Preseason means nothing

Posted by Justin Hull on Aug 10, 2012 in NFL, Packers | 3 comments

One (terrible) game in the books for the 2012 Green Bay Packers and its already damage control time for Packers fans.  Unfortunately, not everyone can see that the first preseason game is about as meaningful as…not very pun-filled today so lets just say its not meaningful.  Lets go back the last 6-seasons (that’s as far back NFL.com goes in preseason) and see what preseason success and disaster meant to the real season for NFL teams.

2011 Preseason Standings & 2011 Regular Season

• Two teams went 4-0, the Detroit Lions and the St. Louis Rams
• The Lions went on to make the playoffs at 10-6 while the Rams finished 2-14, tied for the worse record in football
• 8-teams went 3-1
• Of the 3-1 teams; Packers, Steelers, Ravens, and Texans all made the post season
• Of the 3-1 teams; Dolphins, Eagles, Redskins and Titans missed the playoffs
• Raiders, Chiefs and Falcons all went 0-4; Falcons made the post season while the Chiefs and Raiders were in AFC West race til the end

2010 Preseason Standings & 2010 Regular Season

• The San Francisco 49ers were the only unbeaten team in preseason, they went 6-10 that season
• 8-teams had 3-wins in the preseason; Pittsburgh and Baltimore were the only two to play in the post-season
• Steelers lost to Green Bay in the Super Bowl
• The Colts and Bears both went 0-4; both won their divisions
• 1-3 Seattle and Kansas City each won their divisions

2009 Preseason & 2009 Regular Season

• Miami, Baltimore and Seattle all ran through the preseason unblemished
• Baltimore was the only of the three to make the postseason
• 9-teams went 3-1 with the Vikings, Patriots and Saints winning their division and the Packers winning a Wild Card
• Kansas City, Arizona and Carolina all were 0-4; Arizona won their division

2008 Preseason & 2008 Regular Season

• The Detroit Lions went 4-0 in the preseason and 0-16 in the regular season
• 9-teams finished at 3-wins with Miami, Tennessee Pittsburgh and San Diego all going on to win their division
• Cleveland and New England both went 4-0 and missed the playffos
• The Patriots went 11-5 that year, missed the playoffs and lost Brady to injury

2007 Preseason & 2007 Regular Season

• No team went unbeaten in the preseason
• New England, who went 16-0 in the regular season went 2-2 in the preseason
• Pittsburgh, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay all had 3-wins and won their division
• Kansas City and Arizona both went winless in the preseason and missed the playoffs

2006 Preseason and 2006 Regular Season

• The Giants, Panthers, Cowboys and Bengals all went unbeaten; The Giants and Cowboys each won NFC Wild Cards
• In all, 5-teams suffered just one preseason loss, none of them made the post season
• Pittsburgh and Washington each went 0-4, neither team made the playoffs

Do you see a correlation?  I don’t!

How about the Packers by season?

• 2011:  15-1 Regular Season (0-1 Playoffs), 3-1 preseason
• 2010: 10-6 Regular Season (4-0 Playoffs), 2-2 preseason
• 2009: 11-5 Regular Season (0-1 Playoffs), 3-1 preseason
• 2008: 6-10 Regular Season, 1-3 preseason
• 2007: 13-3 Regular Season (1-1 Playoffs), 2-2 preseason
• 2006: 8-8 Regular Season, 1-3 Preseason

And what about the Super Bowl Champion…

• 2011: New York Giants (2-2)
• 2010: Green Bay Packers (2-2)
• 2009: New Orleans Saints (3-1)
• 2008: Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
• 2007: New York Giants (1-3)
• 2006: Indianapolis Colts (1-3)

Again, anyone find the correlation?  Settle down!!!  Football starts meaning something come September and really doesn’t mean a thing until December.  SETTLE DOWN PACKERS FANS!

Justin Hull is the host of the “Home Stretch” heard 2p-5p on 95.3 FM, WSCO Radio n Green Bay/Appleton, Wisconsin and Sports Reporter for WHBY Radio in Appleton, WI.  Follow him on twitter (@jh1570) or facebook.