Ok, I'm very, very upset about the Colts game, but I'm trying not to think about it. I was lucky enough to be coming back from Connecticut to Boston on a bus while that embarrassment was happening, so I didn't actually have to witness it. I'm still afraid to look at game highlights, although I know I'll watch the game in its entirety at some point this week. Right now all I have to go off of is what I've read in articles and on the Colts' message board, neither of which can give any positive spin on the game.
What I'm most upset about though is that I, like most anyone watching football, have no clue what's going on. At all. Last week, this is what I knew: The Colts found their rhythm. The Chargers were getting back to dominance. The Rams had a fluke win and it wouldn't happen again. The Steelers' record was far better than their performance and it would start to show. The Redskins had a bad game and wouldn't let it happen again. I feel like Will Smith in Men in Black when he just found out that humans weren't alone on this planet, and Tommy Lee Jones is making him second guess everything that he knew, ever.
I'm not quite sure how looking for a good picture to illustrate my Men in Black concept ended up with me creating this Dick Jauron/Skeleteor hybrid, but I'm not apologizing.There aren't any teams you can consider a lock for the postseason, and there aren't any teams you can say are out of it. Ok, the Bengals the Lions are out of it, and the Chiefs too, but would you really be phased if Damon Huard turned God the second half of the season and started hitting Dwayne Bowe for 150 yards a game? At this point, would you be surprised if Jeff Fisher, looking out for Vince Young's mental health, sets up a two quarterback scheme to get Young in the game, and the Titans offense stumbles and they lose the rest of their season? These things are unlikely and improbable, but this season has been all about unlikely and improbable.
I didn't expect my prediction on the Bills to be coming true to the extent it has. I thought they'd play well and give themselves a chance for the playoffs, but I didn't think we'd be at the halfway point and looking at their play as 'dominant'. If you watched the game, or the parts that weren't blacked out due to technical difficulties in Buffalo, they pretty much dominated, despite the fact that the score didn't look that way. Trent Edwards did a beautiful job keeping Rivers, LT and Gates off the field, and when they did get on the field, the defense contained them better than most teams have this season. Even at 3-4, if I was putting money on it, I'd still take the Chargers as a playoff team. San Diego fans must be feeling very close to the way I feel about the Colts, when you know your team is good, but they're playing God awful.
I think what's exciting and bothersome about this season is that there is absolutely no comfort anywhere for anyone. If you're a Buffalo or Tennessee fan, you weren't expecting to be controlling your division. If you're a New England, San Diego, Indianapolis, or Dallas fan, you expected to be at the very worst, tied for first place. These teams combined right now are 13-12. Those 4 teams combined to lose 11 games total last season.
Going into next week, I know the Rams are back on track. I know the Chargers and Colts have no life left in them. I know the Bills, Giants, Titans and Buccaneers are the best in the league right now. Because I know these things, I'm going to start thinking the exact opposite. When I do my picks next week, I'm going to reason out why one team should beat the other, and then assume that's not how the game will play out. This is partly an excuse so I can pick the Colts to win and feel justified, but it's partly because I can admit that I have no clue what's going on in football right now.
Here's some mid-season predictions that make sense just because of the way this season is panning out.
The MVP this season probably hasn't played that well yet but will emerge out of nowhere in the second half. There's at least 2 teams under .500 right now who will make the playoffs. Out of Buffalo, Tennessee, the New York Football Giants, and Pittsburgh, at least one team won't see the postseason. Matt Ryan will lead the Atlanta Falcons to, at the worst, the NFC Championship game. Oakland will finish over .500. There's more predictions I could make, but they'll just start getting ridiculous. I'll just have to leave you with this last thought about the football season.
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