GunnerBill

What was interesting is Green Bay did as good a job as it is basically possible to do on the Lions run game, but they sold out to play it to the extent they were gashed in the short to intermediate pass game. That is the danger if you just play the run vs this team. Green Bay's O put up points without ever looking like it was fully in rhythm. The Lions Dline won that matchup. This Green Bay team is right there they just need to find a way to break through against a top end team.

I'd be surprised barring a Josh injury if the Bills didn't make it 6 in a row. Beyond that hard to predict what the others do. They are all at interesting points. The Jets need a re-set but do still have some talented younger players in Sauce, Q and Wilson. The Dolphins have some vet peices but a cap crunch coming. The Patriots have very few peices but a promising young QB. Two more draft and free agency periods it is conceivable that any one of them could with lots of good decisions be competitive. But the Bills aren't going anywhere for a while IMO and will be a tough out for any of them.

So Shanahan has never beaten Reid. McDermott has beaten him more than any other active coach and yet you conclude the former is more likely to beat him? EDIT: Oh and just for the record McDermott won a game in Kansas City when he was clearly inferior at Quarterback (with Tyrod Taylor v Alex Smith) coming off two disastrous blow outs vs the Saints and the Chargers. He then last year went there at 6-6 when his coaching obituaries were being written and his back was against the wall and won. So it isn't only Shanahan who has had "context" vs KC. He just has never got it done. As I said the other day... this whole thread is confirmation bias.

That is correct. 0-5 against KC. Two of those being the two playoff meetings.

Sure. But there are times you still need a bounce or a bit of injury luck

Great dude.

Yea you need luck. The Bills will need some. Going into the playoffs healthier than the past two years would be a start.

They did but they got some luck along the way. The Bills will still need a bit of that IMO to go the distance.

Nor do I. But I dunno about Bishop as the free safety. I mean maybe.... but if you are going that route you better have a serviceable vet in reserve in case he doesn't pick it up.

Being an OC in the NFL is a TON harder. The talent discrepancy isn't nearly as big and the complexity of defensive schemes in the NFL compared to college is a totally different level. I know Sark has had personal problems off the field, but I just don't think he was a good NFL OC. His performance in Atlanta where he made an offense definitively worse (like 11 points per game worse) was quite instructive IMO. He belongs in college and as you say he has no reason to leave anyway. Texas is a great job, he is well remunerated for doing it, and if he can break their national title drought he will have pretty much a job for life there.

This getting attention this week is a total red herring. There was nothing at all Lawrence did wrong in his slide on Sunday and the defender was 6 to 7 yards away and running at a different angle at the point the slide started. He adjusted his angle, raised his forearm and launched himself at Lawrence's head with the sole intention of hurting him. The suspension is entirely justified. Draggin the fake slide / out of bounds issue (which I agree is a legit issue that needs attention) into this conversation avoids us having a proper conversation about how we get some more consistency into the discipline process for intentional dirty hits. That is what we SHOULD be talking about this week.

The Cardinals are the others I'd put in that bucket albeit they have had a couple of tough weeks.

I never felt this season was a gauntlet. I was saying back in the spring the schedule was less demanding than some were making out and that I saw a real possibility of 8-0 at home.

...and it's completely by accident. It was not their intention but the NIL and the transfer portal have done something that college football desperately needed - they have levelled the playing field and increased the competitiveness. Why would a 5 star recruit sit as a backup at Alabama or Ohio State for 2 years behind another 5 star who is going to the NFL waiting for their chance to start and make their own case to go to the NFL? Instead they can transfer, go to what traditionally was more of a 2nd tier programme, start and get an NIL deal commensurate with being a star at that school. It has been the best season I can remember, and I am very much looking forward to the playoff. I was against the 12 team playoff because the thing I hated in college football was uncompetitive games. I still say if they'd gone to a 12 team playoff say 5 or 6 years ago it would have been a disaster because most years there were max 3 teams with a real shot and the rest would just have been cannon fodder. I don't foresee a lot of blow outs in these playoffs. Maybe I'll be proven wrong on that, but all year pretty much we have had competitive games. I still think there are tweaks that could be made. I don't agree with 5 conf champs automatically getting into the playoff. With the collapse of the PAC there is no "power 5" anymore... let's be real there's a power 2 - the SEC and the Big 10. I think the other conferences should have two conference champ spots to shoot for rather than three. Equally there are still changes that I'd make to the way the regular season scheduling happens. That said, I think greater parity and competitiveness is here to stay. Fewer dynasties will be great for the sport. Sport needs jeopardy and unpredictability to be at its best. College Football now has that, despite all the administrators pretty much being against how we got here the new reality is going to make some people a ton of money.

He is a great college coach. He was a bad OC in Atlanta. Went from 1st in points the year before under Shanahan to 15th with Sark and the same players.

No to 1 techs in round 1.

Yea I don't believe in stars aligning. They are playing well right now. Hopefully they can keep that rolling and after that the chips will fall where they may.

No, Shanahan and McDermott are in the same bucket. They are very good coaches who have had plenty of success but haven't been able to close the deal against Reid and Mahomes in the playoffs. I think if you switch the two teams around conference wise the Bills defeats are the Superbowl and the 49ers defeats are earlier in the playoffs. I'm convinced of that. But ultimately it's the same point. Some of how they are there is different: McDermott's had great Quarterbacking but lacked elite pieces around it; Shanahan's had average Quarterbacking but a ton of elite pieces. Shanahan's got further in the playoffs but if 0 fer against Andy Reid; McDermott beats Reid more than anyone else but has gone out earlier in the playoffs to him. McDermott's special qualities are his leadership and his culture building; Shanahan is the best offensive Xs and Os coach in the business. But you get to the same conclusion with them IMO.

I'd got the vet route for a free safety, yes. I think Hamlin is a free agent in any event but we should be upgrading there even though the kid has played as well as anyone coukd have expected.

Big Phil started it off. Beane and Big Phil are definitely in love.

It will be tight IMO. Whether he does or he doesn't I'd guess it will be no more than 2 either way. I'd say somewhere between 11 and 15.

He used to call Daboll "Dabes" a lot in fairness.

I understand your take. But I genuinely don't think that logic holds. There is too much randomness, too many variables.

I believe it is what defines a career too. I just don't necessarily believe that every coach who wins a Superbowl is automatically a better coach than every coach that hasn't. It isn't that simple. I think a coach needs a championship to be regarded as great. But having a championship alone does not equal greatness.

The only one that springs to mind is Evan Williams in Green Bay. Can't remember where he went though? Early day 3?