Yearly Blunders

Every season begins with a Super Bowl prediction simply based upon trades and the first preseason game. As you may well know, no one's prediction is ever right as teams implode, certain players go nuts and one team from a small market comes out of nowhere and has everyone scratching their head. This is a tribute to them.

1)      The Kansas City Chiefs: If someone told me at the beginning of the season that the Kansas City Chiefs would not only be winning the AFC west, but that they would be a legitimate team, I would have laughed at them. On top of that, the Chiefs defense has been among the top secondaries. I'm still baffled.

2)      The Oakland Raiders: The Raiders are hated by almost everyone not in the Bay area simply because of their owner and the cannibals/barbarians/two-minutes-from-mob-action-at-any-time sort of fans. On top of that, their team is usually just awful. But the Raiders are winning this season and winning big, with Darren McFadden going crazy against the Broncos in week seven for a total of 196 yards on 18 touches and four touchdowns.

3)      Peyton Hillis: The Cleveland Browns will always be horrible. Its not an opinion, it's a fact or rather a law like if you throw something in the air, it will come back down. However, Cleveland managed to get one of the best offseason trades of the year with Peyton Hillis bolstering their ranks. As of the writing of this article he has been ranked the fourth overall running back in the league by the espn.com fantasy football department. What does that mean? If you combine total yards ran (10 yards is a point), received (same number), and touchdowns (6 points a touchdown receiving or rushing) he has put up the fourth most points for running backs in the entire league. Want an even better story about this guy? Hillis was traded for none other than pretty boy Brady Quinn in the offseason. In case you forgot about Brady Quinn, he was supposed to be Cleveland's messiah at QB, but has failed to do much other than collect a paycheck in his past 3 seasons. He currently sits third on the depth chart in Denver behind Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow.

4)      The Vikings: Somehow people seemed to think that the Vikings were going to win NFC North before the season started. I was wondering if they were going to be in one piece before then. Favre is old, Adrian Peterson's ankles are made of chalk, Sydney Rice has broken ribs, Percy Harvin has migraines, etc. The team also signed Brad Childress to a lengthy and high paying extension before the last playoff game last season, in which they lost. Since then, it's been a downward spiral with every person in the Midwest, outside of Minnesota, clapping their hands in excitement. Plus they made the worst trading decision of the season, which is number five.

5)      Randy Moss: At 33 years old, most receivers' careers have been over for a while, but Moss is still one of the best, strongest and, according to Tom Brady, one of the most intelligent receivers out there. Brady said that playing with Moss is like having a second quarterback on the field. However, Moss burnt out his welcome in New England and wound up in Minnesota for a third round pick. He claimed there would be a homecoming, we wondered where he would be when the season ended and we both were wrong. After four games, Moss was cut for flipping out at a catered meal for the Vikings and generally doing what Moss does. He was then picked up by the Titans on waivers. Expect to see a retirement soon by force, not choice.

Those five things have baffled me the most about the NFL this season. Other things have caught my eyes and ears, but I can't fit everything here. If you have an idea as to something that should be covered or would like to offer some rebuttal, praise, etc, email me at alkalinezachmo@yahoo.com