Last Place Update - December 24

Merry Christmas everybody! It appears the 4-10 San Diego Chargers wanted something other than the beer in the Cellar when they beat the 5-9 Miami Dolphins. Henceforth (at least this week), this week's Kings of the Cellar are the 3-11 Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns. Why? As the great John Blutarski once said, "Why not?" The Titans have only one division and home win and Cleveland is...well,...just Cleveland.

Move over Dirty Birds. You're out as this week's honorable mention. That distinction now goes to the 6-8 Indianapolis Colts. Why? Because they're sporting a three game losing streak after sporting a three game winning streak after sporting a three game losing streak, while sporting...well, you get the picture. What's worse, they scored over 30 points only once this season and that was in week 3. This week, Indy visits the Miami Dolphins. Will this begin another win streak?

Next losses...

Tennessee hosts the division rival 7-7 Houston Texans. The Titans lead the series 15-12, but are 5-10 against Houston since 2008. Indy hasn't swept a season series against the Titans since 2007 and it won't happen this year either. They first met in 2002, when the Titans won 17-10. They never played against each other in the postseason, but did go to overtime twice. That series is tied 1-1. The last OT have happened in 2013 when the Texans won 30-24. There is only one shutout in the series. In 2010, Tennessee got blanked 20-0.

Cleveland will invade Arrowhead Stadium to take on the 9-5 Kansas City Chiefs. The series is tied 11-11-2. They first met after the NFL/AFL merger in 1971, when Len Dawson and the Chiefs won 13-7. They never met in the postseason, but went to overtime twice. The Chiefs won the last one in 2006, 31-28, but their first overtime game ended in a 10-10 tie in 1989, which was their last tie. Again, there is only one shutout in the series, After the 1989 tie, Kansas City spanked Cleveland in 1990, 34-0.

Here are a few historical scores for teams playing each other this week, on December 24,

2006  Carolina 10 - Atlanta 3
2006  Baltimore 31 - Pittsburgh 7
2006  Denver 24 - Cincinnati 23

On a different note, my ebook, Rickshaw, New Mexico will be free for the Kindle through Christmas weekend. If you haven't already, click the link, download your copy, and tell a friend.

Now to the burning questions of the week.

Will Tennessee wrest control of the Cellar from Cleveland? Will Cleveland win another game? Will Indy break the streaks of 3 and hold on to the honorable mention?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - October 8

As one regular season ends, another gets into full swing. It's time to see who gets the beer in the cellar for the 2015 NFL season, so let's have some fun.

By default, today's Kings of the Cellar are the 0-4 Detroit Lions. They are the sole remaining winless team, but should be 1-3 with the team they lost to, the now 2-2 Seattle Seahawks. However, that uncalled penalty means nothing today. There are 11 teams at 1-3, so no runners-up today. The Lions are sporting a six game losing streak dating back to December 28.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 1-3 San Francisco 49ers and 1-3 Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams won on opening day and haven't won since. The Niners are 2-7 since November 27 and the Chiefs are 3-7 since November 20. Another mention goes to my 1-3 New Orleans Saints, because their sole win came against a Cowboys team without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. A game New Orleans should have easily won, it took a blown coverage in overtime for my Saints to get their first win of the season. New Orleans is 4-8 since November 9 and 1-6 at home since October 26.

Tonight, the 1-3 Houston Texans host the 2-2 Indianapolis Colts. Indy leads the series 22-4 and have won the last five games against the Texans. Houston hasn't beaten the Colts since 2012. They first met in 2002, then the Colts rolled 23-3. There are no ties in the series nor have the two teams met in the postseason. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

Next Loss...

The former Portsmouth Spartans host the former Chicago Cardinals on Sunday. The now Detroit Lions lead the series 31-27-5, but the once former Phoenix Cardinals won the last six meetings. They first met in 1930, a game that ended in a 0-0 tie between Chicago and Portsmouth. Their lone overtime game happened in 2002, when now Arizona won 23-20. They never met in the postseason. The last time the Lions shut out the Cardinals was when Detroit blanked the then St. Louis Cardinals 20-0 in 1969. The last time the Cardinals shut out the Lions was in 1942, when the Chicago Cardinals won 7-0.

Will Detroit find more controversial ways to lose? Will one of the 1-3 teams lay a huge egg this weekend? Will one of the undefeated teams post a loss?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Some Super Bowl Series Trivia

Welcome to Super Bowl Week and the beginning of Mardi Gras season in the Big Easy. Here's the trivia with a little lagniappe.

Baltimore vs San Francisco: By now, you've heard practically everything about this series from the sports pundits of TV and radio. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly a storied rivalry, but one could begin this week. Baltimore leads the series 3-1, winning the last three games. San Franciso's only win over the Ravens came in Baltimore's inaugural season of 1996. Elvis Grbac and the Niners beat Vinny Testaverde and Eric Zeier of the Ravens 38-20. Ray Lewis is the only player from that game still in the league. This is also the highest scoring game in the series. Neither team has ever shut out the other, nor have they ever gone to overtime.

The Harbaugh Bowl: Older brother, John, leads the Harbaugh series 1-0, winning the brothers' only meeting in 2011, 16-6. Although John never played in the NFL, Jim did. He was drafted in 1987 by the Chicago Bears and played for 14 seasons. In the 1995 AFC Championship game, Jim was one dropped pass in the end zone away from beating the Pittsburgh Steelers and appearing in Super Bowl XXX to face the Dallas Cowboys. Jim wore the number 4, his number at Michigan, for most of his career. He wore 14 in his rookie year and 12 his first year with the Colts. Kicker Dean Biasucci wore 4 in 1994.  Jim even played for the Ravens in 1998. He finished his career as a player in San Diego from 1999-2000. After the 2000 season, Jim retired and the Chargers drafted a quarterback who ended up winning a Super Bowl with another team. His name: Drew Brees.

AFC vs NFC (The New Orleans Super Bowl Edition): This is the 10th Super Bowl held in the Crescent City. The NFC teams lead the series in New Orleans 5-4, but the AFC team won the last meeting there. In an exciting game between the New England Patriots and the defending champion St. Louis Rams, they were tied 17-17 inside the last two minutes. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, in for an injured Drew Bledsoe from earlier in the playoffs, drove the team down the field. Kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48 yard field goal to win Super Bowl XXXVI, 20-17. The first one in New Orleans, was Super Bowl IV, at Tulane Stadium. The Kansas City Chiefs dominated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7. The biggest New Orleans Super Bowl blowout happened in Super Bowl XXIII, when the San Francisco 49ers put on an offensive clinic and nailed the Denver Broncos 55-10. This was also the highest scoring Super Bowl in New Orleans. New England made the most Super Bowl appearances in New Orleans with three (XX, XXXI, and XXXVI) and are 1-2 there. There have been no shutouts, nor has the game ever gone to overtime.

Other Stuff...

So who will win? According to the computer models, San Francisco will win. However, I bet those same computer models would have picked the Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III, the Vikings to win Super Bowl IX, the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl XXV, the Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI, and the Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV. But as they say, that's why they play the game.

And who's my pick? By a sliver of a margin, I pick San Francisco. Both teams' defenses are among the best, but the team who runs the ball better will win.

If you're visiting New Orleans, catch a parade or two. There are lots of good parades in the Greater New Orleans area. If you're in Metairie on Saturday night, I'll be marching in the Krewe of Caesar with the Echoes of New Orleans Drum & Bugle Corps.

Here's some lagniappe. In fact, there are two. The first Harbaugh Bowl was a bit of a snoozer, so here's some old highlights of Jim Harbaugh as a player. The first is a YouTube video of his final 1995 AFC Championship drive with the Colts against the Steelers. The second is also a YouTube video from when he played at Michigan. Keep an eye out for other future NFL players, such as Jamie Morris (#23) and Jumbo Elliott (#72) for Michigan, and Chris Spielman (#36) and Cris Carter (#2) for Ohio State. I claim no rights of ownership to either of these videos.

Indianapolis vs Pittsburgh - Final Drive

Michigan vs Ohio State - 1986

Have a great day!!

Some NFL Series Trivia - Playoffs

Welcome to the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Let's get started.

Cincinnati vs Houston: This is a rematch from last year's Wild Card round, when Houston easily disposed the Bengals 31-10. This will be their second ever postseason meeting. The Texans lead the series 4-3. Cincy won the first three meetings and Houston won the rest, starting in 2008. The Texans lead the series at home 2-1, winning that first ever playoff game last year. They never went to overtime nor has either team ever shut out the other.

Minnesota vs Green Bay: This is a rematch from last week. Green Bay leads the series 54-49-1 and is 10-4 against the Vikings since 2006. However, Minnesota broke the Packers' five game win streak against them last week, earning them a spot here. Green Bay leads the series at home 29-23-1, going 11-4 versus the Vikings at Lambeau Field since 1999 and winning the last three meetings there. As stated last week, they met in the playoffs once before, in the Wild Card round in 2005. The Vikings won that game 31-17. So this will be their second ever postseason meeting. They went to overtime six times, with Minnesota leading that series 4-1-1. The last time Green Bay shut out Minnesota was 34-0 in 2007. The last time Minnesota shut out Green Bay was 3-0 in 1971. Their only tie was 10-10 in 1978, their first overtime game in the series.

Indianapolis vs Baltimore: This a game of former and current teams from Baltimore. Indianapolis leads the series 9-3, going 8-1 against the Ravens since 2002. However, Baltimore won their last meeting in 2011. The Ravens trail the series at home 3-4 and is 1-4 against the Colts in Baltimore since 2005. They met twice in the playoffs, both times in the AFC Divisional round. The winner of those games went on to the Super Bowl. Indy won both games. In 2007, the Colts won 15-6 and went on to win Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears 29-17. In 2010, Indy beat the Ravens 20-3 and went on to lose Super Bowl XLIV against the New Orleans Saints 31-17. They never went to overtime nor has either team ever shut out the other.

Seattle vs Washington: The Seahawks are playing in Washington again...DC that is, for the first time since 2005. Washington leads the series 11-6 and is 6-2 against the Seahawks since 1998. The Redskins are 5-3 at home against Seattle, winning their last three meetings in DC. They met twice in the playoffs and the Seahawks lead the postseason series 2-0. They met in the NFC Divisional round in 2006. Seattle won that game 20-10 and went on to lose Super Bowl XL to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-10. They met again in the Wild Card round in 2008, with the Seahawks winning 35-14. They went to overtime once, in 2005. Washington won that game 20-17. The last time Washington shut out Seattle as 29-0 in 1989. The last time Seattle shut out Washington was 14-0 in 1980.

Other Thoughts...

There are no historical scores today, because none of these teams ever faced each other on this day.

Once again, the NBA Last Place Update is racking up a lot of views. And again, it has more views than the previous two entries combined. Who will make a run at the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers' record of futility?

My book of short stories, The Acts of 1, is on a free promotion today and tomorrow only for the Kindle. The ebook will be available for the Nook sometime next week. In one of the stories not mentioned in the blurb, a drama professor shows his class a silent movie once considered lost. There appears to be more to this movie than meets the eye. If you want to know what that is, click the link below and order your copy. Hope you enjoy the ebook.

The Acts of 1 - A Collection of Short Stories

Have a great day!!

Last Place Update - Week 17

Welcome to the final edition of the 2012 NFL Last Place Update.

   Congratulations 2-14 Kansas City Chiefs, by losing 38-3 to the Denver Broncos, you are the 2012 Kings of the Cellar Champions and new owners of the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. The Chiefs will get a new head coach next year and could put themselves in a position to win as the Colts did this season. The 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars put up a good fight by getting dominated by the Tennessee Titans, 38-20, but it wasn't enough. They get the second pick in the draft. The defending champ Indianapolis Colts went a very respectable 11-5 and earned a berth in the playoffs.

   The real competition has been for the honorable mention. For a while, it was a broken record, with the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles getting the mention for several weeks. Even Tampa Bay made it. However, none of these teams earned the nod. If the mention was only based on losses or straight losses, the 4-12 Detroit Lions would get the final nod...but it isn't. All of these teams were beaten by one unit on one team and they also earned multiple mentions. This year's Honorable Mention goes to the New Orleans Saints Defense, for allowing more yards than other defense in the history of the NFL. While giving up 530 yards to the Carolina Panthers, the Saints D allowed a season total of 7,074 total yards, eclipsing the 1981 Baltimore Colts defense, who gave up 6,793 yards. That's an average of 442 yards per game. The Saints' high powered offense only gained 6,574 yards.

Other thoughts...

   As I do with each conclusion of the final Last Place Update of the season, the updates are a tongue-in-cheek look at the worst teams in whatever professional sport is featured. However it's important to remember that only a tiny percent of our population is even good enough to play for a professional sports team. It doesn't matter if that team wins it all or dwells in the cellar. It's important to remember and appreciate that it takes a special kind of athlete to earn the privilege to play for a professional sports team, whether it's for only a season or a long, Hall of Fame career.

   I wrote the NBA Last Place Update last week on a whim and was surprised by the number of views. There were more views for that entry than the previous two blog entries combined. After tomorrow's entry, if that trend continues, there will be weekly Last Place Updates for the NBA season.

   As much as I enjoy writing these entries, I need to focus on finishing the final draft of my upcoming novel and novella. The first draft of my second novel needs to be finished as well, hopefully before baseball season starts. So outside of the possible updates, there will be fewer posts for now. However, I may continue the series trivia posts for the NFL playoffs.

   Hats off to the NFL players and coaches for another great season!!

   Thank you, Reader, for taking the time to read these entries!!!

   Hope you all have a Happy New Year!!!

Last Place Update - Week 15

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. We again begin on a somber note. Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre.

   Now to the update...

   We again have a tie for this week's Kings of the Cellar. The 2-12 Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars are in a dead heat to see who gets the first pick in the 2013 draft. If either team loses this week, they will eliminate 4-10 Oakland, Detroit, and Philadelphia from contention. Both of Kansas City's wins are against NFC South teams and all they have left are AFC teams, including a divisional game at Denver. Jacksonville's two wins are against divisional opponents, including Tennessee, who they play in Nashville next week.

   This week's honorable mention goes to...what do you mean, not Arizona? That's right, no broken record this week. The Cardinals finally broke their nine game losing streak against the team that is this week's honorable mention, the 4-10 Detroit Lions. Detroit has a six game losing streak, now the longest active losing streak and have been beaten by a touchdown or more in their last three games. The Lions host the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. This could be an upset special if Detroit can catch the Falcons after a big win, like Atlanta caught the New York Giants after a big win.

Next Loss...

   Jacksonville hosts the New England Patriots, who are coming off a tough loss against the 49ers. Upset Special? Yeah, right. Although two of New England's four losses came on the road, they were also to winning teams. Jacksonville is 0-3 against the AFC East, losing all three games by at least a touchdown. The Jaguars will get spanked in this game and eliminate the Raiders, Lions, and Eagles from Kings of the Cellar contention.

   Kansas City hosts the defending Kings of the Cellar champion Indianapolis Colts. The Colts were eliminated from a repeat weeks ago, so does this mean this is an Upset Special? Maybe. The Chiefs won their last home game against the Carolina Panthers, but Indy is a much better team. The Colts are 3-4 on the road, but all three of those wins came against losing teams. Again, is this an Upset Special? Maybe, but probably not. Kansas City hasn't shown they can score a lot of points, so unless their offense shows up, this will be an easy Chiefs loss.

Here are some scores for teams playing each other this week, December 18:

1921  Chicago Cardinals 0 - Chicago Staleys 0
1960  Philadelphia 38 - Washington 28
1960  Los Angeles Chargers 50 - New York Titans 43
1966  Philadelphia 37 - Washington 28
1994  San Diego 21 - New York Jets 6
2000  Tampa Bay 38 - St. Louis 35
2011  Miami 30 - Buffalo 23

Last Place Update

January 2, 2012 – Happy New Year and welcome to the final Last Place Update of the 2011 NFL Season.

After a week off, the 2-14 Indianapolis Colts have secured their title as the NFL’s 2011 Kings of the Cellar.  They have earned that coveted first pick in the 2012 draft and an interesting choice.  If they draft a quarterback, do they pick Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, if he enters the draft?  With Bill and Chris Polian out of the picture, who knows?  The last time the Colts had the first pick in the draft was in 1998, when they picked Peyton Manning.  However, Luck is no Manning.

This year’s first honorable mention goes to the 2-14 St. Louis Rams, obviously for their record, but also for failing to play spoiler when they had the chance this week.  Then management fired head coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Bill Devaney.  St. Louis is in a more advantageous position than Indy, since they had three players stand out; RB Steven Jackson, DE Chris Long, and LB James Laurinaitis.  Plus they’ll have their injured standouts back as well.  If the Rams’ management chooses well, they may be off the Last Place Update radar for 2012.

This year’s second honorable mention goes, not to the 3-13 Minnesota Vikings, but to the 4-12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Although Minnesota has the worst record of the two, the Bucs sport a ten game losing streak.  That and Raheem Morris has been fired.  Unless he lost the respect of his team, Tampa Bay should not have fired Morris.  He went young with the team when he took over and this was a year of growing pains.  As with the Rams, whoever takes over as head coach has a chance to make the Bucs a winner in 2012.

Thank you for taking the time to read the updates and this blog.  May 2012 be the best year yet.

Last Place Update

December 27, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update.  The 2-13 Indianapolis Colts’ two game lead is gone.  They went off on a two game winning streak and are now tied with the St. Louis Rams.  And for the first time this season, the Colts are no longer Kings of the Cellar.  That honor now goes to the Rams for getting shut out by the Pittsburgh Steelers (minus Ben Roethlisberger…Charlie Batch was the Steeler QB) 17-0.  The last time Pittsburgh shut out the Rams was in 1981, 24-0.

The Colts beat the Houston Texans 18-16 and will not have a honorable mention this week.  Congrats on two straight wins.  And congrats to the Minnesota Vikings for pulling off the upset special over the Washington Redskins.  You too, will not have an honorable mention.

This week’s first honorable mention goes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  True, there are teams with fewer wins, but nobody has a longer losing streak, which is now at nine straight.  It’s one thing to lose close games to good teams, but the Bucs got spanked by a losing team, the 4-11 Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Bucs even got swept and dominated by the 6-9 Carolina Panthers.

This week’s second honorable mention barely goes to the Cleveland Browns, who just edged the Chicago Bears for the honor.  Cleveland lost five straight and ten out of their last twelve, but the Browns have not been blown out during this stretch.  However, their wins were against opponents with losing records.  Even Tampa Bay beat two playoff teams.

Before we go to the next loss, I want to make a couple of comments.

First, congrats to Drew Brees for breaking Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record while leading the New Orleans Saints to a dominating win over the Atlanta Falcons.  He did it in fifteen games versus Marino’s sixteen games.  The only downside is if they have to play again in the playoffs.  Not only is it hard to beat the same team three times in a season, but some of the Atlanta players didn’t like the drive for the record and are itching for a rematch.  Here's the link to WWL Radio’s Jim Henderson’s call on the record-breaking play.

Jim Henderson's Call When Brees Passed Marino

Second, congrats to the Detroit Lions for making the playoffs for the first time since 1999, when Barry Sanders ran the ball all over the place.  And who was one of their quarterbacks?  Current Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch.  He and kicker Jason Hanson are the only two players from the 1999 team who are still playing in the NFL and Hanson is still with the Lions.

Next Loss

St. Louis hosts their divisional rival of over 60 years, the San Francisco 49ers.  Upset Special?  Only if the Rams play the Niners like they played the Saints.  Although San Francisco struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone, St. Louis doesn’t have the offensive firepower without Sam Bradford.  Now if Bradford is healthy enough to play, then this will be an upset special.  If he isn’t, then this will be an easy Niners win, who will clinch the #2 spot in the playoffs

Indy goes to Jacksonville to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Upset special?  Why not?  If the Colts play like they did the last two weeks, they should win their first road game.  Indy will finish the season on a positive note with another upset win.

Minnesota takes on their divisional rival for over 50 years, the Chicago Bears, at home.  Could this be a third upset special?  Not this time, even at home.  The Vikings will put up a good fight, but Chicago should end the season with a win.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 27,

1987 – San Francisco 48 – Los Angeles Rams 0

1992 – Kansas City 42 – Denver 20

1992 – Pittsburgh 23 – Cleveland 13

1998 – San Francisco 38 – St. Louis 19

1999 – New York Jets 38 – Miami 31

2003 – Philadelphia 31 – Dallas 7

2003 – New England 31 – Buffalo 0

Last Place Update

December 20, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update.  There are no longer any winless or undefeated teams.  As you already know, the Green Bay Packers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and the 1-13 Indianapolis Colts got their first win against the Tennessee Titans.  Hats off to the Colts for getting into the win column, but they are still Kings of the Cellar.  Indy leads the 2-12 St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings by a game.

This week’s honorable mention goes to the Vikings.  They got spanked by the New Orleans Saints 42-20.  That was the most the Saints ever scored on them and New Orleans kept “Flap Jacket” Jared Allen off Drew Brees.  However, E.J. Henderson put in a respectable eleven tackles, nine of them solo tackles.

The second honorable mention goes to 4-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost to the Dallas Cowboys 31-15 on Thursday.  The Bucs didn’t turn the ball over like they did last week.  They were simply dominated by the Cowboys in the loss.  Their losing streak is now a league leading eight games.  The second longest active losing streak belongs to the Buffalo Bills at seven games.  Buffalo is on the Update’s radar.

Next Loss

Indy hosts the Houston Texans on Thursday.  Can this be two upsets in a row?  Maybe, depending on how the Colts play.  But Houston is coming off a loss to the Carolina Panthers and will probably take that loss out on the Colts.  Sorry, no upset special here.  The Texans will enjoy their first ever season sweep of the Colts.

The Rams invade Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, fresh off their Monday night loss to the San Francisco 49ers.  Could this be an upset special with a gimpy Ben Roethlisberger?  Nah, the Steelers have too much depth and Kellen Clemens isn’t Sam Bradford.  Pittsburgh swept the season series with the same Cincinnati Bengals, who beat the Rams last week in St. Louis.  Steven Jackson and Chris Long could make the game interesting, but they’re not enough to overcome a superior Steelers team.

Minnesota goes to Fed Ex Field play the Washington Redskins.  This is my Upset Special.  Yes, the Vikings need Adrian Peterson’s ankle to hold up, but Allen, Henderson, and the rest of the defensive front seven should make the Redskins try to win on Rex Grossman’s arm and although he’s not bad, he is no Drew Brees.  Unless the Vikings collapse, the game should be close, with Minnesota pulling off the upset. 

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 20,

1975 – Los Angeles Rams 10 – Pittsburgh 3

1998 – Dallas 13 – Philadelphia 9

2004 – Miami 29 – New England 28

2007 – Pittsburgh 41 – St. Louis 24

Last Place Update

December 13, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update.  Once again, the 0-13 Indianapolis Colts maintain their two game lead as Kings of the Cellar.  They were easy pickings for the Baltimore Ravens, losing 24-10.  Their magic number is now two.  Two more losses guarantee the Colts the first pick in the 2012 draft.

This week’s first honorable mention goes to the 2-11 St. Louis Rams.  They went into Seattle and laid an egg, losing 30-13.  This is their fourth straight loss with no relief in sight.  Their last three games are against teams with a winning record.

The second honorable mention goes to the 4-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who can’t seem to win, even when they’re supposed to.  This is a game they should have won, but instead were blown out 41-14.  You can’t have seven turnovers and win.  Just ask the 1977 Denver Broncos.  They had eight turnovers while losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10 in Super Bowl XII.

Next Loss

Indy hosts the Tennessee Titans, fresh off their loss to the New Orleans Saints.  The Colts lost at Tennessee 27-10, but the Titans have not beaten a team with a winning record since Week 2, when they beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-13.  This could be an upset special, if only Indy could defend the run.  The last time Indy lost a season series against Tennessee was in 2002.  Titans should win an easy one and win the season series.

The Rams host the Cincinnati Bengals.  Cincy leads the series 6-5.  The Rams lost their last meeting in 2007, the first time they lost to the Bengals since 1993.  St. Louis has a shot at an upset special, but this could be a toss-up.  The Rams will make a game of it, but the Bengals will hand the Rams their 13^th loss.

The 2-11 Minnesota Vikings take on the New Orleans Saints at home.  Last week, Jared Allen said on a local TV show that the two cities he hated to play in most were Detroit and New Orleans.  He even said New Orleans was like a third world country.  As the saying goes, never give an opposing team an additional incentive to beat you.  The Saints are not the Lions.  Although the Vikings made a game of it, Minnesota still lost to an undisciplined Detroit team.  In addition, this is not the same Vikings team who almost went to the Super Bowl in 2009.  Adrian Peterson is Minnesota’s best chance for a win, but his efforts won’t be enough.  The Vikings won’t avenge their 2009 NFC Championship loss against New Orleans.  Instead, the Saints will easily hand Minnesota its 13^th loss.

Here are a few historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 13,

1959 – New York Giants 24 – Washington 10

1980 – Washington 16 – New York Giants 13

1997 – New York Giants 30 – Washington 10

Last Place Update

December 6, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update, where the 0-12 Indianapolis Colts continue their reign as Kings of the Cellar.  They lead the 2-10 St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings by two games and show no signs of relinquishing that lead anytime soon.

Although the Colts lost again, unlike their total collapse against the New Orleans Saints, they trailed the New England Patriots 31-3 going into the fourth quarter and fought back.  They put up three touchdowns in the face of a beatdown and lost 31-24.  Way to keep fighting, Indy!!

This week’s honorable mention goes to the St. Louis Rams.  When they beat the New Orleans Saints, they could have turned the season around and ended strong.  Instead, they went 1-4 since then and got blanked by the San Francisco 49ers 26-0.

The Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers get a pass on the second honorable mention this week.  San Diego won last night and Minnesota took Denver to the last second and never rolled over.

So this week’s second honorable mention goes to the 4-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Bucs got dominated by the 4-8 Carolina Panthers 38-19, making this their sixth straight loss.  Tampa Bay started the season at 3-1, tied for first in the NFC South and even beat the New Orleans Saints at home two weeks later.  But the bottom fell out.  After going 3-1, the Bucs went 1-7.  They play the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.  Can they win?  We’ll see.

Next Loss

The Colts go to Baltimore to face the Ravens.  No upset special here.  The Ravens should win easily, unless Joe Flacco has a bad day and Indy makes a game of it…nah, Baltimore will win.

The Rams go visit Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Monday night.  Seattle has been beating teams they should lose to, so nothing should change here.  It won’t be a blowout, but St. Louis should get loss number eleven.

Minnesota has to go to Detroit to face a Lions team fresh off a humiliating Sunday night loss to New Orleans.  Upset Special?  Maybe.  Either Detroit will take Sunday night’s loss out on the Vikings or the Lions will collapse.  Detroit should win, but if they act like they did in New Orleans, then the Vikings will get the upset.

Here are a couple of historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 6,

1981 – Buffalo 28 – San Diego 27

2009 – New York Giants 31 – Dallas 24