With 30 teams having eight games in the bag and only two (Giants and Texans) playing a ninth, it's a good time to reflect on the first half of the 2009 season.
SportingNews.com is taking a broader view of the first half of the season this week, and our contribution is to look at the 10 biggest surprises of the year to date.
Here's no surprise. You can read it all right here.
SportingNews.com: 10 biggest surprises so far
Posted by Mike Florio on November 11, 2009 11:23 AM ET
Stupid, boring article that does not deserve to be in the headlines. I'll give you a break since it's a holiday.
Reporting the obvious. Good work Florio I bet you worked really hard on that article.
On #3 - keep trying to re-write history Florio. Do you really think this Packers team would be any different with Favre at QB? The only thing I know is that Favre had to move on and because everyone is doubting him, he's decided to finally be a responsible QB like he was under Holmgren.
The record wouldn't be much different with the coaching and lack of talent on both sides of line even with Favre at QB - and there would probably have been A LOT more Interceptions thrown.
By the way, Rodgers rookie contract would have expired last offseason and he would have most likely moved on to another team - maybe even the Vikings - where would that have left the Packers, Mike?
Lame. Florio is falling for this supposed awesome saints d that seems like they give up 25 plus points. They get turnovers but havnt really stopped anyone.
And after we heard that the patriots lost everyone on defense, no mention of their young havimg the #2 scoring in the league.
"best overall teams in the past generation."
The Saints? I mean they're GOOD right now but wow....
Even Dallas has done more lately, and you consider them to be abject failures, Florio.
Based on preseason PFT coverage volume, "not a single punt hitting the Dallas scoreboard in regulation" probably should have made your list.
Top five, maybe. Not surprised by the Saints, the Colts (the machine rolls on), and certainly not by Favre. Apparently the only people surprised by Favre are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern--perhaps better known as Abbott and Costello, who demonstrated more wisdom discussing baseball. Not surprised by Ryan and looking forward to seeing his sideline pugilism in action. And good grief, Mike, after watching the final drive in Super Bowl XLIII, are you really surprised by Roethlisberger? He gets better under pressure. Steelers fans are used to it.
So you should have just gone with the Titans, Giants, Broncos, the cluster of really bad teams, and the strange but welcome disappearance of TO.
"Apart from the Bengals, who can't really be called a surprise in this regard given the manner in which they finished the 2008 season (three straight wins) and the return to health of quarterback Carson Palmer, none of the really bad teams from 2008 have been anything other than really bad."
That's all that the Bengals get regarding "surprises"? And this guy wants to pretend he saw it coming basically because they won 3 meaningless game to end last year? WTF Nostradamus? Yeah, I'll bet everyone saw it coming. Hell, not even we Bengal fans did! Undefeated in the division with only one big game left vs. Pitt. Who couldn't tell that was coming??? (/sarcasm)
Crackpot, or smoking crack journalism at it's finest.
How do the Saints get ahead of the Broncos being led by Orton ? With all that happened in the off season nobody thought the Broncos would be in this position right now. The Saints were a good Football Team last year so it's not that much of a surprise.
Who the hell is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ?
Did this seem funny in your head ?
Yea, the Bengals at 6-2 aren't surprising at all, they're definetly not as surprising as the NFL having bad teams. God damn son, subjective or not, this is drivel.
You have zero credibility to me...your site is no more than a rumor mill that's contrived in your own mind. Remember when you were on Dan Patrick and he asked you about TO being traded and you said you "made it up to get people talking" What a joke! The Bengals are the #1 biggest surprise of the 2010 football season. They won 3 lousy games last year!!!! You should stick to being a lawyer and let the football heads cover the NFL.
No Bengals love?
Good. We like it that way
Good grief, Mike, they're right! I forgot the Bengals. I mentioned all the non-surprises you should have omitted from your list, but really, you should have included the Bengals. They may not have surprised you, but they've certainly surprised everyone else and are entitled to their props. And that's coming from a diehard Steelers fan. Skip TO--I mean, no one really cares anyway--and put the surprisingly good Bengals on your list.
Florio, isn't ironic that so many people hate your work yet still read you religiously enough to comment within an hour of the article being posted? Typical internet douche bags! I'm not afraid to admit I love the site........keep it up.
BornSlippy says:
November 11, 2009 11:42 AM
Lame. Florio is falling for this supposed awesome saints d that seems like they give up 25 plus points. They get turnovers but havnt really stopped anyone.
And after we heard that the patriots lost everyone on defense, no mention of their young havimg the #2 scoring in the league.
______
Typical LAME comment from a typical LAME Pats fan KNOW NOTHING.
NEWS FLASH: The Pats haven't beaten ANYONE good YET. Just like last season.
Careful Mike, don't make any sudden turns - you might break pkrlvr's neck.
Really Florio the Colts are a surprise, c'mon dude with the exception of Manning's rookie year and the 1 year they finally went to the Superbowl it's the same movie we've all been watching for the past 8 years, they win 7 to 8 games in a row then get to the playoffs and lose to the first team they face, no surprise there I know how this movie ends. And as for new faces please, the same 2 co-coordinators that quit in the offseason have been back with the Colts since before the start of the regular season, and the Head coach as been there for a while as well, and when since injures on a team counts as a surprise, UH NO BOB SANDERS IS INJURED again SURPRIZE!!!!
I'm glad the Bengals are out of the lime light. Just keeps our boys motivated. Don't mention us in any national news media at all. Leave us out. Don't give us props or anything b/c that only fuels the fire. Now Pittsburgh is going to feel it this Sunday. I want to see that big smile on Ward's face knocked off by Ray or Keith. Then we'll move onto a nice win.
marcduke:
so pkrlver, the pker stands for pecker....nice
too funny
Gotta love the Saints haters on this site. I have to admit that calling them one of the best teams in recent history may be a stretch, but the numbers do bear it out. Look at the average margin of points by the offense versus what the defense has given up through 8 games for the top teams in all divisions:
Number of points per game:
Saints +16
Patriots +13.8
Colts +13.6
Vikings + 8.8
Cowboys +8.1
Bengals +5.6
Cardinals +4.3
Broncos +3.3
By the numbers the three best teams in football right now are the Saints, Patriots and Colts. The Colts and Patriots will battle it out on Sunday night.
The Saints can put their stamp on the top spot by taking care of the Rams and Bucs and then face down the Patriots in three weeks on Monday night. The Saints may be pretenders, we will have to wait a little less than three weeks to find out.
@BengalsDouche2 ... Don't mistake a few gracious Steelers fans giving your Bengals their deserved props as us forgetting the historical hierarchy of the division. Your kitty cats have been trying to knock the smile off Ward's face since 1998 and haven't managed it yet. As for what the Steelers will feel on Sunday, win or lose, we'll continue to feel the superiority of winning six Super Bowls--something Bengals can't possible appreciate. I never celebrate my wins until the final whistle blows. But given that we were one missed tackle from beating your Bengals in their house last time, I like our chances at home.
JD Calahan says:
November 11, 2009 12:27 PM
"The Bengals are the #1 biggest surprise of the 2010 football season. They won 3 lousy games last year!!!! "
**************
I think they are one of the biggest surprises of 2009; but what exactly will they do in 2010 that will make them one of the biggest surprises?
Can you also post tonight's powerball numbers?
"Based on preseason PFT coverage volume, "not a single punt hitting the Dallas scoreboard in regulation" probably should have made your list."
Ha, this, this, for the love of Florio, THIS!