Forum Replies Created
-
But its not like Stafford has only ONE additional year left. The way QBs are protected now, he could very well have two, three, or four elite years left. Even if he missed half the season in some of those years, the critical thing would be his availability in the playoffs.
Yeah, that’s the other thing. The Rams don’t NEED to replace Stafford for quite a while.
And Colin Cowherd, while he’s certainly right that the Dodgers are great for baseball, is completely wrong on trading Stafford to the NYG for the 3rd pick, and then dealing that down into multiple picks in order to trade up NEXT year for a QB. That’s just nonsense. The Rams have some “doable” off-season holes to fill, and doing that will put them in the hunt next season. The defense just got better and better all year, to the point that the Rams defense was looking like it might be championship caliber as it was. The DL became so dominant that they could harass their way to a Lombardi. So…why would you throw away Stafford and the next couple of seasons on an unknown QB who will need to learn the game? That makes no sense. If they unloaded Stafford now in an effort to reload at QB the year after next, they would be getting up to speed at QB right when Nacua, Turner, Young, Williams, and Avila were expiring. They’re not going to bet it all on Jimmy G.
And the Rams won’t do that because they’re not stupid. We’ve already seen them aggressively get pieces to put them on top, and they’re close enough to do that again. They will figure it out with Stafford.
I was giving this the full spectrum of my attention this morning as I commuted to work (Narrator: No, he wasn’t), and I decided that the only trade I would do for Stafford would be…
for Joe Burrow.
, baseball shares the World Series trophy more widely than the NFL shares the Lombardi.
Is there an equivalent in baseball to having a top 3 or 4 coach, plus a top 3 or 4 qb, plus a very solid (top 10 or near it) defense? Because what we see in the NFL is that the teams that have those 3 items dominate the postseason.
They also repeat in the postseason. So for example, after KC had Reid + Mahomes + the Spags defense … and they had all 3 as of 2019 … they won 5 out of 6 conference games and then won 3 out of the 4 super bowls they have played so far.
My bet is that the MLB teams that repeat the most often year after year in the playoffs are the big money teams.
I think what you say is true about coach + QB + Defense. And there is no equivalent in baseball. I was thinking about that yesterday when considering your post. There are some really good managers, sure. The best ones are good tactically – managing substitutions etc. – and in building chemistry in the clubhouse. And defense matters in baseball, especially in the postseason. We saw an example of that this past WS. And because baseball is a series of 1-on-1 matchups, a robbed hit on the one hand, or an inexcusable error on the other can make the difference in a game. I think the closest thing in baseball to a QB is the entire pitching staff. The thing people look for, going into the playoffs, is 3 really solid starters, and a “slam-the-door-shut” closer. Most playoff teams come close to that, but don’t “quite” have that. But baseball being the beast that it is, one team’s pitching staff can have a guy rise up and get hot at just the right time, and there you go. That’s just one of the variables, though, that opens the door wider.
Looking at the long haul, as I said to wv, yeah – I bet the Yankees get a ticket into the playoffs more often than the Pirates. I just think that that margin is a lot smaller than people think it is. And it’s been 25 years since a team won back-to-back.
For example, the Yankees, going back to 2001, have been in the Top 3 spenders every single year, with the exception of 2018, when they had the 7th-highest payroll. They spent the most 14 of those years, 2nd-most 7 of those years, and 3rd-most 2 of those years. They have one championship to show for it.
Here is last year’s salary table. The red arrows denote playoff teams. The blue arrows denote teams that got knocked out in their first round matchup. The Guardians made it to the AL Championship round.
Here is the payroll ranking for each world series champion since 2001.
So having a higher payroll helps, but I don’t think it’s as decisive as the common fan thinks it is. I think it’s another ingredient in the mix, like manager, pitching, and defense. But imo, having a strong farm system is more important than payroll size. It’s the equivalent of hitting on Day 3 draft picks. MLB is absolutely littered with high-spending teams that got nothing in return. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have had one of the most productive farm systems in the league. Good player development.
I think the NFL it works this way. Parity is real. But with parity throughout the league, a singular advantage puts you above the parity-driven norm. The clearest and most absolute advantage goes to teams that combine a great head coach, a great qb, and a very solid defense. Which btw would describe the Patz and KC.
That combination is actually hard to get. One of the top 3 or 4 coaches, with one of the top 3 or 4 qbs, with a very solid defense.
With parity in the NFL, what does change year to year is not the super bowl, it’s the playoffs. In the last 3 years 22 teams have made the postseason. 2/3rds of the league in 3 years. If you go back 5 years it’s 29 teams. All but 3.
The longest playoff drought in MLB belongs to the Angels (a Los Angeles team) at 10 years. The NY Jets have a 14-year drought going right now.
I will also point out that the NFL always sent a higher percentage of their teams into the playoffs. Baseball has only recently begun to expand the pool of teams to make the postseason, and I think in the future, baseball fans won’t feel as “locked out” as they do right now. And even given the disparity between the % of teams that make the postseason in their respective leagues, baseball still stacks up favorably to the NFL.
In the past 3 years, 20/30 baseball teams have played in the postseason: 2/3rds. Same as the NFL. If you go back 5 years, it’s 27 teams. All but 3.
That’s certainly comparable. In fact, it’s damn near identical. And, again, baseball shares the World Series trophy more widely than the NFL shares the Lombardi.
The Rams are the Meryl Streep of football.
Wherever they go, somebody wins an academy award.
Sometimes…I swear.
I have this assignment I give. For my college class. It’s about data interpretation. I just throw out a bunch of pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, and tables. And I say, “Write a paper.” You know, it’s a college thing. Do a study, collect data, so what? So here’s some data. Find something in it that you think is significant, and write a paper.
I give them four folders of graphs: economic, healthcare, criminal justice, and education.
And this is the shit I get:
Racism is an accident, apparently.
