, (both coached high school football, both are named Jeff, both make snarky comments), there is one area where I am confident that I am highly more qualified as I am willing to bet I have played a ton more Madden than he has. I am firm believer that every team should have a Madden Nerd to help with clock management. Why he allowed so much time to go off the clock makes zero sense to me…but then again I have played a lot of Madden. When Matt Ryan scrambled and then dove but ended up 3 yards short of the first down (which is about the most Matt Ryan thing ever) you had to call a timeout there. You have two plays to get 3 yards. You call timeout to make sure you gather everyone together and make sure you get it right. You also save like 20 seconds on the clock. You had all 3 timeouts and still were only at the 30. It made no sense and his reasoning made less sense. But again, he probably hasn’t played much Madden.

Worst home team ever: Cardinals

They are 1-6 at home. Yes, you read that correctly. They are 1-11 in their last 12 home games. You can’t make this stuff up. Teams with more home wins this year include the Steelers, Broncos, Raiders and the Chargers (and the Chargers don’t even really have a home).

Saddest team to be a fan of: Lions

The Lions have been historically bad for a long time. Since the 1958 season, they have won exactly 1 playoff game. Let that sink in for a minute. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016. They haven’t won double digit games since 2014. They once went defeated (0-16). But under Dan Campbell they are at least scrappy and fun. They even had a winning streak of 3 games. Then the Bills were in town for Thanksgiving. The Lions played competitive football for 4 quarters. They were down 3 late and driving. They had a 3rd and 1 and for some reason decided to throw it deep. I’ve never understood the throw it deep on 3rd and 1 strategy. How about you throw it short and get the first down and keep the drive going. But instead on 4th and 1 they kick a FG to tie and go into overtime. The problem is there was 23 seconds left. Josh Allen needed basically one play to get the Bills in FG range because the Lions D is so bad. They kick the game winner and Buffalo wins two games in a row in Detroit. This is something the Lions haven’t done since 2016. Mad props to any Lions fans out there for hanging with your team through it all.

Team that used to be fun and scrappy and now is just injured and sad: Bears

Just a week ago, I thought this team is fun. Now Fields is hurt and Mooney is out for the year. Trevor Siemian, the back up quarterback got hurt during warm ups. If that isn’t the saddest line of the week, I don’t know what is. He got a shot so he could play through the pain keeping fans from having to watch Nathan Peterman play football. Their one good defensive player, Eddie Jackson got hurt too. And they traded all their other good defensive guys. It was a fun 3 weeks of being interested in Bears football.

Rams…more like Lambs…am I right?:

This team is a very bad football team. I mean our defense is improved but they are not that good. They can’t run. They can’t pass. They really just can’t wait for this season to be over.

Seriously…when is this ride going to be over: Broncos

I didn’t think it could get worse but apparently I was wrong. This team is so bad offensively. They are dead last in points scored averaging 14.3 points per game. The last 3 games they are averaging 12 points a game. At one point the announcer said they had 18 drives in a row without scoring a touchdown. And it looks like the defense finally gave up. Coming into this game, if they had scored 18 points a game they would have been 8-1. But the defense has had enough as they gave up plenty of points to Sam Darnold of all people. This is a new low. Russ is all about positivity except when it comes to getting positive yards. Even my wife who is die hard gave up. About half way through the 4th quarter she said change it, lets watch some good football. This is the first time this has happened in the history of our marriage. They traded Drew Lock for Russell Wilson and got worse offensively. Let that sink in. And now they face an angry Ravens team followed by the Chiefs. This ride is about to get a lot longer and a lot more miserable.

Worst organization ever: Texans

They are so bad that Dameon Pierce is worthless in fantasy football now. I literally can’t play him. Everyone just stops him because the quarterback play is so bad and they don’t have anyone to throw too. This isn’t just a terrible team, this is the worst organization in all of professional sports.