If the season ended today....

Actually, we're the 8th best team in AFC standings. Either Pittsburgh or Baltimore will move ahead of us tonight.
If we're a playoff team, then we need to go 3-3 during this really tough stretch. I can see losses vs Denver and New England on the road. with wins vs jets and Bills. that leaves at Detroit and home vs Baltimore.
a good team goes 3-3 in that stretch. a really good team goes 4-2. realistically, I think we go 3-3, finish with 2 wins vs Minny and Jets and finish with 10 wins (if we stay healthy)

 

I think the exact same thing, which is also what I thought before the season started.

 

Honestly, I usually try to avoid these types of conversations at all costs, mainly because of what Dan Marino once said to me. It was in the mid-90's and a few friends and I would head out to the Weston Country Club to get his autograph on Thursdays after his live radio show there. For whatever reason, there was never any media there and Dan usually had a few drinks, so he'd chat lightly with us for a few minutes in the parking lot and then tell us to go away. Well, in this particular season the Fins were leading the division with 5-6 games left, so I asked Marino, "Hey Dan, do you guys think you can win the Super Bowl this year?"

Surprisingly, this pissed Dan off pretty good and he said, "Why the hell are you asking me that? We're not even in the playoffs yet, and everything can change in a single week." Then he stormed off to his Suburban and took off.

Looking back, I now understand what he was saying...predicting the "easiest" road to the playoffs is impossible to do...even in week 15 or later. We never know which games are going to be crucial down the stretch so the only thing you can do is try to win out, and planning any further than the next kickoff is simply asking for trouble. So I sort of adopted Marino's stance and I don't talk about the playoffs until we're there.....because it gives players the heebie jeebies to even think about jinxing themselves with planning ahead.

Anyway, I had no opinion to add here...I just thought it would be a cool time to share that particular story. We stalked Marino for about 4 years on Thursday nights so I have a bunch of stuff like that.

 

Yeah, he was known for having a temper at times, but I never share any of those types of stories since nobody wants to hear that. He did tell us to "F&#k off" dozens of times though; we never knew how he'd react until he actually got outside and walked to his car. Some nights he was all laughs and smiles, and some nights...lol. Like I said, he's a legend so I stick to the good stories.

 

I dont think its to early at all to be looking at playoff scenarios THIS YEAR. And thats because of the log jam in the AFC and maybe even needing an 11-5 season just to get a WC. What that means is....sitting at 5-3, every game is pretty much a playoff game from here on out.

 

It looks that way today, but some good teams will crumble down the stretch when games "seemingly" mean a lot more. The only difference is that this season, we don't look like one of those teams.

 

See this is the time of year when a bunch of teams are hovering a game over .500 or so and all have a shot. There is no way I believe a bunch of teams all finish 10-6 in the AFC. It just almost never works out that way in a league with parity but also a league where the average record balances out to 8-8.

These teams will start playing eachother in the division or in conference and trading wins/losses.

I don't see this as any different than any other year.