The NFL Is Hard to Watch and Follow
I hate it every time I hear it about a Quarterback; "He has a ring" or "Look at the win loss record" these are not Stats. Dan Marino was better in his prime than every NFL QB today except Tom Brady, and it's not close. Never Won a Super Bowl, because he never played on a good team. He made the Super Bowl once, and he ran into the Buzz Saw that was the Pre-York Family 49ers. Dan Fouts never won a Super Bowl, but I would take him in his prime over all but maybe 5 Quarterbacks today.
I looked at twitter this morning, saw some "Russell Wilson is better than Phillip Rivers talk" and almost threw my fucking phone. How does someone come to this conclusion? Do people not watch games? This isn't to say that Russell Wilson isn't a good QB, he is a good QB. He's probably the 8th or 9th best QB in the league right now. Don't think so, here are all the QB's who are better and have been better all year; Brady, Rodgers, Rivers, Big Ben, Brees, Luck, Stafford, Matt Ryan. Only Big Ben and Ryan can be argued to have better supporting cast then Wilson. Spare me the "He was hurt and couldn't scramble" fuck off. Then he should throw from the pocket if he's an elite QB. "His Oline isn't good" fuck off again. Luck, Brees, Brady, Ben, and Rivers all have below average Olines and they throw the ball amazingly from a congested pocket, something Wilson Struggles with. Their are stat scouting individuals, and then there are people who actually know and understand the game of football. Then there's the narrative driven media who will push players down your throat that are better for ratings. The media pushing narrative of players down your throat is how some NFL players get too much credit, and some not enough. That's Wilson at QB. He's good, he's not the QB the media will make you think. When the Packers lose it's "what's wrong with Aaron Rodgers?" When the Seahawks lose, it's "What's wrong with the Seahawks" as an example. The NFL media won't criticize players they need to prop up for views and clicks.
Remember This
The Packers won the Super Bowl in 2010. They started the year struggling due to injuries, much like this year. Clay Matthews and Casey Heyward are their best defensive players and they haven't played much. When Matthews was healthy they had the NFL's best run defense. Also in 2010, they didn't have a RB until James Starks came out of nowhere. The just picked up Christine Michael off the Waiver. Michael was having a decent year. The Seahawks cut him because they thought he was only getting what they Oline gave him. Remember the Seahawks also waived Spencer Ware a few years ago. Not saying Michael is Spencer Ware, but on a team with a good Oline and Aaron Rodgers he will be better than he was in Seattle. Matthews is practicing, and the Packers might have picked up a competent Running Back. They'll beat Washington this weekend, get to .500 and look out. Aaron Rodgers has been playing lights out, if the team catches up, they'll be winning games again.
The New York Giants aren't afraid to go on the Road in the Playoffs to win games. They won two Super Bowls that way. They also won behind Eli's arm and a great pass rush. They have both of those things right now. Also, Jennings and Paul Perkins as a 1-2 at RB isn't bad. A New York Giants vs Patriots Super Bowl is in play everyone.
The Chiefs are 7-2. They've gotten their without their best player, Justin Houston who by the way is coming back soon. The Raiders are a "talk of the town team" and the Chiefs beat the Brakes of them when they played in Oakland. This is the 2nd best team in the AFC, and might be the best if they're at home.
Andrew Luck is the MVP. He has his team at 4-5. Not ideal right? I don't care. He's going to find a way to go 6-1 down the stretch or 5-2 and get them to 10-6 or 9-7. I think either wins the division too. A win over the Colts this weekend, and one over the Texans later in the year will make this happen. Texans will lose 4 of their remaining games.
The Seahawks offense will look bad again on Sunday. They looked good against a Patriots team that can't rush the passer or stop the run. The Eagles do both of these things. The biggest addition for the Eagles was Jim Schwartz as Defensive Coordinator. Everyone he's been a DC he's had a good defense.
Steelers vs Seahawks Super Bowl is also in play. Steelers can sneak in as a Wild Card again and just out score everyone. Seahawks getting home field isn't out of the question. They'll need it to win in the playoffs as they're 2-2-1 on the road this year. I would put this as the 5th most likely matchup right now.
The most likely Super Bowl scenario I see right now is Patriots vs Falcons. I don't think the Falcons will have an issue beating anyone on the road in the playoffs. They'll put up points, and they're suddenly finding a pass rush. Next most likely to me is the Patriots vs the Seahawks. Funny thing about this is I think Hoodie put out a weak game plan on purpose in anticipation for a rematch. I know everyone remembers the bad slant pass, but Hoodie's defense made the Seahawks QB look pedestrian all game long in that Super Bowl. 3rd most likely to me is Cowboys vs Patriots. Play Romo and it goes higher. 4th is Patriots vs Giants. See above comments. 5th is Steelers vs Seahawks. See above. 6th is Chiefs vs Packers. Oh man the 2005 draft story lines, don't think Roger Godddell hasn't thought about this. Also, McCarthy vs Reid. They can do a Rib eating contest at media day.
Quick Hits
I was wrong about Marcus Mariota after he was drafted. I thought he would be Joey Harrington 2.0 and he's not. Mariota is really fucking good. Insanely accurate and mobile.
Luke Kuechly's concussion last night is exactly why my kids won't play football. That was scary. He's a really good player and one of the better guys in the NFL. I hope he's ok.
Now that Obama is free from his duties of being the leader of the free world, can he replace Roger Goddell? He'd do a better job, and he's a more likeable person.
The NFL's product is trash still. The officiating is terrible, and the games have too many commercials.
Thanks for reading.
