Time to reach into my mail sack

Before I say anything else, let me announce how pleased I am with the cartoon photo I found to represent my mailbag entry. I appreciate the mailbag that says "Mail" and has a picture of a piece of mail on it, the way I appreciate a sack with the dollar sign on it to represent that it has money in it. Onward we go now...

In response to my prior post, loyal reader, fellow radio professional, and friend (obviously, as no non-friends of mine read my blog) Joe provoked enough thought worth replying to, so I wanted to make a new entry for it. Partly also because I only make like 5 postings per month on this blog anymore, and that's lame, so I need to pad my stats some. Anyway, Joe writes...

Though I can't prove it...I think it'd be fairly easy to come closer on overall division record than you might think. With 4 teams...I bet it'd average out in the long run to something close to what you'd expect...even if you're a mile off on two or more teams. I'm no fan of referencing this stat.

The Lions going 0-16 was AWESOME. They'll still suck for years to come...which sucks...but at least they accomplished a monumental task this year and didn't 1-15 it like a bunch of other scrub teams. Didn't your Jets have a 1-15 year about 10 years ago?

Thanks for reading Joe! You do make a good point about the overall division records - I could miss badly on two teams, one over and one under, yet come close to my estimate. I had not fully taken that into account in the predictions where I graded myself high mainly based on this criterion. However, it's not as easy when predicting entire divisions to be far above or below .500. The idea was to predict divisional strength in general, so I'm still going to pathetically cling to how close I came to, for instance, the NFC East's 38 wins and NFC West's 22 wins.

And I agree about the Lions - no sense in just one-and-fifteening it like many other teams. May as well go full-on historic with it. Now, when you mention them as "your" (as in "my") Jets, I can refer you to this, as my Jet fandom went from summer 1997 to September 2008 (arrived with Parcells/Martin era and left with Pennington)...but yes, the Rich Kotite/Frank Reich/Adrian Murrell Jets went 1-15 in 1996, and boy were they laughable. And on that note I will encourage you to join me in leaving your abusive NFL relationship and seeking refuge with the kind of winning team you deserve. In other words, I can sum up my persuasive argument thusly...Big Blue, Big Blue, Big Blue! (And I don't mean the University of Michigan.)

2008 NFL Season in Review (and predictions revisited)

What would a prediction be without revisiting it when it can truly be evaluated? Not doing so would be like evaluating a draft class before they ever take the field, and not doing it at the end of the season, or even the season after. Which you actually never see. Anyway, here we go! We'll start with the final season standings, with my predictions in parenthesis. And I'll grade my predictions for each division.

AFC

EAST

Dolphins 11-5 (7-9)
Patriots 11-5 (11-5)
Jets 9-7 (10-6)
Bills 7-9 (8-8)

TOTAL: 38-26 (36-28)

GRADE: A. I don't think anyone predicted the Dolphins would improve the way they did. I believe Chad Pennington is the MVP. The Jets deserved what they got this season (Brett Favre) for dumping Chad. Other than Miami, my predictions were all within one game of actual records. And I successfully tabbed this to be a strong division.

NORTH

Steelers 12-4 (11-5)
*Ravens 11-5 (5-11)
Bengals 4-11-1 (6-10)
Browns 4-12 (9-7)

TOTAL: 31-32-1 (31-33)

GRADE: C+. Sure, I got it right with the Steelers, but they are there every year. Really a model organization. But boy did I miss on the Ravens. And can someone remind me why I thought the Browns would be good? The only saving grace here was that I was so close on overall division strength - a mere 1/2 game away. Also I correctly predicted the Bengals would be a mess, but that was easy too.

SOUTH

Titans 13-3 (6-10)
*Colts 12-4 (12-4)
Texans 8-8 (7-9)
Jaguars 5-11 (11-5)

TOTAL: 38-26 (36-28)

GRADE: C-. The Colts I nailed, but again, model organization, and they are good every year (though it actually didn't start out looking that way, with the slow start and Manning's knee surgeries.) I never saw the Titans coming, and missed big on the Jags - then again, mostly everyone else did too. And again I saved a little face by forecasting overall division strength.

WEST

Chargers 8-8 (10-6)
Broncos 8-8 (7-9)
Raiders 5-11 (7-9)
Chiefs 2-14 (6-10)
TOTAL: 23-41 (30-34)

GRADE: C. I don't take much solace in correctly predicting the finishing order of all these scrub teams. I didn't totally whiff by a mile, but didn't see anything particularly special either. This division doesn't deserve any more of my time than it already got, so let's move to the NFC now...

NFC

EAST

Giants 12-4 (10-6)
*Eagles 9-6-1 (10-6)
Cowboys 9-7 (11-5)
Redskins 8-8 (7-9)

TOTAL: 38-25-1 (38-26)

GRADE: A+. Ding ding ding ding! I hit the Giants and Eagles going to the playoffs, the overall division record within 1/2 game, and every team's record within 2 games. The only thing I missed was the Cowboys not going to the playoffs...but hey, I'm glad to be wrong about that.

NORTH

Vikings 10-6 (10-6)
Bears 9-7 (5-11)
Packers 6-10 (10-6)
Lions 0-16 (8-8)

TOTAL: 25-39 (33-31)

GRADE: D. Good on the Vikings, off on everyone else. Special attention goes to the Lions going 0-16, as I may not get the chance to mention it elsewhere. How awesome is that?

SOUTH

Panthers 12-4 (10-6)
*Falcons 11-5 (4-12)
Buccaneers 9-7 (9-7)
Saints 8-8 (9-7)

TOTAL: 40-24 (32-32)

GRADE: B-. Got the division winner, and very close on 3 of the 4 teams overall. But what a season for the Falcons. Matt Ryan gives hope to any future team hoping to draft a QB high in the first round, but not feel like they are relegated to "rebuilding" for 2 or 3 years with a bad record. (So did Joe Flacco in Baltimore for that matter.)

WEST

Cardinals 9-7 (6-10)
49ers 7-9 (3-13)
Seahawks 4-12 (6-10)
Rams 2-14 (5-11)

TOTAL: 22-42 (20-44)

GRADE: Incomplete. Everything I said about the AFC West not deserving my attention applies even more to this group. What a terrible, worthless bunch of teams. And if not for one particular team quitting in December and losing to both the 49ers and Seahawks, this division would have matched my predicted total record. But, I correctly identified this as the worst division ever, and gave the Cardinals a tie for 1st place, so there you go.

PLAYOFFS!???

AFC: 3 of 6 teams correct - Steelers, Colts, Chargers.
NFC: 4 of 6 teams correct - Giants, Eagles, Vikings, Panthers (and a bonus 1/2 point for the Cardinals).

Preseason Super Bowl Prediction of Giants vs. Colts

Alive and well...

31 other GMs can't be wrong

We've seen several interesting examples this season of players that no one else wanted, signing on for one last chance with the one team who thought they still had something left. So far, Ty Law is looking to be a non-factor with the Jets. Shaun Alexander hung on for just weeks with the Redskins. And Richie Sexson spent about a month with the Yankees. All were examples of low-risk, scrap heap pickups of guys appeared to be nearing the end...who, as it turns out, really are near the end. I guess if nothing else, it's a lesson that often the masses are correct. Sure, sometimes you're the only one who believes in something, and you turn out to be right. But the majority of the time, you can just save yourself the effort, and take cues from others.

Coming up next week: My long awaited (by no one) NFL Season in Review.

Does anybody remember laughter?

I would just like to bring more attention to the craziness that has ensued on my friend Mike's blog the past couple days over this post:

http://mikekenny.blogspot.com/2008/07/classic-card-of-week_8747.html

Yes, a photo of me is included, but it's not really about me. First and foremost, I want you to read Mike's post on this SI For Kids card featuring a speed skater, and enjoy it on its own merits. I dare you not to laugh, and I dare you to try to take it literally or in a totally serious/factual light.

Now read the comments at the bottom made by "Brian Krans," and the second "Anonymous."

I know it's an extremely small sample size, and as Mike says, they may even be the same person...but after seeing these comments I have truly begun to question the ability of people (or at least a percentage of people) in America in the year 2008 to laugh, or even to grasp the concept of humor when done by others.

I am still leaving open a slight possibility that these people were themselves trying to be sarcastic or satirical, or trying to bait us in some way. But, if I may quote another great blog, the now defunct FJM: If this is bait...I've taken it, and it's delicious.