The Frankish Reich

Kansas City weather next weekend: mid 30s highs, hi teens lows. No snow. Winds 10-12 mph. (Sorry, I had to do it 😜)

In the pregame threads someone joked about our weak link, Matt Haack, and how he'd not be a factor because we'd never have to punt. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to really happen. Just as close to a perfect offensive performance as a team can have. There should be a QB rating thing for offense overall so we could have that 158.3 rating.

Pretty sure that if the NFL is fixing anything it’s not to get tiny market Cincy to the SB.

And you know this ... how? What happens if they breach that door? Are they going to politely request that he step aside and allow them to proceed to the Speaker of the House? And he knew this ... how? He knew what was in her backpack? You know, the one she didn't send through security like she was supposed to? And why limit it to whether he was under immediate, personal danger. His job is to protect the Capitol and our representatives/staff lawfully conducting business inside of it. In fact, in hindsight (since you seem to want to play that game) it looks like she - even if not personally armed - was part of a group planning to overthrow the election by any means necessary: the day before the assault on the Capitol, Babbitt retweeted: "Nothing can stop us....they can try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light...." All that moronic QAnon crap - crap that didn't exactly preach all sweetness and light when it comes to how those devilish child-eaters like Pelosi were supposed to be dealt with. He did the right thing under the circumstances. There's a lot of this "whataboutism" in this thread and in society in general - an attempt to change the topic because these January 6 attackers were absolutely as "low class" (Trump's words) and violent as advertised. I am the recipient of the stock response, "yeah, well then why do you have a problem with the cop shooting Jacob Blake?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Jacob_Blake I'm consistent here. That was a justified shooting too. Are you guys consistent?

Well, that may be true in general. But PFR is no clickbait newcomer. You can argue with their methodology, but it's solid info. Plus the fact that there's absolutely nothing sexy about the Pro Football Reference site. It is nerd bait if it's any kind of bait.

At least it isn't mozz sticks with white sauce.

Deal with it. American Hero: vs. American Idiot:

You guys are so immersed in conspiracy nuttery that you can't see common sense. Let's set aside the law on use of lethal force for a moment. Imagine asking the ordinary American this scenario pre-Jan 6: - you deliberately bypass security at a secured federal facility - you try to break through a closed interior security door where the offices of a leadership work - what do you expect to happen to you? I can't believe that less than 98% of people would say they would expect to be shot. Or at least tasered (which wasn't feasible in this situation) As for the law: again, a silly strawman argument again. We are not talking about shooting "hundreds of people." No lethal force was employed to stop the horde that bypassed security. It was only when there was an attempt to break through an interior security door that lethal force was employed. Every so often we hear about an airport being shut down because a guy who's late for a flight bypasses TSA. That's not a lethal force situation. No if that guy is identified/followed on camera and he tries runs up the a jetbridge and starts pounding on a closed airplane cockpit door? Yeah, he's gonna get shot. It is reasonable and appropriate and that circumstance to assume that he is armed (that would be why someone evades security) and that he poses an imminent threat of grave harm to the persons inside.

What on earth does that have to do with storming a secured building? This is the silliest form of "argument" - the idea that if I say storming past security, then trying to break through an interior door justifies lethal force, it suggests that an ordinary law enforcement encounter on the street likewise must justify lethal force. Occasionally it does. It depends on the facts. OK. Let's keep it real: - Have you ever worked in a secured facility, guarded by federal officers? - If so, what would you expect those federal officers to do if someone deliberately evaded the security desk/metal detector and then tried to break through the door to your office space? - If not, well, I guess you just don't get it.

From the first article you cited: Does it then mean that the Capitol Police have the right to gun down any trespasser? If the BLM were to come through the door next and an officer shoots one of them down, are all the Democrats going to cheer that, too, under similar circumstances? Yes. And (although I am not a registered Democrat) Yes. I have worked in secured federal buildings. There have been protests outside on many occasions. If those protesters ever storm the building, bypass security, and then try to break down the door to my office, well, then they should be shot. Byrd should get a medal for marksmanship. And these idiot articles saying he didn't "cooperate in the investigation" - these are the same people who were urging federal murder/manslaughter charges against him. Remember that 5th Amendment you always claim to support?

Yep. You can't run as a Peronist while Peron is still alive. Trump is and always has been about Trump. Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis ... you'll learn the hard way.

Agreed. It may be paywalled, but a lot of the article focuses on the same factors (sports science on travel, etc.) you cite. The long term trend toward the NFL being a TV product continues. Ratings are up sharply. It may be sacrilege here, but for people who really want to enjoy the game itself (not the tailgating fan-bonding experience), football is far better on a big screen at home. My rough approximation of what sports are better in person vs. on TV, from "in person best" to "can't beat TV" -- 1. Hockey. TV never does it justice. 2. Basketball IF you've got good seats. A whole different live experience. 3. Baseball. Because it just means warm summer nights and a kind of "choose your experience" thing - sit up close and watch pitches break. Tour the concourse and find a bar area for a few innings. Sit above the bullpens and watch the whole late-game ritual. Sit in the cheap seats just to enjoy the evening. 4. Football. The action will be far away from you most of the time.

Home field advantage ain't what it used to be. In fact, it's barely there at all* https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01/14/nfl-home-field-advantage-pandemic/ From 2002 to 2018, home teams won at least 56 percent of the time during all but two seasons, and in three seasons won at least 60 percent. In various ways, effects of those factors have dissipated. In the past three years, home teams have not cracked a 52 percent winning percentage. More than half of this season’s playoff teams — the Bengals, Patriots, Raiders, Cowboys, Eagles, Rams, Cardinals and 49ers — posted a better record on the road than at home. The Cardinals averaged seven points fewer in Arizona than they did on the road, and finished with a losing record at home. So did the Eagles, who allowed 2.6 points per drive at home, the second-worst mark in the NFL. So, too, did the Patriots, who hadn’t had a losing record at home since Bill Belichick’s first year as coach in 2000. The 12th man needs to watch the film and regroup. *possible exception for Lambeau

Yep. I guess they should've just labeled him "interim coach" from the get-go. And the weird thing is he actually may have started developing a real NFL QB in Davis Mills. Without anyone noticing he finished the season with these QB ratings: 106.2 52.4 (split this one with Tyrod) 93.2 92.2 130.6 75.4 128.5 That's a pretty nice conclusion to a rookie season. Now he can start all over again with some crappy retread HC ....

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/politics/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes.html Well, they believe they have enough information now to bring serious charges. So this is no longer a "mere words" investigation. And yes, words are part of any conspiracy, provided they are coupled with an overt act.

Now that's a real Bills fan ... the mixture of hope and resentment that no other fan base can equal! 😀

If it's not the Bills (and no fan base anywhere deserves it more than us, not even Detroit), then it ought to be the Bengals. They're actually kind of the Jr. Bills - always playing second fiddle to another divisional team, built a fantastic team that came awfully close to getting over the hump a couple times in the last decade, went through a painful rebuild, and now are back with a more likable cast of characters (Vontaze Burfict, anyone?). Plus they played hard to break our playoff drought in 2017 even though they had nothing of their own to play for. If heaven forbid we don't make it, I'll be pulling for them.

McD learned from that first Pats game. First Pats game: Pats 100% committed to the run. Play a heavy formation with an extra OL on the majority of snaps. McD counters with ... 2 180 lb CBs playing 100% of the snaps. 222 yards rushing without even pretending to try to throw the ball. Compare Bills with standard offensive sets: 60 RB rushing yards. Later: McD/Daboll frustrated with O line injuries/ineffectiveness. Copy Belichick by playing Doyle as an extra O lineman. Imitation: sincerest form of flattery. The student will not be caught by the master again with his pants down.

Thanks for the excellent summary - the clearest I've seen. So as always there was a combination of a sound strategy/scouting and just a little bit of luck (or, if you prefer, some really poor decision making by some teams drafting ahead of us).

They did play the following good teams in addition to the Bills: - Titans (beat em) - Bengals (same) - Bucs (almost) - Pats (if we consider them "good") So there is that ...

And I think the Jets are finally on the right course. Of course a lot depends on whether Zach Wilson develops. Unless of course they get the other Wilson. Russell. I'm glad Miami pulled the plug on Flores, who also seemed to have them on the right course. Prediction: the AFC East will be a good division starting next season.

My take: weather is the great equalizer. Bad teams (read: the Bills, ~ 2005-2016) benefit from bad weather. Good teams (Bills 2019-current) can only be harmed by it. When you are the better team you don't want extraneous factors like weather having a role in determining the outcome.

Would've preferred Merlin Olsen, but I'll take it.

Agreed. This is the kind of thing really good teams do - find value in some guy out there for the taking. If you'd asked "is defensive end a position of need right now" everyone would've said no, it's way down the list. But getting just a little bit better, just a little bit deeper anywhere on the football field can make a difference - sometimes just enough of a difference to win a playoff game.

Here's the PFF take on him when he was traded to the Jets last offseason. Bottom line: nothing exciting, but a solid upgrade. (PFF numbers this year are the worst of his career, however): Lawson a proven pass-rusher: Lawson has settled into being a consistent force as an edge rusher over the past few seasons, averaging 38.5 total pressures for two different teams within the AFC East since 2019. Lawson no slouch in run defense, either: The best PFF grades of Lawson's career have come as a run defender, headlined by an 81.1 mark in 2018 for the Buffalo Bills. Jets' pass-rush struggles are clear: No edge-rushing unit in the league has graded out worse than the Jets' (62.4) since 2017. New York also ranks 32nd league-wide in pressure rate from the edge (16.9%) over that same period. With Carl Lawson lost already due to injury, the Jets simply had to find a source of edge pressure.