Recent content by hambone1818

The defense is fantastic. Not the best opposition to judge things by so far but they have skill at all three levels and depth across the board. The secondary is incredible. Meanwhile the offense seems to be a work in progress but the talent is unquestionable. It could be an '07-esque...

Just responding to this, the 49ers best 10-year streak (I'm not including playoffs in this) is 1989-1998, they won 123 games in that stretch. Pretty impressive... That is until you look at the Patriots, who now have five streaks of 10 years that match or better that total. 2002-2011 (123...

After 2007 there is no feeling of confidence, ever. Do I think the Pats are better than the Falcons? I do. Better coaching, better defense, better ST, fairly comparable offenses. One bad bounce and a 14-pt swing could happen, two bad bounces are very difficult to overcome. I think the Pats...

The amazing thing: the 49ers run was done pre-cap. It ran through two coaches and two QB's, because 16 years is a LONG time to be on top, to be motivated year after year to be the absolute best. The Patriots run is not only in the cap era when salaries and rosters are so hard to manage, but...

Pittsburg and Pittsburg. Their offense is hitting on all cylinders, KC's run defense is average at best and I think Pittsburg puts up serious points against them. It'll be a tight game, imo, and Arrowhead is never an easy place to play for a visiting team, but I'm taking the experienced, elite...

This could be a great game...either way it's the marquee game of the weekend imo - Rodgers and GB vs the Cowboys, it's as big-name, high-profile as you get in the NFL outside of Brady and NE. I voted for wanting GB to win, and thinking Dallas will win. Both of those are very close calls for...

As always, the team is greater than the sum of its parts. Collins was and is supremely talented but he seemed to regress this season and wasn't pulling in the same direction, for whatever reason. I would have rather seen Patricia/BB get through to Collins and convince him the best approach...

Great analysis, it kinda builds on the idea that I posted in another thread: you have to take opponent offenses into account to really start forming a picture of how good this defense is, and even then it has its flaws (as you said, a couple of botched plays against the Ravens led to 14 fairly...

I ran some numbers myself: look at the quality of the competition, how many PPG did Patriots opponents score that season, vs how many they scored when they played the Patriots. I ran these numbers for 2003 and 2004 - elite defensive years - and 2014 through 2016 to see more recent trends. 2003...

Oh no doubt, and I said it's fair to crap on certain members who are serial abusers of the 'sky is falling' angle. But it's also fair to be objective about this defense, and note that they truly haven't faced much in terms of elite--or even decent--NFL offenses. They can only play who's on...

Here's the thing: people crap on the detractors, and for good reason at times, but it is 100% true that this defense has faced a collection of pretty bad offensive teams this season. The only top-10 in pts/game they've faced is Buffalo (twice), in fact the only other top-half teams they've...

Here's the thing: the Giants illegally tampered with the Steelers footballs and should be penalized. Which should have happened to the Colts as well. Why are teams allowed to tamper with the opponents footballs during the game?!? What's keeping teams from doing this every damn game in cold...

Meanwhile ESPN won't touch this - or at least won't go beyond showing the official league statement. Never mind that the faulty '11 of 12' report came from the NFL office, or that the note sent to the Patriots had incorrect information. This is already being buried as a non-story, we won't...

Actually I think the opposite is true: this will be a giant nothing burger, the NFL will handle it quietly and ESPN will play their part by burying the story. Deflategate pt 1 was allowed precisely because it's the Patriots, for all of Kraft's maneuvering and power plays he's not part of the...

The offense certainly is. Time will tell on the defensive side of the ball. They haven't faced many good offenses, with good QB's, so it's really hard to judge. Much like past BB defenses they've outperformed what you'd expect based on the sheer yardage they've given up, but unlike past years...