The imbalance among the NFL Divisions this year is pronounced.
- The NFC East may be won by a team with 9 wins or fewer
- The NFC South currently is led by a team that is 3-5-0
- The NFC North has all four teams with 6 wins or more
- The AFC North has three teams with records over .500
Surely, you are going to see sometime soon a “prediction” that this year will see a team in the playoffs with the worst record ever. That could happen – – or not. So, before those sorts of screeds hit the Internet, let me show you how it is theoretically possible for a team to win the Super Bowl with a season record of 9-13.
- In “Division X”, one team wins 4 games while the others win 3 games or 2 games in the regular season. Call that 4-win team The Whatevers.
- Now, all four of the teams in “Division X” lose every one of their games outside the Division.
- In that circumstance, The Whatevers would win the “Division X” title with a record of 4-13. As a Division-winner, The Whatevers would be in the NFL playoffs.
- Clearly, The Whatevers would not have the Conference BYE in the playoffs so they would begin play in the Wild-Card round. From there it would take 5 straight wins to become Super Bowl Champs.
- So, if by some miracle, The Whatevers went on a 5-game win streak at that point, they would be crowned as Super Bowl Champions with an overall record of 9-13.
- The key word in all the above is … theoretically …
Moving on … I saw a mention in an AP report that Joe Burrow can equal an NFL all-time record this weekend. Burrow has produced 4 total touchdowns – – passing and rushing combined – – in each of his last four games. The NFL record for 4 total touch downs in consecutive games is held by Peyton Manning at five games. Ergo, Burrow can equal that record this weekend against the Steelers
Switching gears … The NCAA provided data to show that players – – nominally student-athletes don’t you know? – – who transfer from school to school more than once are less likely to get a college degree when their collegiate career is over. [Aside: A meeting of everyone who is shocked by this “finding” will be held in the corner booth of Waffle House #2556 in Irmo, SC at 8:00 PM this Friday evening.]
According to the NCAA data, Division 1-A football players who transferred more than once had a 27% less likelihood to leave college with a degree than players who transferred only once or not at all. The NCAA and players are engaged in multiple lawsuits as players seek an extra year of eligibility which also brings with it the opportunity to make a transfer.
The NCAA data also show that across all sports and all races and all genders, people who transferred more than once had a 10% decline in attaining a college degree as the end of their collegiate careers. I don’t know if that is a reasonable justification for trying to limit the number of transfers for collegiate athletes, but it does indicate a price to be paid for those athletes that choose to transfer multiple times.
Finally, this suggestion from Lewis Black:
“I believe that summer is our time, a time for the people, and that no politician should be allowed to speak to us during the summer. They can start talking again after Labor Day.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports ………