2018 NFL: Week 9 Power Ranking & The Rest

Tier I - The "Worst of the Worst" Duo

32.) Buffalo Bills  (2-6  =  87-200)
31.) Arizona Cardinals  (2-6  =  110-199)


Tier II - The "QB Issuez" Quadro

30.) New York Giants  (1-7  =  150-205)
29.) San Francisco 49ers  (1-7  =  173-236)
28.) Oakland Raiders  (1-6  =  138-218)
27.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (3-4  =  201-233)


Tier III - The "What the hell?" Uno

26.) Cleveland Browns  (2-5-1  =  169-210)



Tier IV - The "Soft Underbelly of the AFC" Trio

25.) Denver Broncos  (3-5  =  188-194)
24.) Jacksonville Jaguars  (3-5  =  134-170)
23.) New York Jets  (3-5  =  192-200)


Tier V - The "I have no Idea" Duo

22.) Miami Dolphins  (4-4  =  174-219)
21.) Detroit Lions  (3-4  =  171-186)


Tier VI - The "Sub-.500 Sleepers' Quadro

20.) Tennessee Titans  (3-4  =  106-127)
19.) Indianapolis Colts  (3-5  =  231-213)
18.) Atlanta Falcons  (3-4  =  190-212)
17.) Cincinnati Bengals  (5-3  =  221-237)


Tier VII - The "Playing Defense in an Offense World" Trio

16.) Dallas Cowboys  (3-4  =  140-123)
15.) Chicago Bears  (4-3  =  194-144)
14.) Baltimore Ravens  (4-4  =  197-137)


Tier VIII - The "Scary Middle-Belly of the NFC" Quadro

13.) Philadelphia Eagles  (4-4  =  178-156)
12.) Seattle Seahawks  (4-3  =  171-131)
11.) Washington Redskins  (5-2  =  146-134)
10.) Green Bay Packers  (3-3-1  =  175-173)


Tier IX - The "Annoyingly Competent" Trio

9.) Houston Texans  (5-3  =  197-166)
8.) Pittsburgh Steelers  (4-2-1  =  204-172)
7.) Minnesota Vikings  (4-3-1  =  197-195)


Tier X - The "Excitingly Competent" Duo

6.) Los Angeles Chargers  (5-2  =  195-163)
5.) Carolina Panthers  (5-2  =  178-152)


Tier XI - The "Let's just fast-forward to the Super Bowl" Duo

4.) New England Patriots  (6-2  =  239-185)
3.) New Orleans Saints  (6-1  =  234-183)


Tier XII - The "I really hope this is the Super Bowl" Duo

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  (7-1  =  290-205)
1.) Los Angeles Rams  (8-0  =  264-155)


Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

Byes: Cincinnati Bengals (3-5), Indianapolis Colts (3-5), New York Giants (1-7), Philadelphia Eagles (4-4), Arizona Cardinals (2-6), Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5)

13.) Oakland Raiders (1-7)  @  San Francisco 49ers (1-6)  (TNF - FOX)
12.) Chicago Bears (4-3)  @  Buffalo Bills (2-6)  (1:00 - FOX)
11.) New York Jets (3-5)  @  Miami Dolphins (4-3)  (1:00 - CBS)
10.) Tennessee Titans (3-4)  @  Dallas Cowboys (3-4)  (MNF - ESPN)
9.) Detroit Lions (3-4)  @  Minnesota Vikings (4-3-1)  (1:00 - FOX)
8.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)  @  Carolina Panthers (5-2)  (1:00 - FOX)
7.) Houston Texans (5-3)  @  Denver Broncos (3-5)  (4:05 - CBS)
6.) Kansas City Chiefs (7-1)  @  Cleveland Browns (2-5-1)  (1:00 - CBS)
5.) Atlanta Falcons (3-4)  @  Washington Redskins (5-2)  (1:00 - FOX)
4.) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2-1)  @  Baltimore Ravens (4-4)  (1:00 - CBS)
3.) Green Bay Packers (3-3-1)  @  New England Patriots (6-2)  (SNF - NBC)
2.) Los Angeles Chargers (5-2)  @  Seattle Seahawks (4-3)  (4:05 - CBS)
1.) Los Angeles Rams (8-0)  @  New Orleans Saints (6-1)  (4:25 - FOX)

My Top 15 Favorite US & Canadian Cities

This is list was spurred because during this past weekend when I met 7 childhood friends for a bachelor party in Montreal, I was asked where Montreal would rank on my list of favorite cities if it was eligible. In truth, quite high! But then I got thinking, there are some great cities in the USA and Canada if we expand it. Maybe not the 40 I've listed for the non-US/Canada world, but a fair good amount. I did want to rank them, but there are two huge caveats; first is the surprisingly long list of US touchstones I either haven't visited or visited many years ago; second the cities that I've lived in, or visited too often to really be able to accurately judge.

Not eligible becuase I live too close / can't speak to as a tourist attraction: New York City (obviously would be really high), The entire rest of the Northeast Corridor (Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Washington), Jacksonville, Houston, Grand Rapids, Horsham, (those last two are just there for fun - random client locations, obviously had no chance to be on this list unless I went 200 deep).

Other cities that I understand are quite good but have never visited to date, or visited long enough ago I don't really remember it: Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Memphis, Albuquerque, Boise, Honolulu, etc.


15.) Atlanta (2017)

I went to Atlanta once, on a bachelor party of a family friend. It was a great time, and sure it may be hard to separate the city from the bachelor party-ness of it all (a good one is about as good a long weekend as possible), but the city itself seemed like a better, not as hot, Dallas. Really nice restaurants featuring southern cooking. We ventured out to a couple nice suburbs for meals as well. Of course, there are a few aspects of the city that make it a particularly apt Bachelor Party spot - some that are basically cultural mileposts. Won't say more. The only thing keeping it from being higher is the lack of historical importance and natural beauty; most of the cities on the list have one or the other.


14.) Orlando (1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2016)

Removing Disney and Universal, Orlando wouldn't be anywhere close to this. I have visited Orlando a couple times without really touching either park system and found it decent, with good shopping and decent restuarants/bars. But we can't just ignore that those two monster park systems, in Disney's case, a literal city. Those parks to have some magic to them, changing enough each half decade to not get fully old (haven't really visited any since 2009). Disney is quite a bit magical, and despite the cost, the crowds, it is one of the world's best destinations.


13.) Vancouver (2018)

Vancouver is beautiful, that much is obvious. With the mountains to the north a constant presence above a great modern North American city. If anything, I'll hae to give more reasons for not ranking Vancouver higher than this. The city is quite big, with potential traffic issues. There are a few nice neighborhoods, but they are hard to reach from the outsides of the city. The nice nature is a little too far. Anyway, if you have time, and a car, the city is great. The food, especially the various asian-inspired bistros, are great. The nature is wonderful, particularly if you have time to drive up the Coast.


12.) Austin (2002, 2016)

May seem low, but that more speaks to the strengths of the cities above it, which include truly unique factors, great restaurant & beer cultures, and/or historical relevance. Austin has some of these things, if not all, but not at the high degree of some of the others. The best aspects probably are the barbecue and live music, but there's other cities that do each, if not both in one case, at a reasonably good level as well, without the added heat and sprawl. Either way, Austin is a fantastic city, but is starting to get slightly too popular and slightly overcrowded to add to the fact that American does indeed have a lot of great cities.

11.) Calgary (2005)

The first time I did my International Cities list, I had Goa (admittedly, a state, not a city) ranked at #6 (out of 25). I realize that was dumb, but I had a great experience, a semi-idyllic trip. This very well could be the same thing, given my last trip was so long ago. There is a few standout features for Calgary. First is its proximity to Banff National Park (90 minutes away), a stunning Natural Park that puts most US-based ones to shame. Second is their meat, from Reindeer to Beef. Third comes from what I've read, which is an surprisingly excellent music & drinks scene that has grown rapidly in this outpost - obviously something I would not have experienced last time. I do want to make another trip to assess this initial view, but given Banff is included in Calgary's oeuvre for me, it will be hard to fall too much further than this.


10.) San Francisco (1999, 2008, 2014, 2017)

San Francisco actually somewhat proves my point about Calgary maybe needing another go. Had I not spent a long weekend there in November, it would likely be higher, but there is a couple glaring issues I found this time around, mainly the almost unimaginable homeless problem driven mostly by opiods and drugs. There are streets deep inside SF's main area that are basically unwalkable. It disfigures what is a great city outside of that, with incredible food, a world-class art and drinks culture, good museums, great sightlines and parks, and so much more. The only other negative to me might be the price, which is somewhat unescapable. Either way, San Francisco has a few black marks on it that hurt it from being a truly brilliant city..


9.) TBD (TBD)


8.) Portland (2017)

I went to Portland three weeks before I went to San Francisco in 2017, and found it quite a bit better. They are similar in some ways, but Portland is cheaper, with the same asian influences. Also in Portland's favor is a truly astounding craft beer culture, and great food all around, from Pok Pok's wings, to incredible biscuit sandwhiches. You also get some beautiful, remote, scenery in teh 1-2 hour perimiter of the city, from the Mt. Hood region to the East and the Tillamook Forest to the West. It's a truly beautiful city with a great sense of what it is; one of the few cities in America that define everything that a unique American city should have.


7.) Chicago (1998, 2001, 2005, 2015)



I need to go to Chicago again, because while I did go for three days in 2015, that wasn't a long enough trip to formulate a changed opinion. My memories of Chicago are more from childhood, where I remember it being somewhat a perfect American city. They have arguably the best collection of museums of any American city. They have a beach. They have incredible sports to witness, including a cathedral that is Wrigley Field. I'm sure they have food and great bars and all the rest as well. The largest four cities in the country for as long as I can remember have been NYC, LA, Chicago and Houston (just city, not metro area), and Chicago seems the least like a true sprawling Metropolis.


6.) San Diego (1999, 2017)



We all get the jokes about San Diego, the perfect weather, the laissaz faire attitude that made a whole community do a shrug emoji when they lost their football team. The perfect nature of the city. All of it. It is all true, because we are all just jealous that a city with a perfect year-round climate was made and we don't all live there. I went in March, it was 70 each day and sunny. The city has history, with old churches and military history like the aircraft carrier musuem. It has great food - including multiple great restaurants lining the Gaslamp district. There is a great beer culture highlighted by two of the most successful craft breweries in the US in Ballast Point and Stone. And of course there are some great hiking trails and parks and sports. The city is a perfect place to live, but it isn't too bad to visit either.


5.) Salt Lake City (2018)

Of course, Salt Lake City encompasses the cottonwood canyons, and the Great Salt Lake in this ranking. I don't know if there is a US metro area that mixes urbanity and nature quite like Salt Lake (other than maybe the city at #2). The food in Salt Lake was great, with a burgeoning foodie scene. The alcohol options are more varied than you would think. The city is amazingly walkable and easy to transit around. Finally, those views, those hikes, that natural beauty. Salt Lake City's bevy of close by hiking options, all within an hours ride from downtown, are astounding. All double as great ski slopes in the winter as well, for those that like that aspect of the world. My first trip to Salt Lake City took me by surprise, and truly I can't wait to go back.


4.) Toronto (2008, 2016, 2017)



I almost put The Six in the groups of cities that I can't rank as I did a project in a suburb for four months, close enough to go into the city many times, but I liked it too much to keep it out. Toronto is great, easily the best (NY excluded) mega-tropolis I've been to in the US. The positives in Toronto are endless, from the CN Tower, to the Island, to the bevy of incredible food options, and neighborhoods from Downtown, to the Distellery District, to Yorkville, to so many others. The food is great. The beer is great. The bars are great. The city is large but never has the traffic or urban sprawl problems that other huge USA cities have to deal with. Toronto also has a great comedy and music since (Drake aside), and has as much culture of its US counterparts. It's a lot larger than people realize, and still has all the cultural charms of the secondary cities, A rare combination.


3.) Nashville (2016, 2017)



Live music has many homes within the US, but I would argue none touches Nashville, from mainstream spots like the Grand Ole Opry or Bluebird Cafe, to the many great spots that litter Broadway on both sides, to even the others that espouse Rock and Blues. Nashville owns all cities I've been to when looking at music. Of course, that isn't where Nashville's positives ends. There are great restaurants, from BBQ to hot chicken, to a truly special burger place in Pharmacy Burger. The cities' increasingly built up outskirts push the number of restaurants and bars even further higher, The city, nestled nicely in the Appalachian plateau's even rarely gets too hot. What a great slice of Americana.


2.) Denver (2015, 2017)



Honestly, Denver and Nashville are almost tied in my book, easily my favorite US cities that I've visited. Denver has the same cultural niceties of Nashville - incredible restaurants, great bars, a great low-key vibe. Nashville has the music, Denver has the incredible sceney with Rocky Mountain National Park, and stunning view after stunning view, an hour away. The Rocky Mountains truly are a staggering sight that Denver probably gets undue credit for, the major city with the closest ties to America's great mountains. The city has a great feeling inside, a growing city that has so much room to expand I can't foresee it ever getting too crowded. Denver is a special, somewhat untouched place that I truly need to go back to.


1.) Montreal (many, many, many times)



Yes, I've been to Montreal a lot, mostly during its annual Jazz Festival it hosts in the Place des Artes area - a tremendously run festival visited by millions. But even outside the festival, Montreal is an amazing city. It has sites, from Mont Royal to the various churches and buildings, to the Old Town,. It has incredible food, from French Canadian staples to world known Smoked Meat. It has a great bar culture, with some great breweries. It has live music even when you remove the Jazz Festival. It has great parks and open streets and little crowding, and crepes, and everything else. Having such a seemingly foreign city, where French reigns supreme, so close to home is fantastic, and i'm blessed to be able to visit it somewhat-annually.

NFL 2018: Week 8 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I - The "Separating Themselves From the Rest" Trio

32.) Arizona Cardinals  (1-6  =  92-184)
31.) New York Giants  (1-6  =  137-185)
30.) Buffalo Bills  (2-5  =  81-175)

Almost halfway through the season, we are starting to see some stratification in the league, and to me these three teams have really distinguished themselves. The Cardinals 45-10 loss really highlighted how little energy this team has under Steve Wilks. The roster is still somewhat close to the one that hovered around .500 the last two years, but the infighting and checking-out has begun. The Giants are maybe on the precipice of a well-needed fire sale, a clear admission that the Eli era is over, and maybe should have ended during the last NFL draft. The Bills somehow have two wins, and came a Nathan Peterman pick-six away from maybe a third win, but they are so dreadful, having two losses where the score five or less points and give up 35 or more points. The defense is still talented but even there they've checked out.


Tier II - The "Something's Rotten By the Bay" Duo

29.) Oakland Raiders  (1-5  =  110-176)
28.) San Francisco 49ers  (1-6  =  158-218)

For eight straight seasons (2003-2010), neither team made the playoffs. We may be headed to a similar run of infamy now. The Raiders fire sale is under way, and it will all come down to what return they get on these five 1st round picks they have the next two years. To have a team potentially have three Top-15 picks will be crazy. For the 49ers, things can turn with the return of Jimmy G next year, and in reality that might give them a completely unexpected top-5 pick, but for 2018, this has been a disaster.


Tier III - The "Excitingly Bad" Duo

27.) Cleveland Browns  (2-4-1  =  151-177)
26.) New York Jets  (3-4  =  182-176)

Neither team is that good (the Jets still clinging with a positive point differential only due to the Detroit Week 1 game), but both have the nice shine of hope. The Browns could really have any conceivable record right now, and have only looked like the old 1-31 in 2016-17 Browns in one game (the loss to the Chargers). Mayfield needs to protect the ball better, but he's fearless and smart. Darnold is very much the same. Both defenses have good young players. Maybe, just maybe, in 2023-2025, this is the new Patriots vs. Colts. Stranger things have happened. For now, going 6-10 should be seen as a great sign of optimism. The most interesting part of each team will be seeing how Todd Bowles and Hue Jackson are judged if they do end up 6-10 (or 6-8-2 in the Browns case).


Tier IV - The "Annoyingly, Excitingly Bad" Trio

25.) Tennessee Titans  (3-4  =  106-127)
24.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (3-3  =  167-196)
23.) Indianapolis Colts  (2-5  =  189-185)

All three of these teams play exciting, close games where they loose because of turnovers or stupid mistakes - just like the Browns and Jets - but instead of a sheen of hope, they have teh stink of wasted opportunity. For the Titans and Buccaneers, we are in year five for Mariota and Jameis, with one playoff appearance and nary a 10-win season, and still tons of sacks and turnovers. For the Colts, last week was so maddening; they blew the Bills off the field. One more win, and somehow they would be right in the thick of the AFC South race. With their schedule, a late run to sneak a 9-7 division title isn't out of the question.


Tier V - The "Holy Fuck" Uno

22.) Jacksonville Jaguars  (3-4  =  116-146)

What happened? Forget Bortles, he was always a guy who would randomly become trash again. What happened to that defense. Forget the infighting, that's some quality Rex Ryan Jets stuff, but the overall play has dropped, be it Campbell, or Ngokwae, or Fowler, or so many others apart from Jalen Ramsey. Keeping that level of defense from 2016 was always going to be tough, but seeing them fall into discord has been so much sadness. Again, this is the AFC South, so a 6-3 finish will be enough likely.


Tier VI - The "Staying Somewhat, Somehow Relevant" Quinto

21.) Atlanta Falcons  (3-4  =  190-212)
20.) Chicago Bears  (3-3  =  170-134)
19.) Denver Broncos  (3-4  =  165-164)
18.) Detroit Lions  (3-3  =  157-158)
17.) Miami Dolphins  (4-3  =  151-177)

We are far enough into the season that there is stratification, but very likely one if not two of the teams in this group will sneak their way in. Starting from the bottom, we have the league's worst 4-3 team, and the top has the league's 2nd best 3-4 team. I'm glad the Dolphins are no longer tied for the AFC East lead. It's always nice getting some normalcy back They will have a really interesting decision coming up on Tannehill, who still cannot stay healthy. The Falcons should be better - it was nice to finally see their pass rush from last year reappear. The Bears got the benefit of three Pats turnovers and weren't really all that close. Trubisky is quickly turning into Bortles 2.0. The Broncos might actually be a sneaky wild card contender. With Keenum,the offfense is decent. They've played a really tough schedule, and barely lost to the Rams and Chiefs. Detroit has a similar interesting resume, beating the Packers and Patriots easily. Of course, both teams lost badly to the Jets, who could end up being a super spoiler.


Tier VII - The "Fox May Get Their Wish" Trio

16.) Dallas Cowboys  (3-4  =  140-123)
15.) Philadelphia Eagles  (3-4  =  154-138)
14.) Seattle Seahawks  (3-3  =  143-117)

I have no idea what the Cowboys are doing, other than they are playing back the 2008 season, when a surprisingly slow start made them give up a 1st round pick for Roy Williams, who did nothing in Dallas. This is not a team that was one Amari Cooper away - even in a weak NFC East. Speaking of the NFC East, I have no idea what is going on with the Eagles. That Titans loss will crush them down the road. The talent is still there. They can be dominant, like the seven quarters between the Giants game and the 3rd quarter against Carolina. Carson Wentz looks OK. The defensive line is great. I have to think this turns around. For Seattle, I forgot they had three losses and not two. Their team is a testament to Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll's defensive coaching ability. The talent is not there, but those two are. If I'm FOX, I'm praying one of these three sneak their way in, and I think one will.


Tier VIII - The "CBS's Wishes Are Screwed" Trio

13.) Houston Texans  (4-3  =  155-144)
12.) Cincinnati Bengals  (4-3  =  184-203)
11.) Pittsburgh Steelers  (3-2-1  =  171-154)

Sadly for CBS, two of these three will likely get in, including potentially a third average, annoying 9-7 AFC South Winning Texans team in three years. Quick notes on them, it has been great watching a healthy JJ Watt and Clowney playing together. They are incredibly top heavy, but that might be enough. The Bengals got mauled, but every team will have a terrible game now and then. The offense has still done well since Bill Lazor took over last year. They need more from Michael Johnson and the other non-Atkins D-Lineman. The Steelers went on the bye and skyrocketed to first place. I still think there are serious issues with this team, particularly the Brown-Roethlisberger connection and the continued issue of that defense to cover anyone when not bringing pressure.


Tier IX - The " Boringly Competent" Trio

10.) Washington Redskins  (4-2  = 126-101)
9.) Green Bay Packers  (3-2-1  =  148-144)
8.) Baltimore Ravens  (4-3  =  176-101)

The Redskins are going to fly to the least fun 10-6 division title. Alex Smith is perfectly competent, that defense has good, solid players. Adrian Peterson has been a nice story. They will get blasted in the Wild Card round. The Packers have like four good players, but I am interested to see how Mike Pettine's defense adapts through the season. At the end, none of it will matter as they still have Rodgers. For the Ravens, that defense is amazing. They are on pace to give up 230 points, which would be the fewest since 2011, in a year that is going to smash the scoring record overall. I love watching John Brown. I just fear that their schedule is too tough that 10-6 may be their ceiling even if they deserve better.


Tier X - The "Less Boringly Competent" Trio

7.) Los Angeles Chargers  (5-2  =  195-163)
6.) Carolina Panthers  (4-2  =  142-131)
5.) Minnesota Vikings  (4-2-1  =  177-165)

The Chargers are 5-2, tied with New England for 2nd in the AFC, with the best offense aside from KC, and a defense that should get better with Bosa returning. They might be one of the scarier wild card teams since the Ravens and Steelers went 12-4 as 2nd place teams back-to-back years. The Panthers probably should be 5-1 if DJ Moore didn't fumble twice against Washington, with back-to-back road wins. Their schedule starts to get easier, and they just need to stay in striking distance of New Orleans. It is nice to see the defense playing two solid games in a row when Thomas Davis got back. The Vikings will end up having a 10-5-1 record with maybe the least explicable game of the year (that loss to Buffalo). I'm annoyed that their defense keeps giving up garbage time TDs to make them numbers look worse than they actually are.


Tier XI - The "Super Bowl No One Wants, But We'll Get" Duo

4.) New England Patriots  (5-2  =  214-179)
3.) New Orleans Saints  (5-1  =  204-163)

OK, some people may want it, and Brees vs. Brady would probably set ratings records, but let's move on. At some point, these guys will be gone, and the future will be in Mahomes's, Goff's and Wentz's hands. We should start moving to that period now. No one wants this, right? No one.


Tier XII - The "Super Bowl We All Deserve" Duo

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  (6-1  =  260-182)
1.) Los Angeles Rams  (7-0  =  235-128)

We all want this - and we will get it in Week 11 in Mexico City (Ram's home game). This would be an amazing Super Bowl. For as good as the Chiefs are on offense, the Rams aren't that much worse, even when seemingly sleepwalking through games. Their defensive line is starting to dominate - probably just took a while to fully adapt to Wade Phillips's system. Both teams are great. I can't wait to watch this in four weeks, and if this is the Super Bowl we get, it would be a fantastic, fantastic game. Of course, we won't get it, and get Brady vs. Brees.



Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games:

Byes: Atlanta Falcons (3-4), Dallas Cowboys (3-4), Tennessee Titans (3-4), Los Angeles Chargers (5-2)

14.) San Francisco 49ers (1-6)  @  Arizona Cardinals (1-6)  (4:25 - FOX)
13.) New England Patriots (5-2)  @  Buffalo Bills (2-5)  (MNF - ESPN)
12.) Indianapolis Colts (2-5)  @  Oakland Raiders (1-6)  (4:05 - CBS)

I call it "Why Watch" Sunday and Monday,


11.) Washington Redskins (4-2)  @  New York Giants (1-6)  (1:00 - FOX)
10.) New York Jets (3-4)  @  Chicago Bears (3-3)  (1:00 - CBS)
9.) Cleveland Browns (2-4-1)  @  Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

I call it "Seriously, Why Watch?" Sunday


8.) Miami Dolphins (4-3)  @  Houston Texans (4-3)  (TNF - FOX)
7.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3)  @  Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)  (1;00 - FOX)

I call it "Separating the bad 4-3 from the good 4-3" Thursday & Sunday,


6.) Philadelphia Eagles (3-4)  @  Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)  (9:30 - NFLN)
5.) SEattle Seahawks (3-3)  @  Detroit Lions (3-3)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "The losers are really in trouble" Sunday


4.) Denver Broncos (3-4)  @  Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)  (1:00 - CBS)
3.) Baltimore Ravens (4-3)  @  Carolina Panthers (4-2)  (1;00 - CBS)

I call it "The winners are in really good shape" Sunday,


2.) Green Bay Packers (3-2-1)  @  Los Angeles Rangers (7-0)  (4:25 - FOX)
1.) New Orleans Saints (5-1)  @  Minnesota Vikings  (4-2-1)  (SNF - NBC)

I call it "NFC Divisional Round Preview?" Sunday

An Astros Post-Mortem

My immediate thought when I realized it was pretty much over, that the Astros dream for a repeat was dead, and Boston was probably going to walk to a 4^th title in 15 years, was that now I remembered how cruel October could be. How rarely the best team wins.

That’s not totally fair. Boston is the better team. Even if some advanced metrics saw Houston’s 103-wins as more impressive than Boston’s 108-wins, the Red Sox were better, they were healthier, and they played better. But it is so close. It is so, so close.

The Astros actually hit better in the series, with a better OBP and equivalent slugging. The Red Sox, though, clustered 3-4 hits together in the same inning a few more times. The Astros got 1-2 hits in many innings, but never the big hit to break things open. The Red Sox scored a bunch of runs with two outs in an inning. The Astros hit a bunch of line drives with two outs in innings that found Boston’s gloves.

The Astros got unlucky on the Altuve fan interference call. The Red Sox got lucky when JBJ’s hit off the monster rolled on tarp for a few extra seconds allowing all three runners to score – the last of which was the difference in Game 2.

Boston did not get lucky, they were better. They are a great team, one that pounded every mistake, that got huge at-bats from the bottom of their lineup, that patiently extracted all the life out of the Astros record-setting pitching staff. But the Astros didn’t get lucky either.

The margins are so close. The same margins that made the Giants a team that won Three World Series in five years, the same margins that have the Dodgers potentially going 0-6 in World Series Titles despite winning the division six straight years.

It’s a nice bit of comforting irony that in a vacuum, the 2018 ALCS saw the Astros as chokers, losing all three games at home despite coming to Houston with the advantage, failing to score runs against David Price on short rest with their season on the line, giving up oodles of runs with what was the best pitching staff baseball has seen in a long time. Of course, it’s hard to call them chokers when those same players won the World Series the season before, including winning Game 7 on the road.

The ‘moneyball and fancy-stats don’t work’ arguments would be in full force today if not for that little fact, that this team won the World Series last year, beating a team about as good as the 2018 Red Sox in the World Series, beating them in Game 7 in their building. That team that was so clutch last year, coming back time-and-time again, couldn’t do anything this time around.

The memories of 2017 will never go away, a wild, wild ride that involved them playing some skittish baseball to beat New York, and then inspiring baseball to beat LA. I’ll relive the magic of Game 5 a million times. It won’t negate the empty feeling of 2018, where a dynasty that could have been was not. But it sure helps to know that at least one year the Astros did beat the odds.

Of course, it helps to know they’ll be very good in 2019. That Correa should be healthy for a full season, not a shell of himself for three months due to a gimpy back. That maybe Altuve won’t be hampered in the playoffs. That they have the best pitching prospect in baseball in Forrest Whitley who should be ready to contribute; same with Kyle Tucker on the other side. But of course, they aren’t without questions as well, be it the older players in the lineup that went from great in 2017, to average in 2018, to either worse-than-average or gone in 2019, to counting on the continuing brilliance of Verlander and the sustained excellence of Morton, to getting another great year from the bullpen. So many things could go wrong, but maybe they won’t.

One of the many reasons I love baseball is that because the playoffs are so random, the line between winning and losing is so small, that people don’t get all ‘The Ringz’ crazy about baseball. We normally don’t judge players purely on their postseason performance. We accept Mike Trout is the best player in baseball despite his team’s struggles even getting to the postseason.

But despite that, it still hurts to lose in the playoffs, to see 162-games of so much done away by so little. For baseball to run away and hide for the winter, cruelly going away when we need it most, when the nights get shorter and the air crisper. But of course, on the other end of that dark, cold, winter, is the promise of Spring in February, and pitchers and catchers reporting, and us getting to do this all over again.

Look, maybe I'm biased because my team is one of the four, my team that is going for back-to-back titles, something no one has done since the Yankees in 1998-2000. My team is also a 103-win juggernaut that is somehow favored against a 108-win juggernaut. But even if I took my Astros cap off, I would have to say that this is the most fun Final 4 baseball has had in a long, long time.

You have my team, the defending champs, the team that is the most talented in baseball, with the best underlying numbers in baseball, with a throwback in having starters that actually can dominate. A defending champion that got better the next year.

You have the Red Sox, who are Boston-enough to play the villain, but young and likable and good enough to be so much more. The last team to win this many games was the 2001 Mariners - the 116-win juggernaut that lost in the ALCS (a fate I selfishly hope will befall the Red Sox as well). They are not as good as their record (by pythagoreon wins, they are a 103 win team - the Astros, ironically, are a 109 win team). The Red Sox have a gumby at pitcher, a stud at right field, so many great young players, and Fenway, a perfect traditional foil to the madness that is Minute Maid Park.

But what really makes me love the Final 4 of 2018, is while two 103+ win behemoths battle it out in the AL, two great teams are in teh NL as well. Maybe they aren't as good (though 96 wins in baseball's best division is quite good for Milwaukee), maybe they aren't as dominant, but man are they fun.

The Dodgers were a 100+ win juggernaut last year, and while they aren't as good this year, and don't have their young stud Corey Seager at shorstop, they replaced him with a slightly-older-but-still-stud Manny Machado. They still have the best 'all-time' player playing in these playoffs in Clayton Kershaw, a man battling his own legacy of being so incredible in the regular season that being merely good in the playoffs is a big disappointment.

And of course, you have the Brewers, the best story of them all. They never bottomed out, deciding to rebuild on the fly, winning a surprising 87 games last year. When everyone else decided to sit pat this winter, the Brewers went on the attack, trading for NL MVP-to-be Christian Yelich and signing Lorenzo Cain. It all worked. They were great. The team is great. The stadium is great. The crowds are great. The Brewers might be the most fun atmosphere in baseball, taking over from their old NL Central pals the Astros from last year.

Aside from my normal anti-Boston feelings (I'm slowly starting to dislike the Red Sox after not really caring about them when the 'Stros were in the NL), I really don't care who wins. The Dodgers winning would be a great story, be it Kershaw finally getting a ring (always maintained every all time great - as Kershaw is - should win a title at least once), or that team finally winning after six straight division titles. The Brewers winning would be a better story, a title for a middle-market team in a world now run by Superteams. Coming into the year, people saw the Astros, Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Nationals, Cubs and Dodgers as Super Teams. In the end, the Nationals truly disappointed and the Cubs cratered late. It would be amazing for a team not among those seven winning a title.

And of course, it would be a great story for the Astros to win: fortifying their case as a dynasty (again, they would be the first team to go back-to-back since the 1998-2000 Yankees), giving more proof to the result of the 'Process' of their 2011-2013 tank, staking a claim that starters still matter in this bullpenning world, giving another title to that madhouse in Houston.

Whatever the result, this will be a great three weeks of baseball, from two fascinating, fun CSes, with a mixture of styles, home crowds, stadiums (two retractable roofs vs. two storied cathedrals of baseball) and players. It will be great, and a perfect culmination to what has already been a great baseball season in 2018.

The Nostalgia Diaries, Pt. 14: The 2013 NBA & NHL Seasons

From February 24th to June 7th of the year 2013 of our Lord, I was traveling from place to place, be it South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Australia, Japan or others. It was obviously an incredible trip, if one that lasted too long. To be honest, when I reached Japan in Mid-May, I was starting to feel a bit homesick. What got me out of that home-sickness, which happened in Australia in April as well, was the fact that the US playoffs had started, some small connection back to home.

I'll bring up my time in Japan the most for two reasons. First, becuase when I was there, it was the 2nd and 3rd round in the various playoffs, be it the Spurs six-game win over the Warriors, the Kings and Sharks seven-game battle (before their more memorable battle the next year), the culmination of a Blackhawks dynasty, or the seven-game slog that was Heat-v-Pacers, in the prime of the Pacers, a run, a generation ago when they could run David West and Roy Hibbert on the court at the same time and be effective.

Going back to the trip, I won't talk about the details - I did that for a 90-part diary that covered the 105 days of that trip - but instead talk about my ancillary feelings of being that far away from home for so long, with only sports and TV to connect me back to what I left behind. This was a world before Twitter (not technically, but even in 2013, it was nowhere as prevalent a service as it is now), a world before streaming and reddit and so many other things that make the world feel smaller. However, it was a world with WiFi, if anything WiFi was more avaiable to the public in Vietnam and Co in 2013, being in evrery restaurant and hostel. I torrented the shit out of my favorite shows - still being How I Met Your Mother, Happy Endings and the like.

To talk about Torrenting, it was on that trip I binged the first two seasons of Game of Thrones, catching up in time to watch the 3rd season as it ended when I returned home. This was a lifetime ago. That said, I think I watched The Wire three times over on that trip, mostly while it played in the background as I slept.

Sports was also a way to stay connected. I left on this trip three weeks to the day that the Ravens, under Joe Flacco's MVP-watch, won Super Bowl XLVII, a dramatic win over Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers. The first thing that happened on my trip was the 2013 March Madness, an interesting tournament that featured some great games, the rise of Wichita State, and Louisville's almost preordained title. I was in Penang, Malaysia, when Michigan somehow beat Kansas in the Sweet 16 in OT. I was in Bangalore when Louisville won the title, streaming on ESPN America (ironically, ESPN's international arm) at XX-am, overnight. \

Then, as I left for Australia on April 25th, it became the NHL and NBA playoffs that kept me going. The time difference actually worked perfectly, with these games happening in my morning, waking up to an American surprise. What was interesting was in Australia, the local restaurants and bars actually broadcasted the NHL playoffs. I distinctly remember watching a Wild-Blackhawks 2013 first round game on a bar TV while having brunch/breakfast in Cairns, Australia.

The 2013 NHL Playoffs were an intersting one, coming on the heels of a lockout shortened season. The Blackhawks were amazing. The Kings were the dominant defending champs. I remember listening to Marek vs. Wyshynski (RIP) in Japan previewing that titanic Western Conference Playoffs.

Of course, at the same time, was an interesting NBA playoffs, one so long ago that the Knicks were the #2 seed in the East, with Jason Kidd as a starting point guard. Yes, that happened this decade. I remember being in Japan, eating sushi, when I found out the Pacers beat the Knicks, a result that Zach Lowe had predicted for many weeks on his Lowe Post Podcast - at that time still uynder the Grantland Umbrella.
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Somehow, the Wifi was good enough to watch some of these games. I remember watching live on my computer LeBron hitting a walk-off game winner against the Pacers in Game 1. I remember watching Patrick Kane's hat-trick series-winning goal against the Kings. I remember so much, flighted memories among the many days upon days of touring lands far away.

The world may follow soccer, but no country exports their sports better than the US. On my trip, I grew a love for Aussie Rules Football, but when that ended, on Aussie TV, it showed basketball and hockey. In Japan, they showed basketball interspliced with MLB baseball. In India,, Sony Six, a channel that normally showed just cricket, stopped showing test matches every now and then to show NBA Playoffs, including the lalst year Kobe's team would be in the playoffs, a series Kobe missed and the Spurs won easily in four.

When I left on my trip, it was during the darkest period of the sports calendar, that period after NFL ends, where NBA/NHL/College-BBall is at its low point in the regular season, but before I knew it, the regualr seasons were ending and the playoffs beginning. I guess I do wish I could have just ignored them, and focused on the trip at hand, but if anything, being able to follow these events that I would be deep into had I been home, was what kept me sane.

I'm sure there are some people that may think "Why couldn't you just ignore the playoffs/the shows, and just escape?" and while that may sound great, it is still idyllic. At 21/22 years, there is a sense of loneliness that will set in when traveling the world, in Asia, thousands of miles from home, disconnected from friends, from family, from normalcy; sports gave that back to me, for however fleeting, be it the moment I checked ESPN in the morning, or listed to a podcast while taking the Jueno Train in Tokyo.

In the end, I got home the day Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the 2013 French Open in five dramatic sets, and the Spurs beat the Heat in Game 1 of the 2013 Finals, a series in which they would ultimately lose. It was a grand return to that normalcy, but I do wonder what would happen if I cut myself off cold turkey, if I returned 3.5 months later without having any clue what happened in the interim? In the end, I couldn't do that, because when you are lost amongst the Da Lat hills, or petting the Nara deer, sometimes sports is what tethers you back to home.

Day 17 – Hitting the Final Notes

I’ve planned this trip in some shape or fashion ever since my trip last year to Cape Town was ceremoniously cancelled before it started – losing out on the trip as I didn’t have requisite blank pages in my passport. South African Airways gave me a deal to keep the value of the ticket (with change fee) and re-use it within a year. In the end, this was a blessing in disguise, instead of an incredibly crunced 4-day vacation (6 when counting travel) in 2017, it became a two-week, three-weekend odyssey to all corners of Africa, with actually one more day in Cape Town than I would have had last year.

Given the time that was put into the trip, I was expecting to be somewhat sad for the impending end by the time I reached Cape Town, escalating towards being despondent by the end (today), dreading having to leave this paradise and going back to work. Nothing worse than a trip ending. But somehow, I don’t really feel that way. On the positive, happy end, it could be because I feel fully satisfied with this trip, or even maybe some maturity in a way where I more fully appreciate things in the moment instead of always racing past to their inevitable end. On the negative end, maybe it is because having to pay for yourself on vacation for two full weeks gets mentally expensive, even in countries where the current currency rates are favorable.

Whatever the reason, I woke up on this final day ready to go back home, but not before doing a few more lasts in Cape Town, whether it be the last walk to the Waterfront, the last look (with pictures) of Table Mountain, the last meandering walk through the Waterfront, the last Milk & Honey, the last meal (probably at City Grill or one of the more commercial Waterfront restaurants with un-blemished views of Cape Town). For each of the lasts, I’m mentally adding a ‘for now’ to each one. I will be back. Be it in two years, five years, or twenty years returning with kids & the like. Honestly, if Cape Town was not a 15-hour flight plus another 2-hour flight away, I would probably come back every year.

I woke up around 9am for the second straight day, a very adult way of spending a weekend. My day would basically consist of full meandering, hitting all spots I already did on this trip or in past, but playing the hits works some times.

First was breakfast at Vovo Telo, which is a great location with really nice, light food that doesn’t get too filling. Basking in the clear weather is always nice as well. Then, I took a walk down the pier to the end, getting increasingly better and better views of more of Cape Town behind it. The weather has been extremely hot for Cape Town standards the last few days, a bit of annoyance to me who prepared for it to be windy and pleasant if a bit chilly, but instead has been calm and at times overbearing. Going down the pier finally gave me some wind to work with, which was a nice welcome surprise.

Following one last stroll through the V&A Market, this time going to the fish market as well, and one last stroll through The Watershed to see if there were any nice coasters hiding in one of the stalls I may have overlooked. That then led to one final Milk & Honey stop at Mithcell’s, getting a table with a Table Mountain view, which honestly is one beautiful image with no diminishing returns.

Finally, was the last meal, this time at City Grill, a place I went to twice in 2013 (the second time after not getting my reservation at Miller’s Thumb), and once in 2016, I think for my last meal that time as well. The food is good, if a little commercial (aka no brilliant Homespun-esque plating), with nice African choices. A clean way to have one last meal here with some uniquely African foods.

These past two weeks simultaneously went really quickly and really slowly. It seemed like just yesterday I was wandering around Cairo having reached after a marathon series of flights. On the other hand, I feel so disconnected to work (timed it nicely where I was between projects), and to the goings-on in the US, being able to escape the sham that was the Kavanaugh affair, but also missing the start of the baseball playoffs.

One of my main hopes was that for the long haul flight back to New York, that South African Airways would update some of their movie selections. That sadly did not happen, though it did give me the opportunity to watch Erin Brockovich and Rocky for the first time (yes, not proud to admit either one of those facts). The flight was quite good for a capper to the trip, having a seat empty next to (actually had the whole row of four empty, but someone understandably took the outer seat on the other side. South African Airways’ food was good, the drinks were flowing regularly (just like the flight down to Joburg, there were sandwhiches and drinks available throughout), and all the while it kept me entertained enough to not remember that this incredible trip was ending.

In the end, this was a meticulously planned trip that started because of a terrible aborted trip. It was an outcome that resulted in seeing a ridiculous amount of ancient history, of floating down the river that served as a cradle of civilization, visited the place that may start to overtake Madrid as my number 1 favroite international city (probably need another trip to Madrid to test that out fully). Trips like these are rare; this alone was my longest tourism-based trip since my Round The World trip five years ago. I am lucky in many ways, to be able to go on a trip like this, to be in a job where I have the requisite leave, to have a love of travelling instilled in me years ago to make a trip like this appealing. And most of all, I’m lucky that my trip to Cape Town, a too-stuffed four day trip, was cancelled.

2018 Africa Trip: Day 16 - Cape Town

Day 16 – Completing the Checklist

I woke up (relatively) early, at 9:15, and was out of the hotel by 9:30, before my friend was awake, wanting to grab a coffee. Eventually, we met up at 10am to have breakfast at Ginja, the restaurant outside the Albert Hotel that has the pristine view of Table Mountain. There was little choice I was going to do anything else. The activity plan for the final full day of the trip was trying to maximize my time looking at or hiking on that beautiful mountain, the most unique feature of a uniquely brilliant city.

The trip up Table Mountain was the final key aspect of the trip from a tourism perspective, literally so for my friend who had to catch a flight to Frankfurt that night. There was some debate to do this on Wednesday, which was pushed for some reason I now forget, but luckily so, as Wednesday was the only day of our trip to have the cloud cover that so often cascades over Table Mountain – I think on my last trip in 2016 it happened every day. This time, the views of the mountain, and ultimately from the top of the mountain, would remain unobstructed.

However, there were a few things to complete first, be it meals, some token shopping, and just wandering around various outposts of the city, and for me the best sunset viewing spot I’ve ever been to in Signal Hill. The shopping was mainly done at the V&A Food Market, where I got a few craft beers (sadly, Milk & Honey is impossible to obtain in bottle form, no matter how much I prod their wait staff), and yet another honey, which is slowly becoming equal to my fiendishness of collective coasters. I don’t even really put honey on too many things, and I’m sure the ones I’ve bought in Poland, Vancouver, Salt Lake, etc., have probably been consumed mostly by people who aren’t me.

The next stop was The Watershed, which is a bit less attractive as a knick-knack and craft emporium this time than it was in 2016, mainly because of their lack of unique coasters. I almost left with nothing, but in the end gave in and got some wood coasters with carvings of the Big 5; basically this ‘collection’ has turned into an ‘addiction’ where the quality of the coasters I get have slipped precipitously.

Anyway, I did get a couple small things that will likely be shoved into some drawer, the only useful item I picked up is an apron with a nice African design – another piece to use in some future large kitchen that is decidedly multiple years away. Anyway, the shopping was never going to be a key aspect of the trip.

With the time we had, I coaxed my friend into having one last Milk & Honey (he is a fan as well) before we set-off for lunch and then Table Mountain. This will likely not be my last – I’ll try to squeeze one in tomorrow before I head to the airport (sad face).

Lunch was at Seabreeze, the last place we booked ahead of time. Seabreeze is a seafood join that is light, airy on the inside, another perfectly designed restaurant. My food tastes (along with my budget) has greatly increased since 2013 (my first time to Cape Town), and probably even significantly so since 2016, and I have to say I have been incredibly impressed by these restaurants. Of course, I have to admit it helps that the current exchange rate makes these places quite affordable as an American.

Seabreeze had another menu where it was hard to whittle down what I wanted. I got Hake Ceviche African Style as a starter (in the end, not really too much different than South American style, but still great), and then a strange named African fish (to be honest, forget the name) that was excellent, with its soft skin soaking up the asparagus puree underneath it. The meal was fairly filling, enough so that I forewent even a customary after meal coffee. Also, time was getting a bit tight with Table Mountain and a potential wait to ride the cable car ahead of us.

In the end, that wait never came; Table Mountain was far less crowded than I was expecting. It is more popular in the morning, but still for a weekend I was surprised that we didn’t have to wait at all for the Cable Car. The Cable Car itself is really fast, probably a three minute ride. What is nice is the floor of the cable car rotates so everyone gets a full 360 degree view of the mountain ahead and the city we are leaving behind.

It is hard to really describe the views from the top of Table Mountain. The area around the cable car station has about a dozen various lookouts and overhangs that all create incredible views, be it of Cape Town Central directly below, the Winelands further North, the other mountains and peaks leading southwards to Cape Point, or Camps Bay. What we wanted to do on this visit is the trail to Maclear’s Beacon, which sits at the highest point of Table Mountain, a 45-min trek through mostly rock from the main cable car area. This is a popular trail so there were constant people ahead to pave the way as the first half of it has few signs, trust is needed that the widest rocks are the next ones to go to.

The trail to Maclear’s Beacon is actually a bit underwhelming for the first half, but after it intersects with Platterklip Gorge Trail (the one main trail to hike up Table Mountain – I’ll pass) it opens up Southward and the rest of it includes incredible views all the way of the rocks southward to Cape Point, False Bay, some small towns, and on and on. The only negative point is you have to trek across some unmarks area to go from the Beacon to the cliff-side to get any view of Cape Town city, but the views of the bay to the other end more than make up for it.

The most incline at any point as a few small areas that go up 40 or so feet, but on the whole it is fairly flat. It doesn’t have the ridiculous beauty at times that the Pipe Track had, or the lush greenery of trail I took on Wednesday near Constantia Nek & Kirstencbosch. But instead, it has the airiness of being so high up. If you are going to go up Table Mountain, you may as well take the extra 90 minutes to trek across it.

Back on solid ground, we made our goodbye and I headed to the one hill in Cape Town that to me has a better return than Table Mountain, and this one is free. Signal Hill is the smallest of the four peaks in the city (Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, and a 4^th one that I can’t recall), but that gives it a great advantage: you get a view of the others. There is no better place to get panoramic views of Cape Town, the same you get on top of Table Mountain, but with this you get the advantage of having Table Mountain in them.

I came here in 2016 on a lark Googling good sunset spots or some shit, but it was amazing then and was amazing now. There’s a nice area facing West towards the sun-set where they have a large tarp laid out where tons of people and couples and groups were all taking in the sun-set, full BYOB style. This is a perfect sunset, and as the sun goes down, the magic of the views only increase. I had long planned to go to Signal Hill at least once on the trip, and it was just as good as I remembered.

For my dinner, I decided to head back to Miller’s Thumb. After having two prior trips where I wanted to go to it each time and missed out each time, I was ready to make up for past misses. The wait-staff were mostly the same (including my waiter), and the owner was there again, both pleased to see as rapid a return customer as possible, and curious as to why. When I told them my previous near-misses with the place, they were quite impressed about my clove of Cape Town and persistence.

The food was as good the second time around, and the decidedly more low-key environment than the Pot Luck Clubs or Janse & Co’s of the world adds to its overall charm.  I got calamari bravas (essentially whole calamari tubes cooked in a really nice bravas sauce with ginger, peppers, tomatoes and the like), and then Dorado (a South African fish) in a Moroccan preparation which was excellent, if a little bigger than I was expecting. For dessert, it was a perfectly cooked pecan pie with lemon ice cream (near sorbet) on top. Everything was excellent. There are many restaurants that will be mainstays of future Cape Town visits, but Mitchell’s Thumb will go to the top of that list.

After dinner, I headed back to the hotel for a quick R&R before heading out to Long Street for one last night. I initially planned to go to Shimmy Beach Bar, a restaurant by day open-air club by night, a place I went to on my 2013 trip, but while that was fun then, it was a younger, more typical clubby crowd. Long Street of course has typical clubs with their typical clubby crowds, but generally they have cooler more low-key spots.

It took me until post-dinner to realize this was my first real Saturday in Cape Town. In 2013, I left Saturday Morning, on an ill-fated flight to Bangkok and ultimately Vietnam, during which I fell very ill and barely held on to my faculties before throwing up violently on the flight to Ho Chi Minh. In 2016, I also left on Saturday afternoon, on a far less dramatic, but still annoying two-leg flight back to New York on Egyptair. This time, I decided to risk it all by flying back home reaching early Monday morning, so I got a full day on Saturday, and an opportunity to experience Saturday Night in Cape Town.

In the end, Cape Town on a Saturday isn’t too different than Cape town on a Friday. Both days were surprisingly less crowded than First Thursday, which apparently was not a surprise to a couple people I spoke to, as First Thursday generally gets so packed to tame down the following days. So in other words, I’m a monster for not taming down, but then again, they have next weekend in Cape Town; for me it may be another few years.

NFL 2018 - Week 6 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I – The Dregs of the League Quinto

32.) San Francisco 49ers  (1-4  =  118-146)

31.) Buffalo Bills  (2-3  =  63-118)

30.) Arizona Cardinals  (1-4  =  65-112)

29.) New York Giants  (1-4  =  104-128)

28.) Denver Broncos  (2-3  =  100-131)

I don’t know if Week 5 is the earliest to have all teams have at least one win, which is now true after Arizona beat San Francisco, but it was tough at this point of the season to make clear differentiation – which is supposed to be the case. These teams aren’t that far apart yet. Anyway, the 49ers are a decent team without a QB, which applies to most of the teams in this group (though in the Bills and Cardinals cases, maybe that changes as Rosen & Allen develop). The Giants are probably a few weeks away from really ruing their passed over chance to get a new QB. The Broncos have a QB who has been decent this year, and is not tied long term, which is nice, but the Broncos also are quickly losing the defense that made them so great previously. Giving up 323 yards rushing is just absurd.

Tier II – Maybe one of them can make a run Quarto

27.) Oakland Raiders  (1-4  =  107-149)

26.) Indianapolis Colts  (1-4  =  118-138)

25.) Cleveland Browns  (2-2-1  =  114-113)

24.) Atlanta Falcons  (1-4  =  118-146)

Look, these teams probably won’t make a run, but I wouldn’t be too shocked if one does – yes, including the Raiders an Colts, who at least have settled QBs who have played reasonably well. In David Carr’s case, it is more just not throwing interceptions as much, as all his other numbers have been fine. The Colts have let Luck throw more, but in reality just need more health from key guys, like a quick return from TY Hilton. The Browns could be 5-0, but they could also be 0-5, so 2-2-1 is perfect, and the team with Baker Mayfield should be competitive, but in what will likely be the NFL’s best division. The Falcons are a total shock. Obviously, the defense being so injured is a tough break; their offense has to score 28+ to win games. Matt Ryan has to be his MVP level to get them to 8-8. Even with the injuries, they have enough talent on defense to get better, especially if Vic Beasley, Jr. rediscovers his 2016 form.

Tier III – Consistently Frisky Trio

23.) New York Jets  (2-3  =  123-105)

22.) Dallas Cowboys  (2-3  =  83-96)

21.) Houston Texans  (2-3  =  115-124)

I don’t think any of these teams will make the playoffs, but they are all good enough to sneak in or at least spoil a few seasons. The Jets have a strange, purely un-Jets-like, boom or bust offense both running and passing, but their defense has been able to limit chunk plays on their end. Their competitiveness this season is shining more light on Todd Bowles’s clock management issues, sadly, as I still think he is a very good coach. The Cowboys also have good coaches, but now mostly only on defense, as their defense has been one of the better ones in the NFL, with guys like Van Der Esche and Jaylon Smith breaking out. If only the offense could show any creativity – the desolation of their OL has been tough to watch. The Texans have so much talent, but I really question both Bill O’Brien’s playcalling, and DesShaun Watson comfortability in his return from the ACL injury. What has been amazing to watch, though, is JJ Watt’s return from his own injury woes the last two years. He has been incredibly good so far, and having him and Clowney both healthy for the first time since 2016 early season is really exciting to watch.

Tier IV – Decent starts but can it last Trio

20.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (2-2  =  112-139)

19.) Detroit Lions  (2-3  =  125-137)

18.) Miami Dolphins  (3-2  =  99-117)

All three teams have been fairly good through five weeks. Of course, they’ve done so in opposite ways. The two Florida teams started 2-0 and 3-0 respectively, before flailing their way back to .500, especially brutal for Miami, who played two AFC leaders on the road, and lost 38-7 and then 27-17 after leading 17-0. The Dolphins are a classic team that will go 9-7 or 10-6 but go 1-6 against playoff teams. The Buccaneers are, to some degree, the reverse, having given the Saints their only loss, but then also the team with probably the single worst performance of the year. It will be interesting to see if Jamies can provide anything different, as the Fitzpatrick-led Bucs were the same as the Winston-led Bucs: high highs, and low lows. The Lions beat New England easily. They beat Green Bay easily. They probably should have beaten Dallas. They also then lost convincingly to the Jets and 49ers. I have no idea what resume that equates to. The offense has all weapons and is getting good OL play. The defense needs to step up, especially their DL.

Tier V – The Teams that will stay alive far too long Duo

17.) Washington Redskins  (2-2  =  83-87)

16.) Tennessee Titans  (3-2  =  87-86)

Even more so than the Dolphins, these are the two teams that to me seem most likely to go 10-6 without ever really impressing. The Redskins have two awful losses but also two good wins. The Titans have no good losses or wins – even the OT win over Philadelphia doesn’t seem as impressive. Both teams have QBs with clear ceilings in ability. Both defenses rely fully on their DL to create pressure, and if they are forced to blitz, their defenses quickly unravel. Again, they are good enough to sneak in, but no one really wants that.

Tier VI – The Is This The World We Created Quinto

15.) Seattle Seahawks  (2-3  =  116-114)

14.) Green Bay Packers  (2-2-1  =  115-114)

13.) Pittsburgh Steelers  (2-2-1  =  143-133)

12.) Philadelphia Eagles  (2-3  =  103-104)

11.) Minnesota Vikings  (2-2-1  =  113-131)

These five teams for me are interesting to group together. The Seahawks were a great team as recently as 2016. The Packers and Steelers both made it to their respective Conference Championship Games in 2016. The Eagles and Vikings played in the NFC Championship Game last year. All of these teams have some national cache. None have been that good. The Seahawks have no real impressive wins, but their defense has been surprisingly good even as the whole LOB has gone. The Steelers showed against Atlanta what peak Steelers can be, but at this point there is no real assurance that will show up every year. The Eagles are still slow-playing Carson Wentz, but they’ve had two close losses, and are probably deserving of 3-2 at this point, and luckily for them the NFC East is terrible. The Vikings results have all been explainable with one glaring exception: that ridiculous Bills game. Outside of that, tying at Lambeau and losing but playing well at the Rams are not bad results. What is disconcerting is their defensive flaws so far. Any of these teams can still make it. Some like the Eagles and Vikings are just half-game worse than their division leaders. But this is a brave new world where none of these previous playoff mainstays (or, with the Eagles, the team that set the world on fire last year) are locks to make it back.

Tier VII – Defense First in an Offense World Trio

10.) Jacksonville Jaguars  (3-2  =  87-86)

9.) Chicago Bears  (3-1  =  111-65)

8.) Baltimore Ravens  (3-2  =  132-77)

Defenses quietly dominated 2017, the lowest scoring and lowest-gained yardage season since the 2011 lockout. Then the Super Bowl happened, the game with the most combined yards of any game in the Super Bowl era, and that re-set the world. Ever since, offense has taken over, with this year going way above even the 2016 high. Then we get these three teams. All defense first. All with shaky QBs who have had moments (Bortles: the Pats win; Trubisky: 5 TDs in a half; Flacco: The wins this year), all with defenses that are good enough to maybe still compete. The Ravens still have the highest upside, and losing to the Browns in OT may not be that damning a result in 2018 as it would have been the last few years. The Bears are statistically a very good team, but watching Trubisky it is hard to really believe he can more often be closer to the 6-TD guy. With the Jags, I have no clue, other than maybe not having Fournette was not going to unlock some secret consistently competent Blake Bortles to appear.

Tier VIII – Still Chugging Along Trio

7.) Los Angeles Chargers  (3-2  =  137-130)

6.) Carolina Panthers  (3-1  =  104-91)

5.) New England Patriots  (3-2  =  133-108)

I was surprised to see the Chargers were 3-2 and not 2-3, I feel like mentally they lost one additional game, but overall they’ve steadied into the team we all thought they could be after the 0-2 start. The defense still really needs Joey Bosa back healthy at midseason, but for now the offense has picked up the pace. The Panthers are just humming along at 3-1, though the loss to the Falcons doesn’t look so great now. What is interesting is they are succeeding far more on offense, with their usually great defense being a bit shaky so far. I don’t know if that will last, but it would be nice for Short, Keuchly and Co, to have a kick-ass game again. With the Pats, they stay the Pats, though I think just as people were too quick to say they were dead after the 1-2 start, they may be too quick to say everything is back on line after a 2-0 run against two bad teams.

Tier IX – Somehow, Someway, 4-1 Duo

4.) Cincinnati Bengals  (4-1  =  153-130)

3.) New Orleans Saints  (4-1  =  180-140)

The Bengals 4-1 is more impressive than the Saints 4-1, is their only loss was to a team that is 3-1 (the Bucs are a crap 2-2). The Bengals have been good on both side of the ball, with Andy Dalton having a steady year, AJ Green being healthy, and the OL taking a step up after faltering the last couple seasons. For the Saints, that MNF game was a nostalgic reminder of how good they can be – especially at home, especially in primetime. The 2009-2013 Saints used to routinely do that type of thing at home in prime-time. I don’t know how sustainable that performance can be, mostly on the defensive side, but after that 2014-2016 Saints Era start (the 48 points allowed to Tampa) in Week 1, it has been good to see the real version get back.

Tier X – The Undefeateds Duo

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  (5-0  =  175-129)

1.) Los Angeles Rams  (5-0  =  173-98)

The two undefeated teams are also the two best teams. Of course, it should be noted the Chiefs were right here at 5-0 last year as well, then proceeded to go 1-6 before rescuing their season to slip into the playoffs. While it seems so far away the possibility that the same will happen this year, it should remain as a caution that overly scheme-based offenses can get figured out, even if it takes a while. This week is such a great test for them against New England. For the Rams, they keep chugging along, though the last two games are reminders that teams can play with them at times. No team was going to run of 16 straight no-doubt wins, but giving up 30+ points in back-to-back games is disconcerting. It is nice though having a clear best and clear second best through five games in each conference.

Looking Ahead to Next Week’s Games

Byes: Detroit Lions (2-3), New Orleans Saints (4-1)

15.) Indianapolis Colts (1-4)  @  New York Jets (2-3)  (1:00 – CBS)

14.) Arizona Cardinals (1-4)  @  Minnesota Vikings (2-2-1)  (1:00 – FOX)

13.) Los Angeles Rams (5-0)  @  Denver Broncos (2-3)  (4:05 – FOX)

12.) Buffalo Bills (2-3)  @  Houston Texans (2-3)  (1:00 – CBS)

11.) Seattle Seahawks (2-3)  @  Oakland Raiders (1-4)  (1:00 – FOX)

10.) Philadelphia Eagles (2-3)  @  New York Giants (1-4)  (TNF – FOX)

9.) San Francisco 49ers (1-4)  @  Green Bay Packers (2-2-1)  (MNF – ESPN)

8.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2)  @  Atlanta Falcons (1-4)  (1:00 – FOX)

7.) Baltimore Ravens (3-2)  @  Tennessee Titans (3-2)  (4:25 – FOX)

6.) Chicago Bears (3-1)  @  Miami Dolphins (3-2)  (1:00 – FOX)

5.) Carolina Panthers (3-1)  @  Washington Redskins (2-3)  (1:00 – FOX)

4.) Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2)  @  Dallas Cowboys (2-3)  (4:25 – CBS)

3.) Los Angeles Chargers (3-2)  @  Cleveland Browns (2-2-1)  (1:00 – CBS)

2.) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2-1)  @  Cincinnati Bengals (4-1)  (1:00 – CBS)

1.) Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)  @  New England Patriots (3-2)  (SNF – NBC)