Absolutely should be. 11 seasons with two arguably elite or at least very very good QBs, and this franchise only has three playoff appearances.
I’ll give him credit that Telesco has done his best work under Staley, this is the best roster he’s ever put together arguably let down more by coaching than talent. But at the end of the day it’s a failure for the GM to never make an AFCCG appearance over that length of tenure with Rivers and Herbert never even missing a game.
This was well said, especially the analogy of DJ vs Curry in FG%. Numbers don’t always tell the whole story when those two play under very different circumstances.
Part of me wonders if the ‘performance’ of each offensive line is missing a variable related to the quarterback. For instance there’s Pocket Time vs QB Time to Throw, or Pressures vs QB Average Depth of Target.
Like you said this is a neat methodology and gets a lot right. But it’s missing something to match the eye test.
Chargers may not find a streak, but they are going to be among the more important teams affecting the playoff picture with every single match a AFC opponent after this week: Ravens, Patriots, Broncos, Raiders, Bills, Broncos, Chiefs
The state of QBs in the league right now is just too young to guarantee anyone a spot in the HOF if they were to retire today besides Mahomes and Rodgers.
Seriously - among the QB starters only Rodgers, Wilson, Stafford, Garoppolo, Tannehill, Carr, Geno, Dak, and Cousins are 30 or older. Only Rodgers has won MVP and only 3 have won a ring (Rodgers, Wilson, Stafford). Maybe Stafford has a shot with his Super Bowl ring and association with record-setting receiver seasons like Kupp and Johnson. But no one has reached the same level of career success as Rodgers, and a few are approaching their end as starters (Garoppolo, Tannehill, maybe Wilson).
There’s definitely younger guys with high ceilings and early accomplishments like Mahomes (MVP x2, Super Bowl x2, 1st Team All-Pro x2), Jackson (MVP, 1st Team All-Pro), Allen (2nd Team All-Pro), Hurts (2nd Team All-Pro, 1x NFC Champion), Herbert (historic OROY), Burrow (CPOY, 1x AFC Champion).
But excluding Mahomes and maybe Jackson, those are really weak resumes for the HOF.
This is great, I was genuinely baffled as to why the Bucs would risk going for 2 on the first TD rather than on the potential second TD.
Turns out I think like an old school coach and wanted to take the guaranteed points and ‘delay’ winning or losing lol. This post helped a lot and I’m a little shook that Bowles was the one to think like this when his reputation has been very risk-averse.
Found some stats here of NFL conference champions with the lowest point differential: https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/nfl-conference-champion-team-with-lowest-point-differential
Those famous 2011 Giants are the only conference winning team with a negative differential (-6) and went on to beat the Patriots (+171).
But it’s actually the third lowest point differential conference winner, the 2007 Giants (+22), that probably have the biggest spread entering their Super Bowl against those 16-0 Patriots (+315).
That might stand alone as the biggest spread possible for a long time. Especially considering how scoring has changed and defensive isn’t deciding games the same way it used to.
I think the Broncos are mostly where they belong. They’ll likely finish with a winning record around 9-8, but I don’t think they have a high ceiling. Feels like they’re winning by a slim margin often and benefitting a lot from turnovers, leading the league right now.