4) Ohio State Buckeyes = Arizona Cardinals
Everyone counted out the Buckeyes and Cardinals many times this year for strikingly similar reasons. Arizona lost half of its defensive starters from a year ago as well as starting veteran QB Carson Palmer and has had to make do with lots of spare parts and next men up. Ohio State is down to its third starting quarterback after season-ending injuries to Braxton Miller before Week 1 and then to surprisingly good backup J.T. Barrett just two weeks ago. Yet here they are in December, the Cardinals currently with the #1 seed in the NFC and the Buckeyes leap-frogging the Big Ten for the final coveted playoff spot. It's no accident. Urban Meyer and Bruce Arians have lived up to their miracle-worker status with dramatic team turnarounds in the face of adversity, and they can make just about anyone look better on the offensive side of the ball in particular. Side note: In researching this, I was surprised to see that Urban Meyer rose up through the defensive ranks, but anyone that can make Tim Tebow and Alex Smith look like elite quarterbacks is an offensive guru in my book. The same goes for Arians resurrecting Carson Palmer's career. So if you like a scrappy underdog that continues to surprise everyone (at least until bigger bullies come along), saddle up with Ohio State.
3) Florida State Seminoles = Pittsburgh Steelers
This is a tough team to pin down. I promise you I have more reasons to assign the Steelers to the Seminoles than just the unfortunate parallels between Jameis Winston and Ben Roethlisberger. And given all of FSU's off-the-field troubles coupled with very favorable "law" enforcement and the punchable quality of this coach's face, the 49ers are probably a more accurate spirit animal in that regard. Anyway, I associate these two teams with a very high ceiling when all the pieces come together--especially on offense--but also a lot of question marks about how good they really are when they've been so uneven. How can a team that hasn't lost a game in two seasons be remotely considered uneven?!, Florida State fans demand. I won't deny that they were rock-solid last year, but they owe about 20,000 hours of community service after all the divine intervention they were bestowed by barely beating most teams this season on a weak schedule. Highlights include taking Clemson to overtime, getting bailed out on offensive pass interference against Notre Dame, and surviving several awful turnovers against the lowly Florida Gators. Similarly, Pittsburgh has dazzled and baffled at times this year despite its cushy schedule with the AFC South and NFC South. One minute, Big Ben is putting up 6-TD performances against the Colts and Ravens. The next, the Steelers are getting trounced by the Saints, Jets, and Browns. Let's not forget their very un-FSU finish against the Buccaneers. So who knows with these teams? They could be good enough to outgun some big opponents in the clutch, or they could get eaten alive by their readily apparent flaws, particularly on defense.
2) Oregon Ducks = Philadel Green Bay Packers
Alright, alright. Chip Kelly's Eagles look mighty similar to the Oregon Ducks for obvious reasons. But Mark Sanchez (or a healthy Nick Foles) is no Marcus Mariota. You know who's a pretty transcendent quarterback in the NFL though? Aaron Rodgers. Both of these guys have played a dominant, deadly-efficient brand of football this season that has catapulted their teams to the top tier and made them frontrunners for the MVP/Heisman. Their accuracy and scrambling ability puts the fear of God into defenses that try to prepare for them, and the Ducks and Packers are putting up yards and points that are insurmountable for most offenses trying to keep up. And, barring Green Bay's near-whiff against Atlanta this week, these teams' defenses are on the upswing too at just the right time to give themselves a little more separation from the pack. If they've got a chance to win the big one over the next couple of months, it will be because of flawless performances under center and a little luck on those bend-not-break defenses. Counterpoint: The Packers' uniforms sure could use a little more flair after all these years.
1) Alabama Crimson Tide = New England Patriots
As if there was any doubt. Bill Belichick and Nick Saban go way back starting with their time together with the Cleveland Browns and they're kind of twinsies when you think about it. They're scowling, stoic perfectionists who seem to enjoy winning just as much as the average Joe enjoys a hemmorhoid, but that doesn't stop them from putting together championship-caliber seasons pretty much every year. I could go on, but you get the idea. Another coaching parallel to consider: offensive coordinators Lane Kiffin and Josh McDaniels are daffy caricatures who failed mightily as head coaches but rebounded nicely in their supporting roles for these proud franchises. Then there's the teams' trajectories this season. They haven't been as dominant on either side of the ball as past rosters have and stumbled out of the gate. The Tide lost to Ole Miss in their first SEC West game of the season and barely beat unranked Arkansas a week later. Meanwhile, the Patriots started out 2 - 2 with a public Monday night drubbing to the good-but-lesser Kansas City Chiefs, sparking talk that Tom Brady was finally done in Foxboro. But they quietly made adjustments and rediscovered their firepower from the likes of Amari Cooper and Rob Gronkowski in the open field, and now Alabama and New England are solid championship bets... again. They're boring and safe bets, but they're probably going to be your winners regardless.
And the honorable mention for TCU and Baylor goes to... the St. Louis Rams! You'd love to see any of these teams in the playoffs and they'd be dangerous contenders, but they sure got the short end of the conference stick while the NFC South lives on.
No comments:
Post a Comment