NFL

The Steelers haven't won a playoff game since 2016. The Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2018. It's been four years post Brady, and the results haven't been pretty, but I don't see how the Steelers are faring any better.

The Steelers are not contenders this year. Kenny Pickett is not the answer. Mac Jones isn't the answer in New England, but he has certainly played better than Pickett overall.

The Steelers have barely played .500 football the last three seasons and have a negative point differential in each of those years. There is no indication they are on a winning trajectory.

Why is no one suggesting that Tomlin needs to do better to keep his job? The Steelers have been mediocre at best for years.

A: Yes! But it's not new. It's actually about 23 years old.

I think it's long past time for the NFL to delineate between centuries. Because 20th century football and 21st century football are NOT the same games. Folks who grew up in the 60s/70s/80s could tell you that already but the numbers back it up. Just look at the single season leaders. In almost every important QB stat, the vast majority of the top 100 season happened after 1999:

- Passing yards: 87 out of 100. No season before 2000 in the top ten.

- Pass attempts: 87 out of 100. One season before 2000 in the top ten.

-Completions: 95 out of 100. No season before 2000 in the top FORTY.

- Passing rating: 80 out of 100. No season before 2000 in the top ten.

-Completion %: 92 out 100. One season before 2000 in the top ten.

-Interception %: 88 out 100. One season before 2000 in the top ten.

-Adjusted Y/A: 72 out 100. Four seasons in the top ten before 2000.

Lots of reason for this, obviously. But it's pretty clear we need to start noting the difference when talking about "the greats". Back in the day, we didn't say Montana and Marino were the best QBs ever. We said they were the best of the SUPER BOWL Era. Because you couldn't compare what they did under different rules and with more games to Johnny Unitas' accomplishments 30 years earlier.

Tom Brady is the best QB of the 21st century. Which is pretty damn amazing. But that's where it stops.

Everyone hates officials. Wrong calls get made. No Calls happen all the time. And inconsistent officiating in a game can give the appearance of bias. What if instead of making every play reviewable for currently non-reviewable plays, teams could appeal to new york and get awarded penalty negations.

Essentially creating a system where if one team is getting away with penalties the other team starts getting awarded the ability to force a penalty to be declined.

Each team could have dedicated personnel reviewing plays during a game and submitting them to new york during a game. If new york agrees you get a penalty negating flag that a coach can throw to automatically overturn a penalty.

You might have to cap the number at say 2 penalty negations to avoid incentivizing plays that could lead to injury. Like if one team had like 6 penalty negations in their back pocket you would just rough the passer a ton on a drive and still have some left over. Just 2 would incentivizing saving them for important situations.

This could do a few things:

• reduce the appearance of biased officiating. If the officials on the field are missing calls against one team well the other team gets rewarded for it.

• reduce dubious penalties that cost teams in big spots. Nothing feels worse than feeling like a bad call, no call, or iffy call (like when a penalty isn’t getting called all game then suddenly gets called in the last few minutes of a close game) costs a team a win.

• disincentivize flopping.

• incentivize excessive celebration and taunting in blow outs, which are fun.

I think this would be in addition to the existing review system.

I also think maybe you limit the number of plays a team can appeal a lot of penalties occur in a gray area and don’t get called on most plays. So teams should only get a handful of plays to appeal. So that only really bad officiating mistakes earn a negation. An example might be the no call on an obvious face mask penalty.

I’m talking a reasonable career length, not a guy that played two games and lost both.

I saw something on the Bears sun that Chase Claypool has a record of 2 wins and 20 losses over the last two years. Is there anything comparable?

These are select stats as of week 7, TNF may have shifted things slightly

TDs per game: lowest since 2001

Avg yards: lowest since 2008

Yards per play: lowest since 2007

Passing TDs per game: lowest since 2008

Net yards gained per pass attempt: lowest since 2007

Yards per reception: lowest EVER

Sacks per game: highest since 1997

Field goal attempts: highest since 1973

Kickoff returns per game: lowest ever (obviously new kick return rules)

Yardage per kick returned: lowest ever

All purpose yards per game: lowest since 1946 (passing+running+punt return+kick return+interception return+fumble return)

Source: pro football reference

I heard a mention on the radio that some offensive stats were trending quite low so decided to take a look. Found this pretty interesting considering all the rules that have been put in place to the benefit of offense.

What might explain this? Better defenses? Offenses/coaching worse? O-line depth? Younger, inexperienced QBs being thrown into the gauntlet- average QB age is probably the lowest it has ever been? Something else?

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Michael Irvin's football reference page: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/I/IrviMi00.htm

• 1988: 14 games, 32 catches, 654 yards, 5 TDs
• 1989: 6 games, 26 catches, 378 yards, 2 TDs
• 1990: 12 games, 20 catches, 413 yards, 5 TDs

He was a former #11 overall pick at the time and I feel like any 1st rounder putting up those numbers would get lambasted. Was this the sentiment back then before he became a HOFer?

I can't speak for the WWII seasons or the strike shortened season(s[?]), but this whole season feels immensely dumb.

From the Rodgers injury onwards things feel like they aren't making any sense. I might sound biased because I'm a disappointed Giants fan, but I did not expect the Vikings and Titans to be down here with us. And now the mighty Patriots are finally a perennial Bad Team. And wtf are the Bengals doing.

The Chiefs are the only team that look legitimately great. The Eagles and 49ers are top teams but look painfully mortal and straight up goofy sometimes.

Most games I've watched seem like absolute nonsense. Each week there's at least one game that makes me turn into an Insane Clown Posse Digital Circus side character: Giants-Bills, Browns-Colts and now Bills-Bucs.

This is entirely subjective but is anyone else feeling like this is all nonsense