dave mcbride

I thought the Dodgers were the best team in 2017.

The best comparison I think is Bountygate (not Spygate), and the punishments seem pretty similar. Bountygate was a lot worse. The Yankees were definitely not the best team in baseball in 2017.

Yeah, they had a bunch of games where they gave up loads of points, but they gave up 13 or fewer points in 7 of their games.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but you should read more of the thread to get better context. This is kinda fake news. It's not even accurate given the larger context of his postgame comments.

Not really true. The Rams were at least decent on D - 13th in yards allowed, 9th in turnovers forced, 9th in defensive DVOA, 10th in yards per drive, and 11th in points per drive. They were 17th in points allowed partly because their offense turned the ball over a lot - the offense was 22nd in avoiding turnovers. The collective team defensive passer rating was 86.8, which is quite solid.

See my post at the bottom of page one of this thread — the SI story about him firing up the kickoff returner when they were down 24-0. The premise behind this entire thread is basically false regardless of his interactions with Kelce.

I don't actually disagree with you all that much, but there are shades of grey here. The reason why Watkins is so tantalizing for fans is because when he's on, he's as talented as any receiver you'll see in the NFL. He's THAT talented (you could even see it yesterday). But yeah, the production has never matched the talent. He's still pretty young, so who knows. It'll be interesting to see if KC keeps him next season - he's entering year 3 of a 3-year contract.

See my post at the bottom of page one. The SI story undercuts this narrative.

He had 90 yards from scrimmage yesterday and plays for a team that regularly distributes the ball to seven guys. Judging KC stats is hard to do because of how widely Mahomes distributes the ball.

Some more context that might shift the (false) narrative going on in this thread in a more positive direction re Watkins: https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/13/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-49ers-titans-chiefs-packers-head-coaching-carousel-mmqb. " As the Texans were burying the Chiefs under 24 points at the suddenly-silent Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City receiver Sammy Watkins sought out rookie Mecole Hardman with a pointed message. You’re gonna do something to spark us. And spark them, he did. A Houston field goal had just made it 24–0 with just under 11 minutes left in the first half when Hardman took the kickoff and found a seam right up Main Street. The second-round pick hit it, then cut to a wide-open right of the field. Fifty-eight yards later, the game was changed for good. “He sparked us,” Watkins said a few hours after the fact. “We went down there and scored, and after that, we were on fire. Energy was contagious, everybody just feeding off each other. And it just kept on, trickled down into the defense getting stops and turning the ball over, and we’re scoring and we couldn’t be stopped.” --- [And the best part!!!] The Chiefs have had a tougher path than last year’s team did, and they’re not going to let a play like Dee Ford lining up offside at the least opportune time get them again, as it did last season against the Patriots. The players they’ve been hardened by its experience. We’ll know in a few days. “It’s stuck with us a lot,” Watkins said, referencing last year’s title game. “And I tell people, ‘Man, I don’t think God’s going to make another mistake.’ We took that one to the chin pretty hard. And now we’ve got the same opportunity coming. --- I love it! You know he played WR for the Bills if he starts blaming God for making mistakes in game outcomes!!

Decoy Sammy had 90 yards from scrimmage and only trailed Kelce among position players.

No, it's actually ok for baserunners to steal signs. You simply can't use technology to do it. It's clear cut, and the Astros and Red Sox are the only teams who have been caught.

He's not even right about the selectivity.

Joe Tessitore is AWFUL.

How has MLB been selective about this? There are two teams for which they have actual evidence (rather than hearsay) - the Astros and Red Sox.

The Reds were absolutely one of baseball's premier franchises in their glory era that stretched from 1961-1990 (and Rose was banned in the 1980s). In those 30 years, they had 24 winning seasons and 6 losing seasons; 5 WS appearances, and a bunch of additional playoff appearances. (Infamously, they had the best record in baseball in the strike year of 1981 but didn't make the playoffs.) The Big Red Machine is one of the most legendary units in modern MLB history.

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/alex-cora-is-totally-utterly-and-completely-screwed-01dyg4xm8554 Oh, they'll definitely be able to do that. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28440015/report-red-sox-used-replay-room-steal-signs-2018-season

Chiefs all the way for me. I love Mahomes' game, and more importantly, if the AFC wins, they'll be tied 27-27 with the NFC (the fact that I care about that is pathetic, I know). I don't hate the Niners and won't be surprised if they win it all.

The Red Sox are, however, and their 2018 run is now tainted. The hammer is going to come down on them too.

Yup, and he was at the center of the Astros case.

The current play by play guy for ESPN -- Joe Tessitore -- is flat out terrible. He makes Joe Buck sound like a rank amateur in the overdramatic department. If they don't get rid of him, even Romo won't be able to cover up the stink.

Yeah, this is where I'm at. He's a good player for this team and an asset. He's certainly proven more than Harrison Phillips. I do think that most other teams will be aware of his limitations, but all it takes is two desperate teams who feel they need to significantly improve their interior pass rush.

If the AFC wins the SB this year, the AFC and NFC (and AFL/NFL) will be tied with 27 SB wins apiece.

He was good last year too. His production in Miami shouldn't count given that for whatever reason, Adam Gase put him in his doghouse despite the fact that he was a high draft pick.

There’s more on this story in the new SI MMQB column: https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/13/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-49ers-titans-chiefs-packers-head-coaching-carousel-mmqb