November 1, 2012
Sure it is November but that doesn't mean I won't dole out some late treats to you guys a day after Halloween. Before you settle in to see the Loser Gets Fired Bowl tonight night between the San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs, I have two great stats I found this week for you.
The Chargers have already underachieved like they normally do and the Chiefs were once a sexy preseason pick to make the playoffs haven't led once all season in a game. Kansas City only lead New Orleans once they kicked the game winning field goal in overtime to win the game.
San Diego fans wanted Norv Turner fired after last season but he got a reprieve from ownership. The Chargers are still in the thick of AFC West race but a loss to the Chiefs and the have to believe that Turner has to go for this team to rally.
Now for your candy. There are two games that bare watching even if you are not a fan of any of the four teams involved in these two games.
The Atlanta Falcons put their undefeated season on the line against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Atlanta might want to think about losing this game. Why, you might ask?
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/41113/lose-to-cowboys-win-super-bowl">Three times since 1991, the Cowboys have faced an undefeated team and won. After losing to Dallas the previous undefeated team went on to win the Super Bowl.
In 1991, the Washington Redskins were 11-0 until falling to Dallas and the Redskins went on to win it all. In 2006, it was the Indianapolis Colts who were 9-0 before the Cowboys assured their Super Bowl victory by defeating them.
The New Orleans Saints should send a thank you card to Dallas for the Cowboys 2009 loss when they were 13-0. The Saints would go on to defeat the Colts to win their only Super Bowl title.
I'm not saying the Falcons should throw their game against the Cowboys on Sunday night but losing will not be the end of the world. Atlanta could win their first title with a loss this week.
Your second treat involves the upcoming presidential election and football. http://frontrow.espn.go.com/2012/10/redskins-rule-mnfs-hirdt-on-intersection-of-football-politics/">The "Redskins Rule" is something you will hear plenty about over the next few days.
Here is how the "Redskins Rule" works, since moving to Washington in 1937, there has been 18 presidential elections and this rule has worked on 17 of 18.
Each time the Redskins win their last home game before the election, the incumbent or party already holding the White House has gone on to win. If the Redskins lose their last home game before the election than the incumbent or party holding the White House will lose the election.
This is potentially good news if you are hoping for Barack Obama to win reelection. Washington host the 1-6 Carolina Panthers at home this Sunday.
The 3-5 Redskins will be favored to win this game, since the Panthers defeated the Saints in week two. Washington fans are excited about Robert Griffin III but Obama fans will be excited about a Redskins win.
Anyone hoping for Mitt Romney win on Tuesday will be rooting for Cam Newton and Carolina. The only time the Redskin rule didn't hold up was the 2004 election.
That year the Redskins lost 28-14 to the Green Bay Packers. That should have meant that John Kerry would win the 2004 election but instead George Bush was reelected.
The "Redskin Rule" would get right back on track in the 2008 election. Washington would lose 23-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers which singled that Obama would defeat John McCain and Obama did.
Halloween masks have been used to predict the winner of the up coming presidential election and so have polls but the 17-1 record for the "Redskins Rule" is not a bad average. Anyone who wants to figure out the outcome of the Tuesday election might want to check out Washington and Carolina at noon on Sunday.
At the midway point of the NFL season, the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers are the best teams in the NFL. Over in the AFC the list is much smaller, the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens are the only teams playing with the most constancy.
Every team in the NFC is still in the playoff hunt but the Panthers. The teams in danger of falling out of the playoff chase are the Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and St. Louis Rams.
The Minnesota Vikings, Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are in the best contention to make the playoffs. Still the Vikings, Cardinals and Seahawks all should fall back to the pack even more.
In the AFC, Kansas City, the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars are no longer in playoff contention. The Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Chargers and Oakland Raiders are in danger of missing out with a few more losses.
The New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Steelers, and Denver Broncos are in the driver's seat right now to make the playoffs. A 7-9 team making the playoffs out of the AFC doesn't seem out of question this season.
There is still time for teams to put together a long winning streak and make a playoff run but it better happen quick for some of these teams. Time is starting run out on the 2012 season.
Now for this week's picks, Saints pick before Monday's night game (winners in bold).
Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers
Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins (I pick winners on who will win not who I want to win elections)
Detroit Lions at Jacksonville Jaguars
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons
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