2011 NFL Kickoff: Excitement on the Horizon

by Dave Cariello on Sep 5, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Official NFL Release

NFL RATCHETS UP THE EXCITEMENT...HOPE IS ALIVE!

The 2010 season was full of excitement, but that should be no surprise. Unpredictability is the norm in today's NFL.

Scoring at a 45-year high...passing records falling...record-breaking streaks continuing (and ending)...new teams making the playoffs and winning divisions...consistent teams excelling once again...young (and, in some cases, undrafted) players making their mark...and so much more!

"Every week stands on its own. Every game is tough. Every team can beat any other team," says Baltimore Ravens head coach JOHN HARBAUGH. "You've always got to be on top of your game. You've got to play well to win."

The NFL is never short on surprises, and the 2010 season was no different.

A record 11,283 points were scored, with games averaging 44.07 points, the highest average in 45 seasons (46.12 in 1965). In all, 1,270 total touchdowns were scored, tying the league-wide record set in 2002.

A record-tying 13 teams won at least 10 games - New England (14), Atlanta (13), Baltimore (12), Pittsburgh (12), Chicago (11), New Orleans (11), N.Y. Jets (11), Green Bay (10), Indianapolis (10), Kansas City (10), N.Y. Giants (10), Philadelphia (10) and Tampa Bay (10). Thirteen teams also did so in 2003 and 2005.

The 2011 season promises more of the same. Every team enters the new year with hope!

Last season, five teams - Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Seattle - made the playoffs that were not in the postseason the year before. It marked the 15th consecutive season in which at least five teams (out of 12) accomplished the feat.

SEASON	PLAYOFF TEAMS NOT IN PREVIOUS SEASON'S PLAYOFFS
1996	5 (Carolina, Denver, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New England)
1997	5 (Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, New York Giants, Tampa Bay)
1998	5 (Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, New York Jets)
1999	7 (Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington)
2000	6 (Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, New York Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia)
2001	6 (Chicago, Green Bay, New England, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Francisco)
2002	5 (Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis, New York Giants, Tennessee)
2003	8 (Baltimore, Carolina, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, New England, St. Louis, Seattle)
2004	5 (Atlanta, Minnesota, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Diego)
2005	7 (Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Tampa Bay, Washington)
2006	7 (Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego)
2007	6 (Green Bay, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington)
2008	7 (Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia)
2009	6 (Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, New York Jets)
2010	5 (Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Seattle)

Kansas City rebounded to win the AFC West after a last-place finish in 2009. This marked the NFL-record eighth consecutive season that a team went from "worst-to-first" in its division. Of the 33 teams to go from "worst-to-first" in NFL annals, 16 of them have done so since 2000.

THE NFL IS SO UNPREDICTABLE THAT IN 2010...

Nothing exhibits the unpredictability of the NFL more than the tightness of NFL games:

"A lot of real close, competitive games come down to the last possession, the last play or one key play right at the end of the game," says New England Patriots head coachBILL BELICHICK. "The league is very competitive all the way across the board."

Games continued to be this close. Nearly 67% were within one score in the fourth quarter:

GAMES DECIDED BY ONE SCORE			GAMES WITHIN ONE SCORE AT ANY POINT IN 4TH QUARTER
POINTS	GAMES	PCT.	POINTS	GAMES	PCT.
8 or Fewer	130 of 256	50.8%	8 or Fewer	171 of 256	66.8%
7 or Fewer	121 of 256	47.3%	7 or Fewer	166 of 256	64.8%
3 or Fewer	65 of 256	25.4%	3 or Fewer	123 of 256	48.0%

There were six new division winners in 2010 - Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle - tied for the most such clubs since realignment in 2002.

Three teams - Tampa Bay (seven-game improvement), Kansas City (six) and St. Louis (six) - combined for a 19-game improvement from 2009 to 2010.

KICKOFF WEEKEND RECORDS OF NFL TEAMS

					Longest Streaks								Longest Streaks
AFC	W	L	T	Pct.	Win	Loss	Current	NFC	W	L	T	Pct.	Win	Loss	Current
Denver	32	18	1	.637	4	4	L-1	Dallas	34	16	1	.677	17	5	L-1
Jacksonville	10	6	0	.625	6	3	W-1	N.Y. Giants	49	32	5	.599	4	3	W-3
San Diego	29	22	0	.569	6	6	L-1	Chicago	51	35	5	.588	9	6	W-1
Pittsburgh	40	32	4	.553	8	3	W-8	Green Bay	51	36	3	.583	5	6	W-4
Miami	24	20	1	.544	11	5	W-1	Minnesota	28	21	1	.570	5	3	L-1
Kansas City	27	24	0	.529	7	4	W-1	Atlanta	24	21	0	.533	5	3	L-1
New England	27	24	0	.529	7	3	W-7	Detroit	42	37	2	.531	10	4	L-3
Tennessee	27	24	0	.529	4	3	W-1	St. Louis	38	35	0	.521	5	6	L-4
Indianapolis	34	32	1	.515	8	8	L-1	San Francisco	31	29	1	.516	5	3	L-1
Oakland	24	27	0	.471	5	8	L-8	Washington	38	37	4	.506	6	5	W-1
Baltimore	7	8	0	.467	3	4	W-3	Arizona	36	52	2	.411	6	7	W-1
Cleveland	27	31	0	.466	5	6	L-6	Philadelphia	31	45	1	.409	5	9	L-1
Houston	4	5	0	.444	2	3	W-1	Tampa Bay	14	21	0	.400	3	5	W-1
Cincinnati	19	24	0	.442	4	4	L-3	Carolina	6	10	0	.375	3	4	L-2
N.Y. Jets	22	29	0	.431	3	5	L-1	Seattle	13	22	0	.371	3	8	W-2
Buffalo	20	31	0	.392	6	5	L-2	New Orleans	16	28	0	.364	3	6	W-3

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Comments

The Opener

seems to be destined to continue this high scoring trend, the over/under for Saints@Green bay is 47, the highest of the week’s games. Here’s hoping it’s Saints 47 Green Bay 0.

by Valmo on Sep 5, 2011 7:05 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

BOOM!

Hmmm...
I probably shouldn’t come on this. ;-)

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by Dave Cariello on Aug 24, 2011 10:31 AM PDT

by Cajun in CA on Sep 5, 2011 8:49 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm betting the over.

How about Saints 47- Slackers 2?

"Daddy, them cigarettes are gonna kill you". My aunts last words to my 96 year old grandpa before he fell out of bed and broke his neck reaching for a full pack.

by KilnBill on Sep 5, 2011 9:08 AM CDT up reply actions

And we gave them the safety so we could score another touchdown before the end of the game. ;-)

"It ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and KEEP MOVING FORWARD. That's how winning is done!" - Rocky

by Dan Kelly on Sep 6, 2011 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions

high scoring trend

aint it a shame, i’ll forever miss sitting in tampa stadium mid september watching a bucs saints scrum final of 9-6.. 9 to 6 ironically was the same score of people that fell out with heat issues.. just in my section alone.. damn i miss the dome

by pattatorhead on Sep 5, 2011 8:56 AM CDT reply actions

Does anyone have a shred of confidence that the Saints can hold the Packers under 30 points?

Based on what I saw preseason, I sure don’t. The linebacker position is a mess, and defensive ends aren’t much better. Hope GW can dial up some magic. Fingers crossed, but I see Pack winning 31-21. But I see Saints going 11-5 and making playoffs.

"I have had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." Groucho Marx

by BenDerDonDat on Sep 5, 2011 9:03 AM CDT reply actions