Saturday, December 18, 2010

How Will Muschamp's first press conference at Florida should have gone

Sometimes, I get an idea in my head and can't get it out. This is one of those times. Here's how Will Muschamp's first press conference as the head coach at the University of Florida should have played out:



(I know the transitions and such aren't perfect, but cut me some slack. I'm a writer, Jim, not a video editor!)

[Thanks to Spencer Hall and Holly Anderson at Every Day Should Be Saturday for the inspiration.]

Thursday, December 16, 2010

How a CFL-style crossover could save the NFL playoffs

SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 16: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson  of the San Diego Chargers dives into the endzone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Qualcomm Stadium on December 16, 2010 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Despite my CFL duties, I’ve been following the NFL perhaps even more closely than usual this year thanks to writing a weekly picks column over at The Good Point. It’s been a pretty solid season so far, with lots of exciting games, great storylines and terrific playoff races, and there isn’t any shortage of things to write about on any front.

However, there’s one lingering blot on the season that’s overshadowing many of the positive developments, and that’s the atrociousness of the NFC West. As Jon Bois wrote over at SB Nation a while back, the division has been terrible for almost its entire existence in its current 2002-on form, with its teams only recording a combined positive point differential once in that span (in 2003, and that wasn’t by much). This year might be a new low for the division, though, as all four of its teams are around the same degree of awful.

With the San Francisco 49ers getting blown out 34-7 by the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football tonight, they’re now at 5-9 on the season. They also have a point differential of negative 37 and have scored only 243 points, tied for fourth-worst in the league. Yet, they still have a chance to win the division, thanks largely to their NFC West-best 3-1 divisional record. If they win out and get some favourable results from other teams, they could sneak into the playoffs at 7-9 and even host a first-round playoff game. That would make them the worst NFL team (by regular-season record) to make the playoffs since the 16-game season was brought in; nine teams have made the post-season with an 8-8 record.