Monday, August 19th 2002

Potential Sandwich Games, part II (AFC) Nothing is so satisfying when 'capping an NFL contest as to correctly predict the old ba-da bing, ba-da boom sandwich game for a team. Usually you end up backing some low-life marginal NFL squad in the clutches of some whoop-ass powerhouse team. On the surface it's one of those plays when you grimace as you make it and think "this could get ugly." Of course if assessed correctly as a letdown spot for the big 'un though, then they don't show up and your ragtag band of NFL imposters gets to be king for a day, frequently upending the favorite with an outright upset. The TwoMinuteWarning moles are I know working on some of the usual hardcore, stat-filled, number crunching research to "quantify motivation" as they say, but until that's released we'll have to make do with a couple of previous attempts at the theory: Look Ahead Teams Punishing Teams and the old SportsMaster Stan classic Schedule Letdowns Enough blathering! Time for the main dish.... TIM's OFFICIAL NFL 2002 'POTENTIAL SANDWICH GAMES' as confirmed by the NFL Sandwich Hedge Fund All of these are kind of loosey-goosey at this point, hence the 'potential' tag as it will undoubtedly turn out some teams are lousier than expected and others are much better Buffalo: as with most teams coming off a bad year, sandiwch games are tricky to predict this far out. Miami: it's a little too early in the season to be ideal, but the Fins could be vulnerable in week 6 at Kansas City. On the heels of a horrible defeat rematch with Indianapolis and then at home against the dreaded Jets, they travel to KC before a clash with reigning Super Bowl champ New England. New England: as usual, everyone will be gunning for the Super Bowl kings. Consequently letdowns may be few and far between since if they're not on their toes they will get pummeled. One spot of interest is week 12 at home with Minnesota following a matchup in Oakland that is sure to be nasty! After the Minnesota game they play on Thanksgiving four days later so may well be in recovery from the Raiders and at the same time be looking ahead to the short week. N.Y. Jets: No real clear cut danger spots that I see at this point. Baltimore: everyone seems down on the Ravens in 2002 but I give them more than a fighting chance of being a factor. Look for them to possibly come up for air after a tough stretch in week 9 at Atlanta. Following five straight AFC opponents, they get the token NFC game before launching into four more AFC foes. Cincinnati: surprisingly the game I look at closely is in week 5 at Indianapolis. Normally the Colts would figure to be a team the Bengalis would get up for, but week four is a horrible defeat rematch with Tampa, and week six is an always high profile date with the Steelers. Cleveland: the Browns waterloo may be in week 6 at Tampa Bay. After battling though games at Tennessee, at Pittsburgh, and home versus Baltimore (always supercharged for the Brownies who have never forgiven the Modell Ravens for leaving town), they travel to Tampa where they will likely be big underdogs, before coming home to tackle the newbie Texans. If Bucs are rolling on offense by then it could get ugly. Pittsburgh: after a spell where they will play four of five on the road and the home game will be a Monday Nigth extravaganza, they take on the humble Atlanta Falcons in week 10. Steelers will most likely be happy just to be home and not as focused as normal on a non-conference lowly opponent. Houston: every game will be an adventure for the expansionites, but following their first win (if they get one) will be a likely letdown spot. Indianapolis: the way the schedule lays out for the Colts it's hard to tell where they might be a little off. High expectations indeed for a team that was 6-10 the previous year, so if things unravel again there will be opportunities to go against them. Jacksonville: a very fragile team indeed, the season rests on Fred Taylor's health. If Taylor goes down (again) then the next week may be a downer. Tennessee: could be over-confident when hosting the Houston Texans in week 10. Post likely tough game at Indy, and pre-Pittsburgh bru-ha-ha followed by road trundle in Baltimore makes it a space in the schedule where the Zen need for inner calm feeling may be too strong. Denver: There most vulnerable week is week 9, between a game with New England and one hosting Oakland on Monday night. Problem is, in week nine the Broncos have a bye - what perfect timing. Kansas City: Chiefs likewise get the bye at just the right time, but vulnerbale game looms in week 15 at Denver. It's after the Vermeil reunion game against St. Louis and so post Rams may be tricky particularly if Chiefs are not having a good year overall. Oakland: of course every NFL fan knows the Raiders are still seething about what happened in the playoffs last season against New England. That makes the week 11 rematch with the Patriots likely to be diabolical in its agressiveness and emotional levels. Given it comes after games with San Francisco and an at Denver Monday night special, the Raiders will surely be spent once the New England is over. This would make the week 12 game at Arizona almost perfect as a falldown spot save for one thing: the Raiders had a letdown against the Cardinals in 2001 and lost! No doubt that the emotional angst will have taken its toll to my mind so I'd wager on the Cards nonetheless. San Diego: breaking news - Brees named as starter. Breaking news - Chargers season down the drain again. May be the right long term choice, but young QB's almost always seem to struggle. At least the first three weeks are easy (Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona), but as the losses mount thereafter it might get bad in San DIE-go. That's the scoop, we'll see how old Tim's "far out" picks do... tim@twominutewarning.com Return to TwoMinuteWarning.com Copyright © 2002 by TwoMinuteWarning.com, All Right Reserved