Titans are 6-0?

I hate parity in sports. I want to see great teams clashing for a championship at the end of the season. I watch sports to have a chance to view excellence, not to see two teams hoping the ball bounces their way. I love the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox spending gobs and gobs of money to get themselves into the playoffs every year. I love the New England Patriots finding new ways to win every year. I love how it is impossible to sneak through the NBA Playoffs with smoke and mirrors.

Right now, I am disappointed in the NFL. Coming into this season, it seemed there would be at least three teams distinguishing themselves from the pack: Patriots, Colts, and Cowboys. The Chargers, Jaguars, Giants, and Packers all looked like teams that could potentially win at least 12 games. After last season’s exciting playoffs, it looked like we were in store for some more fun at the top. Instead, it looks more and more like we have returned to the mediocre lows of 1999-2002.

Those years were low points for me as a fan of the NFL. By the end of the 2003 Super Bowl, I wondered how much I would want to track the NFL anymore. We had seen a string of one-dimensional teams win the Super Bowl. Several teams that made the Super Bowl failed to make return trips to the playoffs. The 1999 St. Louis Rams went from anomaly to trend setter. Suddenly, every season seemed to have at least one team go from top of the draft to top of the conference. Each of those years, an unproven or journeyman quarterback started under center for the eventual champion.

The closest thing to an elite team over that time span was the St. Louis Rams. Their offense was so overwhelmingly good, that they were able to overcome terrible to above average defenses for three years before injuries wrecked the team in 2002. The Patriots got their start as a dynasty during this era. Still, their Super Bowl victory was more a fluke than the two that would follow. A terrible rule gave them a victory over Oakland they should not have had. Mike Martz’s refusal to simply and repeatedly hand the ball off to Marshall Faulk gave them the Super Bowl. It was a turnaround team that was simply above average on both sides of the ball.

Of course, the Patriots would get better on both sides as Tom Brady matured and Bill Belicheck perfected the defense. With them would come the rise of the Indianapolis Colts. A team that was perfect foil to the tough, veteran laden, adaptable Pats. Peyton Manning and company came with a soft label they could not live down through repeated losses to the Pats. Still, every time these two teams faced off for several seasons, you knew you were watching the two best teams in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers would also arise as contenders to the crown relying on their franchise m.o. of running game and defense.

Right now, while the season is still only half done, I fear parity is back. I look at the Tennessee Titans sitting at 6-0 despite starting Kerry Collins at quarterback and think, this could not be the best team in the league. They have yet to post a single impressive win. The remainder of their schedule is such that I would not be surprised if they won 14 or 15 games. Still, I doubt this team is much better than last year’s version which was one and done in the playoffs.
Of course, it is unlikely that the parity is here to stay. Brady will be back under center for the Patriots next season. The Colts could get healthy enough this season to take advantage and win a second Super Bowl. If not this year, a little off season tinkering should have them back into contention for next season. The Cowboys and Chargers have simply too much talent to struggle as they have this year. Both teams will likely see improvement over the second half of the year or find themselves with new coaches for next season. It probably is not as bad as the dark days of 1999-2002 and at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Still, sports just are not as fun when every team has a chance.