Brady -> Mahomes AFC dominance is best case for league realignment

[WotAGuy]

This is the kind of thinking that got us to the “Everyone gets a participation trophy” BS. 

[JoPoy88]

On 1/29/2024 at 5:12 PM, Peevo said:

 

 

Appreciate your perspective.  I appreciate you engaging with my point.

 

I'm too young to remember the early 90s. 

 

But there seems to be a real hesitance to my generalized "every NFL team should play every NFL team" each season idea.

 

This is not a crazy idea, in my opinion.  It's almost heretical, judged by some of these responses.

 

NHL teams play a brutal, violent, unhinged, bloodsport 82 times a year.  How many concussions per year in the NHL?  It's just, if not more violent, than the NFL.  Then after all of that, they play another 20 plus brutal, violent, exhausting playoff games to determine a champion.

 

Daring to suggest professional football players play 31 games in a calendar year is somehow some absurd idea.  Increase rosters, bake in some "no more than 20 starts per player" rule and really force teams to have 2 QBs to be competitive.  I know, none of this will happen. 

 

But isn't this more fun than "the Bills should draft this player in round 5 I've never heard of from a college i've never watched" conversation?

Lol. NHL Hockey is not the “bloodsport” it once was. Not even close. And if you’re too young to remember the ‘90s Bills you’re definitely too young to remember when the NHL was brutal. 
 

now you’re just telling on yourself. Tap out. 

[FilthyBeast]

The thing that most people still don't get is that the NFL and NBA have always been like this in terms of dynasties and the same teams being great and winning championships year after year. Realigning divisions and conferences isn't going to change a damn thing about it especially when you have star players that only come around every 20 years or so.

 

This is why as much as I wanted to believe Mahomes was just a fluke, there's no denying now that we are watching Brady/Patriots all over again, and this time on steroid quite frankly. I'm actually considering missing the first superbowl I can remember in all my years of NFL fanhood because we all know the inevitable outcome.

 

And from a Bills perspective it truly sucks knowing that Mahomes and Chiefs are going to be the main reason that Allen and the Bills never get to and win a superbowl over the next 10+ years. At least with Brady and the Patriots the Bills sucked the greater part of those 20 years and never had anything close to Allen so it's not like they were standing in their way, albeit a major part of why they didn't make the playoffs 17 straight years.

 

[PauleeeWalnuts]

 

On 1/29/2024 at 12:31 PM, Peevo said:

 

All i'm saying is after all the games are played, we're stuck with the Chiefs in the AFC title again, what's the point of all of this?

 

The Bills got their skulls crushed by the Pats for 20 years, and we all just accepted it without complaint.  Now the Chiefs have ascended and there's virtually 0 hope for all AFC teams until he's retired.

 

How is it fair?  That's all I'm saying.

Fair is a place where pigs win ribbons. The Bills have to be a better organization from the top down to stop being B word-slapped by the same team year after year. Draft better, coach better, play better and stop choking all the time in the do or die games. To be the best, you have to beat the best. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

On 1/29/2024 at 12:09 PM, Peevo said:

One of the few malleable things about the league is that we all accept how the schedule isn't the same for every team.  Yet it's by CHOICE they do it this way. 

 

League owners and operatives could simply change it.  

 

You can't control player injuries, free agency, draft positioning, salary cap, etc. There's a lot of randomness that affects results.  The scheduling system is by design, and I'd argue has a massive impact on what teams make the Superbowl every year.  

 

31 games (every team plays each other once) is never gonna happen.  So what are some better options than the current system?

 

Brady and the Pats went to 8 consecutive AFC Championships (2011 - 2018).  Not even counting their pre-2011 runs.  The Chiefs have appeared in 6 straight conference championships.  2018 - 2023 & counting.  

 

The AFC domination transferred from Brady to Mahomes in the span of a season.  Now the conference is Mahomes' to dominate until he retires.

 

We just accept this as a reality.  The NFL could just change it.  Why is it this way?  Because they decided to in 1967.  

 

If the conferences are unevenly matched due to the presence of a generational talent, it creates a competitive disadvantage for 15 teams simply because of league logistics.  Again, they choose to have it this way.  

 

NFL fans accept the reality that their teams play almost all the same teams every year, and expect DIFFERENT results.  I'm burnt out on the same teams every year.  And of course I know as I'm writing this that IT WILL NEVER CHANGE.  Doesn't mean we can't at least have the conversation, right?

 

 

 

 

The simplest solution would be to simply replace the Lombardi trophy with participation trophies given to all players.