So much for parity, parity... watered down league

[windward]

Parity, atleast as far as potential to acquire talent, exists in this league.

Every team faces the same cap, gets to draft, gets a crack at FAs, etc.

Parity does not, however, exist in the two most crucial fields:

Talent evaluation and coaching.

The IND, SD, NE, PHI, and SEA's of the world are prennial contenders because they've got good talent evaluators (which has allowed them to draft blue chip guys and quality backups) and excellent coaching (not to mention, stable coaching).

On the flipside, you've got the OAK, ARI, WAS, HOU, and DET's of the league which suffer from chronicly bad talent evaluation (or a lack of picks to acquire talent such as WAS) and have a total lack of stability on the coaching staffs.

And in the middle of the league, you've got the teams in the middle of the pack. The teams with average talent acquisition and some level of coaching but certainly not on par with the top tier. This tier can be de-railed by injuries (CAR), can be sunk by poor coaching (NYG, ATL) or can catch lightning in a bottle (TEN, NO) on a result of an excellent pickup for their roster (V. Young, Brees, R. Bush) and some luck regarding injuries.

Each year you get a couple middle tier teams that make a temporary jump. Rarely are they able to maintain their elite status (it will be fascinating to see what NO can do next year)-but if the talent acquired is good enough, then it is possible for them to jump to the elite tier.

The point though is this. While any team can beat any other team "any given sunday" as they say, if you compare the body of work over the course of a season and then compare trends between seasons it becomes clear where a team falls. Sure Houston might beat Indianapolis one week....but there's no doubt that Indy is the superior franchise at this moment.

That's how I've been approaching the last few seasons.

we're in the middle, I guess. The upper middle, but the middle nonetheless.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Parity, atleast as far as potential to acquire talent, exists in this league.

Every team faces the same cap, gets to draft, gets a crack at FAs, etc.

Parity does not, however, exist in the two most crucial fields:

Talent evaluation and coaching.

The IND, SD, NE, PHI, and SEA's of the world are prennial contenders because they've got good talent evaluators (which has allowed them to draft blue chip guys and quality backups) and excellent coaching (not to mention, stable coaching).

On the flipside, you've got the OAK, ARI, WAS, HOU, and DET's of the league which suffer from chronicly bad talent evaluation (or a lack of picks to acquire talent such as WAS) and have a total lack of stability on the coaching staffs.

And in the middle of the league, you've got the teams in the middle of the pack. The teams with average talent acquisition and some level of coaching but certainly not on par with the top tier. This tier can be de-railed by injuries (CAR), can be sunk by poor coaching (NYG, ATL) or can catch lightning in a bottle (TEN, NO) on a result of an excellent pickup for their roster (V. Young, Brees, R. Bush) and some luck regarding injuries.

Each year you get a couple middle tier teams that make a temporary jump. Rarely are they able to maintain their elite status (it will be fascinating to see what NO can do next year)-but if the talent acquired is good enough, then it is possible for them to jump to the elite tier.

The point though is this. While any team can beat any other team "any given sunday" as they say, if you compare the body of work over the course of a season and then compare trends between seasons it becomes clear where a team falls. Sure Houston might beat Indianapolis one week....but there's no doubt that Indy is the superior franchise at this moment.

That's how I've been approaching the last few seasons.

And we have a winner!!!

Belichek is showing the world he can do it with out Bill.... and BETTER.
Payton is on his way too...

Bill Parcells is great in many ways... but at some point the student has to integrate his own coaching skills and forge a new path... a path that works... Parcells path hits a fork in the road and he continually take wrong road.. disciples dont seem too...

 

[EastDallasCowboy]

we're in the middle, I guess. The upper middle, but the middle nonetheless.

Which means we're, in theory, just a player or two away. I think the Romo lightning in a bottle mid-season showed us just that.

If we somehow end up with another Demarcus Ware (ie, a playmaker) this off-season, I think we'd be well on our way to atleast being a one season pretender as an elite team.

All it took to turn the 3-13 Saints into an elite team was a playmaking QB, playmaking RB (who split time), and some new blood on the coaching staff.

 

[Doomsday]

All it took to turn the 3-13 Saints into an elite team was a playmaking QB, playmaking RB (who split time), and some new blood on the coaching staff.

The Saints were alot better then the 3-13 record of last year. Living out of suit cases and losing McAllister for 11 games sent them on a downward spiral but prior to that they were a middle of the road team. Getting rid of Haslett and Brooks and adding a Pro Bowl QB with some other talent seems to have brought them over the hump.

 

[Rockytop6]

And there is no doubt that even the 90's Bills would eat any of these teams for a snack.

Are you saying that the Cowboys can't even win in a watered down, parity driven Conference? Yep, and I agree. Sad.

 

[Sarge]

The Saints were alot better then the 3-13 record of last year. Living out of suit cases and losing McAllister for 11 games sent them on a downward spiral but prior to that they were a middle of the road team. Getting rid of Haslett and Brooks and adding a Pro Bowl QB with some other talent seems to have brought them over the hump.

The addition of Brees and Bush made them instant playoff contenders. Couple that with a great rookie WR and enrgetic HC and boom, one game away from the big one. They will beat the Bears, easily.

 

[TEK2000]

As I said previously, today's NFL is entirely based on 4 things:
Scheme
Coaching (including player development and talent acquisition)
Execution
Effort

Unfortunately, we've been lacking in all 4 areas recently. (Talent acquisition has been lacking in the OLine)

 

[alancdc]

And there is no doubt that even the 90's Bills would eat any of these teams for a snack.

Absolutely agree with this. I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday and he said that the fans voted the 03 Pats as the 3rd or 4th best team of all time. JOKE! You almost have to go pre 95 or so, and post 95. There are NO teams since the salary cap has really taken affect that were as good as the teams BEFORE the cap. PERIOD. Fact is, everybody will say Brady led them to this 4th quarter comeback, but he threw the pick that should have ended the game on 4th down with 6 minutes to go down 8. The Chargers fumbled it right back to them. He threw the pick that should have ended the game. Luck is a hellova thing.

 

[big dog cowboy]

On the flipside, you've got the OAK, ARI, WAS, HOU, and DET's of the league which suffer from chronicly bad talent evaluation (or a lack of picks to acquire talent such as WAS) and have a total lack of stability on the coaching staffs.

And yet Oakland beat us last year and Washington beat us once this year and so did Detroit.

 

[VA Cowboy]

They are the creme of parity, I don't understand this assertion. Put them in another era and they would flounder like a live turducken.

That's why I really want NE to lose. If they win their fourth in this decade the media will hail them as one of the best of all time, even though they couldn't hold the jocks of the '90's Cowboys or Packers or 49ers or Bills for that matter.
But all anyone will know is the number of rings, not how they would match up vs. other eras. I really hope the Colts get them next Sunday.

 

[Sarge]

As I said previously, today's NFL is entirely based on 4 things:
Scheme
Coaching (including player development and talent acquisition)
Execution
Effort

Unfortunately, we've been lacking in all 4 areas recently. (Talent acquisition has been lacking in the OLine)

Which is exactly why coaches salaries continue to rise.

 

[step]

winward, i'm new here, so NO disrespect intended. really. but, your list of free agent wishes includes tim rattay... how can I be expected to read anything else you write in that same message??? ;-)

 

[step]

That's why I really want NE to lose. If they win their fourth in this decade the media will hail them as one of the best of all time, even though they couldn't hold the jocks of the '90's Cowboys or Packers or 49ers or Bills for that matter.
But all anyone will know is the number of rings, not how they would match up vs. other eras. I really hope the Colts get them next Sunday.

I understand your point and you're right, one more ring and the media will crown them. Still, despite how they match up with the best teams from other eras, Tom Brady IS the real deal and would have been a star in any era. In fact, put him on the 90s Green Bay or 90s Bills, maybe they win more SBs. Heck, put him on the BP's Pats Super Bowl team instead of Bledsoe and they might win that too. Brady is real and we're witnessing greatness.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I understand your point and you're right, one more ring and the media will crown them. Still, despite how they match up with the best teams from other eras, Tom Brady IS the real deal and would have been a star in any era. In fact, put him on the 90s Green Bay or 90s Bills, maybe they win more SBs. Heck, put him on the BP's Pats Super Bowl team instead of Bledsoe and they might win that too. Brady is real and we're witnessing greatness.

Exactly... to minimize what Belichek, the Pats and Brady have done is looticwis.... to say that they would not win in other era's holds NO WATER... ALL Brady does is WIN, WIN, WIN! (thats like saying "All Cris Carter does is catch Touchdowns"...... its just silly

Where is all this parity and watered down league stuff?? Teams went 12-4, 13-3, 12-4, 14-2, 13-3 and a few 10-6's.... looks like any other decade to me....

 

[DipChit]

Where is all this parity and watered down league stuff??

Can you find other 10 year periods where 9 different teams have represented their conference in the SB? Thats just happened in the NFC. 4-6 used to be the norm.

Can you find a period where 5 straight SB losers didnt make it to .500 the following year? It woulda been 6 straight this year cept the Hawks went a gawdy 9-7. Championship losers used to oftenimes have the ability to come right back for more. Us a number of times til we got over the hump in the 70's the Broncos 3 times in the 80's, the Bills 4 times in the 90's etc.

 

[panchucko]

The addition of Brees and Bush made them instant playoff contenders. Couple that with a great rookie WR and enrgetic HC and boom, one game away from the big one. They will beat the Bears, easily.

A rookie wide reciever that would never have sniffed the field as a reciever, if he played for the Cowboys.

BP never give the rookies a chance to show what they can do.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

That's why I really want NE to lose. If they win their fourth in this decade the media will hail them as one of the best of all time, even though they couldn't hold the jocks of the '90's Cowboys or Packers or 49ers or Bills for that matter.

And I didn't get the original post about "so much for a watered-down league". It's still a watered-down league. The level of football being played today is nothing like what was being played pre-free agency.

 

[jterrell]

We lost on the road after a botched 19 yard field goal to a team that lost by 3 on the road to the 1 seed. PARITY.

Indy?? huh? Exactly how many playoff wins do they have in the last 5 years? They still haven't won anything yet and their defense has gotten markedly better while the offense has struggled mightily.

NE is a great franchise that seems to be 1 step ahead at all times. It really defies logic. Belichek was a scrub coach before getting there. Maybe it is as a simple as Tom Brady. Maybe Tom Brady would suck elsewhere.... I do know that offense fits Brady like a glove and vice versa. Then again would NE winning yearly if their weren't a parity league?? When things are mostly equal Brady is a heck of an edge.

I know he woyuld be my first overall pick in a dispersal draft; followed closely by LT.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

That's why I really want NE to lose. If they win their fourth in this decade the media will hail them as one of the best of all time, even though they couldn't hold the jocks of the '90's Cowboys or Packers or 49ers or Bills for that matter.
But all anyone will know is the number of rings, not how they would match up vs. other eras. I really hope the Colts get them next Sunday.

Exactly and thats all that matters.

I understand your point and you're right, one more ring and the media will crown them. Still, despite how they match up with the best teams from other eras, Tom Brady IS the real deal and would have been a star in any era. In fact, put him on the 90s Green Bay or 90s Bills, maybe they win more SBs. Heck, put him on the BP's Pats Super Bowl team instead of Bledsoe and they might win that too. Brady is real and we're witnessing greatness.

Exactly and thats all that matters.

And I didn't get the original post about "so much for a watered-down league". It's still a watered-down league. The level of football being played today is nothing like what was being played pre-free agency.

You can prove this how? and how is it even relevant to continually winning SB's?

 

[burmafrd]

Fans of GREAT football know very well that the level of play has declined badly since the CAP and FA. Teams do not stay together long enough for everything to gel. BB had a real stroke of LUCK getting Brady- you do remember he had to be talked into taking him in the 6th RD. Brady has made the critical plays when the Pats needed him since 2001. Take him away and BB was probably toast a couple of years ago.