09-09-2015, 10:01 AM
I don't think it's quite as crazy as some may think.
There are only 6 spots for this conference. Colts, Broncos, and Patriots should win their divisions. That's 3 spots right there. KC will be at least somewhat relevant unless Charles and their defense falls off a cliff. SD is a good team with a criminally underrated QB (people want to talk about guys that can perform at an elite level with subpar talent? Look no further). Lots of talk about the Dolphins making noise this year. Houston is getting Foster back earlier than expected and I've heard that JJ Watt is pretty good. The AFCN has 3 teams constantly fighting for a spot and 1 of them is guaranteed one and it isn't a lock to be us.
That leaves the Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins, and Texans fighting for 3 spots, and that's completely ignoring that there will probably be an "unexpected" team that plays reasonably well this year (looking at you, Buffalo). This schedule doesn't look as easy as some others around the league which must factor in to this somehow.
This team has a lot of talent on it, and we should definitely be disappointed if we completely miss the playoffs. I just don't think people predicting us out of the tournament are completely insane as some others feel. You could put ANY 3 of those 7 I listed (obviously need at least 1 AFCN team though) along with the Colts, Broncos, and Patriots as your prediction and I wouldn't think you're being ridiculous. What I think is truly crazy is how some are thinking we're as much of a lock as a team like Indianapolis to make the playoffs.
There are only 6 spots for this conference. Colts, Broncos, and Patriots should win their divisions. That's 3 spots right there. KC will be at least somewhat relevant unless Charles and their defense falls off a cliff. SD is a good team with a criminally underrated QB (people want to talk about guys that can perform at an elite level with subpar talent? Look no further). Lots of talk about the Dolphins making noise this year. Houston is getting Foster back earlier than expected and I've heard that JJ Watt is pretty good. The AFCN has 3 teams constantly fighting for a spot and 1 of them is guaranteed one and it isn't a lock to be us.
That leaves the Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins, and Texans fighting for 3 spots, and that's completely ignoring that there will probably be an "unexpected" team that plays reasonably well this year (looking at you, Buffalo). This schedule doesn't look as easy as some others around the league which must factor in to this somehow.
This team has a lot of talent on it, and we should definitely be disappointed if we completely miss the playoffs. I just don't think people predicting us out of the tournament are completely insane as some others feel. You could put ANY 3 of those 7 I listed (obviously need at least 1 AFCN team though) along with the Colts, Broncos, and Patriots as your prediction and I wouldn't think you're being ridiculous. What I think is truly crazy is how some are thinking we're as much of a lock as a team like Indianapolis to make the playoffs.
