Sunday's St. Louis-Detroit matchup appeared destined to be one of the worst of the NFL season -- the teams entered Week 8 a combined 1-12 on the year -- and one second-quarter play summed up the ineptitude of both teams pretty well.
With Detroit facing 3rd-and-10 from the Rams 12, quarterback Matthew Stafford fired a pass over the middle that ricocheted off the hands of running back Aaron Brown and right to waiting St. Louis safety James Butler.
Amid all these NFL predictions flooding the web this week there are few certainties. But if recent history is any indication, we know for sure that at least one of this year's division winners will be a team that finished in last place a year ago. At least one team has turned the trick every year since the NFL went to the current eight-division format -- 10 teams total in six seasons. The Dolphins did it last year, the Buccaneers the year before, and the Eagles and Saints the year before that.
The reasons for this phenomenon are obvious -- overall parity, four-team divisions, a scheduling system that (basically) makes life easier for the teams at the bottom and tougher for the teams at the top. The only question as the 2009 season dawns is which of last year's last-place finishers will be among this year's division winners. We ranked all eight of them in order of their chances to continue the trend:
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble, and today we look at the NFC West's looming position battles.
So I decided to change the name of my weekly segment to "Chief Shots" because I'm pretending to be clever. Again, this is my weekly chance to be completely off-the-cuff, ridiculous, crunk-tastic, and completely abso-ludicrous
I wonder what the reaction would be in St. Louis if Don Denkinger was an honorary ref for the game. I also wonder what kind of great calls he could make if he were the ref: 20 yard holding penalties? One knee equals three feet? Or how about making an infamous call for a SAFE-ty?
It would be a funny site to see if St. Louis fans, still pumped up about their beloved Cardinals winning the World Series, accidentally filled the Edward Jones Dome with a sea of red. I'll work on the memo.
Herm Edwards should be coach of the year: Part 2. The Chiefs had a special, surprise Halloween treat for the media. "Herm Edwards" (aka, Larry Johnson) addressed the media for a few minutes. If you haven't seen it, I strongly suggest you watch it. Anybody that has actually followed Larry Johnson knows how big of a surprise it is to see Larry Johnson show this side of himself to the media. This is a man that plays angry, interviews angry, has been accused of being aloof, distant, uncaring. Larry Johnson showed a very different side of himself during that press conference. Charles Caleb Colton once wrote that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." I couldn't agree more. I know everybody likes to believe that it's better for LJ to play angry; Herm Edwards has shown that it's far better for LJ to be happy when he's playing angry.
I just came across a really interesting website called "Sonny Moore's Computer Rankings." I don't know what formulas they're using to derive these total scores, but it's a really interesting website to check out. Interesting points to note: 1) the Chiefs are ranked #16 vs. the Rams at #19. However, due to a factor Sonny uses for homefield advantage, St. Louis has a very slight edge over the Chiefs for Sunday's game; 2) the 2005 Chiefs were actually ranked 6th, even though they didn't even make the playoffs. It's about time a computer ranking factored in strength of schedule, which is undoubtedly what launched the Chiefs ahead of the competition (keep in mind, that this ranking includes playoff performances as well).
As Jon stated in the season preview, I believe the Chiefs will finish 10-6. Trent Green (right) agrees, which is why he is wearing #10. Here is a game-by-game justification for my prediction:
Bengals (Home) [W] - A really tough one. Six months ago, I chalked this up as an easy win, because I figured there was no way Carson Palmer would be ready for this game. Palmer actually looks even better now. The benefit is that the Chiefs are at home. Chalk this up as a very, very close win.
Broncos (Away) [L] - The Chiefs can't win in Denver. End of story.
Bye - Someone will have to explain this to me. Is a third-week Bye not the most useless thing in the planet?
49ers (Home) [W] - Simply put, if they lose to the 49ers at home, the season's over.
Cardinals (Away) [L] - Another really tough decision. I'm not convinced that the Cardinals have come anywhere close to solving their offensive line issues, and the defense still has to prove itself also. But I do think that Warner, Boldin and Fitzgerald could put up major points. Close loss (but this could easily flip-flop to be Loss to Bengals and Win to Cardinals).
Steelers (Away) [L] - The Chiefs have not been a good road team recently. Now they need to beat the Super Bowl champs on the road? And yes, this would mean the Chiefs would have a losing record after Week 6.
Chargers (Home) [W] - Will Philip Rivers be the QB San Diego's expecting him to be? I don't think it will matter in Arrowhead.
Seahawks (Home) [L] - I don't think Seattle is going to be as good as they were last year, but they are still the defending NFC champs. This is the only home loss I'm predicting.
Rams (Away) [W] - The Chiefs always get pumped up for their matchups with their cross-state rivals. The Rams don't seem like they have everything figured out yet, and it certainly isn't the same scary offense we are used to seeing.
Dolphins (Away) [L] - Count me in as being on the Miami bandwagon. Culpepper looks pretty good, so they have the offensive talent. Defense might still be a question, but in Miami, the 'Fins have the edge.
Sunday's St. Louis-Detroit matchup appeared destined to be one of the worst of the NFL season -- the teams entered Week 8 a combined 1-12 on the year -- and one second-quarter play summed up the ineptitude of both teams pretty well.
Amid all these NFL predictions flooding the web this week there are few certainties. But if recent history is any indication, we know for sure that at least one of this year's division winners will be a team that finished in last place a year ago. At least one team has turned the trick every year since the NFL went to the current eight-division format -- 10 teams total in six seasons. The Dolphins did it last year, the Buccaneers the year before, and the Eagles and Saints the year before that.
So I decided to change the name of my weekly segment to "Chief Shots" because I'm pretending to be clever. Again, this is my weekly chance to be completely off-the-cuff, ridiculous, crunk-tastic, and completely abso-ludicrous 
As Jon stated in the season preview, I believe the Chiefs will finish 10-6. Trent Green (right) agrees, which is why he is wearing #10. Here is a game-by-game justification for my prediction: 
