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Coming down the stretch
10:20 AM Mon, Dec 17, 2007 | Permalink
Albert Breer E-mail News tips
Want some perspective?
12-2. There you go. That's all you need to get it.
If there's any reason for concern now, it's that Super Bowl champions, typically, turn it on after Thanksgiving. And turning it on isn't exactly what the Cowboys have done the last two weeks. For comparison's sake, here's the post-Thanksgiving record of each champion this decade:
2000 Ravens: 4-0
2001 Patriots: 5-0
2002 Buccaneers: 3-2
2003 Patriots: 5-0
2004 Patriots: 5-1
2005 Steelers: 4-2
2006 Colts: 3-3
Now, for some clarity, the Steelers did finish 2005 on a four-game winning streak, and the Buccaneers won three out of their final four in '02. But that doesn't mean there haven't been some particularly embarrassing losses for the elite in there. Here are four:
Steelers 17, Buccaneers 7, Dec. 23, 2002: The visiting Steelers came to Tampa, and punched the champion-to-be Bucs right in the lips. Staked to a 17-0 first quarter lead, the Pittsburgh defense threw a virtual shutout, with a Keyshawn Johnson touchdown with a little more than minute to go averting an actual one. There's a big "but" here: Brad Johnson was sidelined for this one. Shaun King went 9-of-26 for 73 yards before being benched.
Dolphins 29, Patriots 28, Dec. 20, 2004: In about as weird as a game as you're going to get, the 12-1 Patriots lost to a 2-11 team with an interim coach. And just as was the case with another 12-1 team you might know, it was a stunningly terrible game from a top-notch QB that sunk New England. Tom Brady threw four picks, the final one coming off his rear end to open the door for the Dolphins to close an 11-point gap with three minutes left.
Jaguars 44, Colts 17, Dec. 10, 2006: If there ever was a game that said those Colts weren't capable of winning it all, this was it. Maurice Jones-Drew had 166 yards, Fred Taylor had 131, and as a team the Jaguars rushed for 375 as a team, averaging almost 10 yards a carry. But there was one, very big caveat here: Bob Sanders didn't play.
Texans 27, Colts 24, Dec. 24, 2006: This one was almost as bad as the Jags loss for the Colts, because of how it happened. The Texans finished 2006 as the league's 21st-ranked rushing offense. Yet, they looked like the '66 Packers in this one, churning out 191 yards on 42 carries behind the immortal Ron Dayne (153 yards) to pull a monumental upset. Again, though, this one could be correlated to the absence of Sanders.
What conclusions can be drawn? Well, I'd say -- safely, I think -- that each of the above were worse than the loss the Cowboys suffered Sunday to an Eagle team that really isn't what it's record says it is. So don't tighten the noose on Dallas' chances quite yet.
10:20 AM Mon, Dec 17, 2007 | Permalink
Albert Breer E-mail News tips
Want some perspective?
12-2. There you go. That's all you need to get it.
If there's any reason for concern now, it's that Super Bowl champions, typically, turn it on after Thanksgiving. And turning it on isn't exactly what the Cowboys have done the last two weeks. For comparison's sake, here's the post-Thanksgiving record of each champion this decade:
2000 Ravens: 4-0
2001 Patriots: 5-0
2002 Buccaneers: 3-2
2003 Patriots: 5-0
2004 Patriots: 5-1
2005 Steelers: 4-2
2006 Colts: 3-3
Now, for some clarity, the Steelers did finish 2005 on a four-game winning streak, and the Buccaneers won three out of their final four in '02. But that doesn't mean there haven't been some particularly embarrassing losses for the elite in there. Here are four:
Steelers 17, Buccaneers 7, Dec. 23, 2002: The visiting Steelers came to Tampa, and punched the champion-to-be Bucs right in the lips. Staked to a 17-0 first quarter lead, the Pittsburgh defense threw a virtual shutout, with a Keyshawn Johnson touchdown with a little more than minute to go averting an actual one. There's a big "but" here: Brad Johnson was sidelined for this one. Shaun King went 9-of-26 for 73 yards before being benched.
Dolphins 29, Patriots 28, Dec. 20, 2004: In about as weird as a game as you're going to get, the 12-1 Patriots lost to a 2-11 team with an interim coach. And just as was the case with another 12-1 team you might know, it was a stunningly terrible game from a top-notch QB that sunk New England. Tom Brady threw four picks, the final one coming off his rear end to open the door for the Dolphins to close an 11-point gap with three minutes left.
Jaguars 44, Colts 17, Dec. 10, 2006: If there ever was a game that said those Colts weren't capable of winning it all, this was it. Maurice Jones-Drew had 166 yards, Fred Taylor had 131, and as a team the Jaguars rushed for 375 as a team, averaging almost 10 yards a carry. But there was one, very big caveat here: Bob Sanders didn't play.
Texans 27, Colts 24, Dec. 24, 2006: This one was almost as bad as the Jags loss for the Colts, because of how it happened. The Texans finished 2006 as the league's 21st-ranked rushing offense. Yet, they looked like the '66 Packers in this one, churning out 191 yards on 42 carries behind the immortal Ron Dayne (153 yards) to pull a monumental upset. Again, though, this one could be correlated to the absence of Sanders.
What conclusions can be drawn? Well, I'd say -- safely, I think -- that each of the above were worse than the loss the Cowboys suffered Sunday to an Eagle team that really isn't what it's record says it is. So don't tighten the noose on Dallas' chances quite yet.
