It's Been HOW Long?!?

As you can tell, it has been quite a while since I've posted, but fear not! I will be posting much more regularly from now on as I try to get things caught up. Clearly, I let real life get in the way of what is most important: sports blogging. Time to fix that.

First things first, I know you're all dying to hear my take on the football season so far. Basically, it comes down to one word: crazy. Yes, yes, we probably like to say that about every season, and it's probably true every season, but this season is one of the most topsy-turvy that I've seen in my years of following the sport. Let's take a look at some of the craziest of crazy happenings thus far:

1. Hurricane Ike - Due to my personal involvement, I have to list Hurricane Ike's impact on the Houston Texans season as one of the oddest factors in the season. Because of Ike, the Texans started the season with a three game road trip (and a week 2 bye), and didn't have their first home game until the month of October, and needless to say they came out of the gates 0-4. Their turnaround from 3-7 to currently 7-7 is a great accomplishment for a young, up-and-coming team looking to make a push. That said, one wonders where they'd be if they hadn't had the extreme misfortune of the hurricane to start the season. Maybe a playoff berth would have been within their grasp.

2. Pats Fall - Who would have thought that within 8 minutes of the start of the season, Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard would become public enemy #1 in the greater New England region? While all sports fans will say (true or not) that they never root for players to get hurt, I can absolutely assure you that there was at least a part of every non-Bostonite that was happy to see Tom Brady go out with a season-ending injury. How do you like THEM apples?!

3. Giants/Titans Come Out Gangbusters - The Giants rode an eleven-month hot streak to a great 11-1 start, while the Titans overcame (celebrated?) VY's injury and subsequent benching with a stunning 10-0 start. Although they both looked great, were considered virtual locks for the Super Bowl just 3 weeks ago and have locked up first round byes, another oddity of this bizarre season is that right now, there are at least 3-4 teams that you could argue are better, and we wonder if either team will even win a game in the postseason. Maybe this will be good for them; the Giants clearly thrived in the "Nobody believes in us!" role last year and even earlier this season.

4. Turnarounds for the Ages - The Miami Dolphins were winless through 13 games last season and faced a Baltimore Ravens team that was going nowhere fast (and finished 5-11). In one fateful overtime thriller, noted for a Matt Stover miss at the end of regulation and a Greg Camarillo TD to seal the win, the Phins dodged the title of second ever 0-14 team. Now, these teams are both 9-5 and fighting for a wild card berth (the Phins could even win their division!) as the NFL proves yet again that previous results are not an indicator of future performance (just like the stock market).

5. The Lions. 'Nuf Said - The Dolphins made a run at it last year, but they couldn't get over the hump. Now, the Lions have a great look at the mythical 0-16, and the countdown is on. Two major roadbumps still lay ahead, as the Saints (who were just mathematically eliminated last weekend) and the Packers (biggest underachievers in the league this year?) remain on the schedule. Let's hope for history's sake that the Lions don't blow this, because we don't get a look at this very often.

Alright, I'll leave it at that for now, but be sure to check back regularly for more commentary.

Chris