Sports Talk 2018: Lebron to Brady and Everything in Between

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
Your Boys were in 14 of first 26 NFC Championship Games, but haven't been to any of the last 23 NFC Championship Games

You better hope Ezekiel Elliot ends his holdout, or it's very quickly going to be 24 NFC Championship Games without your Boys.

The Boys can win the first two games without Elliott and by then Elliott will be back.
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
"The 1990s Cowboys destroyed my team, the Bills, in back to back Super Bowls. For my money, they had the most complete offense I have ever seen, with great players at 4 of 5 OL spots, QB, RB, TE, WR and FB. They dominated. And that eight man rotation for the defensive front four was ridiculous: Haley, Lett, Maryland, Casillas and so forth... they just overwhelmed people."--John DeMarchi​
 

tetelestai

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
"The 1990s Cowboys destroyed my team, the Bills, in back to back Super Bowls. For my money, they had the most complete offense I have ever seen, with great players at 4 of 5 OL spots, QB, RB, TE, WR and FB. They dominated. And that eight man rotation for the defensive front four was ridiculous: Haley, Lett, Maryland, Casillas and so forth... they just overwhelmed people."--John DeMarchi​

They barely beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl. The Steelers had Neil O'Donnell at QB.

Late in the 4th, with 4 minutes left in the game, the Steelers were only down 3 points, and had the ball. O'Donnell then threw his second pic to Larry Brown.

On that play, Yancy Thigpen was wide open down the field. Had O'Donnell threw it to him, the Steelers would have been up 4 points

Sooooo....... your Boys were very good, but they did not dominate the Steelers in Super Bowl 30 like they dominated the Bills in their previous two Super Bowls.
 

tetelestai

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
I'm going to have to think for a bit for my top 5.

It's really hard to compare teams from different eras.

Jack Lambert and Jack Ham were both dominate linebackers in the 70's, and both are in the HOF.

I don't think either of them could make an NFL roster today. They were both skinny linebackers with no speed, not to mention they were both white guys.

The 1976 Steelers gave up 25 points in their last nine games combined. If the 1976 Steelers played the 2018 Chiefs, the 2018 Chiefs would easily put up 50-60 points on them.
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
Sooooo....... your Boys were very good, but they did not dominate the Steelers in Super Bowl 30 like they dominated the Bills in their previous two Super Bowls.

By the time they played the Steelers they had lost many valuable players through Free Agency and Free Agency did not even come into being until after the Boys had assembled a great team in '92. Some people believe that the only reason that the owners finally agreed to Free Agency was to break up the Cowboys.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
It's really hard to compare teams from different eras.
Agreed. The size differential alone. Take that great Steeler defense from the 70s. How effective would they be against that 90s Cowboy line? In the 70s the average offensive lineman was 6' 3" and 255 lbs. By the 90s they were 6' 4" and 300 lbs. The AVERAGE line. The 90s Cowboys line averaged 321 lbs. Or a 66 lb difference to get through, on average.

Jack Lambert and Jack Ham were both dominate linebackers in the 70's, and both are in the HOF.

I don't think either of them could make an NFL roster today. They were both skinny linebackers with no speed, not to mention they were both white guys.
A lot of great white guys playing defense in the NFL today, even at linebacker, but I do think it would be much harder for them.

The 1976 Steelers gave up 25 points in their last nine games combined. If the 1976 Steelers played the 2018 Chiefs, the 2018 Chiefs would easily put up 50-60 points on them.
I think that's what was in the mind of the people who threw some of the lists together. Look at the average height of qbs. If you put most of the great ones from the 50s and 60s they'd have trouble, would have to scramble to create passing lanes and not all of them were as fluid/athletic as a Drew Brees. It's much easier for me to imagine him translating to the 50s than it is for some of those pocket passers making it today.

I think someone like Otto Graham would do it, but it's one thing I don't see as much in Unitas, who I tend to rate lower than many (if still in the great range). Imagine Cam Newton in 50s or 60s. He'd be unstoppable.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
They barely beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl...Sooooo....... your Boys were very good, but they did not dominate the Steelers in Super Bowl 30 like they dominated the Bills in their previous two Super Bowls.
And the Bills weren't the same after that crushing loss to the Giants to kick off their cautionary run. That said, those Bills were up on that Cowboys team at the half of the 94 SB 13 - 6, but couldn't answer the offensive bell in the second half.
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
And the Bills weren't the same after that crushing loss to the Giants to kick off their cautionary run. That said, those Bills were up on that Cowboys team at the half of the 94 SB 13 - 6, but couldn't answer the offensive bell in the second half.

The Bills of that era was really a good team as they represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993--a record four consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl. Besides Quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas and wide receiver James Lofton were all selected to the Hall of Fame.
 

tetelestai

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
Some people believe that the only reason that the owners finally agreed to Free Agency was to break up the Cowboys.

I think the owners were still upset about the Herschel Walker trade.

Basically, Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones played a lot of the other owners like fools. They were able to get those owners into a bidding war for Walker, and then drafted Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, and Darren Woodson with picks from the trade.

Don't know if you know this, but the Steelers helped Dallas get Emmitt Smith. The Steelers had the #17 pick, and Dallas had the #21 pick in 1990. Dallas made a deal with Pittsburgh, and drafted Emmitt at #17
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
Zeke is close to signing a new contract. His problem is that he has no leverage because in order to get paid he has to play this year. And if he holds out all year he is back where he started with one year left on his contract and Dallas having the rights to his fifth year.
 

tetelestai

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
Zeke is close to signing a new contract. His problem is that he has no leverage because in order to get paid he has to play this year. And if he holds out all year he is back where he started with one year left on his contract and Dallas having the rights to his fifth year.

What are your thoughts on Jason Garett? This will be his 9th full season as head coach of the Cowboys.

Is this his last year if he doesn't at least make it to the NFC Championship Game?
 

tetelestai

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
The Cowboys have only made it to the postseason two years in a row, once this century.

They went last year.....so, it's not looking good for this year, Jerry.
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
The Cowboys have only made it to the postseason two years in a row, once this century.

They went last year.....so, it's not looking good for this year, Jerry.

I think that it is looking great!

After they finally got a number one receiver last year they went from a 3-5 record and then won 7 out of the next 8 regular season games and then beat Seattle in a playoff game. And this year they are loaded with good receivers. And their First Team All Pro center is back.

Besides that, their defense is also loaded, having great linebackers and an All Pro Defensive End to go with their All Pro Cornerback. The Boys had two more players in the top 100 list than any other team.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
Tonight's game is Green Bay @ Chicago, where the Bears remain a 3 pt favorite.

A lot of unknowns. The Pack has a new head coach and a retooled defense. Chicago lost their defensive coordinator and has a qb who appeared to course correct from a bit of a disappointment in his first year to a top tier qb in 2018. How all of that shakes out will determine the season. The North is arguably the toughest division in the NFC this year, the anti AFC East, if you will.

The money is about evenly split on who benefits from that pick'em line, with slightly more trending toward the Pack (2%). And if it comes down to a fg, the Bears still make me nervous. Last year the Pack won by one point at home and lost by a td in Chicago. I guess the question is, have the Packers improved enough defensively and will Rodgers look more like himself this year, and will that happen early or late?

My inclination is to take the Bears early, there being less disruption and so much about the Pack seemingly in need of tweaking. So I'm going Bears in a game that could go either way.

Green Bay 26
Bears 31
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
On the Antonio Brown Debacle

When all the crazy started and spread a bit back, from feet to helmet, I told Joanna, "What if he's not crazy? What if he used the Raiders as a way out of Pittsburgh and now he's going to 'bad rebound girlfriend' them into ending the relationship so he can go where he wanted to all along?"

She asked, "Where would that be?"

And I said, "Either KC or NE. He wants a ring. Also, he can get good money on a one year deal with one of them, they're hungry, and he can reform his imagine in a fell swoop. . . Just like that, he beat the contract and made his own rules."

Am I feeling like Nostradameus today?

You know that I am.

What's next in my crystal ball? If he helps the Pats repeat look for him to jump off the aging Brady ship and head to KC, a-la Deion Sanders, to finish his career with a solid contract and a few more rings.

Crazy? Like a fox.
 
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