2016 NFL Season

[Green Habit]

Yea but how 'bout dem Vikes?! Geezes we are looking solid

If the Broncos can't repeat, a Vikes/Bengals Super Bowl would be cool. The Zimmer Bowl plus high stakes for which franchise finally ends its championship drought.

[Electromatic]

Yea but how 'bout dem Vikes?! Geezes we are looking solid

Man how good was 38 year old Terrance Newman!

I love Mike Zimmer, I've watched two Vikings games this year just because of the defense. They don't even talk about Danielle Hunter much. So much talent.

Kyle Rudolph and Stefon Diggs have been really good so far.

[PHATJ]

The Vikes are the real deal this year. The defense is Bronco-esque.

[epilogue]

Chiefs look great

They're doing they their best impression of the Steelers from last week.

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Who wouldn't want to be the Steelers? One of the most successful and storied (and winningest) franchises in history. I wish the Chiefs impersonated them more often.

[epilogue]

Lol. Dez Bryant says he is "America's most hated".

More like "nobody gives a fuck who you are because you haven't done shit".

Yeah, I'd hate him if I actually gave a shit about him or thought about him outside of my Fantasy Football draft day.

[epilogue]

The Vikes are the real deal this year. The defense is Bronco-esque.

I'm loving what they're doing. It's great to see them playing so well given everything they've lost so early in the season. I'll root for them in all situations that do not negatively affect the Chiefs.

[Orpheus]

Man, back in the day the diva receivers at least produced. ODB and Bryant need to quit being pussies and start doing shit on the field before acting like shit

Uhh whut? ODB is probably the most productive WR in his first two years since Randy Moss. And Dez has like 6,000 yards and 60 TDs to his name. I think they've earned the right if production is what we're going on.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Man, back in the day the diva receivers at least produced. ODB and Bryant need to quit being pussies and start doing shit on the field before acting like shit

Uhh whut? ODB is probably the most productive WR in his first two years since Randy Moss. And Dez has like 6,000 yards and 60 TDs to his name. I think they've earned the right if production is what we're going on.

I meant this season. They both seem more chirpy this season and neither are producing

[Simple Torture]

I think the cross-off teams (meaning they're not sniffing the playoffs) so far are:

Dolphins & Jets (you're going to need 12 games at least to win the division if you're not NWE, and you'll probably need 11 and a tiebreaker to get a WC; doesn't seem likely)
Browns (duh)
Chargers (sort of duh)
Bears & Lions (the division is too top-heavy--even if the Vikes slip a little bit, you'd need 11-12 wins to not be scratching out a WC berth)
Saints (31st in YPG and 32nd in PPG--that's not getting better)

Anyone else you'd throw in the mix? Niners should probably be in there, obviously, but I haven't watched them at all (the West seems really volatile, too). It's crazy that the NFC East, NFC South, and AFC South could maybe be won by any team in there.

[epilogue]

Man, back in the day the diva receivers at least produced. ODB and Bryant need to quit being pussies and start doing shit on the field before acting like shit

Uhh whut? ODB is probably the most productive WR in his first two years since Randy Moss. And Dez has like 6,000 yards and 60 TDs to his name. I think they've earned the right if production is what we're going on.

I meant this season. They both seem more chirpy this season and neither are producing

Fine, whatever. But how many of those divas have won championships?

I'll wait.

[epilogue]

I think the cross-off teams (meaning they're not sniffing the playoffs) so far are:

Dolphins & Jets (you're going to need 12 games at least to win the division if you're not NWE, and you'll probably need 11 and a tiebreaker to get a WC; doesn't seem likely)
Browns (duh)
Chargers (sort of duh)
Bears & Lions (the division is too top-heavy--even if the Vikes slip a little bit, you'd need 11-12 wins to not be scratching out a WC berth)
Saints (31st in YPG and 32nd in PPG--that's not getting better)

Anyone else you'd throw in the mix? Niners should probably be in there, obviously, but I haven't watched them at all (the West seems really volatile, too). It's crazy that the NFC East, NFC South, and AFC South could maybe be won by any team in there.

As a Chiefs fan who watched his team start 1-5 last season and then go on to win out and make the playoffs, then win a playoff game... I'm not comfortable crossing some of those teams off the list.

[Simple Torture]

I saw a chart a few weeks ago that listed the playoff percentages for teams starting 1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 0-2, and so on and so forth. I wish I had saved it. Looking for it now.

[Simple Torture]

Hey, here it is! That stats only run from 1990-2013, so it doesn't include the Chiefs from last year--and according to this chart, they may have been the only team starting 1-5 to have made the playoffs since 1990. Since 15% of teams that start 1-3 make the playoffs, that means there are probably 2 out there right now that will. Carolina and who else?

[epilogue]

Sure. If you're gonna bet on this stuff, look at the math. I'm just saying once you've seen some things it changes your perspective a bit.

[Simple Torture]

Sure. If you're gonna bet on this stuff, look at the math. I'm just saying once you've seen some things it changes your perspective a bit.

This is true; there are always outliers. I probably should've put a trigger warning on that post in regards to the Falcolns 5-0 start last year (thinking about it, I'm not surprised that in the same year a 5-1 team missed the playoffs and a 1-5 team made it).

[epilogue]

Sure. If you're gonna bet on this stuff, look at the math. I'm just saying once you've seen some things it changes your perspective a bit.

This is true; there are always outliers. I probably should've put a trigger warning on that post in regards to the Falcolns 5-0 start last year (thinking about it, I'm not surprised that in the same year a 5-1 team missed the playoffs and a 1-5 team made it).

Man, this stuff is so interesting. I love when teams find ways to defy the odds (good or bad). Just constant reminders of why the games are actually played. Any given Sunday... and all that. It's really interesting.

I think Jets, Cardinals and Panthers are all 1-3 teams that are still in this thing. Normally the Andrew Luck of it all would be enough for me to include Indy. But their O-line is disgusting and their D can't stay healthy. If there's any QB out there that can make miracles happen, it's him. MAYBE they could steal a WC spot... but I'm not as confident in them this year.

[epilogue]

In terms of undefeated teams that are likely to miss the playoffs, I'd rank them (most to least likely):

1. Eagles
2. Vikings
3. Broncos

And the gap between 2 and 3 is huge.

[Simple Torture]

Sure. If you're gonna bet on this stuff, look at the math. I'm just saying once you've seen some things it changes your perspective a bit.

This is true; there are always outliers. I probably should've put a trigger warning on that post in regards to the Falcolns 5-0 start last year (thinking about it, I'm not surprised that in the same year a 5-1 team missed the playoffs and a 1-5 team made it).

Man, this stuff is so interesting. I love when teams find ways to defy the odds (good or bad). Just constant reminders of why the games are actually played. Any given Sunday... and all that. It's really interesting.

I think Jets, Cardinals and Panthers are all 1-3 teams that are still in this thing. Normally the Andrew Luck of it all would be enough for me to include Indy. But their O-line is disgusting and their D can't stay healthy. If there's any QB out there that can make miracles happen, it's him. MAYBE they could steal a WC spot... but I'm not as confident in them this year.

I think you can't look at any of those 1-3 teams in a vacuum--you've got to look at their division and the potential WC records in the conference as well. I'm just spitballing here, but I can totally see both WC teams in the AFC having a 10-6 record, while there could very well be a 9-7 WC in the NFC. That makes winning a division like the AFC South super important (even if you win it at 8-8), while you could maybe squeak in as a 9-7 WC in the NFC South.

[Simple Torture]

In terms of undefeated teams that are likely to miss the playoffs, I'd rank them (most to least likely):

1. Eagles
2. Vikings
3. Broncos

And the gap between 2 and 3 is huge.

Yeah, agreed. And current division leaders:

1. Philly
2. LA
3. Atlanta
4. Houston
5. Minnesota
6. Denver
7. Pittsburgh
8. New England

That was actually WAY harder to put together than I thought it would be. I may sound like a homer in putting New England last, but it's tough to imagine them doing worse than 7-5 from here on out (although that victory against Arizona looks less and less impressive as time goes on). Actually: I think I'm ready to move Pittsburgh to 8 and to put the Pats at 7 based on talent alone; who knows how many weeks it'll take Brady to get up to speed?

[epilogue]

The AFC representative will either be the Broncos or the Patriots. Right now, if I had to pick one of them, I'd say Denver. But let's see what NE looks like will Brady and Gronk back. The ONLY reason I put Denver on top is that I'm still a huge believer in the whole "defenses win championships" thing. But again, that may change once I see the full Patriots squad.

I'd put Houston above Atlanta if they were in a different division. But, like you said, this isn't a vacuum. Houston probably wins their division. So they're in. But fully expect them to lose in their first playoff game.