CoachO
Hall of Fame
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2013
- Messages
- 3,392
It will happen, and for good reason...
-Just 5 of 161 teams since '78 that started 0-3 have made the NFL playoffs. Historically, they have 3.1 percent chance.
-Last season, of the 12 teams that made the playoffs, none of them started the year with an 0-2 record. In fact, no team has made the playoffs after starting 0-2 since the 2008 season
-On the flip side of that equation, teams that have gone undefeated in the first two weeks have qualified for the playoffs 63.3 percent of the time since 1990
AZ won 10 games and missed out on the playoffs. Why? Look at week one vs our beloved Rams. The Cards fans will all tell you the same thing.
In this division there is little to no room for error.
In 2013 Seattle was 4-1 after five weeks.
SF started 3-2 after five weeks. Early losses @ Seattle and vs Indianapolis.
AZ started 3-2. When you look at the six losses the Cards suffered last season:
@ Rams
@ Saints
@ SF
vs Seattle
@ Philadelphia
vs SF
It becomes pretty obvious where AZ slipped up to cost them a post season birth.
Rams were 2-3 after five weeks last season. Our Rams have a losing culture that hasn't sniffed any kind of success in a decade. Getting off to a fast start is the first step in changing all that.
I never said they would go 0-3. But THIS team, if they manage to be 2-3 after 5 games, still could get to 10 wins. I also never said anything about playoffs. As you pointed out, Arizona was a 10 win team last year and missed out. EVERY year is different when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs. In most years, 8 or 9 win teams qualify.
With the competitive nature of the NFC West, I don't see any team, including Seattle or SF being a 13 or 14 win team. So being a playoff team, and finding a way to win 10 games may be mutually exclusive, or maybe not.