For the Detroit Lions, the perfect season is halfway done.  They may not face a bigger trial than they faced yesterday in Chicago against a Bears team that was ready to give the Lions their first win.  And give the Lions credit; they scored 23 points in the second quarter on the road and still managed to snag defeat from the jaws of victory.  I’ll admit that I was worried.  Having the perfect season rest in the hands of Rex Grossman is not something I’m accustomed to nor is it something I would normally wish upon a team.  But Grossman proved me wrong, threw two touchdowns, and kept the perfection in tact.

Aside from Calvin Johnson putting up decent numbers for my fantasy team, I don’t think I’ve asked for too much from the Lions.  So I’ll keep it simple; mail it in.  The checks will keep coming regardless.  Stop trying and make this season a year of perfection.  I know bringing in a guy like Daunte will make the appearance that the Lions are looking to improve.  They aren’t.  If Daunte was anything close to consistent, he would have already been playing for a team that doesn’t have a zero in the win column.

Jacksonville, you’re up next.  You already screwed it up and gave the Bengals their first win of the year; don’t be that team that screws up perfection for both Cincinnati and Detroit.

In this episode we take a look at perhaps the strongest division in football, the AFC South.  While we all agree that the Jaguars and Colts are the clear cut favorites in this division, the entire Sportable staff seems to be real high on the Houston Texas, and their chances for a good year.

Hosts: Kevin, Rich, Ryan, Sonny

 

 AFC South [34:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’ve seen the Patriots enough over the years to know that they’re plenty motivated. And in 2007, with the NFL’s first 16-0 regular season already in the books, we know the Patriots don’t need any extra motivation. But the Jacksonville Jaguars appear more than willing to give it to them. On the Jags’ official website, the weekly power rankings include an asterisk next to the Patriots name, with an explanation below: “Cheated in one game.” Uh oh.

While I think the term “bulletin board material” is a bit played out, it’s never a good idea to give a team like New England even more motivation to kick some ass. We all remember what became of Steelers safety Anthony Smith after he guaranteed a victory: Smith was burnt all day and was the subject of taunts by everyone including Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. So here’s an idea, Vic. If you like your employee, take that damn asterisk off your article.

Let’s combine these power rankings with Paul Spicer’s rant about how the Patriots should be kicked out of the playoffs . What’s this all add up to? An angry Patriots team. Trust me, no team will need motivation during the NFL Playoffs. But at the same time, nobody prides themselves more on shutting people up than the Pats. Do we really need to keep tugging on Superman’s cape?

Update: It appears the Jaguars have removed the asterisk. Too bad we know the real truth.

San Diego Chargers 17, Tennessee Titans 6: For being criticized all year, 2nd year starter Philip Rivers has sure played well the last few weeks. With LaDainian Tomlinson shut down for much of the afternoon, the Titans made Rivers beat them. He did just that, throwing for 292 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t pretty, but the proverbial monkey that finally came off the Chargers’ backs should allow them to play more relaxed against the Colts. For as lousy as Norv Turner has been during parts of 2007, his staff never panicked over a halftime deficit. Unlike Marty Schottenheimer’s playoff efforts, the Chargers finally found the discipline needed to close out a playoff game. Can they go into Indy and beat the World Champs? It’s certainly a possibility. The Chargers have beat Indy two of the last three meetings, including the 2005 victory that derailed the Colts’ undefeated season.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 29: The dream upset scenario of “Jags over Pats” almost didn’t happen, as the Jags squandered a huge lead in the 4th quarter, only to win it with less than 30 seconds left. You have to admire the testicular fortitude of Jags coach Jack Del Rio, who called a quarterback drew on 4th and 2 that put the Jags in position for Josh Scobee’s game winner. So, now we have the next test for the Jaguars: The undefeated Patriots. A win at Gillette Stadium could go down as one of the biggest upsets in the NFL history.

Now that the playoff seeds are set in stone for the AFC, lets take a look at all the teams and see what’s in store for us as the 2007 NFL playoffs are set to kick off.

New England Patriots: The NFL’s first 16-0 team is riding high, having not lost since about this time last year. They’ll be staying put at Gillette throughout the playoffs and will undoubtedly be tough to beat. If the weather starts to turn frightful in New England, however, look for other teams to have a considerable advantage. The Patriots won’t throw the ball 50 times in sleet and snow, so it’ll turn out to be a battle of running games. The AFC has plenty of fine running backs (Fred Taylor, Joseph Addai, LT, Maurice Jones-Drew) that are all considerably better than Laurence Maroney.

Indianapolis Colts: My oh my, look who has returned. The World Champions from a year ago have returned as the number two seed yet again and, unlike last year, have gotten absolutely no hype whatsoever due in part to the whole “Patriots not losing a game” thing. The Colts have been riddled with injuries all year, having to resort to guys like Crasphonso Thorpe (I know, who?) to play wide receiver and guys who I’ve never heard of on their defensive line. The good news is that they’ll be fully healthy (with the exception of Dwight Freeney) come two weeks from now when they host their playoff game in the sterile environment of the RCA Dome. Nobody’s talking about them but look out for Indy. With Bob Sanders back and the always dangerous Peyton Manning the Colts might quietly put the rest of the AFC to shame.

San Diego Chargers: The first seed from last year returns as the number three seed in a season that was riddled with inconsistency and confusion. How good is this team? Nobody really knows. They still have the best running back in the game (sorry Adrian Peterson) and their defense is one of the best in the NFL. In the playoffs it comes down to a team’s ability to establish the run and stop the run; both things the Chargers do well. Thus the pressure will be on second year starter Philip Rivers who hasn’t had a great season but has come on strong as of late. People talk about teams they do and don’t want to play; can we consider the Chargers one of those teams? They’ve won 10 of their last 12 games. Read the rest of this entry »

Hosts: Sonny, Ryan, and Rich.

In this episode, we discussed the AFC South. Can Matt Schaub change the fortunes of the Houston Texans around? Or will a piss-poor offensive line doom him? Can Vince Young avoid the Madden Curse? Because this is our last NFL divisional preview, we also give a brief rundown on our playoff and Super Bowl predictions.

You can find Episode 35 here. (Download mp3)