I think that's more because the Giants (or at least certain key personnel) are notoriously unstable, rather than the NFL.
]]>Pre-season predictions are something that editors make writers do, not something that writers like doing.
]]>And here we have hit upon the central similarity between sports writing and political punditry.
]]>MLB could take some lessons in competitive balance from the NFL.
]]>Hey, I know that word!
]]>While I agree with your point in principle, I think its worth noting that MLB has seven different champions over the past eight years. The Pirates, Reds, Nationals, Blue Jays, Orioles and Royals are the only teams I can think of that haven't competed in the past decade. I don't want to stick up for baseball's lack of salary cap, but I think the insane coverage of the Yankees and Red Sox make it appear to be worse than it is.
]]>As for NFL vs. MLB in terms of competitiveness, that's garbage. If baseball has twelve post-season teams, it would look a lot more competitive. The teams expected to dominate this season are Dallas, New England, maybe Philly? The same teams that did well last year.
]]>The fact that they were just as sloppy under Parcells, doesn't really prove anything. It simply says that neither coach fielded a disciplined team. The NFL, as it exists now, is mostly about who makes the least mistakes--who jumps on 3rd and 4, who drops a pass that's right in their mitts, who completely blows a coverage. The 8 yard run is usually not the killer--it's the 15 yard facemask that's tacked on.
I hope I'm wrong about my Cowboys. But we were way way too loose in the Giants game.
]]>Well... They've never won a playoff game with Romo and the NFC's only won 3 of the last 10, so I can see where TNC's coming from. Pre-season picks are meaningless fluff, but I'll still give King a bit of credit for going out on a limb with the Cowboys. Ballsier than the Pats, Colts, and Chargers picks I've heard from most folks.
]]>I hear you, but I put that on the players. The fact that tough guy Parcells and nice guy Phillips both ended up with the same results with basically the same players proves to me that Coaches can only do so much.
And as much as it pains me, let's give the G Men their due. Every team they played in their run ended up looking way way to loose. Even the poster children for NFL discipline, the Pats, got burned by penalties in the end. At some point you have to say maybe those teams didn't fuck up as much as they got fucked up.
]]>My heart says the Cowboys and the Chargers. But my mind says the Pats aren't done, the Colts will have something to say about that and the Giants have the swagger to defend.
We'll see though.
as for preseason picking in football, the problem at hand, as someone noted, is that we don't have a crystal ball as to injuries. if we did, then it wouldn't be that hard to pick favorites....
]]>"The Pirates, Reds, Nationals, Blue Jays, Orioles and Royals are the only teams I can think of that haven't competed in the past decade."
Texas Rangers. You forgot the Rangers. I work in Arlington, and the foul reek that emanates from the Ballpark this time of year is very hard to ignore.