Bill Simmons ranks Bills over Skins

First, let me state two semi-obvious things: 1) I'm a Redskins fan, and 2) I don't think they're headed for anything better than an 8-8 final record. Regardless of whatever you think about the Redskins, that at least seems fair, right? They have a few tough games in the second half, but it's at least conceivable that they finish the season with a .500 record. Even a complete hater could admit that.

OK, now with that out of the way, let's address the subject of this post: Despite owning a 0-7 record, the Buffalo Bills, according to Bill Simmons's latest power poll, are better than the Redskins. How could the Skins, even if they've played slightly over their heads, be placed below a winless team that has also been outscored by the most points (80) in the NFL? It just seems wrong.

Normally, I wouldn't bring something like this up. But Simmons, for the most part, seems pretty levelheaded about how good most teams are (not counting his blatant homerism for the Patriots and other Boston teams, for that matter). Anyway, let's take a quick look at the two teams. (The numbers in parentheses are teams' ratings according to Simmons, for what it's worth.)

Teams the Redskins have beaten: Dallas (29), Philadelphia (12), Green Bay (8), Chicago (28)

Teams the Bills have beaten: no one

Teams the Redskins have lost to: Houston (16), St. Louis (19), Indianapolis (2), Detroit (22)

Teams the Bills have lost to: Miami (13), Green Bay (8), New England (1), New York Jets (9), Jacksonville (23), Baltimore (4), Kansas City (10)

The Redskins have the advantage in terms of wins, particularly because they've actually won a few games -- four, in fact -- which is, you know, kind of important. The Bills, again, have no wins. Still, the Bills have played against some very good teams and only lost to the Ravens and Chiefs by three points each, and to the Dolphins by five in Week 1. They've been a very competitive team, especially the last few weeks.

Was a breakdown like this really necessary? Probably not -- after all, these are just one guy's rankings. But how the Skins, with four wins, can be placed below a winless team, even if the Redskins have overachieved and have a bit of a problem at quarterback, is simply questionable at best. (By the way, I didn't mean to hate on the Bills in this post, so don't take it that way. And if you do, blame it on Simmons.)

Weekly Rundown: Ozzie Guillen, J-Macverine, Sarasota

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• Mike Florio thinks that Michael Vick is, right now, better than Jason Campbell and 11 other starting quarterbacks around the NFL. [Pro Football Talk]


• Earlier this week, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen made the decision to demote outfielder Brian Anderson instead of Dewayne Wise, and some poeple apparently think Guillen is a racist. Wait, what? [FanHouse]


• After seven years, Bill Simmons "retires" from writing his ESPN The Magazine column. [ESPN]


• J.A. Adande says that the NBA powers only got stronger this offseason. But what about the Wizards, J.A.? [ESPN]


• Dan Steinberg gives a glimpse of some of the Wizards fans in Las Vegas for the NBA's Summer League. [D.C. Sports Bog]


• The Orioles reached a deal to move their spring training home to Sarasota. [Herald Tribune]


• The NFL Draft will now be a three-day event, with the first round airing in prime time on Thursday. For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of the time change. [Awful Announcing]


• Peter Schmuck didn't appreciate Matt Wieters striking out looking on a 3-2 fastball on Saturday. [The Schmuck Stops Here]


• Jason Reid will now be the main contributor to the Redskins Insider blog at The Washington Post. [Redskins Insider]


• Chris Tillman is officially coming to Baltimore to make his first start on Wednesday. But whose spot will he take in the rotation? [Camden Crazies]


• Rob Neyer doesn't seem to be drinking the Billy Beane kool-aid anymore. [SweetSpot]


• The Wizards signed Fabricio Oberto, and he seems like a pretty good fit. [Bullets Forever]


• JaVale McGee, aka "J-Macverine," is a rather odd dude. [Truth About It]


• Yet another entertaining installment in the "Livin' Large" series. If you haven't checked these out, you should. [Basketbawful]


• And finally, John Calipari has a new website. Eamonn Brennan is right on the money: "Sometimes being a basketball coach has very little to do with coaching basketball." [The Dagger]

Weekly Rundown: Selena Roberts, Sam Huff, Matt Millen

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

I've been kind of busy lately, but here's a few quick links that I should have posted on Sunday.

• Malcolm Gladwell writes a really long article that basically comes to this conclusion: A team has a better chance to win if it presses its opponent. The piece is definitely worth a read and is intriguing, but I disagree. That strategy might be successful in women's youth basketball or work if executed properly at the right level, but basketball isn't that simple. Good ball-handling teams just don't throw the ball to the other team for no reason or struggle that mightily in breaking a press. [The New Yorker]


• Jason Whitlock isn't a fan of Selena Roberts or her journalistic ethics -- or lack thereof. [Kansas City Star]


• Bill Simmons discusses the difficulties the media currently has in getting in-depth stories and information on athletes with technology such as Twitter, Facebook, and individual blogs that allow athletes to connect directly to their fans without the middlemen. [ESPN]


• Michael Lee breaks down the risk involved when trading a top-three draft pick. [Wizards Insider]


• Sam Huff doesn't really care for Michael Vick: "I think they ought to turn him loose with the dogs. That's what I think of Michael Vick." [Charlotte Observer]


• Need a potential NFL player to root for? Here's one. [Shutdown Corner]


• So Dan Snyder might actually be a good guy? Now that's hard to believe. [Washingtonian]


• Are you a Matt Millen fan? Me neither. But it sure looks like he's going to stick around for a while:
  

  
  Former NFL player, executive and broadcaster Matt Millen is joining ESPN's football coverage as a game and studio analyst.
  
  Millen will work as a college football game analyst and will contribute to ESPN's NFL studio coverage throughout the year, appearing on "Monday Night Countdown," "NFL Live," "SportsCenter," ESPNEWS and other programs.
  
  As part of Millen's NFL studio responsibilities, he will travel to the site of each week's "Monday Night Football" game, where he will appear on "Monday Night Countdown" and the pre- and postgame editions of "SportsCenter."
  

  
  Well, that's just great. Is it too late to get Emmitt Smith back? [ESPN]

Weekly Rundown: Garnett, Paulus, Madden

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• The Celtics' chances to repeat as NBA champions took a big hit with the news that Kevin Garnett could miss the entire postseason with a lingering knee injury. Bill Simmons gives his own thoughts on the KG situation, handicaps the Celtics' chances to win without Garnett, and offers an insightful discussion on the continuing demise of the newspaper industry. [ESPN]


• Greg Paulus will apparently be given a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job at Michigan. Duke coach David Cutcliffe offered Paulus a chance to try out for the team -- but at wide receiver, not quarterback. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez must really be desperate. [ESPN]


• John Madden has decided to retire from broadcasting. Mike Florio offers some comments from Madden and toots his own horn for predicting in January that Cris Collinsworth would take over for Madden after the season. [PFT]


• Redskins fans really want Mark Sanchez. Or not. [Redskins Insider]


• Truth provides some end-of-the-season thoughts on Antawn Jamison and now former coach Ed Tapscott. [Truth About It]


• The Nationals just can't seem to get anything right. They're 1-10, they can't spell "Nationals" correctly on all of their jerseys, and they even suspended outfielder Elijah Dukes for showing up five minutes late after doing some charity work. [Big League Stew]
  
• ESPN's Rob Neyer wasn't a big fan of MLB's Jackie Robinson celebration idea, in which every player, coach, and umpire wore No. 42 in honor of Robinson on Wednesday. Neyer: "Never underestimate the ability of the commissioner to take a pretty sweet idea and just drive it into the ground until it's dead." [SweetSpot]


• ESPN actually being reasonable and willing to acknowledge criticism? This can't be right. [Awful Announcing]


• Peter Schmuck thinks umpire Doug Eddings did a horrible job behind the plate on Saturday: "Eddings needs to go back to one of the umpire academies and learn the strike zone." [The Schmuck Stops Here]