0-16 or 16-0 or Both

The Inverse Relationship between 0-16 and 16-0

Anybody have a clue?

What is an inverse relationship you ask? I don't know, but it sounds soooo right for where we find ourselves this NFL season. What are the odds of a team going 16-0 in the same season as a team going 0-16? Fact checkers! Is it even possible? Well, the 2011 football season has us on this trippy journey of 2 teams moving directly away from each other at the speed of an Aaron Rodgers 20 yard skinny post throw. While most will focus on the Packers and inversely on the 72 Dolphins, I on the other hand will be focusing on the Colts and inversely the 08 Lions.


Crown Em (It is quite an honor to work Denny Greene's meltdown into this blog?

While Denny says, "Crown em!" I disagree

I will not be doing any of the slobbing that ESPN or NFL.com or any other sports media will be doing all over Green Bay over the next week or 2 or 6. (Case in point, I saw ESPN.com article a couple days ago praise a packer D for their performance on Monday night like they were the 2000 Ravens. Guys and gals, can we please taper such enthusiasm. First of all they were playing the Curt Ponder led Minnesota Vikings. Secondly, they are 27th ranked in the League in total defense). The fact of the matter is, the Pack D is still a bit suspect to hand 'em the crown,  and in the immortal words of Denny Greene, "You wanna crown em? then crown their a--" Needless to say, that year, as adamant as Denny Green was on the point, we didn't crown em, we crowned somebody else (ironically enough, the team that is on the verge of running the table in reverse this season). So when everybody wants to crown somebody, I usually stay away from that.

With that, I think the much more interesting story is the team who goes winless. It is just as hard, if not harder to play 16 NFL games and at least not stumble arse backwards into a win or two. I know what you are thinking, what abou tthe 08 Lions? Well, I retort, what about the 07 Pats...I know, let me qualify. I am talking regular season...an Imperfect team doesn't get playoffs, (but maybe we should have a seeded playoff of the worst 4 teams play the week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. Oh yeah, there's that Pro Bowl thing, but who do you think takes the ratings battle in that? 4 teams tanking like all heck for the dream of turning their franchise's destiny around or the Pro Bowl. The Golden Girls could beat the Pro Bowl in a ratings battle...anyways the Loser Bowl could be played the afternoon of the Super Bowl so in the span of what could be the most entertaining day in football you have 2 teams doing their worst to get the #1 pick and theoretically the best 2 teams playing in what in this millenium has been quite an entertaining game.)

Finally, no team will ever go 19-0 (or 21-0) if Mr. Goodell expands the season. It's just physically and mentally too rigorous. And yes, you heard it here first, the Pack will not repeat as SB champs if they go 16-0 reg season. So I choose to follow the Colts, who I still believe tanked purposely by not picking up Garrard.

Bengals Recap

No moral defeats here

Well, the Bengals finally came through  and picked up a loss.  They had done to them, what they had been doing to teams for most of the season this past Sunday as they only held the ball for 26 mins vs. Pitt's 34. Not only that, but Big Red actually looked like a rook a little bit as he tossed a couple of key picks in the 4th qtr. The Bengals got fat off a few weak teams during the first half of the season, but if they want to continue to pick up losses and salvage the season (against a tougher second half schedule), they have to continue to put the game on Dalton's young arm instead of leaning on the run and having Dalton manage and the surprising D. The Bengals are far out of the hunt for the #1 draft pick and even a top 10 pick, but a top 20 pick is still not out of the question if they can figure out how to pull things apart over the next month and a half.

Carson Redux

Just as I jumped on the bandwagon and began bashing "Pick Six" Palmer, he managed the stew out of the game v the Chargers for a great day while only throwing one pick. Thus, this is where Carson should settle in his career. Manage games and don't make mistakes. He needs to throw 25 or less times and minimize the mistakes, which depends on a strong run game and an average at least to good D. Don't get me wrong, he can still toss it for 300 or better on occasion, but if he gets too many chances, the Raiders will pay in pick sixes.

Evil Genius v Ingeniously Evil?

Suck my what what what!!!

Sidenote: It was reported in the New York Post that after the Pats ramrodding of the Jets, the Evil Genius (Bill Belicheck) blurted out-off the record of course-“Thirty-seven points on the best defense in the league, s--- my ----.” (This is a family blog guys, well kinda). Ryan of course responds today saying, “It’s something I’ll bring up to him after we beat them in the playoffs again this year.” Are you serious? It’s ok to be confident, it’s ok to even be a little brash, but when you constantly are putting billboard material up for other teams and a big bull’s eye on your team’s back, that is not OK! Jets owner Woody Johnson needs to put a gag order on Ryan, or a restraining order on the press to not come within 100 feet of Ryan. Ryan makes it easy to hate the Jets...seriously, when have people ever rooted for Belicheck, but it happened, against Rex

Voice Crying Out in the Wilderness (The Gospel of Flex)

Some guy posing as John the Baptist

I am the John the Baptist of NFL bloggers crying out to the NFL execs repent for your set in stone schedules and turn to the Flex Scheduling instead...We had another stinker on Monday night. You can not be serious, Mr. Goodell, that this is how you want the NFL represented. I told you to put Cincy/Pitt in a prime time slot.

The NFL is not like MLB or other pro sports leagues. Market size doesn't matter as much in the NFL. I know Yankee fans who once the Yanks lose, they are done with baseball. A lot of MLB and also NBA fans are this way, but not the NFL. The NFL can boast that as long as you have a good game with a solid matchup, most fans will watch. It could be Pitt v Indy (well, not this year but any other year) and that could score great ratings on a national stage. No way MLB could show the Pirates v Twins on Sunday Night Baseball.  Mr. Goodell, are you asleep at the wheel or do you just think the NFL will dominate forever? Because it won't, nothing does. Keep pushing the envelope and don't try to stay fat off yesterday's meal. (great quote # 1 of 2 in this blog!)

Aaaaaargh!!!! Cassel-less KC @ New England is this Monday...mercy Mr. Goodell, mercy already, now please flex these prime time match ups!!!!

The Miami Admonition

Nothin wrong with a low profile guys

Did anybody learn anything from the Heat debacle last NBA offseason? Apparently the Eagles were on vacation on the moon and decided to come back and declare themselves paper champs. Championship football teams are not made on paper but in the trenches!! (That's a great quote and if you use it, give me credit!) For the rest of history, use of the word DREAM TEAM should stop, it should be retired because there was only one true DREAM TEAM and that was the 92 Olympic basketball team with an assembly of the best players that EVER played the game, the winningest coaching squad ever to analyze the hardwood, the weight of an angry nation of 200M folks pissed that the US didn't win gold in the 88 Olympics...just stop, no more. Anybody that even attempts to utter these words outside of a reference to the 92 Olympic basketball team should be arrested, and publicly flogged. And with that, I honestly thought early on that Andy Reid could right the ship, but he can't because the Eagles have screwed up something more valuable than talent, and that's chemistry. Chemistry can't be fixed, it is what it is. So, if the Eagles don't turn things around quickly, they will go down as yet another paper champion disappointment.

The only DREAM TEAM, ever!

NFL Uni Police

These cleats are sweets

Just a quick thought, and this really burns me up being an original and kinda cosmopolitan guy who likes to push the fashion envelope from time to time. Chicago wideout, Earl Bennet was fined for wearing orange cleats. The NFL will continue to fine him and possibly even eject him from a game if he continues...But wait, isn't orange one of the Bears primary colors in their scheme? NFL needs to stop policing players from being individuals at times when it comes to fashion. I actually liked Chad's gold cleats but I could see the NFL fining him because they did not match the color scheme. C'mon Mr. Goodell, you have NFL prime time match ups turning into blowouts and you are worried about matching alternate cleats? Flex the freakin NFL schedule and stop worrying about player accessories. I HOPE THE BEARS ARE READING MY BLOG, BECAUSE HERE'S AN IDEA...THE WHOLE TEAM SHOULD WEAR ORANGE CLEATS (including Lovie and his whole staff)!! (If they do, I'm taking credit).

Powerless Rankings

The Skins, Browns, and Eagles are making a B line for the bottom. As the plot thickens...one thing remains the same, The Colts may be worse than the 08 Lions (and the 08 Lions are really starting to feel the pressure. Roy Williams conceded off the record that, "Indy is much worse than we were, but we are hoping that they can just catch a lucky break somewhere along the line, especially in a couple weeks against Cam and the Panthers.") They let the Gabbert-led Jags march into their house and open a  can of whoop-arse on em...Doesn't get much more pathetic than that. It was a Litmus test to see just how terrible Indy was, and if they had any fight left in em. Well, they failed with flying colors on both counts because they got no fight left, and they are terrible. Let the Countdown to Imperfection begin!!!!

1. Indy (Has opened up a 2 game lead in the race for the #1 draft pick, but forget about that, they are cruisin towards the Imperfect season)
2. St. Louis (even coming off a win, they are so entrenched in this #2 spot, it didn't really make much of a difference)
3. Minnesota (makes a resounding debut jumping to the #3 spot with a statement game against the Pack. Up until that point, they put forth great effort and were sorta in every game)
4. Seattle (so bad that even on the heels of an upset victory, they still make their Powerless debut)
5. Cleveland (momentum counts for something in the Powerless Rankings as the Brownies have dropped 3 straight in games NFL Films secretly plans on burning game film)

I know there are some controversies brewing as many of you are thinking, what about Jax and Carolina and even the Skins. All I can say is trust the system, trust the system, it will all work out in the end (and remember this is the Powerless Rankings, not #1 draft pick standings).

Dishonorable mention: Skins (losers of 5 straight barely missed out on the Powerless Rankings but I gave the Brownies the edge because head to head right now I think the Browns get the loss); Bucs (even at 4-5, being losers of 3 straight can easily land you in the discussion); Carolina (I believe in Cam, just not the rest of the squad); Jags (the bottom of the league is so non-competitive, that the Jags win combined with the terrible play of a few teams dropped them from the bottom 5)

Worth mentioning: Denver and Miami, both winners of 2 straight are showing signs that they are not at all serious about the #1 draft pick. Denver has actually entered the AFC West race with Tim Tebow at the helm.

Colts Keys to Defeat

There are no Colts Keys to Defeat this week as they have a bye to reflect on where they are and what they have to do in order to drop 6 more and live on in infamy.

Final Thought - Talk about Vegas Trap

Just checked out the early line on the Bengals v Ravens and the Bengals are 7.5 dogs in Baltimore...Wow! Vegas is certainly hoping many see the Bengals 7 point loss at home to Pitt and the Ravens loss in Seattle riling them up and say "in Baltimore the Ravens will crush them." Well, quote me on this, the Bengals will pound that spread into the dirt!

Final Final Thought

So, the NFL Commish can send me an email describing his league's efforts to take care of the guys of the 60's, 70's, and 80's who helped pave the way for the modern game, (a noble cause in and of itself). But I can't post on NFL.com if I mention the words "keys + to + defeat." I am not good enough to link the blog in NFL.com forums, but you can pilfer bytes from my inbox? That's just not right...

On a serious note...I just found out that Hall of Famer and former Bengals coach (who led them to the 81 SB game vs. the 49ers), Forrest Gregg, is battling Parkinson's Disease. My sincerest prayers go out to Mr. Gregg and his family.

Anyways, as usual, thanks for reading the

God's speed!