Thanks for this thread. Finally something that has some substance, or doesn't make me angry at the league.
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Is it me or is this one of the worst seasons for football in a long while? Where are the good teams? I think there are two elite teams (Pats and Packers), a handful of second tier teams, and the rest of the league sucks. I can't believe how many bad teams there are out there. There are several divisions that are bad from top to bottom (AFC South and NFC East).
This is the biggest story of the season......and I'm afraid that it goes further than it just being part of an extended pre-season. I can't believe how badly coached and prepared teams look.....and it seems to go across the league.
And it's not about talent. There is plenty of talent. The Pats have one of the better teams in the league, but I doubt if you rated them them strictly on athletic talent, they'd be in the top 10. The Bills would be a better example of a team with greater talent than the Pats, but wouldn't beat them 2 times out of 10
Teams don't seem to be disciplined, focused, or well organized. It is mind boggling when you consider how much time, money, energy and coaching goes into getting these teams ready. Think about all the coaches each team has. Think about all the time they supposedly put in. Think about all the effort each individual player supposedly puts in each week.......and THAT's the product they are coming out with.
Want to know why the Pats win so often. It isn't because BB is playing chess while others are playing checkers. I used to think that. Now I'm starting to believe that BB is a competent guy who gets to play against MORONS What a freakin' advantage we have have almost every week. Rex Ryan has been pulling the same crap for 7 years now, and most of the rest of the country STILL think he's a great HC AND a defensive genius, who has Bellichick's number.
It's a league where Jeff Fisher STILL has a job.
etc, etc, etc, AND etc.
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What happened to the field goal kicking? How many missed chip shots were missed this past week (some in domes)? Is moving the extra point back really screwing with the kickers' head that much? There was at least three games that were lost because of missed easy field goals (Pittsburg losing to Baltimore, Jags losing to Indy, and Vikes losing to Denver). The Saints could have lost because of a missed easy field goal too.
It's a pretty interesting phenomenon. We've come to an age where 50 yd FG's are EXPECTED to be made. An age where you are lucky to see one KO return per game (one of the most exciting plays in the game).....and that wouldn't improve if you moved the ball back to where it was years ago. Kickers today are simply better now. They are so good that we forgot just how iffy that play used to be. What are most kickers kicking at now days, 85%? There was once a time in the league that FG kicking beyond 40 yds was a 50-50 thing
I wonder if FG kicking is getting worse, or are our expectations just so wildly out of proportions. EVERY time they miss we are shocked, especially after watching Gotkowski and Vineteri for the last 20 years up close.
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What happened to the Texans? I never thought they would be a legitimate contender, but thought they would give Indy a run for the division. And as bad as Indy is right now, I still don't see the Texans contending for the division. The most surprising thing is their defense absolutely sucks.
Great question. I thought that with all BOB's experience here, plus having guys like Romeo and Vrable, he'd do a great job down there. He did a very good job at Penn State, so it's surprising how bad they've been. I guess it brings us to a couple of truisms. You HAVE to have at least a "good" QB to win in this league. Having the best defensive player in the league DOES NOT buy you many wins.
No matter how many times the mediots talk about
individual players, it is never going to be about
individual players in the game of football. The Texans just are another team who has as many great athletic talents as any other team, yet they still can't seem to win on a regular basis