South
This
is… and it’s not even close… the most difficult division in football
to predict. In Indianapolis we have worries about the health of
Peyton Manning. In Tennessee we have worries about Chris Johnson
holding out. In Jacksonville… well… do we have a quarterback?
And then there’s Houston. We’ll get to them in just moments… but
let’s face it… simply put, we’ve all wanted to like them before.
(And
we all have liked them before.)
(And
we’ve all been disappointed.)
It
is so blindingly tempting to declare them a bandwagon-ready candidate
that no one really wants to do it. Instead… the media is secretly
telling you to like them. How? By constantly mentioning things
like Manning and Johnson and the quarterback-to-be-named-later
stories and then every so often talking about the Texans in terms
relating to fantasy football numbers and not playoff appearances.
I
hate this division. Hate it. Hate it… hate… hate… hate… hate it.
Houston
(10-6)
I
wrote those introductory words for this section a few weeks ago.
And now, as I proofread this for publication at the start of the
season, the worst of fears has come true… the Texans are a favorite.
Peyton
Manning appears down… maybe out. Chris Johnson finally arrived…
to play for a team with a new coaching staff in place, questions
all over the roster, and a history that suggests he needs to look
after himself. And Jacksonville… well… never mind.
Let’s
go back to 2002 for a moment. Because that’s where my fears begin…
as does the history of the Houston Texans.
You
might recall September 8, 2002. That was the day the Dallas Cowboys
arrived to welcome Houston to the league. The first regular season
game for the Texans. And the Big Brother Cowboys were in town.
And
everyone… everyone except those bandwagon can’t name a player
while telling you they’ve loved the Cowboys forever fans (Tom
Landry must be spinning in his grave)… was hoping Houston could
win.
None
of us really expected the Texans to win. I mean… come on… let’s
be realistic.
But
wouldn’t it be nice?
And
then… amazingly… wasn’t it nice?
Houston
went on to win 19-10, and a curse of sorts was born.
It’s
my contention that Houston became better than they were that night…
one of those perception becoming the reality moments where we
all heard about the Texans winning, and then never saw them in
the news much while they were losing.
Heck…
more to the point… do you know who else they beat that year? The
Giants and the Steelers. Admit it… you’re impressed. They went
4-12 and yet they still developed a reputation. Team on the rise…
capable of anything… building it right.
Here’s
the thing though… they never live up to expectations.
Never.
Every
time I’ve thought I had a read on them… and figured they were
about to break out and win consistently… they’ve gone on losing
streaks or been flattened by inferior opponents in important games.
They only win when it doesn’t matter.
And
it’s the 4-game losing streaks that kill them.
In
2009 they started out 5-3 and everyone raised eyebrows again.
“Could it be?” (My words… but general feeling.) Then they lost
four straight, all divisional games, including two against Indianapolis.
Suddenly they were 5-7 and out of it. So what did they do at that
point? (Tank? Of course not.) Won four straight to end the year,
finish 9-7, and just miss the playoffs.
Oh…
so close… but building for 2010. Right?
Yeah…
well… wrong.
See…
they started the year with a victory over Indy. They got to 4-2
and their bye week. And then… well… they never came back from
their bye week. The record shows two different 4-game losing streaks
and a 6-10 finish.
I’m
going with 10-6 this season because…
First…
the teams in their division seem to be handing it to them. Peyton
Manning is hurting. Tennessee is still trying to get a new staff
up to speed. And Jacksonville has problems.
Second…
I think Wade Phillips is being given some talent on defense, and
he will make them one of the strongest in this division, and possibly
one of the best in the AFC.
Third…
I know they have some incredible talent on offense, including
arguably the best receiver in football and a fantasy football
god at running back. (That’s a late joke there. The running back
and fantasy football. Ha ha.)
And
yet…
Ok,
the bad news.
The
schedule is out to kill them.
The
rotation gives them the NFC South. (New Orleans… Atlanta… Tampa…
yikes! And Tampa is a road game.) In the AFC they get the North.
(Pittsburgh… Baltimore… and a sleeping improver in Cleveland.)
I think it’s very safe to predict 5-5 in non-divisional games
for them as a best-case scenario.
I’m
taking them. Add me to the list. But they start with Indianapolis,
at Miami and at New Orleans. If Pittsburgh is coming to visit
in week four, and Houston isn’t 2-1 or better at that point, they
could be off the rails in a hurry.
Indianapolis
(8-8)
I’m
being generous here and expecting Peyton Manning to play more
than half the season. I have to. Just can’t write it and now in
time to give it perfect editing. If not… well… did you see the
rotation the AFC South has? I mentioned it up above in the Houston
section. How would you expect the Colts to do against the Saints,
Falcons, Buccaneers, Steelers and Ravens without him? Well… hold
on… because the Colts also won the division last year, which means
they get the addition of the Patriots to that list (road game).
If
Manning doesn’t play more than half the year, then start adding
in losses to the Chiefs, Browns, and others that I would normally
expect to be good but not good enough. (Indianapolis has this
habit… with Manning… of winning when they should. Without him…
it will be ugly. He has saved them so often over the years that
I think we will all end up surprised by how bad they are without
him. (Should do wonders for his legend though… he’s got that going
for him… which is nice.)
Call
me crazy… I don’t think we’ll be seeing the home team in the Super
Bowl this year when it’s played in Indianapolis.
Tennessee
(6-10)
New
head coach.
6-10
last year… 8-8 in 2009… now a new quarterback (as in pretty much
an entirely new set of quarterbacks on the roster)… and a star
player that sat out virtually the entire preseason in a year when
the team had just about zero team workouts between seasons.
So…
no consistency in the coaching staff… no recent success stories
to build on… and the team leadership is questionable.
(Uh-oh.)
And
Chris Johnson scares me here, because history suggests that players
coming in to camp late just don’t seem to hold up. They pull hamstrings
or end up with some nagging injury like an ankle sprain that lasts
for weeks.
But
let’s not focus on the injury. More to the point… head coach Mike
Munchak.
I’ve
got nothing against the guy. In fact, a few things I’ve heard
indicate he’s a passionate man with some really good ideas. But
when it comes to how the offseason in the NFL was going to hit
teams turning over coaching staffs, the Titans would be second
only to the Panthers for where it hurt most.
Matt
Hasselbeck is the new quarterback. This isn’t a journeyman by
any stretch… he’s played for two organizations and only in Seattle
did he get to start. He’s good for 15-18 touchdown passes and
14-17 interceptions while completing 60% of his passes. In short…
if he went to the Jets, they’d be happy… but this is the Titans.
And he’ll remain upright and walking only as long as Johnson remains
in the backfield.
But
more importantly, I don’t know how much of a system Tennessee
has in place. I don’t think this is going to be an impressive
year for them.
Jacksonville
(5-11)
Maurice
Jones-Drew is going to single-handedly win four games for Jacksonville.
After that… Luke McCown and Blaine Gabbert… do I really need to
explain why 5 wins might be a stretch here?
West
San
Diego (10-6)
When
has a Norv Turner team ever lived up to its potential?
Honestly.
I’m asking. Because I don’t know the answer.
And
that’s why I have problems with the Chargers and the division.
Oakland
can’t get out of its own way. Denver has a new staff leading a
team that has no leaders on the roster. And Kansas City… well…
we’ll talk about their coach in a minute.
It’s
all there for a team that once again holds that label of talented.
Now… hold on, let’s start fresh off of that comment, because talented
doesn’t cut it when you’re always labeled talented and you never
achieve…
Phillip
Rivers. I like Phillip Rivers. How about you? He’s a good quarterback.
But I am so very tired of hearing about how he’s a great quarterback.
He may very well be… but let’s see if I’ve got this straight.
Rivers was handed the keys to a team that had a consistent coaching
staff (yup… and while some of you remember Marty and want to call
me on this, it was a team with a front office that stayed in place
and was making the playoffs with big names on both sides of the
ball, which leads me too…), and a talented roster (oh yes, there’s
that word again). Since then we see the Chargers trip over their
feet early on in most seasons, claw and fight at the end of seasons,
and occasionally make the playoffs and occasionally not. That
about sums it up… right?
And
then after they go home for the year, way too often before the
playoffs even begin, we hear about how great Rivers is.
Well…
hmm… (and especially for those of you asking about Marty and consistency)…
Matt Ryan was handed the keys of an impending disaster in Atlanta
(franchise was forecast to fall apart after those quarterback-before-Ryan
headlines and coaching changes), and they have a solid club. Three
straight winning seasons in fact. Drew Brees was walking into
no man’s land in New Orleans and won a championship. Mark Sanchez…
can’t hit the side of the Empire State Building if he throws off
of its observation deck Mark Sanchez… has led the Jets to two
straight conference championship games. And we can go on… want
me to? Ok…
Eli
Manning ended the perfect season quest.
Ben
Roethlisberger has two rings.
(Manning
and Roethlisberger… hmm…who else was drafted that year?)
Cassel
in Kansas City… and… there, that’s enough.
All
I’m saying is that while appreciate he’s good, and maybe even
very good, eventually I’d just like a little bit of reward from
all the potential and hype. Let’s not kid ourselves folks… remember
that Rivers has been the starter in San Diego since 2006, and
yet the quarterbacks with him in that first round in 2004 have
three titles. And, sorry… when you tell me the team is talented…
reaching 8-8 and falling short of the playoffs is not greatness.
Check over the record with Rivers as the starter and get back
to me. Ok?
But…
they do seem to figure out bad year followed by a good year as
a pattern… and I think the playoffs and a division win is coming,
even with a schedule featuring Green Bay, New England and New
York (Jets).
Kansas
City (9-7)
Do
you know who Kansas City defeated last year? Let me list a few
of the conquests…
Cleveland…
the Browns were 5-11 on the year…
San
Francisco… 6-10…
Buffalo…
in overtime… 4-12
Arizona…5-11…
Denver…
split with them… 4-12…
Tennessee…
6-10…
In
other words, they weren’t beating up the very best.
And
this year… AFC East and NFC North. Plus the joy of Pittsburgh
for winning the division. I see a club that could be ok in general,
but definitely will not be returning to the playoffs (and will
have a very hard time reaching an even record).
The
Chiefs start out with Buffalo at home (I’d say they should win
that one… but Cassel may not be 100% and look above, it took them
overtime last season). Then we find them traveling to Detroit
and San Diego. (Uh-oh.) If they can get Cassel going early in
the year, and start out 2-1 with Minnesota and Indianapolis as
the fourth and fifth games, they could hang in there for a while
and at least put up a nice show. If not… well…
On
November 21st the Chiefs travel to New England to play the Patriots.
Get this stretch… at New England, home Pittsburgh, at Chicago,
at New York (Jets), home Green Bay. Even with a winning start,
and the Vikings and Colts lined up, 9-7 is looking very optimistic
as a prediction.
Plus,
I have a problem with Todd Haley. I don’t like him. Last year
he went nuts over his perception of Denver embarrassing his club…
and then this year in the preseason he went off again on the opposition
after what he perceived as a slight in a lopsided loss. Pretty
soon, all of the teams in the league are going to be thrilled
to paste a Haley-led club.
Denver
(6-10)
I
happen to like Kyle Orton. Not a whole lot… not as a team savior
in the breath of Brady or Brees… but as a guy who’s managed to
rise above many negative comments, I like him.
And,
as opposed to most places in the NFL with new coaching staffs,
I think John Fox actually might put together a solid group. (Judging
by the Tim Tebow efforts, they seem to be looking to make a fresh
start with whatever roster gives them the best they have at every
slot. Might not be a winning formula for 2011, but it should give
them room to grow.)
This
is a club bringing a lot of youth to camp, and I expect that to
show. There will be mistakes… and it’s part of the reason I think
both Kansas City and San Diego can have winning records. But…
even without much to talk about… the Broncos face the Raiders
twice along with the Bengals, Bills, and… well… I think 6 wins
is a good place to put them.
Oakland
(4-12)
The
Oakland Raiders would like you to know they are very fast. Really
fast.
Quick…
quick… quick.
Actually,
the word I saw recently that stuck with me was speedy. I liked
that one. Speedy.
In
no place did I see any blurb about whether or not these fast and
quick and speedy people can play football.
(I
just saying… speedy, yes… football talent, not a word. So let’s
look for ourselves…)
New
head coach.
Jason
Campbell at quarterback.
A
schedule filled with opponents like Detroit and Cleveland (meaning
clubs I think are improving this season), and the AFC East.
If
you think there is no way the Lions or Browns or Dolphins can
best the Raiders, things look fantastic. (Of course, if you do
believe the Raiders have those games wrapped up, you likely also
get impressed by how you can teach football skills but can’t teach
speed.)
They’ll
have four or five games where they look really good. On those
days, the running game will be strong… the defensive line will
be shoving the opponent around… Jason Campbell will look like
an NFL starter… stuff like that. But honestly, those are going
to be few and far between.
If
they lose to Denver in week one, they’ll be fortunate to come
out of the opening weeks at 1-3. (Which is at Denver, at Buffalo,
home New York (Jets), home New England.) And I don’t like the
looks of things after that. There isn’t a spot on their schedule
where they will be favored in back-to-back weeks, and there are
plenty of back-to-back spots (New England and New York as one
example) where they should lose consecutive games.