Parity sure is making the NFL fun to watch (IMHO)

[yimyammer]

I have to admit the parity in this league sure has made for a lot of fun games to watch (I'm not qualified to accurately evaluate whether the quality of play is good or not).

Anyone catch these games:

Tenn vs Pitt
SD vs Oakland
Chicago vs Green Bay
SF vs Az
Denver vs Cinci (ending anyway)
Buff vs NE

I thought they were a blast to watch and I didn't even have a rooting interest. I'm almost tempted to get the NFL season pass. Throw in the USC vs Ohio St game and this was a heck of a weekend for football

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[DBOY3141]

Even Oakland/San Diego was a good game.

 

[theogt]

Agreed. You really couldn't ask for a better opening weekend of football.

 

[RoadRunner]

I prefer the way the game was pre free agency and when 28 teams was the maximum.

 

[JBell]

As close as the games were, there were only three upsets all week-end.

SF over ARI
NYJ over HOU
DEN over CIN

And the only real "shocker" out of those three is probably the Jets.

 

[dadymat]

I have to admit the parity in this league sure has made for a lot of fun games to watch (I'm not qualified to accurately evaluate whether the quality of play is good or not).

Anyone catch these games:

Tenn vs Pitt
SD vs Oakland
Chicago vs Green Bay
SF vs Az
Denver vs Cinci (ending anyway)
Buff vs NE

I thought they were a blast to watch and I didn't even have a rooting interest. I'm almost tempted to get the NFL season pass. Throw in the USC vs Ohio St game and this was a heck of a weekend for football

***Mods, please move if this isn't the right place to post this***

I disagree..i think salary cap and parity have taken away from the sport..i think its turned into watered down teams that ends up being the one who makes FEWEST mistakes wins......

i miss the days when teams were really good and come playoff time the teams that were there deserved to be there and the games were battles between good teams.....and the crappy franchises that couldnt get it together were stuck being crappy

 

[yimyammer]

I prefer the way the game was pre free agency and when 28 teams was the maximum.

Why do you say that? I'm not arguing but aside from Dallas's dominance, I don't remember anything in paticular.

Seems like there were a few dominant teams and a lot of door matts back then

 

[yimyammer]

I disagree..i think salary cap and parity have taken away from the sport..i think its turned into watered down teams that ends up being the one who makes FEWEST mistakes wins......

i miss the days when teams were really good and come playoff time the teams that were there deserved to be there and the games were battles between good teams.....and the crappy franchises that couldnt get it together were stuck being crappy

Yeah, that's why I said I wasn't qualified to assess the quality of play. I guess ignorance is bliss, eh?

 

[Rogah]

Why do you say that? I'm not arguing but aside from Dallas's dominance, I don't remember anything in paticular.

Seems like there were a few dominant teams and a lot of door matts back then

I think people get nostalgic over the old days but remember things that just didn't exist. Back in the "old days" you had some teams that were perennially dominant, some that were consistent losers, and some that came out of nowhere to have a good season or even make a Super Bowl run.

These days, we have some teams that are perennially dominant, some that are consistent losers, and some that can come out of nowhere to make a Super Bowl run.

If someone knew nothing about football and I gave them that final standings from every season of the decade of the 70's and the same for each season from this decade, there would not be any noticeable statistical variance. Things really aren't all that significantly different today than they were at any time period of the modern (Super Bowl) era.

 

[theogt]

I think people get nostalgic over the old days but remember things that just didn't exist. Back in the "old days" you had some teams that were perennially dominant, some that were consistent losers, and some that came out of nowhere to have a good season or even make a Super Bowl run.

These days, we have some teams that are perennially dominant, some that are consistent losers, and some that can come out of nowhere to make a Super Bowl run.

If someone knew nothing about football and I gave them that final standings from every season of the decade of the 70's and the same for each season from this decade, there would not be any noticeable statistical variance.

Have you actually run the studies? Just curious -- I'd like to know the answer, but I'm not about to input all that into an excel sheet.

 

[casmith07]

As close as the games were, there were only three upsets all week-end.

SF over ARI
NYJ over HOU
DEN over CIN

And the only real "shocker" out of those three is probably the Jets.

What makes you say that? Still not sure why everyone was so high on the Texans. The Jets have a solid defense behind a solid defensive coach along with a strong running game and a rookie quarterback that can ease into the role while simply playing bus driver. They have a shot to do very well this year as long as the offensive line can give Sanchez time to find targets downfield.

 

[Rogah]

Have you actually run the studies? Just curious -- I'd like to know the answer, but I'm not about to input all that into an excel sheet.

No, I've never actually run any studies. The biggest difference between today and, say, the 70's is that there are more playoff teams. So on any given Sunday, anything can happen. I think if 12 teams had made the playoffs 30 years ago, there might have been a 9-7 champion somewhere in there (or, since there were only 14 games back then, perhaps I should say 8-6).

Maybe there are just too many playoff teams, but that's certainly a number we won't ever see downsized in our lifetime.

 

[zeroburrito]

the opposite is why college football is extremely boring. 60-10 blowouts everywhere. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. only a few good games a year.

 

[NextGenBoys]

I disagree..i think salary cap and parity have taken away from the sport..i think its turned into watered down teams that ends up being the one who makes FEWEST mistakes wins......

i miss the days when teams were really good and come playoff time the teams that were there deserved to be there and the games were battles between good teams.....and the crappy franchises that couldnt get it together were stuck being crappy

Yeah all those Colts-Pats battles the last few years were not between good teams.

The balance of power has been in the AFC. Nothing has changed in regards to good teams battling.

 

[Hostile]

***Mods, please move if this isn't the right place to post this***

I'm too busy thinking redundant thoughts about watching is fun to watch.

Just kidding you. It's fine.

 

[EPL0c0]

Y'know what was funny about the ending of the CINCI-DENVER game was the play of Roy Williams.

On that play, it appeared that Roy was the deep man. As the ball was thrown, he made a move to where the ball was going to make a big hit (which he got) on a guy that was already pretty well covered. That left Stokley open and left the field clear.

Maybe I saw it wrong, but it made me sigh and chuckle a bit.

 

[DallasEast]

The overall quality of the best NFL teams (e.g. dominant teams only) through the years:

http://i356.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo4/DallasEast1701/bestteams.png

 

[yimyammer]

I'm too busy thinking redundant thoughts about watching is fun to watch.

Just kidding you. It's fine.

Sheesh, I'm ashamed to admit I actually attempt to proof read my crap, feel free to correct the title

 

[dbair1967]

Agreed. You really couldn't ask for a better opening weekend of football.

It'd been better had we won 34-0, had 6 sacks and forced 2 or 3 turnovers.

It'd also been better had Carolina actually shown up vs Philly.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

When San Diego struggles against Oakland, it's parity. When the favored Texans lose to the rookie-led Jets, it's parity. When the defending NFC champion Cardinals lose to SF, it's parity. When the defending champion Steelers struggle at home against Tennessee, it's parity. But when the Cowboys play a less than perfect opener on the road against Tampa, they're a bunch of bums. Amazing how that works. I'm not calling out anyone in this particular thread, but the usual suspects know who they are.