I haven't written about football in a while, but it's conference championship weekend so here goes.
The CFP was interesting. The complaints about the favorites willing during the first weekend seem strange. Isn't that what's expected of a favorite? FYI, Indiana (which got the most crap) only lost to the two teams that played in the final.
I'm hearing a lot of people suggesting changes for next year, but the one that probably needs to happen is to get the whole thing done by January 3 2026. Get it done and get out of the way of the NFL. It'll probably help ratings as well.
Personally, I'd like to see a Washington/KC Super Bowl this time around. Selfishly I'd like to see KC get the 3peat. Seeing something that's never been done should be cool.
It looks like Chicago and New England won the coaching lottery this year, congratulations. It'll be interesting to see how they do over the next couple of seasons.
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Chicago's new coach Johnson is said to seeking to take Detroit's O-line coach for his Offensive Coordinator, so Lions fans are really pissed. Their D Coordinator went to the Jets, from what I heard, so it will be interesting to see if they can maintain their dominance of the division.
KC has the habit of doing what they need to do when they most need to do it (an indication of a great team), so I'm keen to see the Chiefs/Bills rematch. Also notable is that your Right Guard, Trey Smith, is up for a new contract, but I'm hearing the Chiefs aren't as financially set to pay him big money as are the Bears. There's another team I can't recall which is said to be even better situated to throw even bigger bucks at him, but I haven't heard what he'd do if the Chiefs can't pay him what he thinks he should get. He certainly would be an upgrade for our crew, which really sucks.
I agree that the Lions might be in trouble, but that's the price of success in the NFL. Teams want the hot young coordinators. I don't think the D coordinator is going to have as much luck with the Jets as the Bears will.
Exactly, they've shown over the last few years that they can do enough to win, under all sorts of circumstances. I'm looking forward to the game, although I'm pretty neutral/pessimistic at this point. The Bills secondary injuries might play a role though.
As far as Smith, he's one of multiples players who'll be up for new contracts this year, and Veach is pretty good at working the cap. Mahomes contract, and his willingness to flex, gives them more room than it might appear right now.
Honestly, free agency and draft stuff isn't anywhere near the front burner right now. I also don't think you can put a value on multiple SB rings for some players. No offense, but I'd think that Smith has more opportunity for another ring in KC than with the Bears as things sit right now. It's all a question of what he values and whether or not he's looking for the bag for himself. As we've seen with Tyreek and OBJ, running off somewhere else for the bag doesn't always work out that well.
Free agency and draft stuff IS the Bears' front burner right now! ;D What else do they have?
It's always interesting to see just how much another ring is worth as it is so common for so many players to compare their paychecks to those of others around the league playing the same position not nearly as well as they believe they are. At the same time, as the Bears, at least on paper, suggest they're heading in the right direction (in ways uncommon for the Bears), that extra ring might appear quite possible to someone like Smith. I think he's a long shot for us, as I see most free agents of quality to be, but one can dream. He's certainly what we need and are seeking.
You mentioned Chiefs/Redskins for the SB. I have a hard time ignoring how well Saquon Barkley has played. I also think that since the debacle of their Hail Mary miracle over the Bears, their last minute wins have been far more a matter of f**king up less than the other team in the waning minutes as opposed to their steeling their resolve when it matters. Good for them, but will Phillie provide in that way? Less likely at this stage of the game, but we'll see. If they jump out in front early, then the Birds will have to shut them down and catch up. Also unlikely at this level. I can't wait to see how these things play out.
BTW...does that other league hold any interest for you? Every time I see and ad, it's like being reminded another league even exists.
Not much, been there done that.
I think players talk about wanting rings more than anything else, because they're expected to. But there are some, like Brady, who are willing to sacrifice some money for rings. I think some of it is where you play. Nobody is going to Vegas thinking they'll get rings any time soon. But with the 4-5 teams that have a legit shot for the next few years, it's hard to tell how much players value rings.
I think it's an individual decision and probably depends on the team as well. It might be more attractive when you've got someone like Mahomes who's willing to leave money on the table for other guys. Who knows. I do agree that Chicago could be on a SB trajectory over the next couple of years.
Barkley is a beast, but I think that DC is a cool story and their QB seems like a great guy.
My football watching tends to be limited to games where I'm invested in one of the teams. Mostly because I don't tend to have the time to watch games I don't care about.
All things considered, I think it's a good idea. Especially if it ends up being somewhat of a developmental/rehab league for the NFL. I think you'll start seeing guys that were marginal who show their ability in the USFL(?) and get opportunities.
It does have that potential, but I know so little about it. Is it in any way tied to the NFL the way the NBA's "G-League" is, or for that matter, like MLB's minor leagues? If so, they'll likely be getting money from the NFL, which could sustain them if public interest is low. I don't think past leagues like the USFL were, and thus they didn't last long at all. Tom Thayer of the '85 Bears came out of a league like that. Even if there's no tie to the NFL, if players can get games on tape, they've got something to use when trying to get on an NFL team, so at least there's that.
I don't know if it's financially tied to the NFL or not. I don believe that there have been a few players who've ended up on NFL teams from the league. I agree that being able to continue to develop at a higher level and get tape of actual game action will likely help some players make the jump to the NFL. Personally, I think we'll see positions like O Line benefit from the additional development, and start to crack NFL rosters.
Saw an ad for the other league last night. It's called the UFL. USFL was a previous, now defunct league. I think it likely that if it isn't linked with the NFL, it too will disappear quickly for lack of interest. I know the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League has televised games, but I never got around to watching any, and though I used to live closely to where they play, I never did go to watch them. I meant to, but I guess my interest wasn't all that strong. They still exist because they're the Chicago Bulls "minor league" team and thus have the financial support to stay in business.
By the way...congrats on the win. Now we see if a 3-peat will happen.
It's had multiple names, and I can't keep up. I do think there is some link, although I don't know how much. I do think that Fox is pretty invested in their success which should help. They're getting national exposure, which also helps. I think that you might see people who'll follow teams because players from the college team they support play on a UFL team. I think that a spring league is, in theory, a good idea. I'm not sure that making it a officially minor league is the right move though.
Thanks, we'll see. Philadelphia looked pretty good yesterday. Even if their mayor can't spell eagles. I'm torn because I want the history of the 3peat, but am sick of all of the ref bullshit. NFL officiating is bad (OPI on the PHI touchdown anyone?), but it's bad across the board. Unfortunately, KC is getting lots of stand alone games and those calls get seen more. Personally, I think it's inexcusable that they can't find a more accurate way to measure first downs than two sticks and a chain. Likewise, with crossing the goal line. It doesn't seem insurmountable. Accountability for bad officials/full time officials is also needed.
I listen to a lot of FS1 shows on satellite and it's hilarious how FS1 is forcing all of them to do segments on UFL games during the season. Like any of those shows would even mention the league if corporate wasn't making them.
You could be right about Fox, though if they're the only network running the games, they might just be hoping as much as anyone that the league succeeds.
Whether or not they make it an official minor league, it'll be used as such. Kinda can't help it.
Freakin' Barkley can bust out at any time, and the Philly D is really good. The thing is, Mahomes is elusive as hell, and Spags has a really good squad. Should be a good show.
As regards officiating, the full timer idea has greatest appeal to me. Relying on tech, not so much. Just as the game is played based totally on human effort, so should officiating. That is, the game isn't played with tech assistance. The sticks and chains is fine for me, and the judgement of the refs in determining how far the ball was moved is as well. If a replay shows that, no, the dude didn't get that inch necessary for the 1st down or TD (or that he did), it would suck for my team if the call was wrong, but where does it end? They're all still making gazillions of bucks, so that's no excuse to further clutter sports with tech. Just play the game.
In the meantime, let the league continue to monitor the ability of the refs with tech so as to make sure the best is always refereeing the games, and don't quibble over inches and calls not seen (or even ignored). Consistency is more important.
They must really want that league to succeed. Many people (especially here in SC where there are no pro teams of any kind as far as I know), college games are like church. I don't know if the UFL will be given the time of day here. For most people, they move from college to the NFL. I only watch NFL. I don't have a problem with them trying to work up another league, but drumming up support is like drumming up support for women's sports. A big task!
I'm pretty sure Fox/FS1 are the only places running the games, so they'd clearly prefer that they are successful.
I agree that there will be that sense of being a minor league, but if it ends up providing talent to the NFL it'll probably work.
I agree that the SB should be interesting for those exact reasons. Also because Reid will pull out some plays that haven't been seen before.
I agree that the officials should be full time, and held accountable. I'm OK with tech in terms of measurements. I think my problem is that they justify replay by saying that they want to get things right, and if that's the case than they should do everything to make that happen. I'm fine either way, but they've put themselves in a spot where people expect perfection, which is unreasonable. There is definitely a narrative, which is not necessarily borne out by the facts, that is getting old.
I think that football has enough fans that there is room for a spring league, even while knowing that it's not on the same level with the NFL. It's relatively inexpensive to produce and likely doesn't require huge numbers to make it work. It could be a way to test drive rules changes and technology before implementing in the NFL. I don't think that any of these "minor" sports needs to generate fans at the level of the NFL to be successful. I do think that (as in the WNBA) that the greed of the players needs to adapt to the reality of the league revenues.
I'll watch college games where I have an interest, and occasionally a bowl game as well. But I'm just not someone who'll spend hours watching games that I don't care that much about.
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