dave mcbride

LA is a bad place to visit but a very interesting place to live. It has almost everything NY and London has, but it’s harder to find it. It takes living there.

Disagree *STRONGLY* about the Redskins. Their offensive line that season was one of the best in league history (and I think the last healthy season for Lachey, who was hands down the best LT in the league then—and better than Wolford). Plus Wilbur Marshall was still in his prime (29 years old) and a true game-changing player. He had 5 ints as a linebacker, which as you know is phenomenal. It was his best season ever, and he had a lot of good ones. Overall, they had GREAT vets who were decidedly not past their prime yet. Christ, They had Lachey, Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, Mark Schlereth, and Raleigh Mackenzie on their line, and none got injured that season. All of those linemen were better-than-average to great players. More importantly, they destroyed virtually all of their opponents that season and finished first in offense and second in defense. They were quite literally one of the most dominant teams of the past 30 years. Their average regular season game score was 30-14!!! Bear in mind that they lost the last game of the season because they played backups for half the game. They were basically 14-1, only losing 24-21 to an up-and-coming Dallas team that won its last five games. The three scores in their playoff games were 24-7, 41-10, and 37-24. I recommend revisiting that team. I strongly believe it was one of the best in league history. As for Dallas in 1992, I don’t know where to begin. They played in the big-boy conference and finished first in defense and second in offense. They were *twice* as talented as the Bills that year, who were overmatched by speed at almost every position. And it’s not like jimmy and wannstedt were any fancier than marv. They just rolled out talent onto the field, kept it simple and let talent win out.

Same with me. Born and bred in Buffalo, but have lived in Brooklyn for 22 years and 8 years in the Hollywood/Beverly-Fairfax area of LA before that. Different strokes for different folks. I will never leave NYC.

Since the Rams game, they have played TN, which is 5th in rushing, and KC, which is 9th. The Rams are 7th. The Pats are 4th.

I have been saying for over a week that this is a terrible matchup for the Bills. Buffalo might win - they are better - but matchup-wise this is a nightmare.

He looked good throwing deep vs. the Raiders ...

Yeah, absolutely. He goes to a team like Seattle, and they are the favorite to represent the NFC in the SB. GB could use him too.

Dak was also on pace to completely shatter the passing yardage record this season. Injuries are part of life in the NFL, and you can't make decisions based on your fear of them. He is a very good player who is why they were competitive in every game. He can't help that McCarthy hired a checked-out DC who is proving to be flat out awful. His presence -- or lack thereof -- will determine whether they are competitive or not going forward because he's the best player on the team.

It's not really fair to say they "only" had a couple of good seasons after 7-8 good seasons in NE. Corey Dillon only had one great season in NE after a bunch of great seasons in Cincy, but he was central to their SB winning team (over 1600 rushing yards). Same with Revis when he came to NE, Ted Washington when he went to NE (where absolutely dominated in 03), and Aqib Talib in a variety of locations (including NE). Welker was very valuable in Denver in his first year, and the team got to the SB. Teams know they're not getting 8 seasons of peak Ty Law, but they hope that in the 2 or so prime seasons he has left he can put them over the top. Law signed with a playoff team that made it to the second round the year before, but then their qb goes down and it's all over. He still had 10 picks in a great season. Teams aren't looking for five great seasons from longtime former NE players, but rather a couple of good seasons plus an infusion of winning culture that hopefully makes them a SB contender. TB isn't looking for Brady to lead them to a SB in 2024; they are thinking about 2020 and 2021. And Gronk is now looking better than you suggest above.

He has been playing well, actually.

I have two names for you that sort of obviates your argument: Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson. Don't be surprised if they're the two SB teams (they're my picks). The reason Pittsburgh is always at least pretty good is Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh also drafts well. The reason Seattle is always good is because of Wilson. I'd say the same for Rogers, Brady, Brees, Mahomes, Goff (a lot better than the haters think), Luck when he was playing, DeShaun Watson, and for a long time Philip Rivers. The jury is out on Wentz, but I think he's a very good qb playing for a team completely walloped by injuries right now. Detroit doesn't win nearly enough, but they'd be a perennial 2-14 team without Stafford, who makes them competitive.

Carson Wentz is definitely not garbage and is actually playing pretty well now after a rough start. What is garbage is his offensive line, which is completely decimated, and his receiving corps, which is also decimated. He literally carries that offense and is worth what they're paying him. They're struggling this year for a variety of reasons, but he's the least of their problems. They are also likely to win that division.

John Hadl had a great season in 1973 (literally a first team all pro) and was a very good qb (borderline HOFer given the QB stats of that era). The 12-2 Rams finished number one in both offense and defense that year but were disposed of easily in the first round. James Harris and Pat Haden both had pro bowl seasons under him (justifiably based on their stats) and they were a top 5 defense every year (including 3 #1 finishes). He choked in the playoffs. It's why he was fired despite the great record. He could never, ever get over the hump. His conservatism killed him against Landry, who was way more creative. Also, the Rams franchise he took over wasn't moribund. They had had winning records in 6 of the previous 7 seasons including an 11-1-2 finish, an 11-3 finish, and a 10-3-1 finish. Also, sure, Levy came into some good players, but the Bills were literally 6-35 in the 2.5 seasons before he came on. They were AWFUL.

The only team they were better than was the Giants. Bear in mind that they were smack dab in the middle of a run of 13 straight NFC SB victories. Also, the Bills outcoached Dallas in the final one, but the players failed -- a combination of their own mistakes and Dallas's superior talent.

Good post. TB's defense was great last year and was #2 overall in DVOA. Don't even think about looking at the points they gave up either; their QB set a record for negative team points, all of which got piled onto the defensive side of the ledger.

Levy was the best, I think. Was he perfect? No. But I think people seriously underestimate the importance of managing personalities in team sports like the NFL. That was a team that always had the potential to implode because of the personalities on it, but he kept it all together and got them to the playoffs 8 out of 9 years. And people forget that the Bills actually had a terrific game plan in the final Super Bowl. The problem was crazy plays (turnovers) and talent winning out in the end. People talking up Knox ( @BADOLBILZ ) seem to forget that he didn't lose Super Bowls because his unimaginative approach to coaching led to a long series of playoff disappointments in LA, Buffalo, and Seattle. Knox's lifetime winning percentage was .558, and Levy's was .561. Knox was 7-11 in the postseason, and Levy was 11-8. And it's not like Knox didn't have talented teams. His first five Rams teams were dominant (54-13-1 in total), yet in their five playoff losses, they scored 16, 10, 7, 13, and 7 points. That's a sign of a severe lack of offensive imagination. And I watched most of those games. They were painfully dull on offense. As for Saban, I get why people like him, but he was coaching in an inferior ten-team league. It was just too far removed from the modern NFL to compare. Just my opinion. 1. Levy 2. Saban 3. Knox 4. Phillips 5. McDermott There is no #6. I don't think that a coach that got to 9-7 simply because the Pats benched their starters early on and who quit after year two deserves a spot. Same goes for Mularkey, who was basically the same in terms of production (and manner of departure!) as Marrone. I'd take Jauron over Marrone, who did slightly more with less. But none of these guys are any good--all have had careers that scream "replacement-level player."

My thoughts exactly.

You love to see it: https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2020/10/27/patriots-nfl-draft-position-quarterbacks

I watched that Pats-SF game. I thought he played hard. This is so true. Gilmore is playing well this year. Their secondary is keeping them in games (i.e., the KC game).

I think "barely" is appropriate. I also think some people on this board don't quite realize how historically bad the Jets are this season.

Ha! I’d expand it a little: “It’s not fun when I suck and I’ve lost my mojo.” The problem NE presents is a very good secondary and a creative pass rush. The Bills can’t run the ball well, and they are a pass-first team. I don’t expect a ton of points. Don’t look now, but the Bills haven’t scored 20 points in 3 straight weeks.

Trade involving what?

Um, wow: ‘Newton, who continued to take the blame for the loss, elaborated: “The energy has definitely been off for me, and at times it’s not rewarding when you’re just going out there with this aura about yourself that’s not you.”’ He added: “I have fun playing this football game, but the performances here hasn’t been somewhat delightful for me to have fun in doing so. So I just got to be better.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/sports/football/patriots-49ers.html

He was extremely accurate in college and then to play for some truly wretched offenses in SF. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/alex-smith-3.html

Garrapalo wasn’t healthy that game. Huge factor.