It doesn't matter who is or isn't considered though. The Titans weren't considered contenders last year and yet they were. Eli Manning's Giants weren't and yet he has super bowl rings. The Eagles won a superbowl with a backup QB, no one expected that. This literally happens almost every post-season or at least every other post-season. The sport has so much parity it has coined the phrase "Any Given Sunday" because it's literally true.
Yes, there were. Both #3 seeds in each conference were 1-and-done this January. The #1 and #2 seeds in the NFC lost to the #5 seed. When the Texans jumped up on KC, 24-0, last year - you didn't start to think about the viability of them hosting the (coughcough) #6-seeded Titans in the AFC championship game? If you're in, you're a contender. Period. Doesn't mean all teams are created equal - it just means weird **** happens in the playoffs every year.
Adding on to that, every year teams that suck turn it around...instantly. A 2-14 team one year could literally be in a superbowl in the NFL. That's why what Tom Brady has done is so impressive because he's beat the parity of the league whereas a QB going to 2-3 superbowls would be an amazing accomplishment this man has gone to 10.
yeah i know it is. titan's weren't considered contenders for good reason. playoff team sure but to win it all, nah
Pretty much, no one is saying there aren't teams favored... But odd **** happens. Kubiak could have had a superbowl appearance here if it weren't for a random Jacoby Jones fumble, for example. One guy gets hurt during a game? One guy fumbles, one guy gets a tip INT, whatever, chaos can happen and there's no 'Best of 7' to make up for it.
Would you consider them more a contender than, say, the Lions? Or Giants? Or Falcons?..... The Ravens were 14-2 last year; they were 0-1 in the postseason. Kansas City was great last year - do you not remember them jumping from the #5 to #2 seed because New England **** the bed in week 17 and lost to Miami? To pretend bad bounces and lucky breaks don't significantly impact the NFL playoffs each and every year is to basically admit you don't ever watch the NFL playoffs. I would never argue WFT or Chicago were better than Tampa Bay or New Orleans. But I have no hesitation arguing, on any given Sunday, that anything can happen. If every Super Bowl was #1 v #1, you'd have a point. It rarely is. It's not this year. It wasn't last year.
all those teams are bad. they're in the same boat sure things happen in the playoffs. that still doesn't mean teams like chicago and washington were actual contenders. your definition of a actual contendor is probably just different from mine
Who said anything about TB? The point is teams go from worst to first a lot in the league. It's why the Texans were and are stupid for not giving coaches and GMs shorter leashes. You don't need 5 years to turn it around, 2-3 MAX and if the GM/Coach combo can't do it by then no reason to hang onto them. Who the media considers as contenders or not is of course irrelevant as to what happens on the field.
well you talked about a 2-14 record then immediately posted this is what brady has done after that. it's not even just the media, you can take odds and everything. and again the context matters. not everyone is an actual contender. that's just reality. teams like chicago and washington can believe all they want they can win. They weren't.
Man my cynical side of me wants to just keep Watson and see if he'll literally sit out 3 seasons of NFL football.
They were in the playoffs - you know: where "things happen" (if I can quote you). How are they not literal contenders? Because *you* didn't think they were contenders? That's not how it works.
I'm talking about in general the league has a lot of parity. Making it to the playoffs is all that matters in the NFL and it gives you a shot at making the superbowl. Is a wild card team favored? Nope. But when kickoff happens anything can happen. Texans were handling KC for a half just a year ago and this year were terrible. One division, TBs division, had some insane streak of the worst team in the division winning the division next year. Not sure how long that lasted but it's a great example of how much parity there is in the NFL.
so what. a 7-9 team in the worst division in the league still has to be taken into account. So in reality they shouldn't even be in the playoffs if you're talking about the best teams in the league. so yeah in this case its how it works so how it works is "you" think they're contenders. nah that aint it
Sure; let's talk odds - here are some Super Bowl odds I found before the postseason began: Kansas City Chiefs +200 Green Bay Packers +450 New Orleans Saints +800 Buffalo Bills +800 Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1000 Baltimore Ravens +1100 Seattle Seahawks +1200 Pittsburgh Steelers +2200 Los Angeles Rams +2800 Tennessee Titans +2800 Indianapolis Colts +3000 Cleveland Browns +4000 Chicago Bears +6000 Washington Football Team +8000 Should I assume the Chiefs are playing the Packers in this year's Super Bowl? No?! Oh, well, then it's the Saints. What?!?......... And, obviously, the Steelers beat the Browns and the Seahawks beat the Rams because ODDS, right?.......
