2-0 and 0-2 Mean Nothing!
By Rams Nation's Don Ackerman
In the NFC, the Bears are back and Carolina and New Orleans are in a shootout
in the new NFC South. Should be a wild and crazy in the new South, right? Well,
maybe. Then again, maybe not!
I thought it would be fun to look back just 1 year to see how 2-0 and 0-2 really
turn out. Let's flash back to 2001!
2-0 Means Nothing!
Last year, 9 teams were 2-0. Undefeated in the AFC were they Broncos, Chargers,
Colts, Dolphins, Bengals (yep!), and the Jaguars. In the NFC, the Rams, Packers,
and Saint won all their games.
So how'd it turn out? Well, the Dolphins continued to roll and ended up 11-5.
The rest of the AFC quickstarters lost their footing. Denver ended up 8-8, San
Diego went 5-11, and Indy, Cincinnati, and Jacksonville all ended up 6-10.
In the NFC, the clubs fared a bit better. St. Louis ended the season 14-2 and
represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. The Packers won 10 more games and ended
the season 12-4. The Saint ended up a stumbling 7-9.
The analysis? 2-0 means nothing. of 9 clubs, only 3 earned postseason berths.
2-0 was no indicator of success in the NFL and did nothing for a post-season
pass. So what about 0-2?
0-2 Means Nothing!
Most people know that the Patriots, who represented the AFC in the Super Bowl,
came back from 0-2 to win their division. But there was plenty of company in
the 0-2 department. The Bills, Cowboys, Lions, Chiefs, Vikings, Titans, Redskins,
and yes, even the Steelers started the 2001 season with 2 losses.
Two of those teams rose up to claim 2 of the 12 post-season berths. The Steelers
actually ended up with the best record in the AFC!
Two others rose to mediocrity as Tennessee ended the season 7-9 and Washington
evened out at 8-8. The other five fought for draft picks (Buffalo was 3-13,
Dallas 5-11, Detroit 2-14, Kansas City 6-10, and Minnesota 5-11.
The analysis? Parity breeds opportunity. You can start the
season 0-2 and still earn home field advantage or win the Super Bowl.
So look again at this year's 0-2 teams. Take a gander at the undefeated clubs.
Now throw out any precognitions you have, sit back, remember it's a long season,
and enjoy it all.
Ram on,
Don