Thread: Most surprising start through 5 weeks

San Francisco 49ers (4-0): When talking about which teams might have a chance to stop the Patriots, I don’t think anyone has ever brought them up. Well, I think its time that we should.

Seattle Seahawks (4-1): Russell Wilson is quietly become a far more complete QB that can stand in the pocket & deliver with far greater accuracy then he did in their SB years.

Buffalo Bills (4-1): Only loss so far was to the Patriots by just 6 points, that was with Josh Allen injured during the game.

Green Bay Packers (4-1): Aaron Rodgers getting more injury prone every season & not getting along with his HC, as well as them having a recent history of depending almost exclusively on their offense to the almost complete neglect of the defense, I wasn’t expecting them to be this good.

Indianapolis Colts (3-2): If the Colts fan sites are anything like ours, at least 10% of their fan base would’ve been wanting them to tank the entire season as soon as Luck retire in order to get the #1 pick of the draft. I didn’t consider them to be a legitimate play-off contender until the beat KC & realized that it moved them up to a winning record.

Cleveland Browns (2-3): When are people going to learn that convincing a QB that was taken with the #1 pick of the draft that he’s guaranteed success almost always leads to disaster. Yes, he had at best 3 games over a 5 game stretch last year (weeks 5, 8, & 9) in which he lived up to his lofty expectations. https://www.pro-football-reference.c...fBa00/gamelog/ Unfortunately for him, opposing DC studied his film & adapted to him, resulting in him going down hill the rest of the season. It was up to him to adapt to the league adapting to him if he wants to live up to those expectations once & for all, but QBs that are too full of themselves are notorious for not figuring that out. This is a concept that the media hype machine has never grasped as they continue to sell us that some collage QB stud is going to have a great NFL career just because of what they did in collage. They spent all offseason telling us how great the Browns are going to be this year because of him & the weapons that have been placed around him. Last week he started showing signs that he’s taking the 1st steps to turning into the next Ryan Leaf with the poor sportsmanship that he demonstrated during the post-game handshakes with a team that he talked trash about prior to the game.

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-4): Even though the only 1 of the big 3 that they still have around from 2 years ago is the old guy who’s had mounting injuries, I did expect them to at least be around .500. Even before Big Ben went down, they were already showing signs they were in trouble.

I'd probably say buffalo. None of the other ones are completely stunning really. Pitt being 1-4 would be stunning if Big Ben were healthy.

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

I'd probably say buffalo. None of the other ones are completely stunning really. Pitt being 1-4 would be stunning if Big Ben were healthy.

They're my 2nd choice. My 3rd would be the 49ers who I did figure for a play-off contender, but not the SB.

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

I'd probably say buffalo. None of the other ones are completely stunning really. Pitt being 1-4 would be stunning if Big Ben were healthy.

I think that with Andrew Luck retiring right before the season started, the fact that the Colts are 3-2 and just beat the Chiefs is the most surprising. Honestly, I'm not sure why the Bills beating the Jets (0-4), Giants (2-3), Bengals (0-5) and the Titans (2-3) is very surprising.

I see the Colts are getting a lot of votes but I'm not that stunned by their record. They had actually built a really good team around Luck and would likely be right up there with the Pats and Chiefs had he not retired, but I still didn't except them to suck. Plus Reich is a really good coach.

Actually, shit, you left off the most stunning one. It's the raiders being 3-2. I didn't see that coming at all. That's more surprising than anything on that list.

Originally Posted by MNPatsFan

I think that with Andrew Luck retiring right before the season started, the fact that the Colts are 3-2 and just beat the Chiefs is the most surprising. Honestly, I'm not sure why the Bills beating the Jets (0-4), Giants (2-3), Bengals (0-5) and the Titans (2-3) is very surprising.

They also only lost by 6 points in a game that Allen had to leave early due to a concussion. As far as the other 4 teams you've beat: Steelers (1-4), Dolphins (0-4), Jets (0-4), & Redskins (0-5).

Chargers at 2-3 goes against the grain of nearly every preseason prediction.

Us in Broncos Country knew better though...

Colts

I think a lot of people are overreacting to that Colts-Chiefs game. KC had no one healthy on offense and lost their best defensive player in that game.

I would have said Colts before the Chiefs game personally.

I don't know. I'm sorry.

Originally Posted by FanInAZ

They also only lost by 6 points in a game that Allen had to leave early due to a concussion. As far as the other 4 teams you've beat: Steelers (1-4), Dolphins (0-4), Jets (0-4), & Redskins (0-5).

I'm well aware that the Bills only lost by 6 points to the Patriots, but I think you are emphasizing Allen's departure too much. He left early in the 4th quarter and was undeniably playing horrible (13-28, 153 yards with 3 Interceptions). Regardless of whether Allen had remained in, the Bills offense was atrocious and extremely ineffective, while the Bills defense made the Patriots offense similarly ineffective. The Patriots offense, however, was able to capitalize on the Bills turnovers to score points. I have no idea why you discuss the remaining teams the Patriots have played because I'm not asserting or arguing that the Patriots 5-0 start was the "most surprising start". The Patriots have definitely played a number of very bad teams, but the Steelers record is misleading because the Patriots beat the Steelers when they were healthy and had Big Ben and all their players. I highly doubt the Steelers would be 1-4 if Big Ben was still healthy.

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

I think a lot of people are overreacting to that Colts-Chiefs game. KC had no one healthy on offense and lost their best defensive player in that game.

I think you are undervaluing the Colts-Chiefs game because the Colts were similarly missing a number of their starters including a starting receiver, both starting safeties, a starting LB and a starting DE/DL and then they lost Kemoko Turay during the game. Our differing opinions, however, are what making discussing football so enjoyable.

Originally Posted by MNPatsFan

I think you are undervaluing the Colts-Chiefs game because the Colts were similarly missing a number of their starters including a starting receiver, both starting safeties, a starting LB and a starting DE/DL and then they lost Kemoko Turay during the game. Our differing opinions, however, are what making discussing football so enjoyable.

In any case, I think the raiders being 3-2 is more surprising than any of these other teams. I thought they were going to be a dumpster fire, and they seem respectable.