BADOLBILZ

Yeah he's not a statue at all..........but he definitely keeps his eyes locked downfield and holds the ball in the pocket looking for the deep shot........and he has a great, deep WR corps..........and that causes a lot of his own sacks. Bengals seem to dial up a lot of deeper throws as well. Still no idea what they were thinking on that 4th and 1 that sealed the game.........didn't appear to be much option underneath.

Tampa/Dallas was an even bigger ratings matchup and they chose that for the opener this past season.

As I alluded to.....the two teams that got byes probably weren't worthy #1 seeds.........TN in particular was probably the 4th or even 5th best team in the AFC..........in this case both #1 seeds came from very weak divisions.........whether that also relates to extending the schedule it's hard to say in just one season but when there is only 1 bye the odds that a less deserving team is the only team to benefit from the system is increased.

I do think that the teams will adjust to the extra game and the lack of a second playoff bye team and it will eventually become an afterthought............but like the rookie wall........I think these teams hit a wall in the championship games and stayed hit. I do recall the 1978 season when they expanded to 16 games the title games were terrible..........but at the time the Steelers and Cowboys were miles ahead of the teams in their conference and ended up playing a very memorable Super Bowl. The next season was a sloppy playoffs with scrubby Buccaneers and Rams teams meeting in a lousy the NFC title game and the Steelers then looking old and tired in the Super Bowl and needing a big 4th quarter to finish off a Rams team that was a shadow of the better Chuck Knox Rams teams of the 1970's.

There have been plenty of uncontested SB's...........we certainly know that..........but usually ONE team looks like they actually deserve the Lombardi. What this game reminded me of was SB XL.......the Pittsburgh/Seattle game..........where both teams played poorly but one of them had to win.

Here is a question for you........did you find the Bills 2017 regular season highly entertaining? All those nail biting finishes brought to you by 60 minutes of Jauron Ball. Bad football with a close ending is different than a great football game. This SB was sloppy. The OL's were gassed, the QB play was shabby(Stafford even tore OBJ's ACL for him with a bad pass), some inactive Bengals dude ran on the field in his jammies and might have killed a drive, a guy who hadn't dropped a pass all season drops a bunny to help the Rams get the ball back........the list of 's was long.......... and then the refs let both sides get away with everything until the game was on the line and started raining flags........otherwise a second half of futility where neither side looked like they wanted to win the game ends in a much uglier 4-and-out for the Rams.

Yep........what I saw were two worn out OL's..........having to carry all that extra weight those guys are naturally the least physically fit players on the team and they basically have to play every snap all year............I think the wear and tear and fatigue really showed on both teams. Maybe the Rams even more than the Bengals. The running game in the NFL now is all about the OL play.

I certainly don't expect Mike Brown to spend to the cap. But he is 86 years old and has a true franchise QB that he needs to keep happy and healthy so if EVER he is going to spend to the cap and then re-structure beyond it.......like basically every other team would do for Joe Burrow.........it would be in the next few seasons.

First of all........I was a proponent of the extra game and I do believe eventually that expanded rosters, 18 games and 2 byes will happen. But in the first season with both the extra game as well as the 2020-instituted extra playoff team.............I think the mental and physical fatigue really showed at the end. The NFL got close games..........but for real football fans it was a sloppy finish in both the championship games and SB. OL and QB play was particularly weak. A couple observations: 1) This season both #1 seeds came from divisions without another playoff team. That has happened in shorter seasons too but this time neither was seen as a dominant favorite to reach the SB, which seemed very unusual. 2) The best teams........I would argue Buff/KC and Tampa/LAR all had 4 game paths to winning the SB and met in the divisional round. Only the Rams survived..........and barely.

Rams were lined up with double 3 techs and nobody over the center for much of the game and Cinci still only rushed for like 78 yards............so that is an incorrect assessment.

The flags didn't come out until the Rams got to first and goal. They refs had been letting them play all game.........but with the focus that was going to be on those last two minutes I don't think the refs wanted to be cited for letting the defense man-handle the Rams at the end. The officials certainly lost their nerve to hold the hankies.......but I don't think it was a conspiracy. The play before the first flag that was thrown was an egregious PI that they let go. At that point I think they knew the Bengals were just going to try to grab everything and hope the flags continued to stay in the pockets. Bengals don't have much to complain about..........the Higgins TD where he face masked Ramsey was a free 7 points. In the prior levels of the playoffs the flag comes out there........the officials convene.......and the sky judge tells them its OPI on Higgins and that drive is dead. Sky judge apparently wasn't an option in the SB.

Pretty lousy football game. We found out what happens when two teams that are afraid to win the Super Bowl meet in a Super Bowl. Kinda' reminded me of the Steelers vs. Seahawks matchup. Glad the Bengals lost.......SB losing teams that have never won a SB prior really tend to not get back..........and the refs pulling their prior unused flags out just as the Rams were trying to suh-natch defeat from the jaws of victory was both distasteful and fitting, I guess. I'm not blaming officiating by any means.........the lesson is don't play yourself into close games where a bad bounce or flag can sink you. Bengals had the Rams on the ropes immediately after halftime and didn't step on their throat while the Rams were reeling.

"Dominant" is the word you are looking for. "Dominate" sounds like Dom-In-Nate and makes no sense in the context you used it.

Sanders failed to be the expected upgrade over what they had gotten from John Brown in 2020. Really missed that speed and quickness aspect that Sanders didn't offer..........especially in that 8 game stretch where they went 3-5 and couldn't hold blocks on the interior long enough for ol' man Manny to get into his artfully run routes.

If you are being that simplistic.........both the Bills and Bengals gave up 55 points to the Chiefs in regulation in their two games...........and the Bills had to play both games in Arrowhead. The Bills had the best defense in the NFL this year..........I will give the Bengals credit for broadly adjusting their game plan to the opponent in the second half of the AFCCG while the Bills traditionally refuse to do that under McDermott.......but that game should have been over by then......the Bengals D gave up 24 in the first half and only a total mental lapse by Mahomes in the closing seconds kept it from being 27 or 31. That play threw Mahomes into a nose dive of bad decisions and inaccuracy like we've never seen from him. The Bengals didn't play a good game in general........the Chiefs played down to them in the second half. The Bills could use more pass rush for sure but what hurts them is not being able to adjust their plan against KC. Pittsburgh had the same issue when playing NE for years..........they were a great D against most anyone else but they weren't multiple enough in their back end to slow down NE when it mattered. KC is also good at adjusting to their opponent........see the game plan they threw together against Buffalo in the 2020 AFCCG. The players in the Bills back 7 have on average 4 years plus of experience together..........that familiarity is totally wasted by not mixing things up. That's what I want to see from the defense. Defense is notoriously hard to keep at a high level for more than a couple straight seasons...........but being able to adapt your game plan to the opponent should always be attainable.

I really like Hunter but I can't see trading a first round pick or multiple other picks AND having to extend his contract when he's missed 26 of the last 33 games. The neck issue that caused him to miss 2020 was particularly concerning...........there was a lot of talk about him never playing again during that. Seems like another one of those situations where teams might not be able to justify giving up the requisite draft capital to make it of equal value for Minnesota to give him up........especially when there is a pretty shiny class of early round pass rushers out there this year. Definitely A LOT more warts on Hunter than there was Diggs. Also worth noting that he's played LDE almost exclusively in his career.........which is where Groot is positioned. Hunter may still be able to handle LT's.........but they are generally better pass blockers. Would really like to see a proven RDE pass rusher if I am trading top picks and giving out a new big money deal.

The Colts had done a good job of building a talented roster thru the draft and FA.........and being super efficient with their cap......they didn't dump a ton of cap money on dud UFA's like Beane did too often......the QB situation has totally undermined them. Hopefully their struggles continue.

It's ignorant to look at it that simply. The division game between Buff/KC was played at a very high intensity level.........the championship game was not particularly well played by either team. When Burrow threw that stupid pick in the second half after they just got a KC turnover.......it was as if nobody wanted to win the game. If that Chiefs team showed up the week before it would have looked a lot like the 38-20 win the Bills secured in Arrowhead earlier in the season. And before you anoint their pass rush, remember the Bengals gave up 31 in regulation to the Chiefs at home in Cinci a few weeks earlier. It took a half of terrible football from the Chiefs to get that game into OT..........if you're gameplan is built around the hope the Chiefs just play like sh*t when you face them that's not really a great plan, IMO.

It's pronounced Duh-Neil like Da'Rick.

I asked how this guy played in the other thread too.........but Noah Ellis is a very high pedigree prospect..........he was actually a 4 star recruit while Jordan Davis was only a 3 star. If Ellis stays in the SEC (I think he was originally committed to Ole Miss or Miss St) maybe he's the top NT in the draft class..........it's a position where it's easy to get lost in the college game.

I haven't watched the recording of the Shrine game yet. How did Noah Ellis play? 6'4" 360#........highly recruited son of a former stud NFL DT Luther Ellis...........just chose to play at Idaho St. because his dad was the DL coach there. I know he looked good in practices because there were some dominant clips of him plowing OL over on the bull rush that people were gushing about.

Oh Jordan Phillips was that guy at Oklahoma Lance Zuerlein on Phillips............"Read-and-react two-gap nose with ability to eat space and free linebackers". Final NFL.com mock draft in Phillips year: 39. Chicago Bears:Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma That transition to the 3-4 just got a lot easier with the large, but surprisingly athletic, Phillips clogging up the middle. Davis got an extra bump in attention this year playing on the #1 defense in the nation for most of the year but make no mistake........very similar players entering the league.......Phillips declared early but he and 4 year player Davis final year stats were very similar. Being tall like Davis and Phillips makes it difficult to have the leverage to be a true NT/space eater in the NFL. FWIW........Danny Shelton was the NT/space eater rated and drafted ahead of Phillips in that draft.........Shelton is an actual space eater who has bounced around the league and had his moments........he played on a vet min deal with NYG last year and is also a forgotten free agent if all you need is a big run stuffer. They ain't worth much once you drive them off the lot............but hey...........let's use a first round pick on one, right?

It was an excellent show. Must see for Bills fans, IMO.

Eh........Vea hasn't been as good as many Bills fans think either........when you factor in availability Oliver has actually probably been better over the first 3 years versus Vea's first 3. And of course, the worst trade decision in Bucs history may have been deciding not to pick Josh Allen at #7 and instead trading back and taking Vea.

Well as solid as Oliver has been from day one..........he certainly hasn't been the exception to the rule that a lot of us thought he would be. 1st round draft stock pound for pound.......and #7 is a BIG chip.......Oliver might be the worst bang for the buck Beane has gotten.