An omen of things to come?

[Panama]

As much as I hate to suggest it, it is possible that we should be rooting for the Broncos this weekend against the Dolphins.

The Broncos have a one game lead against us, but have the head to head advantage and a two game division record advantage in the loss column against us, giving them the tie breaker over us. So, we either have win two more games than the Broncos out of our final 6 or hope that the Broncos lose to us and lose to the Chiefs or Raiders while winning one game less than us and even that might not get the job done.

Meanwhile, MIA has the head to head advantage over us in a very crowded wild card race. They have 3 likely wins left on their schedule NYJ, @NYJ and MIN; one game that they should be small favorites in (BAL); and two games in which they will be underdogs (@DEN, @NE). Three wins gets them to 9. A 4th gets them to 10. and a 5th gets them to 11 wins.

Given their tie breaker advantage over us and that we are still a longshot to overtake DEN for the division title based upon DEN being one game up with the tie breaker with only 6 games to play and with us having a more difficult remaining schedule than they have, I am thinking that we need Dolphins losses in the worst way. If the Dolphins beat Denver, then they are likely to secure 10-11 wins, which will get them one of the wild card spots leaving us to fight it out with the AFCN teams and possibly KC for the final spot.

Of course, I would prefer that we win the division, but, realistically speaking, that ship may have already sailed. I don't mind us being a wildcard and having to play a team like IND or CIN on the road in the playoffs. Those represent very winnable games. I do mind us not making the playoffs at all, which is what a MIA win this weekend against DEN and/or a loss @BAL by us next weekend could cause.

I think there are several of these types of games coming up where it is difficult to know which team to root for/against. Other games involving DEN are their games @KC and @CIN (because we don't want to root for DEN ever, but we may need all the KC and AFCN losses we can pile up so none of those teams can get a wild card spot).

No, we should be rooting for Miami and against NE, because we are absolutely competing for the top seed. What's with all this defeatist bullshit. The Broncos won't have a tie-breaker on us when we beat them in San Diego, or when we finish with the better record. I'm not prepared to hand them the division crown yet. If the Rams can blow them out, they can lose other games, and we are certainly capable of beating every team on our schedule. Yes, whether we actually do so is another matter entirely, but let's play the games instead of just handing it to them.

[thelightningwill]

No, we should be rooting for Miami and against NE, because we are absolutely competing for the top seed. What's with all this defeatist bullshit. The Broncos won't have a tie-breaker on us when we beat them in San Diego, or when we finish with the better record. I'm not prepared to hand them the division crown yet. If the Rams can blow them out, they can lose other games, and we are certainly capable of beating every team on our schedule. Yes, whether we actually do so is another matter entirely, but let's play the games instead of just handing it to them.

The Queefs and Donkeys are who we thought they were - they are vagina farts and jack asses.
But, if somebody wants to crown em, crown em. And, by "crown em," I mean nut on their domes.

Go San Diego Chargers!

[Panama]

McCoy has gone away from that plan most of this year as well( is that due to the loss of Whiz?)

No, it's because opposing teams know that (a) we haven't been able to run effectively and (b) we like to throw short, so defenses have been playing to take that away, leaving only the deep stuff. If we start hitting the deep stuff more consistently or get our running game back on track, defenses will be forced to be honest again and we will be able to exploit the underneath stuff once more.

[Panama]

1-3 in the past month (and against teams ahead of us in the playoff race) diminishes that great start. if we miss the playoffs, it's nice to know that we went 5-1 to start the season.

I guess all those injuries that forced us to play scrubs mean nothing to you. Because our scrubs were able to win games against awful teams you assume they can do so against playoff-caliber teams? That's a bit unrealistic. I wish we were undefeated, but I would have to have my head examined if I thought the Chargers haven't done anything yet.

[QSmokey]

No, we should be rooting for Miami and against NE, because we are absolutely competing for the top seed. What's with all this defeatist bullshit. The Broncos won't have a tie-breaker on us when we beat them in San Diego, or when we finish with the better record. I'm not prepared to hand them the division crown yet. If the Rams can blow them out, they can lose other games, and we are certainly capable of beating every team on our schedule. Yes, whether we actually do so is another matter entirely, but let's play the games instead of just handing it to them.

With out schedule, we'll be lucky to finish 7-9, no less win the division. Jesus! I know that Hope Springs Eternal for you, but, man...can't you be AT LEAST a little objective? Granted, this is a classic case of "Look whose talking!" So I suppose you're purpose here is to balance out my negativity. Congratulations. You've earned your keep.

Tomorrow's game is s MUST WIN. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Ravens and, especially, the farking Patriots, are going to kick our butts. That means we HAVE to beat KC (in KC), Denver, and SF (in San Francisco). Sure, no problem!

I think we have a MUCH better chance of finishing 6-10 then winning the Division. And right now, we're just about losing every tie-breaker for Wild Card (Miami, KC, Denver, all losses).

[QSmokey]

I guess all those injuries that forced us to play scrubs mean nothing to you. Because our scrubs were able to win games against awful teams you assume they can do so against playoff-caliber teams? That's a bit unrealistic. I wish we were undefeated, but I would have to have my head examined if I thought the Chargers haven't done anything yet.

It means EVERYTHING to me. Just another in the rather long list of unlucky seasons that has plagued this team since 1963. When only about FOUR of us on this board were alive. We need another 3-4 players...and our share of good breaks. It's just not in the cards this year.

[SDFan]

1-3 in the past month (and against teams ahead of us in the playoff race) diminishes that great start. if we miss the playoffs, it's nice to know that we went 5-1 to start the season.

No shit, but we still get to play a bunch of teams ahead of us in playoff race don't we? I'm pretty sure we are riding a 1 game winning streak now with a healthy defense and spark of a running game with Mathews back. 5-1 with injuries was weathering the storm and padding wins we should have instead of falling out of contention. Seriously, after the Broncos and Chefs just lost after our win, how can ANYBODY have a sour outlook on the rest of our season?

[Panama]

With out schedule, we'll be lucky to finish 7-9, no less win the division. Jesus! I know that Hope Springs Eternal for you, but, man...can't you be AT LEAST a little objective? Granted, this is a classic case of "Look whose talking!" So I suppose you're purpose here is to balance out my negativity. Congratulations. You've earned your keep.

Tomorrow's game is s MUST WIN. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Ravens and, especially, the farking Patriots, are going to kick our butts. That means we HAVE to beat KC (in KC), Denver, and SF (in San Francisco). Sure, no problem!

I think we have a MUCH better chance of finishing 6-10 then winning the Division. And right now, we're just about losing every tie-breaker for Wild Card (Miami, KC, Denver, all losses).

Since when did the Ravens become unbeatable?? Puh-lease! And there was a stretch earlier this season when the Patriots looked worse for 2-3 games than we have for any game other than Miami.

You keep confusing my insistence that we can win these games for declarations that we will win them. I will claim no such thing. I don't know which games we will or won't win, because I don't have a crystal ball. But I know we are capable of winning every game remaining on our schedule. Will we? Probably not, but doesn't mean we can't. And if acknowledging that we are talented enough that we can beat other good teams and acknowledging that other teams have flaws too makes me a Pollyanna, then I am guilty as charged.

If I recall, last year you didn't think we could win out either. But I insisted there was no reason why we couldn't. You called me a wishful thinker then, too, and yet we did win out. There's absolutely no reason we can't do it again if things break the right way for us. I feel sorry for you if you can't see the possibilities.

[QSmokey]

Since when did the Ravens become unbeatable?? Puh-lease! And there was a stretch earlier this season when the Patriots looked worse for 2-3 games than we have for any game other than Miami.

You keep confusing my insistence that we can win these games for declarations that we will win them. I will claim no such thing. I don't know which games we will or won't win, because I don't have a crystal ball. But I know we are capable of winning every game remaining on our schedule. Will we? Probably not, but doesn't mean we can't. And if acknowledging that we are talented enough that we can beat other good teams and acknowledging that other teams have flaws too makes me a Pollyanna, then I am guilty as charged.

If I recall, last year you didn't think we could win out either. But I insisted there was no reason why we couldn't. You called me a wishful thinker then, too, and yet we did win out. There's absolutely no reason we can't do it again if things break the right way for us. I feel sorry for you if you can't see the possibilities.

Don't feel sorry for me...now. You should have felt sorry for me when I allowed myself to care (newsflash: I still care too much) and this silly game, this silly team, drove me to distraction week in and week out. You can only have your heart ripped out - with a wooden spoon - so many times before you start to expect the worst, at every turn. I won't even allow myself to entertain the possibility that things could actually go our way. It's too disheartening when then don't. The acid and negativity in my posts is really directed at my extreme disappointment of allowing myself (key words) to be so affected by the outcome of something so meaningless.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Don't feel sorry for me...now. You should have felt sorry for me when I allowed myself to care (newsflash: I still care too much) and this silly game, this silly team, drove me to distraction week in and week out. You can only have your heart ripped out - with a wooden spoon - so many times before you start to expect the worst, at every turn. I won't even allow myself to entertain the possibility that things could actually go our way. It's too disheartening when then don't. The acid and negativity in my posts is really directed at my extreme disappointment of allowing myself (key words) to be so affected by the outcome of something so meaningless.

I hear ya. And feel ya. Couldn't have said it better (for myself).

[richpjr]

Meaningless? It's football, damnit Q!

[Millionaire Wussy]

Someone needs to start a NFL fans Twelve Step group.