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The Seattle Seahawks looked awefully impressive Monday Night against the Packers. They seemed very focussed. Execution was exceptional considering it was their fist pre-season game. They look like a team with a mission.
Prior to any games being played in pre-season, my thinking on the NFC picture was that the Packers were my choice in the NFC. The Seahawks were my second choice, and Cowboys my third.
Like I pointed out in my preliminary NFL Preview, final predictions and futures projections are dependant on the whole pre-season.
If last night proves to be an indication of the whole, the Seahawks would be bumped to my #1 choice in the NFC. But there's still 3 games to go.
Pre-Season tells a lot. We know that teams that go winless do not make the playoffs. We know that teams that go undefeated do make the playoffs.
In addition, teams that go on to Win the Superbowl will have a Winning pre-season. They also tend to Win game four and/or game one.
Eventual Superbowl Winners usually show strong defensive depth during pre-season (<14 ppg excluding their worst performance) and/or strong offensive depth (>24 ppg).
The first criteria of having a Winning pre-season will generally narrow the field to about a dozen teams. The Second criteria of defensive/offensive depth will generally narrow the field to 8-10 teams.
After Six games of regular season are played, you can expect the field to be narrowed to about 5 or 6 teams. Generally, the eventual SB Winner will win 5 or 6 of their first six games. Occasionally only four, but for the sake of criteria, they must be atleast .500 after six regular season games.
After week six, one of the remaing 5 or six teams (that have met all the criteria) will be your eventual SB Winner. This has been true for a decade and especially since the NFL world changed with free agency and the emergence of the win-now mentality (no rebuilding plans) after the Jags and Cats both went to their respective Conference Championships in only their second year.
All these things paint a picture of potentail SB Winners. I also look at strong finishes from the prior season as an indicator that a team is a potential sleeper for the upcoming regular season.
Looking at the history of the coach is a good indicator as well. If they have no nfl history, I look at anything that indicates they are a no-nonsense coach; a Parcells-like coach with a tendancy to motivate and maximize the potential out of the players they have at hand.
After one week of pre-season, I am most impressed with the Seahawks, Patriots, and Ravens.
dave
http://spreadreport.tripod.com
If you're interested in my annual Football Spread Report Tipsheet, feel free to check out the site. It's full of neat formula games and stuff, and it's only $5.41 per issue.
Prior to any games being played in pre-season, my thinking on the NFC picture was that the Packers were my choice in the NFC. The Seahawks were my second choice, and Cowboys my third.
Like I pointed out in my preliminary NFL Preview, final predictions and futures projections are dependant on the whole pre-season.
If last night proves to be an indication of the whole, the Seahawks would be bumped to my #1 choice in the NFC. But there's still 3 games to go.
Pre-Season tells a lot. We know that teams that go winless do not make the playoffs. We know that teams that go undefeated do make the playoffs.
In addition, teams that go on to Win the Superbowl will have a Winning pre-season. They also tend to Win game four and/or game one.
Eventual Superbowl Winners usually show strong defensive depth during pre-season (<14 ppg excluding their worst performance) and/or strong offensive depth (>24 ppg).
The first criteria of having a Winning pre-season will generally narrow the field to about a dozen teams. The Second criteria of defensive/offensive depth will generally narrow the field to 8-10 teams.
After Six games of regular season are played, you can expect the field to be narrowed to about 5 or 6 teams. Generally, the eventual SB Winner will win 5 or 6 of their first six games. Occasionally only four, but for the sake of criteria, they must be atleast .500 after six regular season games.
After week six, one of the remaing 5 or six teams (that have met all the criteria) will be your eventual SB Winner. This has been true for a decade and especially since the NFL world changed with free agency and the emergence of the win-now mentality (no rebuilding plans) after the Jags and Cats both went to their respective Conference Championships in only their second year.
All these things paint a picture of potentail SB Winners. I also look at strong finishes from the prior season as an indicator that a team is a potential sleeper for the upcoming regular season.
Looking at the history of the coach is a good indicator as well. If they have no nfl history, I look at anything that indicates they are a no-nonsense coach; a Parcells-like coach with a tendancy to motivate and maximize the potential out of the players they have at hand.
After one week of pre-season, I am most impressed with the Seahawks, Patriots, and Ravens.
dave
http://spreadreport.tripod.com
If you're interested in my annual Football Spread Report Tipsheet, feel free to check out the site. It's full of neat formula games and stuff, and it's only $5.41 per issue.
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