Through one quarter of the season, is the NFL a much worse product than expected?

[Virgil]

Going into this season, the AFC was meant to be an absolute dog fight for the playoffs.  You had the Chargers finally healthy and Payton to fix the Broncos, creating a super competitive AFC West.  Then you had the AFC North with the returning Bengals, Ravens with receivers, Browns/Steelers defense with an evolutionary step on offense.  The AFC East would have the Jets/Dolphins/Bills battling it out.  The AFC South was the only one team division.  In the NFC, you only had the 49ers, Cowboys, and Eagles, and hopefully continued growth from the Giants, Lions, and offensive explosive Bears.

 

Now, four weeks in, I could barely watch the 4p games yesterday.  Prime time games have been an absolute joke.  The AFC is down to the Bills, Dolphins, and Chiefs, but even Mahomes has struggled in half his games to the point that we are talking about Swift/Kelce more.  Granted, Burrow being crap and Rodgers getting hurt was unpredictable, but still...

 

I hate the idea of flex scheduling for Thursday games and MNF, but at this point, the NFL needs it.  This is as bad a product as I can remember.  Thankfully, the NFL fan will watch anything football.  And of course, the Bills are the only team in the AFC that has another team in their division. The Chiefs have no excuse to not get the one seed again.  I was really hoping they would lose last night.  But they have the easier schedule from here on out.  Yes, we play them and can gain a game, but we also have the Eagles and Cowboys to play, but the Dolphins again.  The Chiefs only have to play us and the Dolphins once.  

 

In any case, just some thoughts

[Eastport bills]

Great news, that means we have a better path to a championship. I’ll worry about the quality of the league after we get a ring.

[warrior9]

Yes

 

The NFC is an absolute JOKE. The Bengals slow start is killing the product as is AR injury.

 

I would love to see the data that shows blow outs in the fashion there have been this year. It absolutely seems like there is no parity in a league that is built for the desire of parity. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

8 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Going into this season, the AFC was meant to be an absolute dog fight for the playoffs.  You had the Chargers finally healthy and Payton to fix the Broncos, creating a super competitive AFC West.  Then you had the AFC North with the returning Bengals, Ravens with receivers, Browns/Steelers defense with an evolutionary step on offense.  The AFC East would have the Jets/Dolphins/Bills battling it out.  The AFC South was the only one team division.  In the NFC, you only had the 49ers, Cowboys, and Eagles, and hopefully continued growth from the Giants, Lions, and offensive explosive Bears.

 

Now, four weeks in, I could barely watch the 4p games yesterday.  Prime time games have been an absolute joke.  The AFC is down to the Bills, Dolphins, and Chiefs, but even Mahomes has struggled in half his games to the point that we are talking about Swift/Kelce more.  Granted, Burrow being crap and Rodgers getting hurt was unpredictable, but still...

 

I hate the idea of flex scheduling for Thursday games and MNF, but at this point, the NFL needs it.  This is as bad a product as I can remember.  Thankfully, the NFL fan will watch anything football.  And of course, the Bills are the only team in the AFC that has another team in their division. The Chiefs have no excuse to not get the one seed again.  I was really hoping they would lose last night.  But they have the easier schedule from here on out.  Yes, we play them and can gain a game, but we also have the Eagles and Cowboys to play, but the Dolphins again.  The Chiefs only have to play us and the Dolphins once.  

 

In any case, just some thoughts

This was always going to happen once the league kept expanding teams. And it will get worse if they expand more.

 

With all the roster spots to fill around the league it spreads talent levels way too thin IMO. Quality of starting QB play is declined overall league wide leading to poor offensive performance. And this says nothing to the level of Head Coaches that are sub par. 

 

Lack of depth shows when there are mass injuries. Most teams have issues filling 22 starting spots with starting caliber players as is. So when injury hits there are some real sub NFL level guys seeing snaps. 

 

As far as general competition, you're right. Year in and year out we say how the AFC is stacked or that the Bills have a hard schedule. Then games happen, injury sets in and games seem further apart.

[theRalph]

As Aaron Schatz so aptly put it, the Bills are the post-hype-sleeper amongst NFL teams. What he didn't predict is Burrow looking like a DIII rookie and the Chiefs looking positively ordinary—including Mahomes whose 4 interceptions look pretty horrifying compared to  17's 4. Tirico stuck an asterisk on the Lion's win at Arrowhead, so he'd probably do the same if McD hoists the Vince. Oh wait, the show is on CBS in Feb.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

Personally I love the sloppy defensive games, but I am more of a football purist. 

[QB Bills]

Not sure this is correct. Perspective changes when you root for a good team. I'm sure there were some Patriots fans during their extended heyday who thought the league wasn't as good as it used to be when they sucked. The team we watch has set a higher standard that other teams are not able to reach so it seems like they suck. In reality it's the Bills who are just that good right now.

[sullim4]

The NFL diluted their product by creating so many primetime games.

 

Look at the week 5 1pm/4pm slate next week:

 

CBS Early:

BAL/PIT

NO/NE

TEN/IND

 

CBS Late:

KC/MIN

NYJ/DEN

 

FOX Single:

NYG/MIA

CAR/DET

HOU/ATL

PHI/LAR

CIN/ARI

 

I wouldn't want to watch any of those games, other than maybe BAL/PIT and NYG/MIA, neither of which I believe will be competitive.  They've cannibalized the Sunday slate and left it with a bunch of D-list quality matchups.

[Buffalo Boy]

37 minutes ago, Eastport bills said:

Great news, that means we have a better path to a championship. I’ll worry about the quality of the league after we get a ring.

This is my default position. 
   I’m repeating myself, Nobody on the Chiefs feels bad about being gifted the 1 seed or winning a Lombardi on a crappy holding call with two minutes left in the game.

   Style points mean nothing. Stack wins, play the competition in front of you, hope to be the healthiest and hottest team heading into the playoffs and seal the deal.

 

[BuffaloBill]

The Bills could have beat the Jets and been in the driver’s seat. At this point all that matters is staying as healthy as is possible and bring home the Lombardi. 

[MJS]

Maybe defenses are just getting better. When we talk about teams struggling, it's usually the offense we are talking about. Maybe the pendulum is swinging back to the defense, now.

 

Khalil Mack just got 6 sacks in a game. The Bills defense is great. We've seen some good defensive performances this year around the NFL.

Edited October 2, 2023 by MJS

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Going into this season, the AFC was meant to be an absolute dog fight for the playoffs.  You had the Chargers finally healthy and Payton to fix the Broncos, creating a super competitive AFC West.  Then you had the AFC North with the returning Bengals, Ravens with receivers, Browns/Steelers defense with an evolutionary step on offense.  The AFC East would have the Jets/Dolphins/Bills battling it out.  The AFC South was the only one team division.  In the NFC, you only had the 49ers, Cowboys, and Eagles, and hopefully continued growth from the Giants, Lions, and offensive explosive Bears.

 

No disrespect, but I don’t know anyone who thought Payton was gonna be a magic fix for the terrible Broncos team or that the Chargers were going to be much different as long as Staley was there and that bad defense.

 

AFCE does have Bills and Dolphins and Jets lost Rodgers or they would have been there too.  
 

NFC is about what everyone expected for most part.

 

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

 

Now, four weeks in, I could barely watch the 4p games yesterday.  Prime time games have been an absolute joke.  The AFC is down to the Bills, Dolphins, and Chiefs, but even Mahomes has struggled in half his games to the point that we are talking about Swift/Kelce more.  Granted, Burrow being crap and Rodgers getting hurt was unpredictable, but still...

 

I hate the idea of flex scheduling for Thursday games and MNF, but at this point, the NFL needs it.  This is as bad a product as I can remember.  Thankfully, the NFL fan will watch anything football.  And of course, the Bills are the only team in the AFC that has another team in their division. The Chiefs have no excuse to not get the one seed again.  I was really hoping they would lose last night.  But they have the easier schedule from here on out.  Yes, we play them and can gain a game, but we also have the Eagles and Cowboys to play, but the Dolphins again.  The Chiefs only have to play us and the Dolphins once.  

 

In any case, just some thoughts

I think you’re being a bit overly negative.  Last nights game was a good one.  Niners game was a good one as Cards hung in there and made it competitive.  Cowboys game was enjoyable just watching the Pats get embarrassed is always great.  
 

The only thing I’ve hated this season is the Swift BS, like who cares that a pop singer is dating an NFL player.  No NFL fans do, yet they beating that horse like no other.  It’s fine to make a few comments or what not, but they cover her like she owns the Chiefs and has a brand partnership with the NFL.  

[Dr.Sack]

From a product standpoint the NFL is a bit predictable. Brady and Rodgers are out. The only thing unexpected is the Rodgers injury, and the Burrow injury. There’s some promising rookie QBs that have yet to really separate from the field. At the center of all the most anticipated games is Mahomes & Allen. 

[PBF81]

All I know is that I'm thoroughly enjoying our play right now and hope that we remain relatively consistent throughout the season.  

 

The offense presently is on pace for 590 PF, the franchise record is 501.  While it's more unlikely than likely that we'll hit that, I am expecting us to best our franchise record.  If we average the same 28.4 PPG that we did over last season, we'll hit 508 and it's not a reach that we average more than that.  Our OL play is at levels not seen on McD's watch.  Side note:  Torrence is outstanding!  

 

Cook's on pace for almost 1,300 rushing and 1,700 yards-from-scrimmage, something we haven't had here since Jackson.  

Diggs is on pace for 1,700/17

Davis is on pace for 900/12 

 

Would like to see Kincaid/Knox get more involved, but considering the above, that's kind of scary if they do.  

 

The D, while allowing significantly more YPG by over 100 thus far, is holding teams to 14 PPG.  Granted, it will be more against better teams, but that's excellent, and our pass rush has been suprisingly good.  That's the important thing in today's NFL.  

 

On a non-Bills side note, I'm deriving immense satisfaction watching Belichick doing face-palms during games!  The prospect of him finishing with his worst season since his inaugural season with Bledsoe in NE and otherwise while he was at Cleveland is gravy.  

 

 

[Virgil]

12 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

No disrespect, but I don’t know anyone who thought Payton was gonna be a magic fix for the terrible Broncos team or that the Chargers were going to be much different as long as Staley was there and that bad defense.

 

AFCE does have Bills and Dolphins and Jets lost Rodgers or they would have been there too.  
 

NFC is about what everyone expected for most part.

 

I think you’re being a bit overly negative.  Last nights game was a good one.  Niners game was a good one as Cards hung in there and made it competitive.  Cowboys game was enjoyable just watching the Pats get embarrassed is always great.  
 

The only thing I’ve hated this season is the Swift BS, like who cares that a pop singer is dating an NFL player.  No NFL fans do, yet they beating that horse like no other.  It’s fine to make a few comments or what not, but they cover her like she owns the Chiefs and has a brand partnership with the NFL.  

Last nights game was a refreshing surprise, but expected to be a blowout.  The cardinals have also been a nice surprise.  I'd still say there are way more let downs that surprise teams 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

As a Bills fan it’s tough to watch the league. We’re spoiled. Heck, we want to fire a head coach that’s won 3 straight division titles and an OC that called the 2nd rated offense in the NFL. 
 

When we watch other teams we think it’s garbage because our bar is set so high. 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Don Otreply]

It may be so, I feel that there are a lot of coaches that try with all their might to inset a square peg in a round hole, they lack a creative mind, and it shows. Not that coaching alone can create above average players, but it goes a long way towards better play. 

[The Wiz]

"The football hasn't been great, but at least we have Taylor Swift" - @Roger Goodell

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 minute ago, The Wiz said:

"The football hasn't been great, but at least we have Taylor Swift" - @Roger Goodell

Hook that imbecile (RG) to the back of a truck, and someone start driving.  A truck with no brakes. 🤨

[dma0034]

I mean I'm looking forward to that Chiefs/Vikings game