The Frankish Reich

I agree. But if Meyer hadn't been such an idiot and just let his assistants do their job and the GM keep building ... this Jags team has had a Bills 2018 look to it right from the start.

Urban Meyer fired too soon? Nobody wanted to believe it, but they are building a very good team come 2023.

No, nothing will ever top that. This is a Jags team playing all of its starters, trying (for whatever reason) like hell to win. That Steelers team was playing 2nd and 3rd stringers, playing for the sole purpose of not getting anyone important hurt.

Goodell's Nightmare is happening right now. Colts laying an egg. Jags up 16-3 threatening again. Sunday Night Tie scenario is looking better all the time ....

Fun take on this from a game theory perspective: https://www.wsj.com/articles/raiders-chargers-tie-nfl-playoff-scenarios-11641516938?st=tbw2bd32ppk8g5f&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink I think what everyone is missing here is that even if the collusion solution doesn't happen (it won't), it still may matter at the margin. Example: Final drive of the game. Raiders score a TD to make it Chargers 21, Raiders 20. Do the Raiders go for 2 to try to win it in regulation? The "tie and both teams are in" situation says "no" - the possibility of a tie after OT is as good as a win. And if so, how do the teams play it in OT? I would expect less risk taking by both sides. So the NFL is banking heavily on the Jags being the Jags. Otherwise this scheduling decision was pretty stupid.

I don't know if they'll give NYS bettors the same deals we got when they legalized Colorado, but ... I'd be inclined to hold out for some amazing deals. It started out in the $300 "risk free" (read the small print! you can't win and cash out right away; you have to re-wager what you've won, but of course you could make really conservative bets with those second wagers), and then elevated all the way to a truly ridiculous give-away from Caesar's of $2000 "risk free." Yep. $2000. Awesome. That's the one to take if they're offering it to NYS residents.

Probably true. They were just as good with Earl Morrall (38 year old thought to be washed up QB) playing with Griese injured. But the line and the running game were soooo good it just didn't matter. That undefeated team still ranked #1 in offense. Does he belong in the HOF? Not by stats. But the QB of the only perfect-record team in NFL history who also had a long and very good career is deserving by other standards.

He's in the Hall of Fame. In a larger sense, you are correct. Those Dolphins teams were unusual. The QB was never the big star - Csonka probably got more attention than Griese. And nobody ever really considered Griese the best QB of his time. In the early years most people probably (incorrectly in retrospect) rated Namath higher, then Staubach/Bradshaw with others mixed in (Tarkenton), and several others. And the Dolphins were so run heavy (it was a different era!) that Griese only completed 142 passes in 1970 - the year the Dolphins really got good - playing all 14 games. So 10 completions per game. Today he might be called a game manager. But a helluva game manager. Just some perspective for our younger commenters ...

Believe it or not, I agree with you on these points. Check out the topics on voting, etc. Many of the instances we've seen so far of "fraudulent voting" are more like instances of "where am I allowed to vote." Like this one about snowbirds in a retirement community: https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/12/15/3-voters-from-the-villages-charged-with-voting-fraud/ You have two homes, you can only vote for President in one state. Or you're a college student; do you vote where your parents live or where your school is located? I honestly don't know the answer to these questions (my kid in college asked me!) and I'm a lawyer so I ought to be able to figure it out. It's kind of like "choose one and only one" but which one? We need to tighten up the rules and the process. But as Brooks points out, none of these problems compare to the current threat that state legislature, state officials, or even a future corrupt VP presiding over the Senate might insert themselves into the process to flip a Presidential election. That came close to happening in 2020. And remember: next time around, or the time after that the shoe may be on the other foot with a Democratic state official/legislature or a Democratic VP deciding unilaterally what votes ought to count and what ones won't be counted. We like to have clear rules before the dispute arises, as it inevitably will again. We don't, and we won't.

1997-98?

I can only disagree because you don't include the perfect 1972 Miami Dolphins. They didn't have a lot of blowout victories, but I never had the feeling that the conclusion of the season was seriously in doubt - they were just superb in execution in all phases of the game, and they did have their stars - Griese, Csonka, Warfield, Buoniconti, that incredible O line. I hope the only reason nobody's mentioned them is it's before most people's time ... Yep. You got it!

True. The amount of talent on that team was just sick. I always think the same thing about the 1997 Seattle Mariners. Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez. Randy Johnson. Edgar Martinez. And they never even made the World Series.

The reply was of the order of, "You have the nerve to argue with the Victor Davis Hanson?" We call that type of argument an "appeal to authority," as in Victor Davis Hanson should be considered authoritative. I pointed out that he is certainly not, at least not with respect to things way far afield from ancient Greece and Rome .... Good. I am glad you really did the research. I know you probably won't read it because it is the NYT, but David Brooks has a pretty good take on Democratic overreach in their voting rights bill: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/democrats-fail-defending-democracy.html The emergency is in the third phase — Republican efforts to overturn votes that have been counted. But Democratic voting bills — the For the People Act and its update, the Freedom to Vote Act — were not overhauled to address the threats that have been blindingly obvious since Jan. 6 last year. They are sprawling measures covering everything from mail-in ballots to campaign finance. They basically include every idea that’s been on activist agendas for years. These bills are hard to explain and hard to pass. By catering to D.C. interest groups, Democrats have spent a year distracting themselves from the emergency right in front of us.

Well, in case you didn't notice, one of your fellow travelers saw fit to underscore the name Victor Davis Hanson as if he were citing to one of the titans of academia.

Now that Ted Cruz, there's a man's man! Groveling for forgiveness from Sean Hannity. Trump called his wife ugly, his father a JFK assassination conspirator, and still he stands by his man. How did he ever allow the term "terrorism" escape from his lips in connection with January 6? OF COURSE he didn't mean it.

Yes, THE Victor Davis Hanson, the self-appointed Sage of Fresno, Chair of the Classics Department at Fresno State, to which elite young classicists the world over flock. There's a certain kind of minor league academic who manages to ingratiate himself (always him, not her) with the right wing commentariat, who then hold him up as some kind of uber intellectual. The bar is awfully low, low enough for even this bozo to hurdle. Victor Davis Hanson is a joke. And a boring one to boot.

And to be honest, other than Josh McDaniels way back in 2009 when he was hired as Broncos HC at 33, I don't recall any of these young coaches acting like entitled spoiled children. I mean, compare the petulant and jerky yet well-seasoned Urban Meyer to all of the 30-somethings who've gotten jobs.

This is an awfully tired meme. Check, for example, the uber-nerd's analytic QB ratings: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2021-nfl-predictions/quarterbacks/?ex_cid=rrpromo Spoiler alert: Rodgers leads the pack, with Allen/Herbert/Mahomes/Brady in a virtual tie for 2nd. And it's been like that all season.

Same here. Too late. You are already supporting them as they have all your Athletic customer data. (Go back and read that 11 page terms of service document)

Changed my mind again. The sleeper star will be ... MITCH TRUBISKY. No reason to play Allen after we go up 31-0 with 12 minutes left in the 3rd.

There's a little hedging by the Bucs trainers/coaches here - he didn't tell us about ankle pain "on gameday," etc. But overall, yes, Arians is certainly more credible. - Brown is already confirmed to have presented a fake COVID card. In other words, his lack of candor is established. - Brown didn't behave in a manner consistent with a player who has an ankle injury/pain, since stripping off and jogging around the stadium is not usually associated with such - Brown was a bit late in presenting the ankle excuse. I mean, maybe he did that to the Bucs staff right after the game, but he's not known for being shy. The delay in going public about that is consistent with taking time to come up with a story... - It is unlikely that the Bucs staff would flat-out deny something that could be proven to be a lie, and they seem to be doing that here regarding pain injections on game day.

I don't know why I hadn't noticed - it's obvious in retrospect - that the infamous Alex Guerrero followed Brady to Tampa.

True. So I'm gonna go Tommy Sweeney instead. 😀

The Return of Touchdown Jesus, Jake Kumerow. Diggs/Beasley/Gabe, even McKenzie don't play a whole lot of snaps. You gotta throw the ball to someone!

Probably 50% skill, 50% luck. Exactly. To have poor situational luck like the Bills this year and to still win your division (not to jinx us or anything) is a sign of a pretty good team.