It would be fine to say that "the class of the AFC consisted of New England and Denver, and maybe Pittsburgh". That's hardly unreasonable at all.If the Seahawks were to win the Super Bowl following blowouts over SF, CAR, and DEN, combined with this regular season, which teams of the last 25 years would you consider better?I think to me, the best teams are less in extremes and more in balance.
Eli!
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2013-team-defense.html
Penalties are bad.It's a fairly large drop by percentage, but is only slightly worse than the league-average drop as they only go from 7th to 10th.I imagine we should expect some substantial drop across the board to account for the 17% homefield advantage.Penalties aren't good, but they really aren't as bad as we think they are. As a result, clutch weighting now primarily serves to de-emphasize performance when a game is less competitive; that weight is, as it was before, related to potential changes in win probability. Now you can go from 9 playoff seasons of data to 24 seasons of data (89-12).http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2007/why-doesnt-bill-polians-s-t-work-playoffs.An article like that isn't planned for this postseason.
These days, the talent across good teams seems pretty even. Now the 02 bucs was probably the best I've ever seen, but I wouldn't have any problem calling this one of the 5 best of the last 10 years. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. If they pull it off, they'll deserve every accolade.WHat was the last team to actually accomplish such a feat? I'd say yes, which is why I'm not quite willing to put the '86 Giants in the same category as the '85 Bears, as good as the '86 Giants were.The year before (the 1992 Cowboys), they crushed Philadelphia, but then really didn't pull away from the 49ers until the 4th quarter. Its interesting, in both cases, there were a few major injuries and massive ripple effects tearing across every unit, often with notable players a year ago playing very poorly the next.It's particularly amazing that the Ravens rushing attack was so bad considering that they only had one injury on the o-line the entire year (K. Osemele).And the common thread between the Ravens and Jaguars pitiful running games: Eugene Monroe! I would guess that no future historically great defense is going to be built around impenetrable run defense without the pass defense also being the best (e.g. Personally, the only one in recent memory that rivals this one is the 08 steelers. It's like a magic trick.If you're so interested in precision, how in the world did you include Rivers in your "absolute minimum" list. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter.Do you have a sports website? When I hear the Sunday announcers claim that Flacco and Eli (or similar) are elite, top-5 guys, that's hyperbole. "Sarcastic is no way to go through life. A bad run defense is one that regularly gets whipped.When a direct comparison is being made to historically great defenses, I think it's reasonable to conclude that the person making the comparison is judging by a very high standard, not by what one would expect against a bad Rams rushing attack.Well, mediocre is average. In the NFC, I'd say that the guys returning last minute from a 4-week injury who would shake the whole conference playoff situation include Brees, Rodgers, and Foles. This game will be played on little rubber blades of fake grass, and since said fake grass isnt in New Orleans it's a good bet that.The Superdome Supermen face the unenviable task of winning a game outside of Orleans Parish as they travel to Philadelphia to face Chip Kelly's Eagles. Maybe the eagles too. There has been a very clear "top tier of QBs" for years -- Rodgers, Brady, Brees and Manning. Rushing Leader: LeSean McCoy, 1607 Yds. Without them, their teams are toast. Clearly we should agree to disagree.Brady and Manning, yes. Rivers!
Don't put words in my mouth.They're still probably the best team this season, but I think they're way too far out in front of everyone else.After-the-whistle intimidation does not bring championships.Um, that was the Rams yesterday. Admittedly, all 5 were against reasonably good defenses, but I'm just not that big on Russell Wilson.
QBR of 26.4 this week. I've seen too many highly-rated teams face-plant in the playoffs.
There's also a significant chance that any of Rivers or Ryan, or Wilson, or Brees, or Brady, or Manning-1 or a couple of others go before him. I'd have to do some searching, but my recollection is that their FO stats (DVOA, etc.) Three human polls and one formula ranking made up the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls.Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title.
Cam and company took care of business, but a scant 21 points against Atlanta's pitiful D was a reminder that Carolina's offense isn't replete with weapons.QBs who throw four interceptions rarely walk out with a victory. Seattle should run riot on the New Orleans/Philly winner before needing every bit of the league's biggest home-field advantage to get past a surging Niners squad. I don't love the manner in which the Broncos roster is built, but I suppose it is to some degree an artifact of a salary cap and having Peyton Manning on the roster.