The Frankish Reich

Is there any scenario where we can play Detroit? O.K., maybe Miami?

Wow. That kind of sucks. Much as an Allen-Herbert shootout would be great entertainment, I really don't like that matchup.

Yeah, that's the one thing that continues to bother me ... this sure looks like the season where one key addition in an area of need could be the difference between a Super Bowl and an early exit.

Yeah, in another thread I mentioned the Dolphins' perfect season in '72 as being indisputably one of the best teams ever. The response: I would never nominate cheaters like them. I guess we can only root for the Lions without offending someone.

Agreed. Chiefs still scare me because they just have the playmakers (see that Broncos ending yesterday).

Yeah ... Not so surprising. Imagine us without Allen, GB without Rodgers, etc, etc.

Staking his team's future on Wentz was a huge gamble. First 3rd of the season consensus: what a horrible mistake. Middle 3rd: hey, it looks like he knew more than we did. Final 3rd: what a horrible mistake.

Wow. Indy is really gonna lose this one.

Now THAT would be fun.

NFL 2021.

Yep.

That's what they said about us ...

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.