Earlier this season there was briefly discussion about the NFL considering mandatory late starting times for games played on the East coast by West coast teams. The argument was that a 1 p.m. eastern start mentally was a 10 a.m. start for those West coast teams, teams that have struggled to be competitive that far from home the past few years.

Zoneblitz.com did a post on the subject. And it got some play on the radio and in the media. I’m starting to think there’s more to the struggles than jet lag, however, as the Philadelphia Eagles crushed the Arizona Cardinals Thanksgiving night.

The Eagles win brings the East coast team’s record to 14-0 against West coasters this season – this leads me to believe the biggest issue is that most of the West coast teams just aren’t any good.

These are the records:
Arizona 0-4
Seattle 0-4
San Diego 0-3
Oakland 0-3
San Francisco 0-1

Arizona was 7-4 heading into the game and it’d take a shocking collapse coupled with a stunning turnaround by a division rival for them to not win the NFC West division. And they are improving. But if that’s the best of the West and they’re going 0-4 on the East – and getting crushed by an Eagles team that was reeling?

Go ahead and consider the mandatory late-start times, NFL. But the bigger picture here is that anyone looking to win some money in Vegas should take the mortgage and bet it on the East coast team as soon as Arizona has to go on the road in the playoffs.

It’s as close to a sure bet as you’ll find.