NFL Thoughts

Terranimal

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In a league that copycats each other, the game keeps evolving. Some good and some not so good to us old school guys.

There has been two recent trends have noticed. One is the running/mobile QB and the other is bigger physical WRs like Samuel and Metcalf.

Yet for these trends, it's interesting that the two teams in the Super Bowl have more pocket type QBs and more proto type WRs.

Another thing is the importance of Kickers. So many close and over time games this year came down to either a kick made or missed.

Again am old school and don't like games coming down to Kickers, but it is where today's game is at. With Parity never higher then it is currently, it has brought the importance of Kickers to the forefront.

Look no further the Bengals. Drafted the only rookie kicker and he set the record this season for most 50 plus yard field goals. He also has had game winners and so far perfect on extra points.

Lastly some old school rules still apply today. Have to be able to run the ball regardless of these high power throwing Offenses.

And the other is Defenses win Championships. Both Championship games turnovers at the end by Defenses were the difference.
 
In a league that copycats each other, the game keeps evolving. Some good and some not so good to us old school guys.

There has been two recent trends have noticed. One is the running/mobile QB and the other is bigger physical WRs like Samuel and Metcalf.

Yet for these trends, it's interesting that the two teams in the Super Bowl have more pocket type QBs and more proto type WRs.

Another thing is the importance of Kickers. So many close and over time games this year came down to either a kick made or missed.

Again am old school and don't like games coming down to Kickers, but it is where today's game is at. With Parity never higher then it is currently, it has brought the importance of Kickers to the forefront.

Look no further the Bengals. Drafted the only rookie kicker and he set the record this season for most 50 plus yard field goals. He also has had game winners and so far perfect on extra points.

Lastly some old school rules still apply today. Have to be able to run the ball regardless of these high power throwing Offenses.

And the other is Defenses win Championships. Both Championship games turnovers at the end by Defenses were the difference.
I would argue that Samual is not a physical WR. He’s 6’ 215 and more a guy who gets YAC. Physically he’s not Adams or Metcalf.

As to QB play, Mahomes has been to 4 straight AFCCG so he more supports the trend as compared to say Stafford.

What both games Sunday showed me was while coaching matters, Taylor, Shanahan and McVay were awful Sunday and Reid had no answer in the second half. Teams need playmakers to win and overcome some coaching brain cramps. Burrow and Chase, Stafford Kupp as an example
 
What both games Sunday showed me was while coaching matters, Taylor, Shanahan and McVay were awful Sunday and Reid had no answer in the second half. Teams need playmakers to win and overcome some coaching brain cramps. Burrow and Chase, Stafford Kupp as an example

This sums it up nicely. On the flip side a good coach can make a difference too. Look at what Cincy did in the second half, as far as defense. The chiefs were moving at ease in the first half and the D coord decided to rush 3, away from the 4 man rush, drop 8 but use one as a spy on Mahomes. Brilliant. Bengals D doesn't have all stars but that Coordinator adjusted too their strengths.
 
This sums it up nicely. On the flip side a good coach can make a difference too. Look at what Cincy did in the second half, as far as defense. The chiefs were moving at ease in the first half and the D coord decided to rush 3, away from the 4 man rush, drop 8 but use one as a spy on Mahomes. Brilliant. Bengals D doesn't have all stars but that Coordinator adjusted too their strengths.
Excellent point on the Cincinnati DC. The way he mixed up coverage in the 2nd half was excellent. He doubled Kelsey and used the safety to double Hill also
 
Excellent point on the Cincinnati DC. The way he mixed up coverage in the 2nd half was excellent. He doubled Kelsey and used the safety to double Hill also
This points out something that I've always wondered: why NFL coaches, during halftime, don't anticipate/discuss potential changes in what their opponents are going to do in the 2nd half. Maybe they figure they will just adjust as it happens, but we saw in KC / Reid that they never changed their offense when the defense took away what worked in the first half.
 
Excellent point on the Cincinnati DC. The way he mixed up coverage in the 2nd half was excellent. He doubled Kelsey and used the safety to double Hill also

It baffled Mahomes. Made him second guess a bit and he had an off half. As far as what Terranimal is talking about in his opening piece, it's hard to really see a trend, imo. I just think it depends on the team, the offense, defense etc. Some like a speedy smaller WR, some like length, etc. I do think that the kicker is important but the unsung heroes are the FG unit as a whole. We have seen how important the long snapper, holder are to the smoothness of that transaction. That, imo, is where Gutey and ML need to make sure things are tight.
 
This points out something that I've always wondered: why NFL coaches, during halftime, don't anticipate/discuss potential changes in what their opponents are going to do in the 2nd half. Maybe they figure they will just adjust as it happens, but we saw in KC / Reid that they never changed their offense when the defense took away what worked in the first half.
Good point. One theory is “if it’s not broke don’t fix it”. KC was moving at will.

Where I think the game changed drastically was the last play of the 1st half. KC gets 7 there that’s 28-10 at half
 
This points out something that I've always wondered: why NFL coaches, during halftime, don't anticipate/discuss potential changes in what their opponents are going to do in the 2nd half. Maybe they figure they will just adjust as it happens, but we saw in KC / Reid that they never changed their offense when the defense took away what worked in the first half.
My opinion HK4 is that the team that is down, has the advantage. Again, what does the team leading have to adjust? They should anticipate some adjustments of the other team, but ti'll have to be on the fly, once they see what the other team has come up with. Chess match for sure and it's up to those coaches to have those players ready to adjust quickly.
 
It baffled Mahomes. Made him second guess a bit and he had an off half. As far as what Terranimal is talking about in his opening piece, it's hard to really see a trend, imo. I just think it depends on the team, the offense, defense etc. Some like a speedy smaller WR, some like length, etc. I do think that the kicker is important but the unsung heroes are the FG unit as a whole. We have seen how important the long snapper, holder are to the smoothness of that transaction. That, imo, is where Gutey and ML need to make sure things are tight.
It all starts with the QB. And right now the pool is so bad coming out
 
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