11 AFC Teams Having Winning Records but Only 6 Playoff Spots are Available

It’s going to be a soul-crushing experience in January for much of the AFC.  At the current moment 11 of the conference’s 16 NFL teams have winning records, but just 6 of them will reach the playoffs.  That means that nearly half of the teams that are currently feeling quite good about their season won’t even get to watch their teams compete in a playoff game!  Let’s take a look at who will be figuring to come out of this mess with a postseason berth and who will be looking back at the month of December and wondering what happened.

First, let’s take a look at how this strange scenario has come to be.  One thing odd about the AFC (and the entire NFL) this year is that no team has dominated up until this point.  The best teams stand at 9-3, which is only a 75% winning record.  While good, when we realize that these are the league’s current strongest teams we have great parity.  But at the other end of the standings lies the dark truth.  4 AFC teams have become the dreaded whipping boys of the conference.  The New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Oakland Raiders all sit poorly placed at 2-10 or worse.  Their overall atrociousness has been gifting all the other teams easy victories, which is in large part responsible for the current situation.  However, while some of these AFC teams’ wins may be unjustified, the fact that so many are winning will set up for an enthralling December!

What’s truly astounding about these records is that typically strong teams like the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos have very little wiggle room in the upcoming weeks.  Tom Brady and the Patriots are just 2 games ahead of both the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins (both at 7-5).  With games against both teams, New England could possibly lose their division lead and perhaps even a playoff spot!  While I certainly doubt that will happen, the very possibility of it this late in the season speaks to the conference’s strength and equality.

It’s also worth noting that many of these 7-5 teams are going to be playing one another and their records will balance out.  An intriguing situation has developed in the AFC North, where the Cincinnati Bengals hold a 1.5 game lead over the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers.  Each team could conceivably win the division or finish in 4^th!  While a Browns surprise would be delightful, I suspect the Bengals should hold onto the lead.

Elsewhere, I expect the Broncos, Patriots, and Indianapolis Colts to hold onto their division leads while the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens should claim the wildcard sports.

However, with these wildcard opportunities still hotly contested, the final weeks of the year will be extremely entertaining as the stakes continue to grow.  For all the contending teams of the AFC, the playoffs are basically starting right now.  No one can afford to slip up and it’s all up to play for.  While the current mass of 11 winning teams lopped in the conference will certainly change in the next month, those who do reach the NFL playoffs will have earned their tickets!

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Which 1-2 NFL Teams Have a Hope of Reaching the Playoffs?

Oh the perils of your favorite NFL team getting off to a poor start! For every team savoring in their early good fortune this season, there are equal numbers of team feeling quite the opposite; battered and bruised after several losses and unsure of where to turn for hope in the duration of this season. And while I’d be expecting the worst for any team that has started 0-3 (Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), for those 1-2 teams there is still a small hope of salvaging this season, but they’ll need to pick up their game in a hurry.

While there are some of the typically poor teams currently sitting at 1-2, there are also several usually strong teams who were even involved in the playoffs last year that have gotten off to bad starts. These surprising poor starters include the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Indianapolis Colts, the New Orleans Saints, and the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s nearly half of last season’s playoff teams now suffering below .500!

In my mind these are the teams most likely to rescue their seasons. And history actually beckons warmly for several of them, including the Packers and 49ers, who both started 1-2 last year only to resurrect their hopes and make a strong playoff push.

The key ingredient for such teams is in how they finish the season, not how they’ve started it. Football teams are an organic being, as injuries, player development, and unforeseen future obstacles can alter a team’s shape and style immensely over the course of the year. NFL rosters look very different in September than they do in January and it’s the teams that can handle such change effectively that do well in the later months and typically end up claiming a playoff spot. Unquestionably, a great quarterback can also go a long way to leading a team back from a poor start to a potentially championship-winning season.

Each of the 1-2 teams I mentioned carries great starting quarterbacks (including Aaron Rodgers, Colin Kaepernick, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, and Alex Smith) and this is why they still have hope. Other 1-2 teams that I wouldn’t expect to hear much of a whimper from are the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns, the Minnesota Vikings, the Tennessee Titans, the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, and the St. Louis Rams. These teams look to lack any sort of presence on the field and have been pretty marginable for years. Their poor records are due to simple lack of talent.

But for the better teams, they’ve just not clicked into high gear or have been unfortunate in the couple of key plays that can often decide a game one way or the other. Another thing to realize is that 1-2 is just a single game away from 2-1. A play here and there could have made the difference, and I’m sure you’ll find that most fans of 2-1 teams are more than satisfied with their seasons’ beginnings.

As the NFL season wears on, those slight hiccups or mistaken plays will carry less weight as the true contenders of the league emerge and get their needed wins. While I certainly wouldn’t be expecting a Super Bowl following two early losses for teams like the Packers, Chiefs, Colts, 49ers, or Saints, I think it’s far too early to be writing them off as has-beens or incapable of salvaging the season. In many cases they’ve done it before and these specific teams certainly have the talent capable to make a serious run at their respective divisions. But be careful, with their collective poor starts, I would only suspect 2 or 3 of these teams manage to right the ship and make the playoffs this year…

No matter which NFL team you root for, AAA Sports Memorabilia has an enormous selection of sports collectibles for your favorite team.  Whether you are looking for an autographed collectible for your favorite athlete or a non-autographed collectible, we have what you are looking for.  We also carry display cases that are built by hand right here in the USA.  Check us out weekly as we are always adding new product.

The 2014 Mock Top 5 NFL Draft Picks

Mock drafts are an interesting endeavor.  Not only must one consider who are amongst the top football players available in the selection process, but we also have to think about which specific NFL teams are making those picks, and their particular needs and wants.  One must also consider the potential for big trades for draft picks and players that can totally throw any mock draft for a loop.  But with the NFL draft now just 1 month away, let’s have a go at deciding which players will go in the top 5, and to which teams they will go that are in such desperate need at the top of this 2014 NFL draft.

1. Houston Texans - Johnny Manziel – QB – Texas A&M – The Texans are in dire need of a new franchise quarterback.  One year ago they were considered potential Super Bowl contenders with Matt Schaub under center.  Now he is off the team, and the Texans just signed Ryan Fitzpatrick, who if anything, resembles a perfect carryover quarterback for Houston to nurture their next franchise star.  While the jury is certainly out on Manziel, especially with his rambunctious character, the player is a local Texas boy and he has a heck of a playmaking ability.  Perhaps he is a reach for being selected #1, but I think the Texans would greatly benefit from picking up this potential superstar.  A move back several spaces may be in their best interest if they can still nab him, but the Texans need a new face, and “Johnny Football” would be perfect for them!
2. St. Louis Rams – Greg Robinson – OT – Auburn – The Rams need to figure out if Sam Bradford is their franchise guy, and after 4 NFL seasons it’s looking less and less likely of ever panning out.  Injured halfway through the year, St. Louis needs to keep their man on his feet and having a potential Pro Bowl offensive lineman will do just that.  Robinson is a rock and will help Bradford have the time to hunt down Chris Givens and Tavon Austin.  This is a smart pick and one that could preserve their franchise quarterback and bring out the best of his abilities.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Jadeveon Clowney – DE – South Carolina – He’s the best player in this draft and has all the tools to become a Hall of Fame NFL player, but the previous teams have larger needs to fulfill and already have strong pass rushers like Robert Quinn and J.J. Watt, meaning Clowney will slide to #3.  Jason Babin of the Jaguars was the team’s best defender with 7.5 sacks.  They need Clowney more than their burning desire for a star quarterback!  If someone intrigues them as a potential franchise star they may look elsewhere, but Clowney is someone with Julius Peppers-like potential and they won’t pass him up!
4. Cleveland Browns – Blake Bortles – QB – UCF – Bortles is a special talent and has all the tools needed to succeed in the NFL.  The only thing holding him back is his small-school collegiate playing experience, but he did manufacture big wins against Louisville and Baylor (both nationally ranked 6^th when they played) last year.  He proved that he can be a winner and a leader, and those characteristics are incredible valuable in the NFL.  The Browns have been a joke of a franchise for their entire existence this millennium and a superstar quarterback like Bortles might just make them relevant again…
5. Oakland Raiders – Sammy Watkins – WR – Clemson – With Matt Schaub as their quarterback and a crop of receivers including James Jones, Denarius Moore, and Rod Streater, the Raiders could use a playmaker.  Each of those aforementioned players are decent pass-catchers who can make a play or two every given Sunday, but Sammy Watkins can take over games.  He is by far the most intriguing wide receiver prospect available and could help spark a resurgence in Oakland’s offensive fortunes.  Don’t expect Watkins to slip out of the top 5 as he is an explosive player and the best offensive prospect available in 2014!

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Oakland Raiders Gene Upshaw Passes Unexpectantly

Unfortunately, another NFL great has passed away unexpectantly.  Oakland Raiders Guard Gene Upshaw died on August 20, 2008, of pancreatic cancer.

 

Upshaw became ill while on vacation at his home in Lake Tahoe.  His wife took him to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Three days later, and just five days after his 63rd birthday, Upshaw died. 

 

Gene Upshaw played his entire career with the Oakland Raiders from 1967 to 1981.  During that span, Upshaw started 207 games out of the 217 that he played.  He was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times.  He was an 11-tme All-Pro selection also.  He played on two Super Bowl Champion teams in Super Bowls XI and XV.  He would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

 

After playing football, Upshaw became involved in the NFL Players Association where he has been Executive Director since 1983.  Over the past two years, Upshaw has been at odds with many retired players.  In 2006, over 300 retired players went public with stories of being destitute and unable to receive disability benefits.  Several players wanted Upshaw removed from the association. 

 

Upshaw was a great football player and person.  He will surely be missed by all, even his critics.  Our condolences go out to the Upshaw family.