Are You Ready for Some Football - Week 14

[Frozzy]

Pack lose

[ixnay]

donovan mcnabb sucks the fatty

that is all

[monolith94]

That was a lame game.

Also, the Cowboys WILL die next week, when they finally come up against a REAL team.

[Frozzy]

dp

[Frozzy]

I hate the Bills. They lost 4 Super Bowls in a row last decade, when AFC sucked. They didn't even deserve to be there. I mean, it's like the AFC said "Is anybody going to the Super Bowl this year? Anybody??? Oh, alright, send the Bills". I think they are overrated and always have been.

[Jac de Molay]

I was gonna post a new thread about this cause it brings up good points about the last 2 or 3 seasons. It was in today's Detroit Free Press

DREW SHARP: Parity is short for boredom

NFL's meaning has become No Fun League
November 11, 2003






BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST



The procession of Stepford fans, hypnotically walking in tight formation with blank expressions, left NFL stadiums the same as every other Sunday, rhythmically repeating what has practically become league scripture.

"I love this team. I love this game. I love this league. I love this blindfold."

If they actually saw what they were watching, perhaps their loyalty wouldn't be so unyielding.

It doesn't matter if the game they just experienced was no different from the one they caught in person two weeks ago or the three they saw on television last week. It doesn't matter that they can't even remember the final score. Nor does it matter that excellence is now measured in weeks rather than years. Or that there are no more heroes or villains, just faceless names in stylish attire used to bolster the league's merchandising wing. What matters most is strict adherence to the company line -- the NFL is the unchallenged king of our national sports conscience.

Nonconformity is frowned upon in the NFL, and that attitude is sapping the life from what was once a vibrant sport.

The NFL is overprogrammed, overmarketed and overregulated, stripped bare of the spontaneity and individuality essential for establishing a league's personality. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the players association have conspired to accomplish the previously unthinkable: They've turned the NFL regular season into a replica of major league baseball. In the first three-quarters of the schedule, the games are indistinguishable and can be largely ignored.

It remains in the league's best interests to keep corporate sponsors and fans brainwashed into thinking that not a single moment can be missed. But salary cap-manipulated parity has cheapened the long-held argument that "every game counts." The NFL has funneled all of its variables into a system that consistently spits out more than 20 teams that remain in playoff contention come December.

So exactly how does that heighten the importance of games in September and October?

Initially, I assumed that this malady was an advanced case of acute retinal Lionitis, an inflammation of the eyes from overexposure to putrid football. But trying to watch assorted games during the Lions' recent bye week only confirmed that most of the league is closer to the Lions' depths than to the Kansas City Chiefs' heights.

Fortunately, there was a decent movie on cable.

Unless you're a gambler or fantasy statistics geek, there is no compelling motivation to sit through more than three hours of mediocrity when tuning in the final two minutes is all that's required.

And isn't that the primary complaint about the NBA?

Can anyone think of three truly compelling games in the NFL this season?

How about two?

When Buffalo and Dallas combined for three points in the second half of their game Sunday, that was bad football. A combined 11 turnovers by Baltimore and St. Louis was bad football. The Lions and Chicago Bears on the same field was bad football.

And since when is bad football good for fans?

It is when the NFL suits on Park Avenue tell them it is.

The NFL needs to soften the salary cap, providing two or three exemptions to improve depth on team rosters, which the current cap and inevitable injuries decimate. Equity creates a false sense of achievement, but the league doesn't care. It's perfectly content with perfectly sculpted, easily interchangeable athletes instead of colorful, instinctive football players who don't necessarily fit a mold, like 41-year-old survivor Doug Flutie.

The only true drama comes when a few teams appear dominant, creating a natural course of emotions.

How can you have an underdog unless there's a Goliath?

It doesn't matter that nobody can shoot the ball in the NBA. At least the Lakers are still atop the mountain, offering a sizable target.

What's so enthralling about watching a special NFL team enjoy a special season only to watch it spontaneously combust the next season because of the league's system?

Both of last year's Super Bowl teams -- Tampa Bay and Oakland -- have losing records. If the Buccaneers and Raiders miss the playoffs, it would mark the third time in five years that both Super Bowl participants failed to qualify. It happened only once in the previous 32 years.

The NFL preaches competitiveness and balance. But the game is really boring.

I think this brings up some good points, especially the need for loosening the salary cap and more exemptions. Teams like the Lions and Bears, who used to be at least mediocre, are now stuck in a spiral of suckiness because they can't sign draft picks and attract top-notch free agents due to of cap restrictions.

Also very telling is the inability of Super Bowl teams to get back in again. Maybe parity works a little too well.

[monolith94]

Ridiculous. Football is still exciting. That patriots/denver game was as fun as a superbowl.

[Hippi]

Are You Ready for Some Football - Week 9

no I'm not. plz give me some time to prepare myself

[Dis]

Originally posted by Jac de Molay
I was gonna post a new thread about this cause it brings up good points about the last 2 or 3 seasons. It was in today's Detroit Free Press



I think this brings up some good points, especially the need for loosening the salary cap and more exemptions. Teams like the Lions and Bears, who used to be at least mediocre, are now stuck in a spiral of suckiness because they can't sign draft picks and attract top-notch free agents due to of cap restrictions.

Also very telling is the inability of Super Bowl teams to get back in again. Maybe parity works a little too well.

bull****.

Football has so many good, close games. This is evident by the record number of overtime games the last few years (and attempts to change overtime rules). What does this guy want? Blowouts every other game?

Close games show each team fighting tooth and nail attempting to make the playoffs. What more could you ask for?

I do kind of miss the days of the dominant teams of old. Even as recently as the Cowboys and even the Bills of the 90's.

But there is no reason teams like that can't still be dominant. It's just the players are greedy and have no team loyalty. They are willing to jump ship for higher wages. No one wants to take any pay cuts. Look at the lakers in NBA basketball. They keep their budget down because they got some superstars willing to take a pay cut to win a ring. There's no reason that can't happen in the NFL.

And look at Tampa Bay. They are essentually the same team they were last year. They lost one defensive player to Arizona that I know of. On paper they should still be a dominant team. You can't say the salary cap prevented them from being a superbowl contender 2 years in a role. They just got cocky and maybe Gruden isn't the coach we thought he was.

Also I think some players elevate their play when they "feel" like they got a legitimate shot at winning the superbowl. The best example of this is the Raiders of last year. Their coach wasn't great, yet they still got to the superbowl. Their running game was suspect, and they passed far too much. But they still got to the superbowl by outsanding play by their QB and receivers. That just doesn't work this year, because they don't believe anymore.


This is why you don't have dominant teams.

[Jac de Molay]

Football has so many good, close games. This is evident by the record number of overtime games the last few years (and attempts to change overtime rules). What does this guy want? Blowouts every other game?

I don't think he's saying that all. He's saying that most of the games have been subpar to mediocre because teams can't really "build up" because of the rather draconian restrictions. Or they are complete blowouts, of which there have plenty of both this season.

Think about the old teams in the 70's/80's like San Fran and Pittsburgh that were well-rounded at all positions and both sides of the ball. Like I said before, even a mediocre team like early 90's Lions could draft good players and go out and get good free agents.

Another thing is rivalries. There's not really rivalries like there were because teams change so much, and their relative strengths vary so much from year to year. Like the article said, how can David/Goliath rivalries develop if there are neither one?

But there is no reason teams like that can't still be dominant. It's just the players are greedy and have no team loyalty.

So a player that puts together a Pro Bowl year, and wants a raise or restructuring, is greedy? Im sure a lot of crappy teams want to retain good players like that (especially the Lions), and have the money to spend (like the Lions do) but they can't .

Look at the lakers in NBA basketball. They keep their budget down because they got some superstars willing to take a pay cut to win a ring. There's no reason that can't happen in the NFL.

The salary cap structure in the NBA is much more liberal compared to the NFL, as least as far as relative number of exemptions go. Also, Shaq is still THE dominant player in the league, so it's misleading to say they are thriving under the NBA cap system.

[Dis]

Kansas City Chiefs is what proves all that wrong.

They are a well rounded team. Remember last year they couldn't do anything because their defense was horrible. But they were able to successfully "build up" a team. And they have a better defense this year- still not the best, but I think it is good enough to get them to the superbowl.

And they are "very" dominant.

[ColdWizard]

Originally posted by reismark
We won't even mention my pitiful performances in the Lombardi pool either.

We can mention my win for the week though right?



Go Slicker Pickers

[Ming]

about time SOMEBODY on our team did well... congrats partner

[Jac de Molay]

Originally posted by Dissident
Kansas City Chiefs is what proves all that wrong.

They are a well rounded team. Remember last year they couldn't do anything because their defense was horrible.

Ok, one team, and their defense is still horrible.
And they're a team that has a notorious history of crapping out in the playoffs, so I'm not sold yet personally.

And they are "very" dominant.

Yeah, this year they are. It would really suck if they win and start out 0-5 the next, proving they were just the Flavor of the Year, another interchangeable team with interchangeable parts.

[rah]

Yes, Slicker pickers is finally starting to make a move on the team championship.