NFL Week 12 -- I Wish Turkey Only Cost A Nickel

You could argue the Broncos did it in 2015 because Manning was so limited by then.

 

Probably the same person who accepted a similar bribe from the Washington Football Team, which is in the midst of the same stretch now.

 

I guess if Carron J. Phillips hadn't jumped on it, Jemele Hill would have.

 

Jared Goff ain't winning a Super Bowl this year or ever. As great as the NFL is week to week in-season because anything can and often does happen, the postseason is more and more reserved for a select group of teams with star quarterbacks. 2015 seems like a million years ago, and Foles playing like a superstar during the Eagles' 2017 run is the outlier of outliers. Otherwise, the Brady-ization of the NFL means teams are rarely if ever going to win a Super Bowl without a star behind center.*

*Granted, it doesn't seem like the usual suspects are as dominant. In the AFC, Mahomes' receivers can't catch, Burrow is done for the season and Allen's heroics couldn't get the Bills to the big game even before the rest of the team fell apart. That leaves an opening for a team like Jacksonville, and Lawrence is a star, even if it is taking him a little longer than expected to prove it. Perhaps the Ravens could back into a SB berth, although I wouldn't count on Lamar to lead ants to a picnic (he does fit the star narrative, though). In the NFC, I don't see how any team other than the Eagles or Niners ends up in the Super Bowl. Now, you might point to the Niners and Purdy to disprove my theory, but I would argue that him winning a Super Bowl would prove how good he really is, not that he's a system guy who backed into a ring. This is a passing league, and I don't think you can hide your quarterback (full circle!) through a SB victory. Makes next week's matchup very interesting. If he holds his own against the Eagles, I'm on the bandwagon. If he doesn't, then I wouldn't bet on the Niners getting out of the NFC.

 

As far as hiding your QB, wouldn’t Trent Dilfer be an exception?

 

There's a circle of Hell in which one spends eternity listening to story pitches from the insufferables at Deadspin. It would be like spending the afterlife having to listen to @outofplace TED talks.

 

And as limited as Manning's arm was, his mind was still working fine. So no doubt he was able to check out of bad plays and into plays with the least chance of something negative happening. Which, with that defense, was enough.

 

Yes, and if 2015 seems like a million years ago, what do you think 2000 seems like in terms of how the NFL has changed?

You'll never see a defense like that year's Ravens again. The rules are designed specifically to prevent that.

 

There’s also a circle of Hell in which one spends eternity listening to story pitches from the insufferables at OutKick.

 

No doubt. That might have been the all-time greatest defense.

 

Eh, some of that stuff is tongue in cheek and humorous. Pretty sure laughter hasn't entered the Deadspin universe in close to a decade, if ever. Misplaced anger is their fuel. I'm smart enough to avoid to political stuff and just read the occasional hot sports take. Which is why I can't read anything from Deadspin, Defektor or any of their I-hate-everything cousins.

 

No. 2!