 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Also-rans like to punish contenders
Posted: Thursday December 23, 1999 11:20 AM
As the NFL season winds down, you might think that teams struggling to make the playoffs or clinch a division title would roll over those out of the playoff hunt. After all, they "have more to play for," or at least that's what the conventional wisdom says. But that's not the way it works. I don't believe in that adage at all. Even among losing teams, there's a lot of pride. And the also-rans like nothing better than playing the role of spoiler, destroying another team's chance to clinch a playoff berth. Misery loves company, and if you've had a miserable season, you want to make the other team miserable too, by whipping them when it hurts. If you don't agree, just look at what happened in Week 15: The lesson is simple: Don't expect the downtrodden team to roll over, even near the end of the season. There's another factor, of course. Both coaches and players know they are being evaluated with next year's job and contract in mind. Chiefs should secure AFC West titleI like the Chiefs to beat the Seahawks in Week 16, although it's hard to pick against the home team in a matchup like this. Kansas City's Elvis Grbac quietly has put together a solid season at quarterback, while Seattle's Jon Kitna -- though showing flashes of brilliance -- has been more inconsistent. The Chiefs' defense is superior, especially in its ability to create turnovers. They have a +23 take-away, give-away differential, which is far and away the best in the league. The Chiefs' also control the ball well with the ground game. They use the running-back-by-committee concept -- with Donnell Bennett, Bam Morris and Tony Richardson -- and always seem to have fresh legs. Last but not least, they've turned former college basketball player Tony Gonzalez into an effective offensive weapon from the tight-end position. Using his basketball skills, Gonzalez has 10 touchdowns and 61 catches, already a club record from the tight end position. Ron Meyer, a former NFL head coach, is a pro football analyst with CNN/SI and appears weekly on CNN's NFL Preview. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
| ||||||||||||||||
