2014 NFL off-season thread

Falcons picked for Hard Knocks:

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/article-1/Falcons-to-be-2014-HBO-Hard-Knocks-Team/7ab3a3c2-6813-4e47-a5de-5a9932712a06

 

It seems like a boring choice. Arthur Blank is such an attention whore that he was probably one of the few owners who would agree to it. I know, to some extent, they might not have a choice in the matter, but with 1-2 exceptions, I can't imagine why any team would allow this.

 

Aren't most of the Super Bowl activities indoors anyway?

One boss I used to work for went one year in Florida and was saying how all the reporters were out playing golf and they couldn't do that in Minnesota. So what? Are we awarding Super Bowls based on whether or not some Yahoo can play golf that week?

I understand the concern about outdoor games in cold-weather locales, but in domed stadiums, they are fine.

 

If I'm not mistaken the new stadium in Minneapolis is supposed to have a roof. I remember, at one point they were comparing the proposed stadium to what they have in Seattle. I'm not sure if that's what they agreed on.

I realize I'm in the minority on this, but I have no problem with the Super Bowl being a cold weather game. I also understand that there are a lot of teams/cities that are in no position to host an event like this, some for obvious reasons, some not so obvious.

I would love to see Philly, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver and Seattle in the hosting mix. It will be interesting to see if 49ers become a regular host city with the new stadium, or if 50 is a one-time thing.

 

There's the matter of getting to and from all the activities in snow and ice. It's a potential logistical problem (see Detroit's first Super Bowl).

That said, I love the idea of cold-weather Super Bowls -- not every year but as a change of pace. Consider it an homage to the NFL's early days when all the teams were cold weather teams.

Edit: To clarify, I also love the idea of cold-weather Super Bowls in outdoor stadiums every once in awhile.

 

The desire to host a Super Bowl must be the only reason Minnesota is building another dome.

In 21 seasons at Metropolitan Stadium (1961-81), the Vikings won 11 division titles and played in 4 Super Bowls.

In 32 seasons at the Metrodome (1982-present), they've won 7 division titles and played in zero Super Bowls.

When they gave up their home field advantage, they lost their edge as a franchise.

 

Could be the parade of dumbshits they've had coaching since then, too.

 

I thought it was a roof and not a dome. That seems to be working fine in Seattle.

 

Seattle and Minnestoa aren't exactly similar when it comes to weather.

 

True, but I think the reasoning is that if you're a cold-weather city, the thinking is that you should use the weather to your advantage and the dome takes that away.

I think that used to be the case more than now. Lambeau Field isn't the home field advantage that it was in the 1990s. I don't think home-field advantage means nearly as much as it used to. Seattle is really the only place these days where it's widely assumed that they will go no worse than 7-1 or 6-2 at home in most seasons. I think it has more to do with a top team being difficult to beat anywhere, but especially at home.

 

The only reason this would be interesting would be if Jerry Glanville gets a regular segment on what it's like to be a has-been.

 

For Minnesota, I think their relative lack of success was more of a fact that, from 1984 to 1991, the Chicago Bears often won the NFC North. Then, from 1993 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2013, the Packers were often in the mix.

Those Bud Grant-Met Stadium Vikings were excellent from 1969 to 1980 -- also an era when the Packers and Bears were just dreadful.

I won't say it was a lack of toughness from playing indoors that doomed the Vikings in the Metrodome Era. Lousy in-game coaching and late-game decisions doomed their best teams (1998, 2003, 2009). They've also been the team that has not had the best quarterback in their division in any of the past 30 years except for 1998 (Cunningham), 2000 (Culpepper), 2009 (Favre).