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SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seven)

SPF's season previews are looking pretty good so far.  The teams we singled out like the Jags, the Texans, and the Dolphins have shown themselves to be in hot water with their fan base.  The Jags and the Texans suffered "must win" losses that neither could afford, while the Dolphins were shelled by the Patriots in embarrasing fashion.  Remember this poll isn't about wins and losses but about how each team connects with fans.

Let's take a peak at last week's "Team Identity" Poll:

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Tampa Bay Bucs
3. Washington Redskins
5. Tennessee Titans
6. Carolina Panthers
7. Houston Texans
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
9. New Orleans Saints
10. Cincinnati Bengals
11. Miami Dolphins
12. Atlanta Falcons
13. St Louis Rams

 Now, here is this week's:

1. Indianapolis Colts - Nothing much to say.  The Colts let the rest of the AFC South know yet again that they are number one by a mile after their beat down of the Jags in Jax. 

This team is on automatic pilot.  Carolina awaits, but a win should be a foregone conclusion.  The showdown with the Pats looms on the horizon.

2.  Dallas Cowboys -  Cowboy love is back after a tough loss to the Pats two weeks ago.  The Minnesota win showed some that the Cowboys have a little more grit than they showed against New England.  Even though this year's Cowboys are publicly saying that losing Bill Parcells was a nice change, Adrian Peterson being kept in check while Marion Barber runs wild are still signs of Parcells' effect on this team.

Their bye week should suit them well.

3.  Washington Redskins - The Redskins won a close one again, but Tom Boswell puts it best - there's nothing wrong with winning ugly.  The offense has been messy all year, since the team still hasn't been able to reconcile the philosophy of Joe Gibbs and OC Al Saunders.  The defense remains a strength for this team.

This week's game against the seemingly insurmountable Patriots should be a nice test.  The Redskins might be the best defense they have faced all season.  An upset win for the Redskins might not be out of the question.

4.  Tennessee Titans - You have to love this team.  They had a statement game this past Sunday.  Coming off a tough loss at Tampa, the Titans were forced to play backup QB Kerry Collins because of the injury Vince Young suffered against the Bucs in the first half of that game. The Titans also had to return to the franchise's old Houston stomping ground to play a much improved Texans squad looking to make a statement themselves.

The Titans went in and despite a fourth quarter meltdown that allowed the Texans to lead for about 50 seconds they beat the tar out of them.  The Titans defense sent Matt Schaub to the locker room, bruised and battered.

SPF predicted that the Titans 2.0 with Vince playing a better version of Steve McNair might have even stronger long term identity with Nashville and Tennessee in general.  It is a joke that Sal Paolantonio named Jeff Fisher the most overrated coach in the NFL in his recent book.  Creating controversy to sell books is part of business, but you have to have some facts to back it up.  Patrick Snow's column this week nails it.

5.  Tampa Bay Bucs and Carolina Panthers - These NFC South foes have become eerily similar.  They are led by strong coaches, strong defenses, a solid running game, and veteran QB play.  These factors make them tough teams year in and year out.

Their respective coaches, John Fox and Jon Gruden, also seem to have a real problem developing young offensive talent.  Whereas most of the better teams in the NFL are loaded with offensive weaponery, the Bucs and the Panthers are pretty thin.

Carolina has already lost their QB for the year and are playing Vinny Testaverde.  The Bucs start a similarly brittle veteran, Jeff Garcia.  This isn't a good thing when a younger team is starting to nip at these two's respective heels.

7.  New Orleans Saints - This is the team in their rear view mirror.  The Saints have won two and a row and might be finding their footing.  This team should have been much better than their 0-4 start.  They may be starting to show it.

With the Panthers and the Bucs both having tough AFC South matchup this week, the Saints can get within a game by beating the fading 49ers.  The NFC South might be interesting after all.

8.  Cincinnati Bengals - Speaking of making thing interesting, the Bengals have the same opportunity this Sunday against the Steelers.  Everything is pointing to a Pittsburgh win, but the Cincy home crowd knows how to make noise.

Pittsburgh effectively sent the Bengals into their tailspin two years ago when they knocked Carson Palmer out of a playoff game with a torn ACL.  The Steeler went on to win the Super Bowl that year and the Bengals have been struggling to get on track.

It might be time for some reverse karma.

Meanwhile, if you haven't watched it, you need to see Me-Shawn Johnson's interview with Chad Johnson.  SPF hopes that this fires up Ocho Cinco for the Steelers game.

9.  Jacksonville Jaguars - You have to hand it to the Jags and their supporters.  They always see the glass half full.  After Gene Frenette accurately proclaimed following their horrible home loss to the Colts that the Jags don't measure up, he's now writing about the Jags having to show mettle as they hold the fort while David Garrard comes back from injury.  Even the players are trying to spin the idea that it helps the team to lose.  Nice try.

Yes, beating the Colts last season sent the Colts to the Super Bowl and the Jags out of the playoffs, but are they really believing that losing to the Colts on Monday night is going to send the Jags to the Super Bowl?  Come on!

Del Rio can pick fights with his first round WRs all he wants, but that won't change anything.  The Jags simply aren't good enough.  Getting rid of Byron Leftwich was a bad move.  The fans are still not coming to the games.

This team desperately needs a new identity that is not Jack Del Rio.  It is time to seriously consider opening up the checkbook and going after Bill Cowher.  Jacksonville has always been seen as a Pittsburgh of the South.  They have a roster that will suit Cowher's coaching style.  It might be their only move.

Sometimes teams have to look beyond wins and losses.  When fans won't show up for a 4-2 team that is arguably playoof worthy, despite the loss to the Colts, there's a very big problem that must be addressed by ownership.

10.  Houston Texans - Some writers are a credit to their markets and Richard Justice is one of them.  He makes no bones about rooting for the home team, but he's not afraid to call it like he sees it.

Before the Texans game against the Titans, Justice called the game a referendum on Kubiak as a coach.  Justice clearly pointed out that just like Jacksonville's loss to Indy, the Texans had to beat the Titans at home (without Vince Young to boot) to justify their franchise decisions over the last couple of years.

Like the Jags, the Texans failed their big test losing in spectacular fashion to the Titans.  Yes, they caught up and took a late lead, but they still lost and were clearly the lesser of the two teams.  The Texans are 3-4.  They are an average team.  Unfortunately, they are in a division where that puts them in last place.

Much like Jacksonville, there is only so much time owner Bob McNair should give the Kubiak experiment.  Justice wrote on Monday that Kubiak was to blame for the loss.  This coach will become a lightning rod as the season wears on.  That's not a good thing.

Make some noise and hire Bill Parcells.  Parcells will still be angry about what happened in Dallas.  That kind of anger can create victories.  That kind of anger will motivate Mario Williams into the player he was supposed to be.

11. Miami Dolphins - Well, one thing we know is that Wayne Huizenga is loved by all those that have been in contact with him.  The ex-Dolphin greats, who are furious at everyone else, love Wayne.  Jimmy Johnson does as well, but Wayne did fatten Jimmy's retirement nest egg while Jimmy left him with the worst coach in Dolphins history, Dave Wannstedt (although Cam Cameron is making a strong case.) 

SPF knows that Wayne has PR down pat, but let's not forget that Wayne was talking playoffs before the season began.  People tend to forget very quickly that Nick Saban never guaranteed playoffs last year.  He talked about the Dolphins improving on a week to week basis.  This is where SPF strongly disagrees with ex-Dolphins like Nick Buoniconti who defended Huizenga by saying, ''the guy entrusted this franchise to people, and they haven't delivered.''

We're not fans of Jimmy Johnson who used the Dolphins for a big day without delivering, but Johnson does know how to build teams.  In the link above, Johnson sketches out a good plan to rebuild the Dolphins.

The real issue is that Huizenga didn't want to rebuild last year when they should have done so.  All the bad free agent moves and bad drafts were predicated on the facade that the Dolphins were just a few tweaks away from a contender.  Saban wasn't going to ever say that because it would have only gotten him into hot water.  However, a GM off the unemployment line (Randy Mueller) and a career assistant dying for another head coaching chance (Cam Cameron) were ready to sing any song necessary to get and keep the gig.  Wayne also better be kidding about his latest salvo of "staying the course."  That better not mean keeping the Cam and Randy Show for another year.

Keep Taylor and Thomas, cut Joey Porter, play Beck and Ginn to see what you have.  In the meantime, be the first in line for Parcells of Cowher.  SPF believes that Houston and Jacksonville would have a better shot at either, but we don't think their owners will fire their respective coaches leaving the Dolphins with an easy path to a real coach.

PS.  People might not like Nick Saban, and he certainly isn't a lovable guy, but he didn't ruin the Dolphins.  It will always be a unanswered question, but SPF will always believe that Saban was told he would not be able to rebuild the team before the 2007 season.  That and a pile of cash from Alabama made his decision easy.

PPS  Ronnie Brown was Saban's pick.  Before he went down for the year, he was looking like one of the NFL's best young backs.

12.  Atlanta Falcons - They get the nod over the Rams only because they have a bye week.  The team released Grady Jackson drawing the ire of CB DeAngelo Hall who had already been at war with Coach Bobby Petrino.

Let's hope for the Falcons' sake that it is as Mark Bradley thinks - Bobby Petrino is running the Falcons.  Petrino is smart enough to see that losing teams filled with veterans go downhill far faster than ones with young kids.  Maybe this is a sign that Petrino plans to hang around to see this through.  SPF hopes he does.

13.  St Louis Rams -  Another home game another blackout in St Louis.  The surprise here is that like the Falcons, it seems that the Rams might be hanging on to Scott Linehan after all.  Maybe management sees that disinterested veterans shouldn't be running their team.  Good for them.  The Rams still have QB Marc Bulger and RB Steven Jackson to build around on offense.  Now, they need an o-line.

Linehan has been talking this week about stressing character issues.  That's a good thing, but it is also a small dig at the previous Martz regime.  The bigger question is what kind of team will the St Louis market have to root for in years to come?  Identity is still a huge issue that has yet to be solved.  Jacksonville's own string of blackouts despute having a playoff team shows that wins aren't everything.

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