The AFC South Over The Last 6 weeks:

 

Here are the records for the last 5 games for each AFC south team.

 

The Colts are 3-2

 

The Texans, Jaguars and Titans combined are 2-13.

 

 

 

 

More Dismal AFC South Info:

 

Not only have the Texans lost 7 straight games this year, but dating back to 2012, they are actually 3-10 over their last 13 regular season games.  And 2 of their wins to open the 2013 season easily could have been losses.

 

The Titans are now 1-5 in their last 6 games.

 

The Jaguars have just 2 wins in their last 15 games. Both of those wins were vs. the Titans. Amazingly they are 2-1 vs the Titans and 0-12 vs everyone else during that span.

 

 

 

 

Texans vs Jaguars

 

This year the Jaguars have often been called the worst team in NFL history. The Texans came into the season as Super Bowl favorites. But incredibly when you look at both teams over the last 16 regular season games this is what you get.

 

Texans 6-10

Jaguars 2-14

 

To be the worst team in NFL history, the Jaguars sure are close to the Super Bowl bound Texans!

 

 

 

 

 

Folks, this is the worst division in football by a country mile.  And this division has been quietly sliding downhill for a very long time. 

---

We've known this.  Colts are benefitting from this.  We're down but its cyclical.  3 or 4 years ago the 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams was a laughably bad division.  Now, respectable.  We'll be back.  Colts will not be an automatic division victory a la Peyton era once the rest of the slackers pick up the pace.  

---

Gene's Myth

Without a doubt this is the worse division in the NFL

---

We've known this.  Colts are benefitting from this.  We're down but its cyclical.  3 or 4 years ago the 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams was a laughably bad division.  Now, respectable.  We'll be back.  Colts will not be an automatic division victory a la Peyton era once the rest of the slackers pick up the pace.  

 

I'm not that worried about Houston going forward next season and surprisingly this has been a easy "bad" season to take, because most of their key issues are easily fixable.  We just need a new kicker/STs coach and don't need a QB breaking NFL records for pick 6s.  The kicking game has cost us about 3 wins this season.. giving the other team a 7 point handicap has cost us a couple more.  It's been a murphy's law type of season, but a season that needed to happen to bring about change, because we maxed out our potential last season with someone as physically limited as Schaub was at the helm.  This horrible season is allowing us to break in a new QB and I'd rather he start working on the learning curve now without having to rely on him to QB us to the playoffs. It's also allowing us to restructure our cap situation where we can have a better fiscal situation cap wise (the cutting of Matt Schaub and other over priced players) that will give us more flexibility.  Another thing this season could bring us is a new coach which has been needed also. Kubiak will be a great offensive coordinator though.

 

 If we do hire a new head coach, whoever gets the job will be walking into a great situation.

 

This team still has a lot of talent. Talented players on defense, a lot of offensive weapons, young promising QB, and a high draft pick to add a impact player.. speaking of which If he's there I'm leaning towards Jake Mathews.  The third thing that has killed this team is Derek Newton.. adding Mathews would give Houston (if he's as good as advertised) one of the best tackle tandems in the league.  The right side of the line was never properly addressed after Winston left.  In short, Houston just needs to fix a couple of key issues and they'll be right back in the mix next season.  But I'll take one down year if it allows us to fix these issues.

 

 I'd be on suicide watch if it wasn't for the positive play of Keenum though lol, he gives me hope moving forward.

---

I'm not that worried about Houston going forward next season and surprisingly this has been a easy "bad" season to take, because most of their key issues are easily fixable.  We just need a new kicker/STs coach and don't need a QB breaking NFL records for pick 6s.  The kicking game has cost us about 3 wins this season.. giving the other team a 7 point handicap has cost us a couple more.  It's been a murphy's law type of season, but a season that needed to happen to bring about change, because we maxed out our potential last season with someone as physically limited as Schaub was at the helm.  This horrible season is allowing us to break in a new QB and I'd rather he start working on the learning curve now without having to rely on him to QB us to the playoffs. It's also allowing us to restructure our cap situation where we can have a better fiscal situation cap wise (the cutting of Matt Schaub and other over priced players) that will give us more flexibility.  Another thing this season could bring us is a new coach which has been needed also. Kubiak will be a great offensive coordinator though.

 

 If we do hire a new head coach, whoever gets the job will be walking into a great situation.

 

This team still has a lot of talent. Talented players on defense, a lot of offensive weapons, young promising QB, and a high draft pick to add a impact player.. speaking of which If he's there I'm leaning towards Jake Mathews.  The third thing that has killed this team is Derek Newton.. adding Mathews would give Houston (if he's as good as advertised) one of the best tackle tandems in the league.  The right side of the line was never properly addressed after Winston left.  In short, Houston just needs to fix a couple of key issues and they'll be right back in the mix next season.  But I'll take one down year if it allows us to fix these issues.

 

 I'd be on suicide watch if it wasn't for the positive play of Keenum though lol, he gives me hope moving forward.

 

The demise of the Texans really shows how difficult it is to win just 1 Super Bowl. The window closed on the Schaub/Kubiak era without even an AFC Championship game appearance, never mind a Super Bowl. It reminds me of what happened to the good Charger teams of 2005-2009. They were just as good as the Steelers, Patriots and Colts of that era. But never broke through. BTW.. Keenum has looked good so far.

---

We've known this.  Colts are benefitting from this.  We're down but its cyclical.  3 or 4 years ago the 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams was a laughably bad division.  Now, respectable.  We'll be back.  Colts will not be an automatic division victory a la Peyton era once the rest of the slackers pick up the pace.  

 

I would disagree. I think the other 3 teams in the AFC South are years away, unless they land a franchise QB. And that is really hard to do.

 

People forget the Colts will be getting better too.

 

No team in the AFC South has lost more starting offensive players to injury this year than the Colts. And they are still dominating. Unless a franchise QB comes to the Titans, Texans or Jaguars soon, I actually think the Colts could further separate themselves from the pack. 

 

The fact that they are 7-3, lead the division by 3.5 games, and could have the division clinched in as soon as 2 weeks, really tells us a lot about the potential of the Colts. Especially given this teams unreal injury situation.

 

I don't think its possible in the modern NFL, to do a better rebuilding job than what the Colts have accomplished in the last 2 years. I fully understand that given this audience, they won't get full credit for what they have done. But this era defining restructure is really impressive by any NFL standard.

---

The demise of the Texans really shows how difficult it is to win just 1 Super Bowl. The window closed on the Schaub/Kubiak era without even an AFC Championship game appearance, never mind a Super Bowl. It reminds me of what happened to the good Charger teams of 2005-2009. They were just as good as the Steelers, Patriots and Colts of that era. But never broke through. BTW.. Keenum has looked good so far.

 

Things just didn't lineup up for them. From about 2007/08-20010/11 They had the offense/QB play to do big things, but the defense wasn't there or Schaub was knocked out with injuries.  When they finally fixed that side of the ball Schaub developed a chronic foot injury and his play went into a rapid decline.. throw into the equation all of the free agents that we've had to say goodbye to because of the cap and everything came to a head this season.  What's happening this season needed to happen though.  This team needs to restructure.  I'd rather have Schaub fall on his face and force the team to replace him now then just be good enough for us to keep our wagon hitched to him for multiple more years.  Same thing with Kubiak.. even without talking about his coaching ability, his health now scares the crap out of me.  That mini stroke freaked me out.  He needs to put serious thought into whether he should keep coaching or not, because the last thing I want to see is my coach die on the sidelines.  The next one might not be so "mini".

---

I would disagree. I think the other 3 teams in the AFC South are years away, unless they land a franchise QB. And that is really hard to do.

 

People forget the Colts will be getting better too.

 

No team in the AFC South has lost more starting offensive players to injury this year than the Colts. And they are still dominating. Unless a franchise QB comes to the Titans, Texans or Jaguars soon, I actually think the Colts could further separate themselves from the pack. 

 

The fact that they are 7-3, lead the division by 3.5 games, and could have the division clinched in as soon as 2 weeks, really tells us a lot about the potential of the Colts. Especially given this teams unreal injury situation.

 

I don't think its possible in the modern NFL, to do a better rebuilding job than what the Colts have accomplished in the last 2 years. I fully understand that given this audience, they won't get full credit for what they have done. But this era defining restructure is really impressive by any NFL standard.

 

The gap is not as big as it seems..  Just 7 points over the last 3 weeks is what's keeping Houston from playing for first place in their division vs. the Raiders tomorrow. 7 points.  Anybody who thinks STs aren't that important... 7 points.  Houston is not years away, They're not in totally rebuild mode either, they still have plenty of talent under contract.  They just need to fix a few key issues where they'll be able to come up with those key points next season. (Not having the fattest kicker in the league who can't hit the ocean would've pretty much done it this year)

---

I began to realize our division is the worst after the Eagles caught up with the Cowboys. Before that happened, it semeed obvious to me the NFC East was the worst. Now it is impossible to imagine that division being worse than ours.

 

Texans: 7-game losing streak

Jaguars: Lost the whole first half of the season

Titans: First team the Jaguars defeated

Colts: Only team that does not have a losing record

 

Good luck trying to find another division worse than the AFC South.

---

AFC North isn't much better. Only 1 winning team and that winning team has a worse record than the Colts.

 

Bengals 6-4

Ravens 4-5

Browns 4-5

Steelers 3-6

---

AFC North isn't much better. Only 1 winning team and that winning team has a worse record than the Colts.


Bengals 6-4

Ravens 4-5

Browns 4-5

Steelers 3-6

The records lie. Ravens and Browns > Titans and Texans this year. AFC south still owns the north in sucking. Though that will be put to the test, as the schedule rotation has the AFC South playing the AFC North and NFC East next year. Think about that.

---

Back in 2010,  the NFC West didn't even have a team that went .500.   The Seahawks won the Division with a 7-9 record.   Three seasons later,  this division is arguably the best in the entire NFL.  As down as the NFC East and AFC South are collectively,  with the exception of the Colts,   Jerry Glanville's famous NFL= Not For Long quote comes to mind regarding how the fortunes of a division can change relatively quickly.

 

Regarding the AFC South,  the team that probably has the most question marks in terms of the direction they will be going in beyond this season is Tennessee.   Will the new owner look to make a G.M and/  or Head Coach change?   If yes, will the new G.M and/  or HC and his staff believe in Jake Locker as the long term solution at QB after two injury plague seasons?    Even if the current staff is retained,  will they want to go with Locker as their primary option,  knowing that he displayed improvement this season but would be entering his 4th season with as many questions as answers?   Can Chris Johnson be counted on as a feature back,  even with his big play ability?

---

The gap is not as big as it seems..  Just 7 points over the last 3 weeks is what's keeping Houston from playing for first place in their division vs. the Raiders tomorrow. 7 points.  Anybody who thinks STs aren't that important... 7 points.  Houston is not years away, They're not in totally rebuild mode either, they still have plenty of talent under contract.  They just need to fix a few key issues where they'll be able to come up with those key points next season. (Not having the fattest kicker in the league who can't hit the ocean would've pretty much done it this year)

 

Agreed. The margin is small.

 

But this isn't something particular to the AFC South. That is true across the board.

 

I was listening to NFL radio and they had some amazing stats showing that this year there were more "one possession" games at this point in the season then there ever have been since the AFL/NFL merger.

 

Almost every NFL game is close.

 

I think this is why there is so much pressure on coaches and so much agony for fans. When you lose the way the Texans have often lost. Or the way the Colts lost to the Dolphins in week 2, it invites more scrutiny. You realize that more detail on just one play, or one player, would have made the difference in a win or loss. It makes defeat even tougher to take.

---

Back in 2010,  the NFC West didn't even have a team that went .500.   The Seahawks won the Division with a 7-9 record.   Three seasons later,  this division is arguably the best in the entire NFL.  As down as the NFC East and AFC South are collectively,  with the exception of the Colts,   Jerry Glanville's famous NFL= Not For Long quote comes to mind regarding how the fortunes of a division can change relatively quickly.

 

Regarding the AFC South,  the team that probably has the most question marks in terms of the direction they will be going in beyond this season is Tennessee.   Will the new owner look to make a G.M and/  or Head Coach change?   If yes, will the new G.M and/  or HC and his staff believe in Jake Locker as the long term solution at QB after two injury plague seasons?    Even if the current staff is retained,  will they want to go with Locker as their primary option,  knowing that he displayed improvement this season but would be entering his 4th season with as many questions as answers?   Can Chris Johnson be counted on as a feature back,  even with his big play ability?

 

Agreed. 

 

The good news in the division is that the Colts bottomed out 2 years ago. The Jaguars are bottoming out now. The Texans roster still has way to much talent to sink that low. 

 

That leaves the Titans. They have not bottomed out yet. I think things are going to get much worse for them before they are going to get better.

---

I should have put this in the OP.

 

 

 

<p style="margin-left:0px;">The AFC South (Last 16 Games)

<p style="margin-left:0px;"> 

<p style="margin-left:0px;">Colts 12-4

<p style="margin-left:0px;">Titans 7-9

<p style="margin-left:0px;">Texans 6-10

<p style="margin-left:0px;">Jaguars 2-14

---

Here's an interesting NFL.com poll.

 

"How far will the Colts go this season?"

 

1) 6% Miss the playoffs

 

2) 7% Super Bowl Contenders

 

3) 10% Conference Championship

 

4) 34% Division Round

 

5) 43% First Round Playoff exit

 

 

 

I picked that they will at least go to the conference championship. I think that if the Colts can stay healthy these next couple games than they have a chance. But, I think that all Colts fans know at this point that they will inevitably have to face Peyton Manning again sometime in the playoffs. 

 

 

I really am rooting for the Colts to go to the Superbowl this season so that they can try and bring back some prestige to the AFC South. The Jags are guaranteed at this point to draft a franchise QB during next years draft.

---

I don't know about this rooting for the Colts for the prestige of the division nonsense.  We're not an elite division regardless and the Colt's I doubt will make a ton of noise this post season.  We'll see though.  The division will be back in time.  Colts are feasting on what they have now and that's what they should be doing.  Jaguars…well, one day we'll be in this

---

Gene's Myth

AFC North isn't much better. Only 1 winning team and that winning team has a worse record than the Colts.

 

Bengals 7-4

Ravens 4-6

Browns 4-6

Steelers 4-6

 

Updated for Week 11 results. The AFCN has three teams with four wins. The AFCS has one team with four wins. I would say the AFCN is better than you think.

---

Updated for Week 11 results. The AFCN has three teams with four wins. The AFCS has one team with four wins. I would say the AFCN is better than you think.

Its not really. The North is still bad. The South is just worse by a mile. AFC South is a joke this year.

---

Agreed. 

 

The good news in the division is that the Colts bottomed out 2 years ago. The Jaguars are bottoming out now. The Texans roster still has way to much talent to sink that low. 

 

That leaves the Titans. They have not bottomed out yet. I think things are going to get much worse for them before they are going to get better.

 

  If there was something positive for Tennessee to take out of their loss to Indianapolis the other night,   it should be the play of DT Jurrell Casey.    He has the look of a foundation piece on the Defensive Side of the ball.     Casey is one of the most athletic DT's in the NFL.   If I was starting a franchise and could have anyone from the Tennessee roster,   the decision would come down to G Chance Warmack and Jurrell Casey.    Having said this,  until Tennessee can get some long term stability at QB and has a more reliable RB,   they are probably not going to be a major factor in the AFC.   

---