As an old Lions “fan” - is that the right word for such a franchise - I’d say Barry wouldn’t succeed like that today because he used to turn back, even circle in the backfield and then use pure speed and agility to get back to scrimmage and beyond. I think pursuit is dramatically improved in today’s NFL.
I think running teams function well against teams that can’t defend the run and agree the days of that working as a consistent strategy is over: you can’t beat enough teams by running. That is why people love(d) Kaepernick and love Wilson: they offer a combination of run + option run + passing; you can, they hope, change the mix from run to pass, from run to option, depending on the team you face.
BTW, I’m a big fan of Pete Carroll. He was good in NE but hadn’t yet fully developed his style; he was rah-rah but at USC he developed that into the concept of positive feedback. I realized he’d done this when NE played there in I think 2012 and the Seahawks played with extremely high, positive energy. I distinguish “positive” from the kind of energy we saw from Buffalo, meaning high emotions, sometimes out of control, with “positive” meaning high energy under control.
Jets looked like the same old Jets, the defense in the first half was hesitant, let Philly score, but the real story is just how mediocre the offense was, between lousy execution, and unimaginative play calling, this is basically the Rex Ryan Jets, all defense with an offense you simply hope doesn’t screw up.
My team is almost unwatchable today. I had expected much better against a limping opponent at home. It’s straight up pathetic. The O line isn’t doing well but the play calling is driving me insane.
What a bunch of dog games they had on TV today. SF is hideous and AZ is very good. I think SF should have fired everyone but Harbaugh! (He’s already turned around Michigan.) The Dolphins continue to not play for Philbin - couldn’t even show up for their home opener - while Rex Ryan has the Bills motivated and working hard. My only comments: the Bills win showed just how good NE is.
And of course there isn’t much to say about NE over the Jags: they scored every time they had the ball and it could have been more because they kicked a few field goals in there. I was impressed with the number of young players on the field and their speed and focus. It’s early in the year but this is one hell of a good team.
Who’d have thunk the Ravens would be 0-3. Before the NE game, the weekly interview with Jonathan Kraft included asking him about this, about whether he was surprised to see these teams 0-2. There was a long pause. An owner can’t say much about another team - and could be fined. Then he said, “Isn’t it a pity about the Ravens?” Yeah. Bleep them. Too bad the Colts managed to come back against a mediocre TN team.
Watching my childhood Lions blow another game … one mistake after another. My favorite has to be Stafford fumbling under pressure when they needed a TD to go ahead. Oh wait: it must be the guy on the field goal defense unit who on his own lined up in a left side overload, which is an illegal formation, so the Broncos got to try again … and that moved it from a 2 point to 5 point lead, which led to the fumble … and then the INT after the fumble (but after Denver scored again so that’s not as crucial). My new motto for the Lions: the Detroit Morons. Loved watching the special teams coach explaining to the guy that he’d lined up illegally. I can’t imagine that kind of stupid happening on a Belichick team. BTW, Peyton threw much better. They had him drop back a full 7 steps - and fast - giving him more time to get his body into the throws. It showed; his motion was more overhand and you could see the ball coming out of his hand better as he snapped his body into the throw.
That said, I mostly watched the end of CSI. While Gil Grissom was there to be moral and emotional center, it was one of the great shows of TV. It was very satisfying to see him back.
“Loved watching the special teams coach explaining to the guy that he’d lined up illegally. I can’t imagine that kind of stupid happening on a Belichick team”
My DW had a one point lead going into last night’s game, and she was worried. I told her it was in the bag, she has Aaron Rodgers on her team.
48.5 points later she had a huge victory. The guy is a machine. He’s the one qb worth a first round pick IMO.
At the last second I subbed out Devonta Freeman for Frank Gore. Gore did ok for once, but Freeman had a career day - 141 yards rushing, 52 yards receiving on 5 receptions (this is a half PPR league). And I left Peyton on my bench to play Roethlisberger, who went out with a knee injury barely had any points. I left almost 50 points on my bench,
But it didn’t matter, I still won by over 100 points. Thank you Adrian Peterson, Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, and Greg Olsen.
To those who continue to try to discount talk of Aaron Rodgers’ greatness— please. Bye, Felicia. Sports journalists in all outlets (plus a great piece in the NYT) are running out of superlatives.
You’ve got to admit, Aaron is quite the likeable guy, right???
And Green Bay overall is a pretty likeable team??
Put the two together…you’ve got a good football story!
GB is a terrible matchup for KC, especially in GB where teams tend to get steamrolled. The problem I have with GB is this: look at their home versus away record. In his career, Rodgers is 47-10 in GB and 29-27 on the road. That team can look fantastic, other-worldly, unbeatable at home but they’re mediocre on the road. (The stats are the “career splits” on ProFootball-Reference.com.) Note this was true last year (2014) as well: 8-0 at home and 4-4 on the road. I think that home dominance/road mediocrity is why they tend to fail in the playoffs, even in home games; the competition is that much better and that much more determined not to be intimidated. I know it’s early in the year but I thought the way Seattle played in GB spoke better about Seattle than GB: given the motivation to beat the team that went to the Super Bowl because of a rash of stupid/fluke plays, GB didn’t show me the kind of physicality I wanted. (I felt the same last year when NE in the midst of a series of very tough games was a play or so away from beating GB in GB.)
I note that GB picking up James Jones is the kind of good football decision I expect from a good organization. Remember when NE picked up Deion Branch? You bring in a guy who has chemistry with the QB, who knows the system, who has something left though he’s diminished and he can be productive.
Take two comparisons. First, Drew Brees: not as good but very good and a team that has had some down years mixed in. He’s 63-39 at home, so not as dominant there, and 54-49 on the road, which is about the same as Rodgers. The difference between the two looks a lot like GB home domination. Then look at Tom Brady. Given the accusations of cheating, which could only occur at home, you’d expect him to be relatively worse on the road. He’s 92-15 at home, which is as dominant as GB and, given that NE has been somewhat better over Brady’s career, I’d say it’s similar. But Brady’s road record is 71-34, which is also pretty darned dominant, and is perhaps slightly better than Peyton Manning’s 93-47 road record (which is the next best modern record I can find). Without thinking deeply, besides saying that Brady’s road record should be a lot worse if he needed to cheat at home, the obvious point is Brady and NE are the best at playing on the road and that translates directly into playoff wins and the 6 Super Bowl appearances. Brady appears to have the best road winning percentage of any QB of note.
Take Matt Ryan. He’s also home dominant: 40-15 at home versus 29-29 on the road. Anyone think he’s the best QB in the game? No: he doesn’t win on the road and in important games but in some games, notably at home, he looks like the best QB in history and Julio Jones is literally unstoppable. Ryan is in the books for great 5 year start to a career, etc. but he’s 50-50 on the road. It’s weird thinking of QB names and checking this out. Terry Bradshaw won 4 Super Bowls but his road record was 41-42! Bart Starr was very good on the road: 42-22, which is a big reason why sites like Cold Hard Football Facts rank him so highly: he won in every condition, home and away. Roethlisberger is 61-20 at home and 47-34, which to me says he’s underrated; he is relatively dominant at home and plays well on the road.
The SI profile of Rodgers was fascinating. He really is smart (and weird, in some ways!). It isn’t just about wins (or home field advantage). He is phenomenal.
On a serious note… I was listening to a Milwaukee talk show this morning, and they said Rodgers has something like five completed passes on free downs this year… the rest of the NFL quarterbacks? 0
People that play against them really need to be beyond diligent about not going offside… But I read that KC actually prepared for that this week, knowing how he is… I guess they didn’t prepare enough.
- ESPN announces that Rodgers is the best AND the smartest quarterback in the NFL: