Nate Silver uses his NYTimes-enhanced soapbox and statistical techniques to come up with the 10 worst playoff teams of all time. Beware Seahawks fans: he doesn't like what he sees.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/the-2010-seattle-sea...
Shifting gears (Silver is only about pro teams): Ah, Jimmy V and the 1983 Wolfpack. A few things not to forget (I lived and breathed ACC hoops that year): They had some struggles in the regular season, but Derek Whittenburg, half of their backcourt, was out with a broken foot for part of that. They lost the first two after he came back, before they got back in sync. Even so, they were 17-10 and 8-6 (4th place) in what was maybe the best ACC ever (Michael Jordan, Ralph Sampson, Len Bias, etc), then swept through the ACC tournament.
An underdog, yes, but a good, veteran team. Whittenburg's injury made their record look shakier and their seed lower than it probably would have been. They didn't have the superstars, but their intact starting 5 was competitive with the best in the ACC, which meant the best in the country.
Of course, if they'd been 22-5 and a #3 seed, it wouldn't have been as much fun. And, they won pretty much every single game in great dramatic fashion. It was very cool, except when they were beating my team.
Q. Should we be sheepish about attending the postseason tourney? Think about the jeering we'll take from other cities' fans. Bah humbug.
A. The Seahawks have the worst playoff team that has entered the NFL postseason -- to date. Their points differential is easily the worst ever, for playoff teams.
But "worst playoff entry" stands in contradistinction to, say, "worst NFL team ever" or even "worst Seahawk team ever" ... and in stark contrast to "2010 Mariners."
How would you have felt about the 2010 Mariners being "the worst American League playoff team ever"? I'd have been okay with it. I'd be okay with it in 2011, too.
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And remember, as the playoffs expand, you're going to constantly set new standards for most-mediocre entries. That's fine with me. I like dark horses going up against powerhouses. Always have, ever since Jimmy V in the NCAA tourney.
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Q. Yeah, but the 2010 Seahawks were losers.
A. Disagree. They were a mediocre team that was dangerous on any given Sunday.
8-and-8 is not the only mediocre record possible. 7-9 and 9-7, along with 8-8, are mediocre records.
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The Seahawks were capable of horrible defeats -- but also capable of performances far beyond mediocre.
I loved the game in Chicago, in which the Seahawks physically and mentally whipped the Bears on their own turf. The Seahawks also beat the San Diego Chargers, who had a 408-294 points differential on the year. They held the 49'ers and, now, the Rams, without a touchdown in huge games.
Kind of weird that they suffered 6 or 7 embarrassments in only 16 games, and it speaks to their talent deficit, especially on offense. But in a particular game the 2010 Seahawks could be genuinely dangerous.
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Q. So the 2010 Seahawks weren't losers?
A. They were a mediocre, tough, flawed, dangerous team that delivered its best football when the national press hit the bright lights.
If the '010 Hawks were losers, gimme about ten or twenty Mariners teams like them.
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Q. The Seahawks have a chance next week?
A. With the game in Qwest, I'd estimate what ... 1 chance in 5?
Well worth watching. I'd like to see a 1-in-5 Mariners playoff series arrive next year.
Have four tickets, in fact, and I'll love to see how Cindy reacts to a in-the-flesh-babeh Seahawk crowd. I plan on getting up for the game and cheering the Seahawks to victory.
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Or not,
Dr D
Comments
Which is not as much of a complaint as sedentary sportswriters would like to imagine that it is.
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Totally agree that when a dark horse gets on a roll ... 97% of the time it is showing its true colors, which were hidden earlier in the year for some reason.
Hard to imagine that being the case with the Hawks. They've got a very weak O-line, very mediocre running backs, and terrible receivers.
But, Carroll has taken a 3-13 team and had them fighting tooth-and-nail in Y1 of the plan. Go Hawks.
Down go the defending champs!!!
Way to go SEAHAWKS!!!!!
WOOT!
That game without question was among the biggest playoff upsets in NFL history, if not THE biggest. I told my wife after the game that it was a unique privilege that we got to watch and root for OUR team to earn that rarest of achievements. That was just, SPECIAL!