would the flex work today?

[superpunk]

13-2 are they not?

So are the Bears. woo-hoo. Indy was 10-0 at one point. That doesn't mean the warts weren't ALWAYS there. It just means noone took advantage of them yet. Playing one of the league's weakest schedules will do that for you.

 

[Aikbach]

So are the Bears. woo-hoo. Indy was 10-0 at one point. That doesn't mean the warts weren't ALWAYS there. It just means noone took advantage of them yet. Playing one of the league's weakest schedules will do that for you.

We shall see, it will probably be a Bear v. Charger Super Bowl which makes for ugly color contrast but this has been an ugly year for football so it would be fitting.

 

[superpunk]

We shall see, it will probably be a Bear v. Charger Super Bowl which makes for ugly color contrast but this has been an ugly year for football so it would be fitting.

I really doubt either of those teams makes the dance. Just remember that. Feel free to toss it back at me if they make it.

 

[Aikbach]

I really doubt either of those teams makes the dance. Just remember that. Feel free to toss it back at me if they make it.

You think I want to be right? Not at all, I want to eat Cowboy pie but my hopes have been all but gutted.

 

[windward]

the rules changed once. if for whatever reason the $ of the sport is threatened by people "not as into it" they would change again.

the trouble is - how many of the younger fans who've only known it this way and were brought up in a "quick fix" society would be as inclined to want it the way it used to be?

Here's my deal. I'm 23 and followed football at a relatively early age. From the age of 5 or so,I watched the games every week. (weird child, I know) This was in 1988/89 so the Cowboys sucked back then. The 49ers, Commanders, Giants and Bears ruled the NFL in those days and had players that had played for their respective teams for years and were dominant in comparison to the rest of the league. As I grew a little older, the Cowboys rose again to elite status. Just in time of course for free agency to begin in 1993, followed by the implementation of the slary cap in 1994. This eroded the Cowboys chances of having an extended dynasty like the Packers Steelers and 49ers.
One of the things that are so attractive in sports like MLB and the NBA is that it is so hard to knock off the kingpins of the league, that when you do it feels like a really worthy accomplishment

I miss that in the NFL.

Starting with the Broncos, The league was treated to five first time Super Bowl winners in a six year span. Prior to 1997, the last time there was a first time Super Bowl winner was in 1986. The eighties saw four first time winners (the previous four kingpins of the eighties mentioned previously) Those four teams where championship contenders for years following their initial Super Bowl wins. We can't really say thyat for the first time winners in the 90's save the Patriots.

I suppose if you're a fan of a team in a middle-level market and previously did not have the financial means to compete year in and year out under the old system, then the free agency/salary cap era of the NFL is great due to its leveling of the competive field, if you will. My friend who's a Buccaneer fan would agree.

Me, I lomg for the days of when groups like the Steel Curtain, the Doomsday Defense, the Purple People Eaters were given enough time to gel into a cohesive unit and thus permanently ensure their place of football lore.

 

[burmafrd]

Under the old system there was no real FA or salary cap- any team could build a great one as long as you had the organization to do it. Arizona, and the rest of the perennial losers did not. TB had been good for a while then faded again. NO the worst example of all.

 

[windward]

Under the old system there was no real FA or salary cap- any team could build a great one as long as you had the organization to do it. Arizona, and the rest of the perennial losers did not. TB had been good for a while then faded again. NO the worst example of all.

That's the really vexing part of the salary cap era. The palying field has been leveled so dramatically that even a mediocre organization can luck themselves into a Super Bowl run if everything goes right.

 

[5Stars]

with all this talk of defenses and the basic 3-4, 4-3, i was wondering if these were our only real options. i've brought up the flex before to get some commentary on it to simply find out more about it, but i'm curious, would it work today?

No...from what I understand, it takes a good 3 or 4 year to even learn the flex defense, and free agency just will not allow for the time to try...

 

[Aikbach]

That's the really vexing part of the salary cap era. The palying field has been leveled so dramatically that even a mediocre organization can luck themselves into a Super Bowl run if everything goes right.

Just say Pittsburgh, don't generalize it, just come out and say Pittsburgh.

 

[burmafrd]

Just having NO as a contender proves that. Though Arizona is still proof that true instituitional stupidity will triumph in the end.

 

[windward]

Just say Pittsburgh, don't generalize it, just come out and say Pittsburgh.

I was actually thinking of Tampa Bay and New England 2001. But Pittsburgh fits the bill as well.

 

[Aikbach]

I was actually thinking of Tampa Bay and New England 2001. But Pittsburgh fits the bill as well.

2001 should've been the Raiders. They get ripped off in the playoffs by Imaculate Receptions and Tuck Rules.

 

[windward]

2001 should've been the Raiders. They get ripped off in the playoffs by Imaculate Receptions and Tuck Rules.

yeah and it was truly serendipitous that the Buccaneers faced the lame duck Mariucci-led Niners, McChoke and a team the head coach knew everyhting about.

 

[Cbz40]

this is probably one of the reasons i'm not as "huge" a football fan as i used to be. it used to be about teamwork and getting it together. these days it just seems much more about instant "slightly better than average" and the concept of a team or players staying on teams is simply gone.

i prefer bad arse dynasties (even when not ours) over what we have today.

I have the same feelings as you do about todays NFL. I'll take the dynasties as well. I'm tired of a league of mediocrity.

With the fluxuation of a roster the "Flex" would never work it's just too complicated.. If by some miracle if a team could keep the same group of players together ...maybe.

 

[chinch]

with all this talk of defenses and the basic 3-4, 4-3, i was wondering if these were our only real options. i've brought up the flex before to get some commentary on it to simply find out more about it, but i'm curious, would it work today?

no chance

too much player movement and free agency.

too many highlight shows.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Be curious no more. No, it won't work.
Parcells is stuck on his ways.
It's his way or the highway.
If he's from New York or Jersey he's a great one.
If he once coached him, he's in.
If he's used a system he'll use it for life.
He wont change.

 

[5Stars]

Be curious no more. No, it won't work.
Parcells is stuck on his ways.
It's his way or the highway.
If he's from New York or Jersey he's a great one.
If he once coached him, he's in.
If he's used a system he'll use it for life.
He wont change.

So, are you saying that old dogs cannot learn new tricks?

 

[Aikbach]

So, are you saying that old dogs cannot learn new tricks?

He's saying old dogs should be put to sleep, Gimme is a big supporter of euthanasia.

 

[5Stars]

He's saying old dogs should be put to sleep, Gimme is a big supporter of euthanasia.

:laugh2: Ok....

 

[Cbz40]

He's saying old dogs should be put to sleep, Gimme is a big supporter of euthanasia.

So he issssssssss..........I'll show him a Mercy Killing.