Which teams? IMO the good teams came out hot. There are just more bad teams than usual this year, especially in the NFC.
Denver, LA Rams, Tennessee and Indianapolis all immediately spring to mind as teams who had the potential to be so much better than they have been. And then so many other teams have been inconsistent and sloppy. Its not just the raw numbers, because tackling and coverage have been sloppy on a lot of defenses as well. Its bad football on a much larger percentage than it used to be.
Titans are 4-2. Rams have issues on the OL and Stafford needs Tommy John. I don't think a few preseason snaps would fix the messes in either Indy or Denver. Indy is really the only one pulling the plug, and honestly I'm not sure it won't be an upgrade to go to Ehlinger over Matt Ryan. Meanwhile, Philly did like nothing in the preseason and they are just trucking people There are some oddities with the season (lowest scoring total through week 6 in like 12 years or something) but honestly I don't think starters not playing a half of preseason is the issue here. I think there is just more bad teams than we thought and some formerly good QBs have declined very rapidly. If guys like Brady and Rogers are having their typical years we probably aren't talking nearly as much. Regardless, I seriously doubt coaches will suddenly change and value preseason starter work enough to risk the injury.
Team record and how well they've has played aren't necessarily the same thing. I mean, the Titans have looked bad in all four of their wins and got absolutely destroyed by Buffalo. I think if they had the Dolphins schedule, they might be 1-5. I do think that Denver's problem is being out of whack. Whether that's lack of play time in preseason, lack of practice time, or coaches being in over their head, or a combination of all of it. They are filled with good players and have looked like they've never played a game together before. And I know that the media and a lot of fans focus on the big name guys, but I don't. Any time I talk about or think about this kind of topic, I like to focus on what the OK to good teams are doing. The ones that will finish 6-10 to 10-6. And this year so many of those teams just look like a disorganized mess. Like the bottom five teams usually would in that regard. Something is absolutely different from decades past.
Gradually, it's been a devastating change. The more that the veteran players who were around prior to the change retire, both blocking and tackling have gotten substantially worse. Couple that with changes in how coaches design plays and call games, and football as a whole is changing into how twelve year Olds play Madden.
Obviously there's still a lot of season to go, but other teams in the AFC are falling by the wayside in the playoff hunt. I just worked out a very reasonable scenario where if the Fins can win their next four games, then even if they then lose the three after that vs SF, LA and BUF, they can clinch a wildcard spot on Christmas Day with a win over Green Bay. And then Weeks 17 and 18 vs the Pats and Jets would be for positioning.
I don't think the Texans, at home, after the bye week is a trap game. Especially after what we saw yesterday. Even though it got dicey against the Bears, it looks like the Dolphins are heading out west 8-3. The Chargers and Niners played, what seemed like, a pretty forgettable game yesterday. Can the Dolphins sweep their western Road Trip? I remember the last time the Dolphins had to go out West, they beat they beat the Niners and Rams to help get to their last playoffs in 2016. Does Mike McD get and advantage playing the Niners?
I'm confident that McDaniel and the players will be up and ready to do to Houston what they did to Cleveland yesterday. That should be fine. But the 49ers and Chargers didn't play a forgettable game by any stretch. It was a dogfight where they punched one another in the face for 60 minutes before SF took it at the very end. The 49ers, in particular, play a better style and form of defense than almost any other team in today's NFL, similar to how most good teams did in the past. They are real, they are strong, and they tackle really well, hit hard and take the ball away. Kyle Shanahan also obviously knows McDaniel better than anyone, and he'll no doubt be fully prepared for a lot that we'll throw at them, so playing a clean, low mistake game is essential. Not to mention a corps of skill players on offense who can stack up with just about anyone in the league as well. The Chargers have been beset by a ton of injuries, including more last night. We'll have to see how healthy they are by the time we go out there. If we played them this week instead of Cleveland, I'd be very confident to say we'd win. But they could have some important parts back so we'll have to see. They have some hard hitters on defense as well, and Herbert is an extremely gifted young QB. Austin Eckler is also extremely dangerous on screens and passes into the flat, and our defense sucks out loud at stopping that vs far lesser backs.
I too don’t worry about the Texans. Hell, my high school football can beat them. The worry is the 49ers and Chargers on the road. And it’s not the offense I worry about. At home the Dolphins defense has been stellar, allowing only an average of 16.6 per game. Pretty impressive. On the road however… The Dolphins have given up an unheard of 32.8 points per game, twice as many points as they do at home. The Dolphins best defensive stand on the road was against the Bengals and the Lions at 27 points. If the defense don’t putting on their big boy pants for these road games, it’s going to be a nail biting heartbreaker come playoff time.
I've not watched much of the Chargers this season but quickly glancing at the stats for defence, their pass defence looks good at yards per game but that's because they can't stop the run and people don't have to throw much. They are giving up 5.4 yards per carry, 7.1 yards per pass and have generated 20 sacks in 9 games. I can't see them slowing down this offence in a dome. Also, the Chargers have faced a pretty terrible schedule so far and have lost to every decent team they have played. The 49ers on the other hand have a very good defence and a good offence. I'm not confident about that game.
Beyond their injuries, it will be interesting to see what the Chargers frame of mind is at that point. They lose to Seattle, nearly lost to Atlanta, lost to SF, and now they face KC where a loss would drop them to .500. After that they face the enigmatic Cardinals and Raiders, and who knows what those teams will do or look like, but either one could beat the Chargers on a good day. IF LA is in a total free fall when we face them, we could be in a position to essentially end their season.
I'd rather the Chargers somehow find a way to beat KC even if it means a resurgence for that team. We're in a competition for the #1 seed with a 1st round bye and home field advantage throughout the (AFC) playoffs. That's such a huge prize I'll be rooting for LA against KC.
That is the biggest question I have for the Chargers is, "Can they stop Miami's offense?" If Miami gets into an offensive shootout, I think they can keep up with anyone. 49ers will be a big test because Shanahan knows McDaniel and McDaniel knows Shanahan. It will be an interesting battle of wits. Though as long as Tyreek, Waddle, and Tua are healthy, with also hoping Armsteadt as well, it is hard to imagine a team slowing down this offense
Totally agree. Yesterday proved that the offence isn't one dimensional either as Cleveland played to take away the throws over the middle and deep so we rammed the ball down their throats as the LB's were so deep and Tua still shredded them outside the hashes. This offence currently is practically unstoppable if Tua keeps making these quick decisions and is this accurate. I still don't trust the defence, especially on the road and it will probably be our downfall this year.
