Attn: Atlas Bob, re: Colts defense
The Texans. The Texans are like the NFL's division II. Before I hear anything about "parity" I want to know when was the last time an 0-5 team beat a 6-0 team in the NFL, or any other pro football league in the U.S. It probably hasn't happened above high school level anywhere in the world, but that's beside the point. The point is, the Texans are one of the two worst teams in the NFL, and I can name five defenses better than the Colts' defense. I overstated my case when I said they sucked, but this is not the blog where I'm slowed by circumspection and perfect accuracy. That's found here. This is the blog where I satirize popular culture and express outrageous opinions about football (i.e. that the Colts' D sucks). But my points that they're overrated, and that their PA/g column would grow to reflect that, still stand. If you want to point to where I was wrong in both detail and overall theme, point out that I said the Colts' offense was great and would get itself back on track. Maybe they're just playing down to their opponents, but they were tied at the half with the second worst team in the league. It should have been a blowout by that point, especially if the Colts' D is as good as you say. But the Texans are not one of the two worst because of a horrible defense, it's because of an offense that usually gets less than two hundred yards in a game, even against defenses that you don't consider great. Here are five defenses that are better than that of the Colts, and I could probably add one each week for the rest of the season, if you wanted me to.
1. Cowboys - I don't like them any more than you do, but against any team other than those from cities that start with "San" they hold 'em to less than twenty points, and some of them (Washington, Philadelphia, NYG, Seattle) have better offenses than any team the Colts have played.
2. Bucs - don't start talking to me about strength of schedule if you've been defending the Colts.
3. Ravens - lost to the Colts really badly, but then again, they have one of the three worst offenses in the league. And speaking of which, so do the
4. Bears - Still not a great team, and neither Baltimore nor Chicago has a chance at the playoffs, but then, neither did last year's
5. Redskins - Not as good at defense as they were last year, but they are still better than the Colts' defense. And their offense is so much improved, that they would have a chance to beat Indy if they had to (but I really doubt they will have to, since both teams would have to make it to the Super Bowl for them to meet this year).
I could have put the Steelers, the Jaguars, or maybe even the Seahawks on the list. All have allowed less than 300 yards/game against noticeably stronger offenses than the Colts' opponents. The Colts's defense is a lot like the Lions defense, if you will: a lot of INT's, under 300 yds/g allowed - why the difference in the win/loss column? Three reasons: Manning, Harrison, and James. Not looking as good as they did last year (or even the year before), but still a bigger part of the flawless record than Indy's D.
Yada-yada-yada. I'm sick of this discussion, because neither of us is getting anywhere with the other. Maybe we'll resolve this since I copped to overstating my case. Maybe not, and you still think they're the best in the league. I don't care. I'm going to focus on other teams, because it's the teams I don't follow as closely (Chicago, Buffalo, etc.) that mess up my picks either by winning or losing unexpectedly. I'm 8-6 in week 7 (I didn't actually pick KC), the first week I actually got around to picking. That's about 57%. I hope to improve to about 66% or so over the course of the season.
Also, I'm going to post the AB picks for week 7 and on, comparing that formula's accuracy rating against mine. See the AB picks for week 7 in my next post. (AB picks are based on a formula, and do not involve any human factors in the picking, so they are still objective, even after all the games have been played.)
Backlog Bob
1. Cowboys - I don't like them any more than you do, but against any team other than those from cities that start with "San" they hold 'em to less than twenty points, and some of them (Washington, Philadelphia, NYG, Seattle) have better offenses than any team the Colts have played.
2. Bucs - don't start talking to me about strength of schedule if you've been defending the Colts.
3. Ravens - lost to the Colts really badly, but then again, they have one of the three worst offenses in the league. And speaking of which, so do the
4. Bears - Still not a great team, and neither Baltimore nor Chicago has a chance at the playoffs, but then, neither did last year's
5. Redskins - Not as good at defense as they were last year, but they are still better than the Colts' defense. And their offense is so much improved, that they would have a chance to beat Indy if they had to (but I really doubt they will have to, since both teams would have to make it to the Super Bowl for them to meet this year).
I could have put the Steelers, the Jaguars, or maybe even the Seahawks on the list. All have allowed less than 300 yards/game against noticeably stronger offenses than the Colts' opponents. The Colts's defense is a lot like the Lions defense, if you will: a lot of INT's, under 300 yds/g allowed - why the difference in the win/loss column? Three reasons: Manning, Harrison, and James. Not looking as good as they did last year (or even the year before), but still a bigger part of the flawless record than Indy's D.
Yada-yada-yada. I'm sick of this discussion, because neither of us is getting anywhere with the other. Maybe we'll resolve this since I copped to overstating my case. Maybe not, and you still think they're the best in the league. I don't care. I'm going to focus on other teams, because it's the teams I don't follow as closely (Chicago, Buffalo, etc.) that mess up my picks either by winning or losing unexpectedly. I'm 8-6 in week 7 (I didn't actually pick KC), the first week I actually got around to picking. That's about 57%. I hope to improve to about 66% or so over the course of the season.
Also, I'm going to post the AB picks for week 7 and on, comparing that formula's accuracy rating against mine. See the AB picks for week 7 in my next post. (AB picks are based on a formula, and do not involve any human factors in the picking, so they are still objective, even after all the games have been played.)
Backlog Bob
posted by weblogbob83 at 12:37 AM
2 Comments:
Five? With three more that you speculate about? Hum. That's just silly. Sure, the Bucs, Bears and Steelers aren't too far behind the Colts, but they all have points where they lag behind. Colts lead the league in sacks, defensive TDs, forced fumbles and are tied with a few teams for most INTs returned for TDs. And they lead the league in that most important of categories, Points Allowed. Only 10 points a game.
You're right though, I don't think you're going to see the light no matter how often I point it out to you. We'll see how things stand in December.
Oh, yeah. "Minus four."
1 quarter. That's how much of a game they've spent on the field against a strong offense.... for the whole season. When they face a good offense, say, in the playoffs, and hold them; when they win against a good offense without requiring their offense to outgun the opponents in 60+ point TD-fest, then I'll post (and leave) on my blog the humble, grovelling admission of wrongheadedness you're looking for. Then again, that "when" can also function as an "if" as in "...*when* hell freezes over."
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