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Season over.
That's a phrase I like to use a lot. The real end of the NFL regular season isn't for a couple of months, but the phrase applies to a third of the league's teams right now.
(By the way, did you see I went 11-2 against the spread in my expert picks?)
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| The rest of the season is inconsequential for Dennis Green's Cardinals -- and 10 other teams. (AP) |
No, so it's season over before the World Series starts.
Sure, they can play out the string, hoping to win a game here and there, but the reality is that it's time to start looking ahead to free-agency next March and getting those scouts primed for the draft.
(By the way, did you see I went 11-2 against the spread in my expert picks?)
Nobody is worse than the Oakland Raiders. They remain the only winless team in the league, a bona fide mess. At one point during Sunday's loss to the Broncos, NBC announcer John Madden, a former Raiders coach, said the losing was killing owner Al Davis.
Probably not the proper words, considering Davis appears frail and was using a walker to get around when Madden was inducted into the Hall of Fame in August. You could tell Madden wanted those words back as soon as he said them.
But even in his current state, Davis is a competitor, one who lives by the "Just Win, Baby" mantra. So this can't be sitting well with him. Not only are the Raiders losing, they're doing it in embarrassing style. When right tackle Langston Walker went down with a head injury, it forced Chad Slaughter in at that position. He proceeded to get penalized four times for false starts.
Last time I checked, head coach Art Shell and line coach Jackie Slater were Hall of Fame tackles. Not only that, but the Raiders have a third line assistant, former tackle Irv Eatman.
And Slaughter can't stay in his stance?
That's inexcusable.
(By the way, did you see I went 11-2 against the spread in my expert picks?)
The polar opposite of the Raiders are the Chicago Bears, who somehow found a way to win a game they had no business winning Monday night at Arizona. They won without getting an offensive touchdown, getting two defensive scores and a punt return to win 24-23.
That's the sign of a good team. Somehow, when their MVP-candidate quarterback turns into a scatter-armed, brainless passer, they find a way to pull out a victory. Of course, it had to happen against Arizona. Admit it, when Neil Rackers missed that last-minute field goal, you thought to yourself, "Of course. It's Arizona."
That's why the Cardinals, a team I thought would push for a division title, are one of those teams at the bottom of these rankings that are going nowhere, planning for 2007.
Season over.
(By the way, did you see I went 11-2 against the spread in my expert picks?)
The rankings for Oct. 17:
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
 | 1 | Titans · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| Now that they've shown they can pass it to win games, where are the weak spots? There aren't any. They can essentially clinch home-field advantage by beating the Jets this week. | ||||||||||
 | 2 | Giants · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| Here's the plan: They tell you they're going to run it, and then they do it. Get ready, Cardinals. The Mack truck offense is coming. | ||||||||||
 | 3 | Panthers · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| It hasn't been pretty the past two weeks, but is it ever with this team? At 8-2, do we really know if they're any good? We might after they go to Atlanta this week. | ||||||||||
 | 4 | Buccaneers · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| Don't you get the impression that they're getting better each week? They could be the sleeper team in the NFC. Jeff Garcia is playing well. | ||||||||||
 | 5 | Jets · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| They proved by beating the Patriots last week that they are a legitimate contender. They do have to work on that pass defense. They get their crack at Tennessee this week. | ||||||||||
 | 6 | Cardinals · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| They can prove all of the doubters wrong by beating the Giants this week. If they do, they just might end up as the NFC's second seed. | ||||||||||
 | 7 | Cowboys · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| Getting Tony Romo back is huge, but so is having Terence Newman healthy at corner. They are healthy now, which readies them for a six-game run to the playoffs. | ||||||||||
 | 8 | Colts · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| For the first time this season the offense looks to be getting into a groove. The defense remains a worry, especially when Bob Sanders isn't playing. | ||||||||||
 | 9 | Steelers · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| The best thing to come out of the San Diego game was seeing Ben Roethlisberger throwing it better. That will be the key to the playoff run. | ||||||||||
 | 10 | Patriots · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| They have a huge one this week with the Dolphins. The winner might be tied for first place if the Jets lose. The loser could be in playoff trouble. | ||||||||||
 | 11 | Dolphins · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| Yes, they are playing a big game in November. Can you believe it? It has been a nice start for first-year coach Tony Sparano. | ||||||||||
 | 12 | Broncos · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| They've fought through a bunch of injuries and now look to be the team to beat in the AFC West. As they get healthy, they should be even better, especially when they get Champ Bailey back. | ||||||||||
 | 13 | Falcons · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| They have a chance to bounce back in a big way from that loss to the Broncos by beating the Panthers this week. If they don't, they will be traveling the wild-card route at best. | ||||||||||
 | 14 | Redskins · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| They've lost consecutive games at home and the passing game has struggled in both. Jason Campbell needs to get it going again the way he did early this season -- or they'll be watching come playoff time. | ||||||||||
 | 15 | Packers · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| After two tough road games they got right against the Bears last week. They are tied for the division lead now and the good thing for the rest of the season is that Ryan Grant got it going Sunday. | ||||||||||
 | 16 | Ravens · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| There's no shame in losing to the Giants on the road. The big shocker is that the defense got pushed around. That doesn't happen often. | ||||||||||
 | 17 | Eagles · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| After that terrible tie at Cincinnati, they must now go on the road again to play the Ravens. Wonder if Donovan McNabb knows that this game will be 60 minutes long? | ||||||||||
 | 18 | Bears · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| The defense is a sieve. Hard to believe this is a team known for tough, physical defense. It just isn't happening and the passing game can't keep up when the Bears fall behind. | ||||||||||
 | 19 | Saints · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| The next four weeks are brutal. It starts with a Monday home game against Green Bay, followed by Tampa Bay on the road, home against Atlanta and at Chicago. We'll know if they're in it after that. | ||||||||||
 | 20 | Vikings · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| I'm tired of saying it: Their passing game isn't good enough. Gus Frerotte can't overcome his shortcomings. | ||||||||||
 | 21 | Browns · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| They still have playoff hopes, thanks to Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal. Brady Quinn is going to be a heck of a player. The defense still has issues. | ||||||||||
 | 22 | Bills · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| What has gone wrong with Trent Edwards? Did that hit in Arizona change his game? It sure looks like it. | ||||||||||
 | 23 | Chargers · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| L.T. doesn't do much anymore and the defense can't stop anybody. Is this really the same Chargers team that went to the AFC title game last season? | ||||||||||
 | 24 | Jaguars · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| Their playoff chances are basically over. It will be interesting to see if they play hard down the stretch now that they're 4-6. | ||||||||||
 | 25 | Texans · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| It's going to be another playoff-less season. That has to change next season or Gary Kubiak could be out in 2010. | ||||||||||
 | 26 | 49ers · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| It's too bad they can't play the Rams every week. They might be playoff bound if they could. They're playing harder under Mike Singletary, that's for sure. | ||||||||||
 | 27 | Bengals · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| They have a victory and a tie in the past two games. That's progress. The good thing for next season is that the young defensive players are playing better. | ||||||||||
 | 28 | Rams · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| If they didn't have to play the first half, they'd be OK. They've been blown out the past three weeks in the first halves of games. | ||||||||||
 | 29 | Seahawks · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| Hard to believe this team is way down here. But even the return of Matt Hasselbeck can't turn things around. Why? The defense has been terrible. | ||||||||||
 | 30 | Raiders · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| They battled in Miami, but they just don't do enough on offense. The change to having Tom Cable call the plays hasn't exactly worked. Maybe it's the players. | ||||||||||
 | 31 | Chiefs · Trends | 31 | |||||||
| Tyler Thigpen is showing that maybe, just maybe, he might be this team's quarterback of the future. The next six games will tell us that. | ||||||||||
 | 32 | Lions · Trends | 32 | |||||||
| I know Daunte Culpepper almost beat the Panthers, but is it really wise to be playing him? Don't they need to find out about Drew Stanton? | ||||||||||