One Hundred Yards And Counting

Who has the easiest schedule - week 17 wrap-up

2007-01-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Following the schedule difficulty break-down from the week 16, here are the updated charts after the final week 17. All the teams have played 16 games. The numbers are average win percentage of the played opponents. Enjoy.



0.574 Buffalo [7-9]
0.570 Tennessee [8-8]
0.555 Oakland [2-14]
0.543 Miami [6-10]
0.535 Cincinnati [8-8]
      Cleveland [4-12]
      Tampa Bay [4-12]
0.531 Denver [9-7]
      Jacksonville [8-8]
0.523 Detroit [3-13]
0.520 N.Y. Giants [8-8]
0.512 Washington [5-11]
0.504 Houston [6-10]
0.500 Arizona [5-11]
      Green Bay [8-8]
      Indianapolis [12-4]
      San Francisco [7-9]
0.496 New England [12-4]
      Pittsburgh [8-8]
0.492 Kansas City [9-7]
0.488 Minnesota [6-10]
0.477 Philadelphia [10-6]
0.473 Carolina [8-8]
0.469 N.Y. Jets [10-6]
0.465 St. Louis [8-8]
0.461 Baltimore [13-3]
      New Orleans [10-6]
0.457 Atlanta [7-9]
      Dallas [9-7]
      San Diego [14-2]
0.453 Seattle [9-7]
0.430 Chicago [13-3]

Who has the easiest schedule - week 16 wrap-up

2006-12-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Following the schedule difficulty break-down from the week 14, here are the updated charts after week 16. All the teams have played 15 games with 1 game left. The numbers are average win percentage of the played opponents. Enjoy.


0.556 Buffalo [7-8]
      Tennessee [8-7]
0.547 Cleveland [4-11]
0.542 Oakland [2-13]
      N.Y. Giants [7-8]
      Tampa Bay [4-11]
0.538 Cincinnati [8-7]
0.529 Denver [9-6]
      Houston [5-10]
0.524 Detroit [2-13]
      Jacksonville [8-7]
      Miami [6-9]
0.516 Indianapolis [11-4]
      Washington [5-10]
0.507 Pittsburgh [7-8]
0.502 New England [11-4]
0.498 N.Y. Jets [9-6]
0.493 Kansas City [8-7]
0.489 San Francisco [6-9]
0.480 Philadelphia [9-6]
      Minnesota [6-9]
0.476 Dallas [9-6]
      Green Bay [7-8]
0.471 Baltimore [12-3]
      Carolina [7-8]
0.467 Arizona [5-10]
      San Diego [13-2]
0.462 St. Louis [7-8]
0.458 Seattle [8-7]
      New Orleans [10-5]
0.449 Atlanta [7-8]
0.413 Chicago [13-2]

The records are made to be broken

2006-12-16T23:42:00.000-08:00

I can't really agree with my friends over at The No-Huddle Offense. The records are made to be broken. One of the most long-standing world records was broken after 23 years, and it was long overdue. It's just the competitive nature of the professional athletes. Of course, in the field athletics, most of the competition does not involve intense physical contact. However, the athletes compete not only for the medals, but also for the records.

The past six days saw four outstanding league records broken by four outstanding players. LaDainian Tomlinson broke the single-season TD record with three more games to go. I wouldn't be very surprised if he makes it past 40 against Kansas City, Seattle and Arizona who are not in top 10 of best rushing defenses. Michael Vick just broke the 34-year old single-season QB rushing yards and has only 10 more to go to pass the 1000-yard mark. A quick look at the stats shows that Vick performs better than leading running backs of 19 other teams.

Morten Andersen has just become the league leading scorer in the same game that Falcons lost on the new Saturday night football on NFL network. Bears' rookie Devin Hester has returned six return TDs, a feat that has eluded Dante Hall a few years ago.

And on top of all this, Marvin Harrison has joined the the elite 1000+ receptions club that up until now had only Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Cris Carter.

The main point is that the game is played for the fans. Without us, there would be no game. Some of us just like the wins and the titles, some of us like good games, some of use enjoy seeing records being broken.

Jon Gruden - is it time to go home?

2006-12-13T16:38:00.000-08:00

The past four years have not been kind to Jon Gruden. Ever since he was the youngest coach to win the SuperBowl (and on top of that to do it during his first year with the team), Tampa Bay are 26-35 and have only one season with winning record (went to 11-5 in 2005 and lost to Redskins in the first playoff game). This season, the Buccaneers are 3-10 and are out of the playoff with three more weeks to go. What was once a perfectly balanced team assembled by Tony Dungy is now a thing of the past. Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Keyshawn Johnson and Keenan McCardell have left for other teams over the years, and the key players that stayed have been plagued with injuries and less than stellar performances. It's true that on the average, Tampa has one of the toughest schedules this year, but that's not a real excuse in the league.

I don't believe that deep inside Gruden really believes that he was the one to win the SuperBowl. Dungy was with Tampa for six seasons, leading them to the playoffs four times. He was the one that has built the team and he should be the one credited for winning the title. Sadly, it is not perceived as such, and Gruden continues coaching the team after all these years.

Who has the easiest schedule - week 14 wrap-up

2006-12-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Following the schedule difficulty break-down from the last week, here are the updated charts after week 14. All the teams have played 13 games with 3 games left. The numbers are average win percentage of the opponents (played and left). Enjoy.


*********** Games played *************** 
0.568 Tennessee [6-7]
0.562 Buffalo [6-7]
0.556 Cleveland [4-9]
      Tampa Bay [3-10]
0.544 Denver [7-6]
      Oakland [2-11]
0.533 N.Y. Giants [7-6]
0.521 Cincinnati [8-5]
0.515 Washington [4-9]
      New England [9-4]
      Indianapolis [10-3]
0.509 Pittsburgh [6-7]
      Miami [6-7]
      N.Y. Jets [7-6]
0.503 Detroit [2-11]
      Green Bay [5-8]
      Houston [4-9]
      Jacksonville [8-5]
0.497 Baltimore [10-3]
0.491 Kansas City [7-6]
      St. Louis [5-8]
0.485 San Francisco [5-8]
0.479 Carolina [6-7]
0.467 Arizona [4-9]
      Dallas [8-5]
      Minnesota [6-7]
      New Orleans [9-4]
      Philadelphia [7-6]
0.450 Chicago [11-2]
0.444 San Diego [11-2]
      Atlanta [7-6]
0.414 Seattle [8-5]
*********** Games left *************** 
0.615 Detroit [2-11]
      Pittsburgh [6-7]
0.590 Arizona [4-9]
      Houston [4-9]
      Miami [6-7]
      Tampa Bay [3-10]
      Tennessee [6-7]
      Cincinnati [8-5]
0.564 Buffalo [6-7]
      Carolina [6-7]
      Jacksonville [8-5]
      Philadelphia [7-6]
0.538 Atlanta [7-6]
      Washington [4-9]
      Kansas City [7-6]
0.513 N.Y. Giants [7-6]
0.487 Green Bay [5-8]
      Oakland [2-11]
      San Diego [11-2]
      San Francisco [5-8]
      Seattle [8-5]
0.462 Indianapolis [10-3]
      New England [9-4]
0.436 Denver [7-6]
      Minnesota [6-7]
      Cleveland [4-9]
      New Orleans [9-4]
0.410 Baltimore [10-3]
      Dallas [8-5]
0.359 N.Y. Jets [7-6]
0.308 St. Louis [5-8]
0.256 Chicago [11-2]

An alternative to the current BCS system

2006-12-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

Now that the college regular season is over and the BCS games are all set, the blogosphere is abuzz with the Ohio State-Michigan-Florida triangle and the playoff system. The playoff system holds many advantages to both teams and fans. Instead of 5 big games, we get anywhere from 7 (three-week playoffs) to 31 (five-week playoffs). A team that loses two or even three games in the regular season still gets a chance to win the championship (much like Steelers did last year on the road to SB, being the first no.6 in a conference to win the title). The advertisers still get a chance to shove their name (with 31 games, every game can have a "name", and with 7 we can still have all the minor bowls).

However, there's still a question about rankings and schedules. The rankings are largely (66%) subjective (even though the analysis shows that the computer rankings are on the average within 5 places over a number of years). The schedules can be very unfavorable to some teams like Boise State that didn't have a single game against a ranked opponent and ended up at no.9 despite a perfect 12-0. But wait, there is a solution in another sport - the Swiss system tournament.

Although the complete ruleset can be compared only to the BCS eligibility rules, it's all very simple. At every stage, you play against somebody with a similar record. If you have a winning streak, you'll play against good teams. If you have a losing streak, you'll play against bad teams. Eventually, after a comparatively short number of rounds, the standings reflect the actual strength of the teams as averaged over the entire tournament, and no team can complain about having a weaker schedule than the teams that are ranked higher. There are three major rules:

1. In the first round, it's either random draw or you play according to the ranking against a team of opposite strength (no.1 plays the last one).
2. In the second round, the winners of the first round are drawn to play against each other. The same with the losers.
3. In all the consecutive rounds, the teams are divided in three groups (according to the current records). First, the best team in the top group gets the top ranked team in the same group that it hasn't played against. Repeat the process from the next top ranked team. Then, the same is applied in the bottom group from the bottom. Finally, the middle group gets drawn.

This ensures that the team that is ranked no.1 at the end played most of the best teams throughout almost the entire tournament. Moreover, every round (starting from round 3) we get increasingly better matchups. In addition, every team gets plenty of chances to bounce off after a loss, since the teams above them will play other teams of equal strength.

Who wins - obviously the fans, the TV stations and the advertisers. It's practically a playoff that goes on throughout the entire season. There's no need for any human or computer based ranking. The performance on the field decides everything. There's no need for playoffs since we have them "built-in". There's no need for the championship game since no.1 had to beat pretty much everybody else in the top 10, and the same goes to no.2. Of course, this may come as a bonus (as all the other bowls). In addition, a really good team that has a breakthrough season gets all the chances it needs to go to the top.

Who loses - only the big teams (including Notre Dame). No more easy seasons with only 2-3 games against ranked opponents. No more easy money just because you have national following. They'll have to prove their worth and earn their money the hard way - on the field.

The last question remains - what about the existing conferences? This can be easily worked into the system. One week you get to play an in-conference rival, another week you get to play an out-conference rival. It can even go on two week-two week basis. This would amount to 6 in-conference and 6 out-conference games. That's OK since (1) there are conferences where you don't play all the teams (like Big 10 and Big 12) and (2) you get to play the in-conference rivals of the similar strength. The home-away issue is addressed in the complete ruleset (for chess it's white-black).

The world chess team championships usually use 13-round tournament with over 100 participating teams. Sounds familiar?

Who has the easiest schedule - week 13 wrap-up

2006-12-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

Following the schedule difficulty break-down from the last week, here are the updated charts after week 13. All the teams have played 12 games with 4 games left. The numbers are average win percentage of the opponents (played and left). Enjoy.


*********** Games played *************** 
0.597 Tennessee [5-7]
0.569 Buffalo [5-7]
0.563 Cleveland [4-8]
0.556 Cincinnati [7-5]
0.549 Oakland [2-10]
      N.Y. Giants [6-6]
      Tampa Bay [3-9]
0.542 Denver [7-5]
0.521 Pittsburgh [5-7]
0.514 N.Y. Jets [7-5]
      New England [9-3]
      Washington [4-8]
0.507 Green Bay [4-8]
      Indianapolis [10-2]
0.500 Detroit [2-10]
      Houston [4-8]
0.493 Minnesota [5-7]
      San Francisco [5-7]
0.486 Miami [5-7]
      Philadelphia [6-6]
      Baltimore [9-3]
0.479 Jacksonville [7-5]
0.472 Carolina [6-6]
      Kansas City [7-5]
      St. Louis [5-7]
0.465 Arizona [3-9]
0.451 Atlanta [6-6]
0.444 Chicago [10-2]
      New Orleans [8-4]
      Dallas [8-4]
0.437 San Diego [10-2]
0.424 Seattle [8-4]
*********** Games left *************** 
0.646 Jacksonville [7-5]
      Miami [5-7]
0.625 Arizona [3-9]
0.583 Houston [4-8]
      Kansas City [7-5]
      Tampa Bay [3-9]
0.563 Detroit [2-10]
0.542 Pittsburgh [5-7]
      Buffalo [5-7]
      Oakland [2-10]
0.521 Washington [4-8]
      Carolina [6-6]
      Denver [7-5]
      San Diego [10-2]
      Tennessee [5-7]
0.500 N.Y. Giants [6-6]
      New Orleans [8-4]
      Philadelphia [6-6]
      Cincinnati [7-5]
0.479 Atlanta [6-6]
      Indianapolis [10-2]
0.458 Dallas [8-4]
      Green Bay [4-8]
      San Francisco [5-7]
0.438 Cleveland [4-8]
      Seattle [8-4]
      St. Louis [5-7]
      Baltimore [9-3]
      New England [9-3]
0.375 Minnesota [5-7]
0.354 N.Y. Jets [7-5]
0.292 Chicago [10-2]

Rex Grossman or Ex Grossman

2006-12-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is simply ridiculous. Rex Grossman continues to break all records, having a 1.3 (yes, that is one point three) quarterback rating in the game against Vikings. He had three interceptions for the second consecutive week, complete six out of nineteen, had minus nine rushing yards and his longest completion was for mere ten yards. He now has 14 interceptions in the last seven games. The only offense's claim to "glory" can be found in the field goal statistics, which is attributed only to Rex's inability to deliver the ball into the endzone and to the defense ability to not allow the opponents far enough into Bears' territory. Even '99 Jake Plummer and '03 Joey Harrington didn't go as low.

Chicago has one of the easiest schedules in the league, and have St Louis (lost six of last seven), Tampa (lost five of last six), Detroit (have 2-10 record) and Green Bay (lost four of last five). That surely feels like a Christmas present to Chicago. Now, if only they could have those teams in the playoffs...

Leave Colts and perish

2006-12-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

Two star players have left the Colts before this season, Edgerrin James and Mike Vanderjagt. Both went to teams that tried innovation and set clear goal to go to the playoffs and beyond. While Indianapolis is not the best team for the playoff grit, both were suited very well to it. And now what?

Vanderjagt has suffered a groin injury in September which has negatively affected his on-field performance and caused Parcells to release him from the team. He has been replaced by Martin Grammatica who couldn't have a better start by securing the victory over the injury-ladden division rivals.

Edgerrin's only game with 100+ rushing yards came the second-worst rushing defense in the league (ironically, the worst is Colts), and even then the three rushing touchdowns went to his team mate. All his stats are way down, including the TD and total yards, and his longest run is for mere 18 yards.

Note to any Indi player eyeing other teams for a chance to win a SB - even if you go to such a team, you may well get cut. Now, does somebody have an address of that black mage that Peyton consulted to put a spell on his former teammates?

College football regular season is over

2006-12-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

The regular season of college football is over, and the last few weekends featured some excellent games that should sway BCS to finally adopt at least three-round playoff system in the next year. These past few weeks seen the likes of Fighting Irish, Longhorns and Trojans loose their stand and chances at better BCS games. For the Irish, the loss to the Trojans was particularly bitter since most of the starting players (six on the offense and nine on the defense) are seniors. Brady Quinn has missed a final chance to make a decisive impression on the Heisman trophy voters and Troy Smith will most probably walk away with the coveted award. Notre Dame goes to the Sugar Bowl thanks to a nation-wide fanbase, edging Wisconsin and Auburn (both ranked above Notre Dame) from the BCS bowls.

Despite the unexpected loss to town rivals, USC retains the place in final BCS top five (mainly due to a tough schedule and a good win over Notre Dame) and will face Michigan State in the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines had it really bad without a good lasting impression after a loss to the Buckeyes two weeks ago by only three points. The two-week span gave an opportunity to Trojans to edge into the no.2 slot, but they missed it against UCLA after a great win over Fighting Irish. This unexpected turn of events allowed Gators to go to the national championship game after an impressive win over the Razorbacks. The only Gators' loss was to once-no.2 Auburn, and the schedule strength for Florida and Michigan State was tied-2nd in the computer polls.

The reigning champions finished the season with two straight losses, dropping from no.4 to no.19 in the final BCS rankings. They now go to the local Alamo Bowl to face the 6-6 Iowa who lost all three games to ranked teams and lost three final straight. Colt McCoy has three great years in front of him, and Longhorns should bounce back next year.

The record 32 bowls will feature six teams with 6-6 record. While gratifying for the small teams, the tradition of creating a bowl strictly for promoting an advertiser just dilutes the value of the achievement (getting a bowl invitation). While SJSU coach is right that half of the NBA players go into the playoffs, and this has certainly been beneficial for the Scarlet Knights (thanks to a terrific coach), the first bowl bid since the 1990 season can no longer be viewed as an historical landmark.

Who has the easiest schedule - week 12 wrap-up.

2006-11-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

Following the schedule difficulty break-down from the last week, here are the updated charts after week 12. All the teams have played 11 games with 5 games left. The numbers are average win percentage of the opponents (played and left). Enjoy.


*********** Games played *************** 
0.579 Tennessee [4-7]
0.570 Oakland [2-9]
0.562 New England [8-3]
      Tampa Bay [3-8]
0.554 Cleveland [3-8]
0.545 Buffalo [5-6]
      Denver [7-4]
      Pittsburgh [4-7]
0.529 Cincinnati [6-5]
      Houston [3-8]
0.521 N.Y. Jets [6-5]
      N.Y. Giants [6-5]
0.512 Washington [4-7]
0.504 Indianapolis [10-1]
      St. Louis [5-6]
0.496 Green Bay [4-7]
0.488 Kansas City [7-4]
      Philadelphia [5-6]
0.479 Arizona [2-9]
      Detroit [2-9]
      San Francisco [5-6]
0.471 Carolina [6-5]
      Jacksonville [6-5]
      Miami [5-6]
      Minnesota [5-6]
0.463 Baltimore [9-2]
0.455 Atlanta [5-6]
      Chicago [9-2]
0.446 San Diego [9-2]
0.438 Dallas [7-4]
      New Orleans [7-4]
0.430 Seattle [7-4]
*********** Games left *************** 
0.636 Miami [5-6]
0.618 Jacksonville [6-5]
0.600 Arizona [2-9]
      Buffalo [5-6]
      Detroit [2-9]
0.582 Cincinnati [6-5]
      Tennessee [4-7]
0.527 N.Y. Giants [6-5]
      Denver [7-4]
      Kansas City [7-4]
0.509 San Diego [9-2]
      New Orleans [7-4]
      Philadelphia [5-6]
      Tampa Bay [3-8]
      Washington [4-7]
0.491 Carolina [6-5]
      Green Bay [4-7]
      Houston [3-8]
      Oakland [2-9]
      Pittsburgh [4-7]
      San Francisco [5-6]
0.473 Cleveland [3-8]
      Minnesota [5-6]
      Seattle [7-4]
0.455 Dallas [7-4]
      Atlanta [5-6]
      Baltimore [9-2]
0.436 Indianapolis [10-1]
0.400 St. Louis [5-6]
0.382 N.Y. Jets [6-5]
0.364 New England [8-3]
0.345 Chicago [9-2]

You can only go so far without your stars

2006-11-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

Giants have lost their third straight, and it's not just the losing, it's the way they do it. First, there was the loss to the Bears with the record-tying 108 TD, then the beating they they took from the Jaguars (at least it was on ESPN, so not everyone watched), and now the complete meltdown in the fourth quarter when they led 21-0 and lost 21-24. And it's not all Eli's fault. You can't just continue playing without your top defensive and offensive players and hold on to the division lead.

LaVar Arrington signed in April 2006 is out for the year. The best wide receiver in Giants history, Amani Toomer is out for the year. Tiki Barber is playing with a broken thumb. Michael Strahan had a sprained ligament. Add Umeniyora, Petitgout, Moss and Hasselbeck to the list... And now they lost the division lead, and most probably will get levelled by Romo and the rolling Cowboys. Manning is in his third season, and he should show some leadership, but it's kind of tough when you have nobody to lead.

Who's that girl? Part 4.

2006-11-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

The final regular season game for Longhorns, with the same girl right behind Mack Brown. Very disappointing game for the Longhorns. who most probably won't go to the Big 12 championship game (and to the BCS major games). Even worse, Colt McCoy suffered yet another scary collision and was wheeled away with 0:20 left in the game. He waved his hand at the crowd at the end, so that's one positive thing for now. Hoping he gets well soon...

The new tradition starts today

2006-11-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

Hailed by the commercial spots as "the new tradition", tomorrow will be the day of the first game (Broncos at Chiefs) aired live by NFL Network. Not everybody will be able to see it, even if they are willing to pay the money to the cable carrier (according to this Yahoo article). As much as i understand the financial motives behind this decision by the league team owners, i think that in the long run we (as the viewers) will suffer. Not only are we stuck with the local games (which by some stupid league regulation prohibit the other channel to show the game being played in the same time slot), not only do we have to pay 249$ a year for the Sunday Ticket (which as far as i know wasn't made cheaper even when the best week matchups were moved to Thursday night).

Now we need to pay even more to watch these games. And you can't even pay for a single game (like a real pay-per-view). You have to pay for the entire channel. This is simply outrageous, and i truly hope that NFL Network will have heavy losses not only this season, but in the next few seasons as well. Because otherwise, they will see that they can charge extra money and will transfer more games as the time goes by. Eventually (say in 5-10 years) we wouldn't have any games left on public channels (CBS / FOX) besides the Sunday Night Football. By the way, remember that MNF is already on the cable (ESPN). Sad, sad future.

Who has the easiest schedule - week 11 wrap-up.

2006-11-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

Following the schedule difficulty break-down from the last week, here are the updated charts after week 11. All the teams have played 10 games with 6 games left. The numbers are average win percentage of the opponents (played and left). Enjoy.


*********** Games played *************** 
0.570 Tennessee [3-7]
0.560 Cincinnati [5-5]
      Cleveland [3-7]
      Oakland [2-8]
      Tampa Bay [3-7]
0.550 N.Y. Giants [6-4]
0.540 Buffalo [4-6]
      N.Y. Jets [5-5]
0.530 Denver [7-3]
0.520 Houston [3-7]
      Pittsburgh [4-6]
      St. Louis [4-6]
0.510 New England [7-3]
      Washington [3-7]
0.500 Indianapolis [9-1]
      Minnesota [4-6]
0.490 Miami [4-6]
      Arizona [2-8]
0.480 Baltimore [8-2]
      Detroit [2-8]
      San Francisco [5-5]
0.470 Carolina [6-4]
      Green Bay [4-6]
      Kansas City [6-4]
      Jacksonville [6-4]
      San Diego [8-2]
0.460 Dallas [6-4]
      New Orleans [6-4]
0.450 Atlanta [5-5]
      Philadelphia [5-5]
0.440 Seattle [6-4]
0.420 Chicago [9-1]
*********** Games left *************** 
0.583 Tennessee [3-7]
      Philadelphia [5-5]
0.567 Arizona [2-8]
      Buffalo [4-6]
      Detroit [2-8]
      Kansas City [6-4]
0.550 Cincinnati [5-5]
      Jacksonville [6-4]
      Miami [4-6]
      Pittsburgh [4-6]
      Tampa Bay [3-7]
0.533 Denver [7-3]
      Washington [3-7]
0.517 Green Bay [4-6]
      New Orleans [6-4]
      Oakland [2-8]
0.483 Atlanta [5-5]
      Carolina [6-4]
      San Francisco [5-5]
      Seattle [6-4]
      Cleveland [3-7]
      Houston [3-7]
      N.Y. Giants [6-4]
0.450 Dallas [6-4]
      New England [7-3]
      San Diego [8-2]
0.433 Baltimore [8-2]
      Indianapolis [9-1]
      Minnesota [4-6]
0.417 St. Louis [4-6]
0.400 Chicago [9-1]
0.350 N.Y. Jets [5-5]

Have to love the flexible schedule

2006-11-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

The flexible schedule that was part of the deal between NFL and NBC is great. Simply great. Not only it allows NBC to have at least one entry in the Nielsens weekly ratings, it gives us an opportunity to watch two good teams play. Of course, the next week's matchup between Eagles and Colts is not the "optimal" one since McNabb is done for the season, but at least on the paper it sounds better than Packers vs. Seahawks on MNF.

The game between Chargers and Broncos was the best i could wish for this Sunday (since i love explosive offensive shootouts), and having LaDainian Tomlinson break quite a few league records never looks better than live in HD. He most probably is going to break the 30 TD / season barrier this year. It's interesting to note the following trend:

Up until 2000, only two-three players have crossed the 20 TD/season mark each decade. And suddenly, the current decade sees the explosion. First, Marshall Faulk does it twice, with 26 in 2000 and 21 in 2001. Then Priest Holmes does it twice, with 24 in 2002 and 27 in 2003. Last year, it's Shaun Alexander with 28. This year, Tomlinson already has 20 with 6 games to go... It can't be attributed only to the 16-game season (which was installed in 1978). Can it be that the defenses are weaker, or the offenses are more specialized? I know that the records are made to be broken, but at this pace we're looking at 30+ TD seasons becoming a normal thing?

Who has the easiest schedule?

2006-11-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

Madden had an interesting comment during the Bears-Giants game. He spoke about people that say that Bears have a very easy schedule this year, but that is their schedule and they are playing their games. This is indeed true, and unless a round-robin or a similar scheduling is introduced, it's very hard to objectively compare the teams from different divisions (and conferences). However, given that all the teams have played nine games, we can compare the combined strength of the opponents by simple adding the number of victories of all opposing teams. Here is the complete chart, sorted by the opponent strength as taken from the combined number of victories:


49 Tampa Bay [2-7]
48 Cleveland [3-6]
47 Buffalo [3-6]
   Tennessee [2-7]
46 N.Y. Giants [6-3]
45 Oakland [2-7]
44 Pittsburgh [3-6]
   Washington [3-6]
43 Arizona [1-8]
   Cincinnati [4-5]
   Detroit [2-7]
   Houston [3-6]
   New England [6-3]
42 St. Louis [4-5]
41 Denver [7-2]
   Minnesota [4-5]
40 Indianapolis [9-0]
39 Kansas City [5-4]
   Miami [3-6]
   N.Y. Jets [5-4]
38 Baltimore [7-2]
   Carolina [5-4]
   Jacksonville [5-4]
   Philadelphia [5-4]
   San Francisco [4-5]
36 Green Bay [4-5]
   New Orleans [6-3]
   Seattle [6-3]
34 San Diego [7-2]
33 Chicago [8-1]
   Dallas [5-4]
32 Atlanta [5-4]

While Indianapolis may not have the toughest schedule, Chicago has one of the easiest... One other thing to notice - Giants and Patriots are really working hard for that 6-3 record. Projecting the schedule forward (based on the current games), we have:


78 Tennessee [2-7]
77 Cincinnati [4-5]
76 Tampa Bay [2-7]
74 N.Y. Giants [6-3]
73 Oakland [2-7]
72 Buffalo [3-6]
   Cleveland [3-6]
71 Denver [7-2]
   Pittsburgh [3-6]
   Washington [3-6]
70 Arizona [1-8]
   Houston [3-6]
69 Detroit [2-7]
68 New England [6-3]
   Philadelphia [5-4]
67 Jacksonville [5-4]
   Kansas City [5-4]
66 Dallas [5-4]
65 San Francisco [4-5]
   St. Louis [4-5]
64 Carolina [5-4]
   Indianapolis [9-0]
   Miami [3-6]
   Minnesota [4-5]
   N.Y. Jets [5-4]
   San Diego [7-2]
63 Green Bay [4-5]
   New Orleans [6-3]
   Seattle [6-3]
61 Baltimore [7-2]
60 Atlanta [5-4]
56 Chicago [8-1]

Hmmm, if they don't go to 15-1, they're most certainly not worth the hype. The remaining schedule looks the toughest for Cincinnati and Dallas:


34 Cincinnati [4-5]
33 Dallas [5-4]
31 Tennessee [2-7]
30 Denver [7-2]
   Philadelphia [5-4]
   San Diego [7-2]
29 Jacksonville [5-4]
28 Atlanta [5-4]
   Kansas City [5-4]
   N.Y. Giants [6-3]
   Oakland [2-7]
27 Arizona [1-8]
   Green Bay [4-5]
   Houston [3-6]
   New Orleans [6-3]
   Pittsburgh [3-6]
   San Francisco [4-5]
   Seattle [6-3]
   Tampa Bay [2-7]
   Washington [3-6]
26 Carolina [5-4]
   Detroit [2-7]
25 Buffalo [3-6]
   Miami [3-6]
   N.Y. Jets [5-4]
   New England [6-3]
24 Cleveland [3-6]
   Indianapolis [9-0]
23 Baltimore [7-2]
   Chicago [8-1]
   Minnesota [4-5]
   St. Louis [4-5]

The charts will be updated weekly.

Who's that girl? Part 3.

2006-11-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Yet another game with the same girl right besides Mack Brown. The Longhorns lost in a shootout to Kansas State and can pretty much forget about the trip to the National Championship game (as well as Louisville, Auburn and California, unless something extraordinary happens in the next two Saturdays). My wife's theory about her (the girl) being the coach's daughter was strengthened by the fact that she pulled Mack Brown away from the sidelines when a Wildcat was forced out of the field and was right on a path to collide with the Texas coach...

Santa Clara 49ers?

2006-11-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

The 49ers have announced that they are planning to move to Santa Clara by 2012. The main reason is the high cost of infrastructure improvements around the planned site for the new stadium, so they may be just trying to put a little pressure on San Francisco officials to chip in on that cost, especially since the city can have huge investments rolling in if the 2016 Olympics will be held there (i just can't imagine having an extra few hundred thousand / million people on the streets, but that's another story).

Which brings me to an interesting point. I live in the area, and i see the people. One of the main reasons why San Jose has the biggest per capita income is very simple - a lot of high tech companies. Who works there? Not a kind of people who'd go to a professional football game (few of them do, but it's not like it's Green Bay, let's face it). Many are immigrants who could care less about the sports and many are simply not interested in sports because of the internal inclinations (ever see somebody good at sports and computers - shouldn't be a lot). The Sharks arena is rarely sold out (according to one of my co-workers), and there is only one shop that sells non-Sharks jerseys that i've been able to find in the area. Granted, ice hockey is not as popular as football, but still. They can't assume to boost ticket sales just by moving into a rich area, and corporate sponsorship / luxury boxes alone can't save the day, especially in the post-bubble era. Some other good questions raised here.

Why Colts won and Patriots lost

2006-11-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

There is a very good reason why Colts won at Foxboro. I can't say they were better, not with the worst rushing defense in the league. The reason is very simple - they played their game while New England tried to change theirs specifically for the Colts. Manning threw for 44 yards on 3rd and 15 in the first quarter because this is what he does. Patriots went for 4th and 3 in the first quarter because they were afraid to be outscored. Guess what, Colts only twenty seven points, but it was enough.

Patriots' offense was constantly changing the tactics and it was more disrupting them than the Colts' defense. Just take the ball and rush it. You get one of the best rushers in the league - just give him the ball. Don't throw like you're playing against Vikings. Do what you do best, do what brought you three rings. Now Colts are on track to have all playoff games at home (which doesn't really say that they're going to go to SuperBowl).

And last but not least - one of the most quiet and effective players in the league. The incomparable Marvin Harrison just does what he gets paid for. No sleeping on the ball, no barking at the WR coach, just catching one ball after another. Simple incredible.

This has finally happened

2006-11-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

Finally, Bears got what their offense really deserves. The Dolphins team may not be as good as in 1985, but Bears most certainly didn't deserve to go unbeaten this far. The defense is the best by far, but the opposing defenses finally have cracked Rex Grossman - pressure him. The last interception was particularly ridiculous. Now it's up to Giants on next Sunday night - should be fun to watch, especially since Eli Manning has matured much quicker than Grossman.

The most ridiculous measuring device in the world

2006-11-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

OK, it may not be the most ridiculous in the world, but it is by far the most ridiculous and inaccurate in the professional sports. A guy carries the ball, another guy tackles him and drags him to the ground, another six fall on top of them and then what? Two guys come from the opposite sides of the field and "mark the spot". The accuracy varies from nanometers to a whole foot (and perhaps more). If you're lucky, you get the first down. If you're not, the bring in "the device". The device is two sticks chained together. The first stick is placed somewhere in the vicinity of the previous "spot", the second stick is placed somewhere in the vicinity of the current "spot". If the point of the ball is a micron away from the second stick (which in itself is a sizeable object), you get "... and inches". Inches? Say what?

Perhaps it should be renamed to "... and some distance that we can't really measure but we're to embarrassed to acknowledge the fact of it, so it's the best that we can give you unless you throw your red flag and then we'll have to take one of your precious little timeouts, so back to the topic at hand, let's call it inches and be done with it".

Who's that girl? Part 2.

2006-11-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

A follow-up to the Who's that girl part 1 - a picture of the same girl during the game against Oklahoma University. My wife says that she's the coach's daughter. I doubt it. What say you?

How do you get to lead 41-0 at halftime?

2006-10-30T12:58:00.000-08:00

First, you need to have the best defense in the league with the best turnover margin in the league (and that even with the abysmal performance by Rex Grosman against Arizona).

Second, you need to play against second worst defense in the league with the worst turnover margin in the league (having four fumbles recovered never hurts...)

I would add that you have to have the best offense in the league, but apparently this is totally unnecessary against 49ers :)

It's about time

2006-10-30T09:28:00.000-08:00

Oakland has finally finally started to come through. Of course, it's only the beginning, and they might as well continue losing a lot. The offense is still pretty lame, with total of 17 (!) passing yards, but the defense is pulling their act together with two interceptions returned for TDs (and two more just intercepted). I'm especially happy for Warren Sapp who was (and probably is) one of the best all-round defensive players in the league (with LaRoy Glover and Brian Urlacher). Of course, they also have Randy Moss which has been far from stellar since he moved from Vikings to Raiders, but this can be blamed on a never-ending QB rotation...

Pittsburgh on the other hand can't seem to recover from the loss of Jerome Bettis. Their best rusher is not in the league's top 10, the quarterback throws for 271 yards but has four interceptions and a fumble, and the leading receiver is not even in the league's top 20. The magic was there for one spectacular season, and now it's all gone. How about letting Roethlisberger sit out a week or two after a concussion?

Who's that girl?

2006-10-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Whenever i see Texas Longhorns play and they show the coach, there's always the same girl in the frame. She basically follows him around, looking at him and rarely cheering the team. Who is she? Do you know? If so, leave a comment.

Valuable experience for both sides

2006-10-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's game should be an excellent lesson for both young quarterbacks. Both lost - Matt Leinart lost literally and Rex Grossman didn't have anything to do with the win. Both were stellar performers in college football, and both need such games to grow into real NFL quarterbacks. I could say that Rex was getting overconfident with 5-0 lead. I could say that Matt was getting overconfident with throwing four TD passes in first two games (all of them in first quarter). I don't know for sure. The only sure thing is that both had their asses served to them on a silver plate during the Monday game.

And of course, Bears' defense finally got together and Urlacher did what he does best - chase guys who carry football across field and not make any fouls while doing that. Can't say that Cardinals didn't deserve to lose - if you don't play until the last minute, you can expect anything in NFL. But finally they showed that they have some talent on both offense (except Edgerrin that averages 2.7 yards per carry instead of his 4.1 career average) and on defense.

Go with the flow

2006-10-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

I confess - i like teams that win. No, that should say - i like teams that play explosively on the offense and win. That can even say - i like teams that play explosively on the offense. Six years ago it was Rams, four years ago it was Buccaneers and last year it was Colts and Steelers. Do you see the common part? No, it's not the SuperBowl championships (Colts didn't get it), since Patriots and Ravens are not even close. It's great offensive plays (they might or might not be backed up by solid defense / special teams) that leave me riveted to the screen all the weekend. Of course, it doesn't last forever - players get injured, retired, traded or even simply bad. But as long as there is another team that plays great high-scoring offense against any opponent, I'm with them.

My wife tells me that i'm a winner prostitute. Indeed. Although i have a soft spot for Rams (since they were the first great team i saw in the league seven years ago), i don't have any problem "abandoning" them to root for better-playing teams. Sure, the game yesterday against Seahawks was a thriller, but i wasn't really sad to see Rams lose. I'd rather see them lose in a great game (which wasn't that great, it was just pretty good) than win by a landslide against Raiders or Titans. My type of game would be 70+ points combined, all though the air. I don't think that there's anything wrong with wanting to see spectacular plays all day long, even when the team just can't win in the playoffs year after year.

How the mighty have fallen

2006-10-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

The first NFL game i watched (entirely by accident) was Kansas City second game in 1999-2000 season (i have no idea who they played against). Elvis Grbac was Chiefs' QB and he threw this amazing 50+ yards pass down the side that was caught by some WR just over the fingertips of the defending cornerback. That was the moment I fell in love with football (the Americal version) and abandoned football (the worldwide version). That season was also the season that the "Greatest show on turf" inched the Titans out of going to SuperBowl OT, and Kurt Warner was obviously at his best.

Although this is a subject to an entirely separate entry, i'm not a fan of one team (perhaps because i started watching football at 25). I like good high-scoring offensive teams, and although i'll always remember Elvis and Kurt in their best days (although Elvis threw a mind-boggling number of interceptions), i enjoyed Buccaneers two-three years later and Colts last year. That's why i was saddened to see Elvis go and that's why i'm saddened to see Kurt struggle at this stage against Eli at first and Matt now. Sure, they are the future, but Kurt's career was so spectacular and so short... It's a real pity that he hurt his thumb back then and never recovered.