The NCAA tournament culminated in a riveting Final Four and title game earlier this week. The NBA quickly approaches an intriguing, unpredictable Playoffs. Major league baseball has finally arrived. The Masters is headed into the weekend, and dudes are still playing hockey. In other words,
We're all just waiting around for NFL season. It's a good time to make our annual check-in on the endlessly entertaining 5-Year-Bet. Here's how I've got the teams ranked two years in, in terms of chances to win it all.
Jamie/Shuster/Jack (89 wins)
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| This photo is dedicated to Jack Scheifly |
1. Seattle 30 (16, 14)
The Seahawks have averaged an absurd 15 wins a season so far and would probably go #2 in a three-year draft tomorrow. It's got to be a bitter pill for Jack to swallow, but the trifecta made the right pick here and made a mockery of the San Fran/Seattle debate that existed heading into the draft.
2. Baltimore 19 (8, 11)
The steady Ravens will likely stick near the 9.5 wins/season average they've paced to thus far.
3. Detroit 18 (7, 11)
4. St. Louis 13 (7, 6)
The Lions and Rams don't appear to be going anywhere fast, though they still seem to have quite a bit of talent. It's hard to know what to expect out of these two, unlike the trio's other three teams.
5. Tennessee 9 (7, 2)
Dark days for Tennessee. This team is nowhere near contention entering the midpoint of the 5-year bet.
If you scroll down you'll see last year's Power Rankings, where I had the triplets ranked 5th out of 6. Despite anemic Tennessee, their fortunes improved as three of their teams made the playoffs. If they can get anything out of Nick Foles and Tennessee can scratch out a few wins, Jamie/Shuster/Jack will be in the mix in 2017.
Eric (90 wins)
1. Green Bay 21 (8, 13)
If the Packers can overcome the psychological trauma they suffered January in Seattle, they're poised to rip off a string of double-digit-win seasons.
2. Kansas City 20 (11, 9)
Klein's controversial KC pick has paid off thus far, but the future isn't looking bright for the Chiefs. Their quarterback situation isn't inspiring and their defense should decline.
3. New Orleans 19 (12, 7)
It's been a bit of an unsettling offseason for the Saints. Klein can't count on winning seasons from this team going forward, though thirty more wins from them isn't out of the question.
4. Cleveland 11 (4, 7)
There's little light at the end of this tunnel for Eric.
5. San Diego 19 (10, 9)
The Kleingenius is mining huge value out of the Chargers, left for dead along with the arm and brain of Phil Rivers by the side of the road. San Diego could soon enter the division race with KC and Denver both on a likely downswing.
Klein has the highest scoring group 40% of the way in, but most of his teams appear to be on a downward trajectory. He's in the mix cause he holds the current lead, but his teams don't appear too fearsome going forward.
Tom (86 wins)
I managed to escape doomsday - the day Peyton Manning retires - for another year.
2. Washington 7 (3, 4)
Just an incredibly disastrous pick that will never be forgotten. Washington trails Indianapolis, the team I obviously should have picked, by 18 wins. I'd be sitting with 104 wins right now, fourteen more than second place.
3. Carolina 20 (12, 8)
What appeared to be an epic fail morphed into 8 wins on Carolina's unlikely stretch run, keeping them at a respectable 10 wins/season.
4. Philadelphia 20 (10, 10)
This is the most unpredictable win total for 2016 and beyond. I could see this team winning 40 games in the next three seasons and I could see them winning less than 20. All bets are off here.
5. New York Jets 12 (8, 4)
With Darrelle Revis and some other decent pieces in place, the Jets still have a chance to turn it around - and they haven't been that bad anyways, averaging 6 wins thus far.
Alex (85 wins)
The second team selected in 2013's draft, The Niners are suddenly looking like a liability that Alex may be unable to afford.
2. Cincinnati 21 (11, 10)
3. Houston 11 (2, 9)
4. Miami 16 (8, 8)
5. Buffalo 15 (6, 9)
All of these teams have a shot at double-digit wins going forward, though their upside would appear to be limited. The Bengals and Texans have everything but a QB, the Phins are solid all-around and things could be looking up for Alex's beloved Bills with Rex Ryan in town.
Without a dominant team, it could be difficult for Alex to close the gap on the players ahead of him and hold off the squads behind him. These don't appear to be teams that will be counting many playoff wins. It really sucks for Alex that the Texans could only manage two wins in 2013.
Toph (84 wins)
2. Pittsburgh 19 (8, 11)
3. Dallas 21 (8, 13)
It's hard to know what to expect from these teams going forward. They're each equipped with solid quarterbacks surrounded by questionable talent and depth.
4. Chicago 13 (8, 5)
Chicago:Toph :: Cleveland:Eric. The dreaded one-two punch of your team crushing both your fandom and your 5-year-bet.
5. Arizona 21 (10, 11)
The sickest thing about this pick, the final dreg that was actually drafted (Minnesota and Oakland went undrafted) is that the Cards easily could have won more games, having missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record in 2013 and having played the latter part of this season without their top two quarterbacks.
Toph's funky team is led by his 3rd and 5th round draft picks. His top pick has averaged 5 wins a season while the other first-round draft picks have averaged 12.8. That gap accounts for more than double the six wins Toph currently trails by.
Zack/Paul (79 wins)
2. Indianapolis 25 (12, 13)
The Colts would almost certainly be the first pick in a three-year draft and have averaged 12.5 wins over the first two years of the bet. They were a steal in the second round.
3. New York Giants 13 (7, 6)
The Giants look poised to recover from the poor 6.5 wins/season clip they're averaging currently.
4. Tampa Bay 6 (4, 2)
5. Jacksonville 7 (4, 3)
The Jaguars and Bucs are absolutely anchoring this top-heavy squad. Zack & Paul have a lot riding on Jameis Winston and Blake Bortles.
Zack and Paul have gotten 53 wins out of their top two teams (no else has more than 49 and Toph has 29) but just 26 (4.3 wins/season) out of their final three picks. They can't afford any more sub-5 win seasons. The time is now for their dregs.
