Nfl.playoff picture

NFL: National Football League Discussion

2008.09.13 07:00 NFL: National Football League Discussion

This is a subreddit for the NFL community.

2015.11.26 03:30 NFLPlayoffScenarios NFL Playoff Scenarios

This is a subreddit dedicated to following and discussing the various playoff scenarios, pictures, possibilities, and procedures for calculating them.

[link]

2010.06.18 20:09 PlaxicoMeow New York Football Giants

The Official Subreddit for fans of The New York Football Giants

[link]

2023.05.17 15:39 Interesting_Pin_6211 Moving from 4 divisions of 8 teams to 8 divisions of 4 teams

I've been thinking about what would it be like if the NHL adopted the NFL division format, and potentially how it could look for playoffs... IE... 4 division winners get guarantied spots, and then next 4 teams with best records get wildcard spots. Then it would be more of a 1v8 system in each conference... yadada.
Going this route, the only difference in this years playoffs would have been Pittsburg being a division winner (map to follow), bumping Florida out of the playoff picture entirely.
Regular season structure, I would see each team would play every other team in an home & away game... (56 games). Then in their own division, they play 4 home & 4 away games against each other (24 games)... resulting in a regular season of 80 games.
The 24 games in division creates the rivalries the NHL seemingly wants with the current playoff format. But could also mean there is a run-away president's cup winner for a division like Toronto with Ottawa, Montreal & Buffalo.
I know this could have flaws... but it would just add some spice to the current format... as it is very dull when it is known that Toronto will face Tampa in the 1st round of the playoffs like way back before the All Star break.

submitted by Interesting_Pin_6211 to nhl [link] [comments]

2023.05.12 20:16 Party-Mud-2686 LMFAO what kind of crack, cocaine, meth, LSD, or all 4 is this mf on?? Having the Steelers go 12-5 and have the ravens with the roster we have miss the playoffs? 🤣🤣🤣

submitted by Party-Mud-2686 to ravens [link] [comments]

2023.05.03 18:29 hallach_halil Recapping the entire 2023 NFL Draft - Biggest winners, losers, steals and reaches

https://preview.redd.it/qtlxsbe27nxa1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ca4c839a8acd26ebcf04a5f72c394ba1806045d
The 2023 NFL Draft is in the books and it’s time to break down everything that happened over the weekend! Obviously everybody got better by adding young talent, but some teams used their draft capital better than others – whether that’s just the players they picked or their overall strategy – and there are selections I was a bigger fan of than others.
So in this article, I will lay out my five biggest winners and losers, as well as my ten biggest steals and reaches respectively. Plus, I added a few more contenders for each category at the end. As far as winners/losers go, this can be a specific team that did really well in terms of how they used their assets, individual prospects, position groups or NFL veterans, due to how they will be affected. The steals/reaches portion is pretty self-explanatory, as I will judge the names selected based on my personal rankings in correlation consensus boards and looking at who was still available or how these picks fit into the overall picture of the draft.
One name I considered as a winner here was Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, since he signed the contract that in terms of average annual value is the largest in NFL history, before his team got him a new stud receiver in the first round. However, I didn’t want the first half of this equation to factor in too much here, even though in terms of Thursday, nobody had a better 24 hours than him personally.
Let’s break it all down now:

Winners:

https://preview.redd.it/dd0f2pf67nxa1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39a8e3b0483b5e214e303a0831560c43bf540d29

Howie Roseman & the Bulldogs graduate program

Early on day three, I tweeted out that this has to be a bit at this point, because of the absurd amount of Georgia players joining the Eagles recently. Last year, they traded up a couple of spots for big defensive tackle Jordan Davis in the first round and then were able to take advantage of some medical concerns around Nakobe Dean, who I thought purely based on tape was worthy of a day one selection. Now this time around, they actually spent both of their first-rounders on two more members from that historic 2021 Bulldog defense.
Jalen Carter was my number one overall prospect purely based on tape and swapped spots with the Bears at number nine in exchange for a ’24 fourth-rounder. And while I personally had Nolan Smith as my number six edge rusher right in that range he was selected at, I don’t think anybody thought he’d be available at 30th overall. They came back on day three and picked cornerback Kelee Ringo at 105th overall, who was mocked in the first round a couple of months ago still and I had as my CB6. And because they didn’t feel like any Georgia guys they liked were still on the board, they called the Lions, who just shocked everybody by taking a running back 12th overall, and traded a ’25 fourth-rounder for a still very talented (when healthy) player in D’Andre Swift.
While it’s certainly not always the soundest strategy to pick the guys from the best programs in the country, those were all among the best names available at the points Philly was on the clock for and we can all appreciate them not overthinking things and potentially reaching on some smaller names that they feel in love with on tape. That’s obviously also great for the Georgia program, to have this pipeline to the NFL, where more kids coming out of high school want to commit to Kirby Smart, because they know he can’t get them to the pros ultimately. I also really liked the Eagles’ four other selections, in Alabama tackle Tyler Steen (65th overall) as somebody whose only weakness at this point is the way he can absorb power effectively, Illinois’ Sydney Brown (66th) was my number two safety and somebody I believe has the potential to be a Brian Dawkins-like player if he becomes a more reliable tackler, Tanner McKee (188th) is a bit curious because of how drastically different his profile is to Jalen Hurts but was my QB8 and finally, Texas’ Moro Ojomo (249th) could have easily gone in the early 100s as a powerful athlete with alignment versatility along the D-line.

Geno Smith

In a terms of a veteran quarterback who didn’t just earn a massive contract to secure himself the face of the franchise like Lamar Jackson, probably nobody had a better weekend than Geno Smith. First, the Seahawks were in prime territory for one of the top QBs in the draft at fifth overall – which I wouldn’t expect them to get another chance like this anytime soon because the roster is too good at this point – but instead they selected Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Then at 20th overall, Kentucky’s Will Levis, who most teams had as QB4 on their boards, was still available, yet instead they picked Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba – a perfect fit for them in the slot, to tie their room of pass-catchers together.
Seattle still had a chance to trade back into the late first round or even up to one of the top two picks of day two for Levis. Instead, they let the Titans pick him 33rd overall and then after some people connected them to Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, they passed on him with both of their second-round picks, in favor of Auburn edge rusher Derick Hall (37th overall) to help them close out games and the consensus number three running back in Zach Charbonnet from UCLA (52nd), to give them one of the most formidable backfield duos along with another second-rounder last year in Kenneth Walker. On day three, the Hawks still got two more interior O-linemen with starter qualities in LSU’s Anthony Bradford (108th) and Michigan’s Olu Ouwatimi (153rd), along with another RB in the seventh round, with Kenny McIntosh (237th) as a replacement for Travis Homer as a designated third-down back.
So instead of potentially taking advantage of the increased draft capital they possessed to invest into a future signal-caller to eventually replace Geno, they actually got him an uber-reliable slot receiver, who does a great job of being friendly to the quarterback with his angles out of breaks, his feel for secondary plays and how he instantly gets upfield after the catch. They added some bodies to an interior O-line that was a bit concerning and they filled out that backfield with two guys that can help out in the passing game as well, when you look at Charbonnet’s work in the screen game and making guys miss in the flats off dump-offs, while McIntosh can be a legit extra receiver, who can flex out wide and go vertical. This offense has a chance to be really explosive and without any competition added, Geno is going to pull the trigger for them the next couple of years at least.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Thinking of a team that every single time they were on the clock selected a prospect I had higher on my personal board, I think the Steelers absolutely aced their draft. The one name where it wasn’t an actual surplus but rather right in line with my rankings was actually the first one. However, with the top three offensive tackles off the board already, they did what I projected them to in my final mock draft and moved up – not four spots like I thought, but rather three – in exchange for a fourth-round pick (120th overall) with the Patriots and sniped the Jets a spot later, who everybody projected to go O-line. The Gang Green brass vehemently denies that they were locked in on that position but I certainly think that’s the case. So Pittsburgh recognized that they needed to make this move, probably were helped out gladly by New England, allowing them to move in front of their AFC East rivals, and got a pro-ready right tackle, after which I saw a significant drop-off.
From day two on however is when they really started to add value. Having the very first pick in the second round, they received several calls about teams wanting to move up, but instead stuck there and selected the guy many projected them to target at 17th overall due to his dad being a cornerstone player for that defense in the past and them addressing their other big position of need with Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. – a super-long, talented corner, who will be a great fit with his ability to squeeze down passing downs in Pittsburgh’s zone-heavy scheme and gives them some versatility to play press-man into the boundary, if you have a safety clouding over the top. Wisconsin interior D-lineman Keeanu Benton (49th overall) has the ability to actually turn himself into a Cam Heyward-esque player and now gets to learn from the man himself. And Georgia tight-end Darnell Washington (93rd) received some first-round buzz at times thanks to his profile to turn into a dominant blocker, his massive frame and the speed he can move at for being 265 pounds, to rumble through defenses.
With their three picks on day three, they took advantage of another undersized outside linebacker from Wisconsin falling in Nick Herbig (132nd overall), who shows very active hands and understands how to finish his rushes, now getting him paired up with a fellow Badger in T.J. Watt. Purdue cornerback Corey Trice (241st) was on the top-100 board for many draft analysts with tremendous length and athletic tools, along with already being an excellent tackler. And finally, they take a stab at a physically talented offensive lineman in Maryland’s Spencer Anderson (251st) with starting experience at guard, center and tackle.

Kicking specialists & Mid-round quarterbacks

This one is pretty insane. Let’s start with the specialists, because we saw three kickers and punters each selected in this draft. In 2022, we actually saw four punters go, but only one kicker. We didn’t have any long-snappers selected, but just looking at “kicking” specialists, over the last 20 years, we’ve only seen six guys hear their names called three other times – 2004, 2012 and 2018. Even more glaring to me was how early those guys went. We didn’t have somebody like a Roberto Aguayo, who was a second-round pick in 2016 – and look how that turned out – but the 49ers used a top-100 pick on Michigan’s Jake Moody (99th overall), the Patriots picked Maryland’s Chad Ryland (112th) early on day three and the Packers took Auburn’s Daniel Carlson (203rd) in the sixth round. In terms of the punters, New England came back and took another specialist just inside the top-200 in Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer (192nd) and then we had two more with the second Michigan guy here in Brad Robbins (217th) going to Cincinnati and Ethan Evans (223rd) from Wingate joining the Rams.
Meanwhile, we had an unprecedented run on quarterbacks in the middle rounds. We started the draft with three QBs inside the first four picks, while Will Levis from Kentucky had to wait until the top of day two for the Titans to make the move up for him. After that, there was a break for 35 spots until we saw Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (68th overall) come off the board – a range I thought was much more appropriate than some first-round buzz he received, considering he’s a 25-year old who will miss his at least most of his rookie season with a torn ACL and is coming from an offensive system that shows very little resemblance to what he will be asked to do in the pros. Things really started to pick up from 127th overall on, as over the next 72 selection, we saw eight(!) signal-callers come off the board – Fresno State’s Jake Haener, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell, UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Houston’s Clayton Tune, Penn State’s Sean FREAKING Clifford, BYU’s Jaren Hall and Stanford’s Tanner McKee in that order. And it’s not even that I don’t like those guys. Half of them actually went where I thought it was appropriate for them. Yet, you can absolute tell that there was a Brock Purdy effect, considering how many teams took a stab on these guys in the middle rounds, when better football players were available – 12 selected within the first five round actually set a new record. We’ll have to see how that strategy turns out, but good for all the guys that benefitted from it already.

Monti Ossenfort

The final name I wanted to give credit to here is the new general manager of the Arizona Cardinals. Because after just one draft, I’m a bigger fan of what he was able to accomplish than really any of the DECADE Steve Keim had to turn the Birds into a contender, other than maybe 2015. And it’s not just the players he selected individually, but rather the positions he targeted in those ranges and he process behind it all and most impressively, the way they maneuvered around the board throughout the weekend.
Now, first and foremost, it feels like Monti and company probably got a little bit lucky at the top, with the Texans apparently having a generational-type grade on Alabama edge defender Will Anderson Jr. and being willing to invest as much draft capital to move up for him, after already grabbing their QB of the future in C.J. Stroud second overall. Otherwise, it appeared that Arizona might ultimately be stuck at number three, but they were able to package that with an early fourth-rounder (105th overall) for a massive haul – pick 12 and a quasi-first-rounder with 33, along with the Texans’ first and third next year. Yet, then after the Lions probably were scrambling a little bit considering the guy heavily favored to be their choice at sixth overall in Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon was taken by the Seahawks a spot earlier, the Cardinals decided to move back up six spots, in exchange for a much smaller return – pick 34 and 168, while getting pick 81 back – and they still got the guy that was really picking up steam for them being the choice at third overall – the consensus top-ranked left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
However, that’s not where things stopped for Arizona. In the second round, they moved down eight spots with the Titans having eyes on the falling Kentucky QB Will Levis, in exchange for moving up nine spots in the third round and another three next year. With those selections they brought in my fifth-ranked edge defender in LSU’s B.J. Ojulari and a top-ten corner not taking injury into account with Syracuse’s Garrett Williams, who is now projected to return from the torn ACL in July already. Plus, then the best trade they pulled off in my opinion – going back to the well with the Lions – they traded pick 96, which Detroit used on a barely drafted D-tackle in my opinion (Brodric Martin from Western Kentucky) for picks 122, 139 and 168. They went on to turn those into a guard who put up elite testing numbers at the combine in UCLA’s Jon Gaines II, a developmental quarterback with great arm and movement talent in Houston’s Clayton Tune and run-and-hit linebacker with 4.39 speed in Auburn’s Owen Pappoe. That’s along with selecting one of the most refined route-runners in Stanford WR Michael Wilson (94th), a feisty nickel in Louisville’s Kei’Trel Clark (180th) and an interior D-lineman I had inside my top-100 overall prospects late in the sixth round with West Virginia’s Dante Stills (213th).

Others draft classes I liked: Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants & Seattle Seahawks

Losers:

https://preview.redd.it/q4qpue997nxa1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95d6a05ac09c5f4487ff9978ff0e70bcf12d3a0a

Brad Holmes believers (in the analytics community)

I just talked about the Cardinals kind of fleecing the Lions in a couple of trades during the draft and mentioned that they sent a veteran running back to Philly at some point, so let’s just continue with them here. They got some really good football players – don’t get me wrong here. However, the way they approached the weekend in terms of when and where they moved, how they tried to maximize value and the overall strategy, I would certainly question.
Since I just said that the Cardinals might have gotten a little bit lucky with the Texans being hell-bent on picking two and three, in order to get their cornerstone pieces on either side of the ball, let me take some heat off Brad Holmes and the rest of the Lions brass. I’m pretty sure they did not expect the Seahawks to take what probably was the guy they targeted all along in Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon. He was a minus-favorite for going sixth overall in terms of betting odds at the start of the calendar week already and I think throughout the process I maybe saw two mock drafts that lined Seattle to him. With that being said, when the Cardinals called – and I obviously don’t know if that was the only team interested – they barely gained surplus based on draft value charts by moving back six spots to 12 (in exchange for 34 and 168, whilst getting back pick 81) and drafted the number two running back Jahmyr Gibbs from Alabama. I absolutely love him and probably had him as high as anybody at 17th overall on my big board, but even for me that is pretty rich. More importantly, they could have had who people legitimately considered a generational prospect in Texas’ Bijan Robinson if they just stuck at six. And the result of picking a running back there was them ultimately trading away a high second-rounder from a couple of years ago with a very similar skill-set in D’Andre Swift for a 2025 fourth-rounder by the Eagles.
With their other first-round pick (18th) overall, they selected Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell, who was my LB1 and is wrongly portrayed as just this inside thumper. I really like the player, but once again – it’s too high for me and more importantly, even if you see a major drop-off after him, the next legit off-ball linebacker to come off the board was Arkansas’ Drew Sanders early in the third round – and he actually has legit rush upside. Then after targeting the two lowest-value positions, I did like Iowa tight-end Sam LaPorta (34th overall) and Alabama nickelback/safety Brian Branch (45th) in the second round, which I think do make a lot of sense. I’ve heard people saying that if you switched some of those names, that’s actually a solid group, which I agree with – but that’s not how this thing works! I get the Hendon Hooker pick (68th) in the third, even though I would have felt much better if they had made sure to get Will Levis at the top of the second, since that would seem like more of a clear direction for them, but then what really annoyed me is them picks 122, 139 and 168 for a selection just inside the top-100 that was used on a developmental nose-tackle in Western Kentucky’s Brodric Martin, who based on my and consensus rankings was a seventh-round prospect. That’s just a poor understanding of the board and allocation of resources all-around and I think all the analytics services will end up grading their class extremely low.

Ryan Tannehill

Assuming nobody expected Andy Dalton, Davis Mills or Gardner Minshew to start this year – at last for the full season – Ryan Tannehill would be the one on the opposite end of the spectrum to Geno Smith, who I mentioned earlier as a winner. There was some discussion around him last year already, when the Titans drafted Malik Willis and he receiving some (unwarranted) criticism for saying at a press conference that he wasn’t “here to mentor” the rookie, but that guy fell to them in the third round and even though I had him as QB1 in a much weaker class, I didn’t expect Willis to start that year. He didn’t until Tannehill’s foot got hurt initially and when that guy was placed on injured reserve, Tennessee actually signed Josh Dobbs in hopes of still winning a weak AFC South – who ended up starting the final two weeks. Now however, they actively traded to 33rd overall, moving up eight spots in exchange for a pick-swap in the third round and another three next year, in order to select Kentucky QB Will Levis.
So while it seems that Tannehill was able to fend off Willis, who I still believe has a lot of talent and isn’t really getting a fair shot, considering he got thrown in on very short notice and had basically no pass-catching options around him to help him out, as somebody that I believed shouldn’t see the field until late into his rookie season, now there’s another challenger in the room. Now, the two positive angles for the veteran signal-caller are that the Titans could have already secured themselves Levis at 11th overall but passes on him initially, playing the board and taking a gamble to some degree, and then I look at the rookie as somebody who is on a similar developmental arc as Willis last year.
Now, the difference with Levis is that he actually operated in a pro-style offense in 2021, with extensive experience working from under-center and being asked to make NFL-type of reads. I believe if Liam Coen doesn’t become the Rams offensive coordinator for the ’22 season, before returning to Kentucky, we look at the Wildcat QB as less of a project, because his decision-making and inconsistent footwork are paid closer attention to and worked on, while having a play-caller capable of overcoming lesser pieces on the O-line and in terms of receiving talent. So while there are things on tape that you wouldn’t expect from a redshirt senior with 26 career starts, there’s also a lot to like in terms of the way the ball jumps off his hand, the arm strength to take shots down the field off play-action, the running threat he presents without the foot injury and the toughness overall. I think all parties involved would benefit from Levis sitting until late in the year, if Tennessee is eliminated from playoff contention potentially, but I wouldn’t rule out Tannehill being moved during the offseason or ahead of the trade deadline, if the Titans don’t get off to a good start.

The safety class

Now let’s talk about the players in this draft actually and a position group received no love. Depending on if you count Alabama’s Brian Branch and Illinois’ Jartavius Martin as safeties, since they primarily lined up at nickel and that’s where they’ll likely be deployed by the Lions and Commanders respectively, you can argue no legit safety came off the board until Martin’s former teammates Sydney Brown going to the Eagles at the top of the third round (66th overall). Only two others were selected for the rest of the day – Penn State’s Ji’Ayir Brown (87th) going to the 49ers and Alabama’s Jordan Battle (95th) going to the Bengals. Two more were selected in the fourth round, before we finally saw 13 combined over the final three rounds of the weekend.
Generally, I wouldn’t pay too much attention and many people have called this a weaker safety class. While I don’t consider it one of the stronger groups we’ve seen in recent years and we lack any type of blue-chip players among it, I do disagree with the sentiment about the class as a whole. I had eight guys inside my personal top-100 big board (including Branch and Martin, who I mentioned at the top) and six more among the “next 30 names” I listed below it – so basically 14 inside my top-130. I know that I was personally higher on the group than consensus, but even looking at where some of these names were projected to go – Texas A&M’s Antonio Johnson (160th) ended up being a fifth- instead of a fringe second-/third-rounder, Florida State’s Jammie Robinson (145th) went about 50 picks later than expected, Georgia’s Chris Smith II (170th) waited nearly 100 picks longer. Altogether 19 safeties were inside the top 259 prospect, based on consensus board provided by MockDraftDatabase.com
Now, what does this tell us? Well, first of all there may be some medical issues with these guys that we’re not aware of. I can’t speak to any of that. However, my theory revolves more around the schematic changes the meta of defensive football has experienced recently. With more NFL teams adapting split-safety principles, the profiles of guys they’re now looking for on the back-end has changed. Sure, there are teams who still value free safety types who can make plays on the ball-numbers-to-numbers and rangy players will always be desirable, but it’s not as much about finding those high-level athletes all the time. Many teams are looking for more well-rounded skill-sets, where they can roll somebody in the deep post, but also drive on routes in quarters to their side, basically play off-man against slot receivers with extra cushion and maybe most importantly, charge up the alley against the run, in order to even out negative box counts. Those player profiles are currently easier to find in the later rounds still – which was apparent with how much this class got pushed down – and that’s a trend I’ll be following closely going forward.

New York Jets

I didn’t want to badmouth too many teams here as a whole, because like I said at the very start – everybody got better over the weekend and each team selected players that I really enjoyed watching on tape. There were a couple of others that I’d put in the same bucket as the Jets (listed below the next paragraph), but they kind of stuck out to me, because I’m not sure how much better they get right now, considering they’ve now consciously entered a window, in which they need to take full advantage of having a defense that finished last season top-five according to several metrics (points per game, DVOA, success rate, etc.), two Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates (if Breece Hall had stayed healthy) and now Aaron Rodgers dropped into the mix. You combine all those factors and you understand that with a head coach entering year three and a general manager now in his fifth year, they have to win this season.
Two things I didn’t want let my standpoint influence too much here – as tired everybody is of Zach Wilson, I really believe that the Jets failed him at least as much as he has done so far as a second overall pick, when they pulled him really because of a simple “No” at a press conference, when he was 4-and-2 as a starter at that point. So I’m not going to give them a ton of credit for making Aaron Rodgers come out of his darkness retreat with a switched mindset and wanting to join their team, especially when considering that they gave up way more than I expected to acquire him from the Packers, who had already moved on to their young QB on the roster. With that being said, now having just two picks each of the first two days, they really started to nail it. And while I think they got good value with Wisconsin center Joe Tippman 52nd overall, there’s a really everybody had them taking a tackle at pick number 15. Instead, they watched the top three names come off the board within the first eleven selections and didn’t feel the urgency to secure that spot for them. The division-rival Patriots gladly helped out the Steelers in jumping New York for Georgia’s Broderick Jones and there they were 15th overall, taking another defensive end, when they already had at least four legit guys as part of the rotation. And I get that they love keeping those bodies fresh an that they denied being locked in on OT, but I’m just not buying it.
Gang Green came back on day three and did ultimately invest into that position with Pittsburgh’s Carter Warren (120th overall), who I believe is a long, well-coordinated athlete with the potential to turn into a starter down the road, but he’s coming off a torn meniscus, only ever started at left tackle and had serious issues producing penalties in college. I certainly like Izzy Abanikanda as a big-play threat from the backfield out of Pitt (143rd overall), but I think recouping depth in the back-seven should have been higher on the priority list and of their final three picks, only one had a draftable grade on – Old Dominion tight-end Zack Kuntz, who shockingly lasted until the seventh round despite a historically great combine, probably due to injury concerns – and all of them mainly even got selected due to elite athletic testing. It’s just not close to the standard GM Joe Douglas has set in recent years.

Dawand Jones

For the final one here, I considered “Kenneth Walker dynasty owners”, since the Seahawks drafted another running back I really like in the second round and a passing down specialist in the seventh, to take away opportunities for fantasy production. However, I haven’t discussed an individual draft prospect yet and one I thought needed to be mentioned here is “the other” Ohio State offensive tackle. After being projected to be a top-50 pick and seeing his name frequently mentioned in mock drafts, the monstrous lineman waited all the way until day three, when the Browns finally ended the slide at 111th overall. That was after seeing his fellow Buckeye left tackle being selected sixth overall and nine total OTs coming off the board first.
The obvious concern with Jones, just looking at how giganteus is, is if he can keep himself in football shape. When we last got measurements on him at the combine, the Ohio State OT was 6’8” and 374 pounds. He ran as expected, with a 5.35 in the 40 and the worst ten-yard split of the event (1.92). Neither in Indy nor at the Buckeye pro day, he decided to do the jumps or agility drills, along with refusing another weigh-in in Columbus. However, what apparently really didn’t sit well with NFL evaluators was the fact that after one dominant practice at the Senior Bowl, he decided – or his agent told him – to sit out the rest of the week with no apparent injury. His lack of willingness to commit himself fully to the process and maybe not having appropriate answers in the meetings when asked about, are what I believe might have caused him to drop this far. Since contract numbers are basically locked in due to where players get selected, that’s most likely more than 1.5 times less money on his contract than he would have received had he gone around pick 50.
Not only did going this late hurt Jones financially, but he also will have a tough time seeing the field anytime soon in Cleveland – unless they use him as a jumbo tight-end in certain short-yardage packages. The Browns recently picked up Jedrick Wills Jr.’s fifth-year option, keeping him at left tackle for the next two seasons at least, and guy on the right side in Jack Conklin just signed a more back-loaded four-year, 60-million-dollar extension in December. And for people considering if they could move him to guard – I have a tough seeing any scenario where they’ll try taking the potential outs in the either of Joel Bitonio or Wyatt’s deals, since those are Pro Bowl/All-Pro level players. They also just re-signed center Ethan Pocic by the way. The one bright spot for Jones is that he’ll get to work under one of the top O-line coaches in Bill Callahan, to develop a kick-set necessary to make it in the pros.

Other questionable draft classes: Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs & San Francisco 49ers

Steals:

https://preview.redd.it/6fhymimb7nxa1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36ac39494f25744b5e7065c05c928b10d8ad9cd2

Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon – 17th overall to Patriots

To signal how shocked I was that Gonzo lasted as long as he did – once Seattle drafted Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon fifth overall, I thought the Lions might draft the order corner I had inside my top-ten overall prospects. The Oregon DB has prototype size and length, 4.38 speed, is very fluid and a reliable tackler – plus, he hasn’t even turned 21 years old. Those guys typically don’t make it outside the first half of round one. The only reason I can imagine he made it this far is that people see him as more of an athlete and hasn’t shown “that dawg” you like to see from that position, which is a bit silly. Considering the Patriots were able to pick up an extra fourth-rounder by moving back three spots with the Steelers and that the Commanders picked another corner I had way further down the board in Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes, this was a great value pick for them.

O’Cyrus Torrence, IOL, Florida – 59th overall to Bills

Whenever you’re able to get the best player at his position in the draft at the end of the second round, you’re doing something right. After the Bills had already secured themselves my TE1 Dalton Kincaid 25th overall (having moved up two spots), they got the massive Gator guard a full round later – when I thought they could have easily gone that way late in the first. Torrence looks like he was built in the lab for that position, with massive hands to take control and a lot of power in his lower half to move bodies in the run game, along with the sturdy anchor to absorb force and once he fits those hands inside the frame of rushers, they’re typically not getting away anymore. The two players he reminded me were Brandon Brooks and Mike Iupati – and he was drafted right in-between where those guys went. He’s a perfect addition for a Bills interior O-line that needed an ass-kicker.

Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State – 85th overall to Chargers

Even though Henley wasn’t quite my number one linebacker, I did have him on my top tier at the position – along with Iowa’s Jack Campbell and Arkansas’ Drew Sanders. All three are pretty different player profiles and I understand him being the last one taken among those, but considering Henley went 67(!) spots later than Campbell, that’s pretty wild. To me, there wasn’t a backer in this class with the type off easy movement skills like this young man from Wazzu, where his ability to gain depth, change directions and drive on routes still looks more like a safety, which is what he originally started as, along with playing some wide receiver, after being recruited as a quarterback. However, he doesn’t only have the suddenness to evade blockers but is also willing to charge into them and missed only five of 111 tackling attempts this past season. I think what shows us that he went later than expected is that after him going as the third true off-ball linebacker (depending on if you count Sacramento State’s Marte Mapu as a big nickel/safety instead), we saw three more come off the board across the next six picks – teams were sort of just waiting on the position.

Adetomiwa Adebawore, IDL, Northwestern – 110th overall to Colts

I still haven’t heard any real medical concerns far Ade. So I’m just going to have to assume the NFL either didn’t like him in meetings or they’re just kind of hypocritical. Remember that guy Travon Walker, who blew up the combine and ended up ascending all the way to being the first overall pick in last year’s draft out of Georgia? Well, here we have somebody who actually slightly bested him in every single category – despite packing an extra ten pounds! I get that Adebawore’s athleticism is a lot more impressive than his production – once again kind of reminiscent of Walker, but I think even purely based on tape, there’s no way he should have made it out of day two. I actually had him going late in the first round in my last few mock drafts. He’s more than just an athlete – he packs a ton of shock in his hands, despite only being 6’2” he does have 34-inch arms to lock out in the run game, he can play strong-side D-end or three-technique in an even front and during Senior Bowl week, he showed a great combination of winning with power and cornering his rushes. Unless there’s some factor I’m not aware of, this is just teams not knowing exactly where to line him up.

The rest of the analysis can be found here!

Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford – 157th overall to Ravens

Antonio Johnson, SAF/NB, Texas A&M – 160th overall to Jaguars

A.T. Perry, WR, Wake Forest – 195th overall to Saints & Xavier Hutchinson, WR, Iowa State – 205th overall to Texans

Dante Stills, IDL, West Virginia – 213th overall to Cardinals

Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss – 215th overall to Rams

Anthony Johnson Jr., SAF, Iowa State – 242nd overall to Packers

Other steals:

Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah – 25th overall to Bills
Brian Branch, SAF, Alabama – 45th overall to Lions
John Michael Schmitz, IOL, Minnesota – 57th overall to Giants
Sydney Brown, SAF, Illinois – 66th overall to Eagles
Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia – 105th overall to Eagles
Nick Herbig, EDGE/LB, Wisconsin – 132nd overall to Steelers
Jammie Robinson, SAF, Florida State – 145th overall to Panthers
Henry To’o To’o, LB, Alabama – 167th overall to Texans
Chris Smith II, SAF, Georgia – 170th overall to Raiders
Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland – 186th overall to Titans
Luke Wypler, IOL, Ohio State – 190th overall to Browns
Zack Kuntz, TE, Old Dominion – 220th overall to Jets
Jason Taylor II, SAF, Oklahoma State – 234th overall to Rams
Cory Trice Jr., CB, Purdue – 241st overall to Steelers
Desjuan Johnson, EDGE/IDL, Toledo – 259th overall to Rams

Reaches:

https://preview.redd.it/lgmze5bd7nxa1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2651f93feea7f2a661af37690d76bed6da56cb3

Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State – 16th overall to Commanders

Gervon Dexter, IDL, Florida – 53rd overall to Bears

Rashee Rice, WR, SMU – 55th overall to Chiefs

Juice Scruggs, IOL, Penn State – 62nd overall to Texans

Kendre Miller, RB, TCU – 71st overall to Saints & Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn – 88th overall to Jaguars

D.J. Johnson, EDGE, Oregon – 80th overall to Panthers

Brodric Martin, IDL, Western Kentucky – 96th overall to Lions

Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati – 100th overall to Raiders

Chad Ryland, K, Maryland – 112th overall to Patriots

Sean Clifford, QB, Penn State – 149th overall to Packers

Other reaches:

Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State – 15th overall to Jets
Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss – 39th overall to Panthers
Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame – 40th overall to Saints
Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State – 42nd overall to Packers
Brenton Strange, TE, Penn State – 61st overall to Jaguars
Jake Moody, K, Michigan – 99th overall to 49ers
Jake Andrews, IOL, Troy – 107th overall to Patriots
Tavius Robinson, EDGE, Ole Miss – 124th overall to Ravens
Derius Davis, WR, TCU – 125th overall to Chargers
Colby Sorsdal, OT, William & Mary – 152nd overall to Lions

If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider checking out the original piece and feel free to check out all my other video content here!
Twitter: @ halilsfbtalk Instagram: @ halilsrealfootballtalk

submitted by hallach_halil to NFL_Draft [link] [comments]

2023.04.30 00:22 Grouchy_Tiger_5140 Boanerges77 2023 Draft Class Scouting Review: Rds. 3-7

Character Limit Breaks this Up. Link to Part I: Rounds 1-2.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 3, Pick #68 (via DEN) -- QB Hendon Hooker (Tennessee)

https://preview.redd.it/9yn63is9fwwa1.png?width=696&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e41cfa6948e338048a634651b10d4cd61b82e55
MEASUREMENTS:

HEIGHT:	6032	ARM LENGTH:	33.00
WEIGHT:	217 pounds	HAND SIZE:	10 1/2
WINGSPAN:	79 1/4	RAS TOTAL:	- - -
BEST RAS MSMNT:	- - -	WORST RAS MSMNT:	- - -

SUMMARY: I actually have a fuller Scouting Report on Hendon Hooker available here on my Substack. This includes a more specific Lions-oriented fit, and gif's showing some of the stuff I am talking about in the strength's and weaknesses department. Narrative wise, Holmes made it a point to discuss how Detroit needed to be better prepared at backup QB, and Hooker accomplishes that, and also offers some under-the-radar starting upside if the future negotiations with QB Jared Goff prove too costly. Hooker had a long collegiate path to get to where he is, but broke out lately as a smart, athletic quarterback with excellent leadership and intangibles making him an easy dude to root for.
STRENGTHS:

Sharp, Smooth Release: Mechanically, Hooker is very polished, with a consistent motion that does not waste any time and delivers a tight spiral with some zip and accuracy. A smooth release is a common trait for the QBs the Rams took when Holmes was there, and this seems to be a trait he does look for.
Accurate Ball Placement: Hooker is able to layer the ball into multiple different angles and windows with accuracy. Whether it's throwing to the right mark on a short out, or dropping it in over the receiver's shoulder downfield, Hooker's a pretty accurate passer who delivers a catchable ball quite often.
Athleticism & Maneuverability: While he's currently recovering from an ACL tear, and that does affect the projection a bit, Hooker has the athleticism to use his legs to his advantage, whether on a small package of designed runs, scrambling around in the pocket, or even just a general comfort sliding and shuffling off of his initial drop point to evade pressure.

WHY DIDN'T HE GO HIGHER?:

Age & College Offense Provide Some Concern: Not just that Hooker is historically old as a 25-year old NFL Draft prospect, but the greater concern is it took him until his fifth and sixth seasons at the college level, in a gimmicky one-read offense, to really thrive.
Throwing Over the Middle is Not His Strong Point: The PFF heat chart showing where he excels and struggles paints a clear picture: Hooker is elite throwing outside the hashes, but over the middle he has a lot of work to be done.

ROLE AS A ROOKIE: I genuinely am unsure of what Hooker's recovery timeline looks like, when he'll be ready, full-speed, etc. So that does affect this. Overall, he projects as the Lions QB2 whenever he's healthy this season.
FUTURE OUTLOOK: Ain't this the question. The overly optimistic projection on Hooker specifically would be that he has the poise, accuracy, and traits to develop into a quality NFL starter, and the Lions pick of him in the third gives him the chance to develop for a season or two before Detroit lets Goff walk. Lower end projections would center more on him as a somewhat higher end, or at least more intriguing, QB2 for a team. I personally lean a little latter, but Hooker's a tricky evaluation that has caused a lot of differing opinions.
MEDIA EVALUATION:

EvaluatoBoard	Rank	EvaluatoBoard	Rank
PFF Big Board:	47th overall	Bleacher Report's Board:	207th overall
The Beast Ranking:	49th overall	Daniel Jeremiah's Top-150:	46th overall
The Draft Network's Board:	43rd overall	ESPN Big Board:	33rd overall

WHO WOULD BO77 HAVE PICKED? Probably would have doubled up on defensive line help here in this spot, adding the athletic but raw Adetomiwa Adebawore out of Northwestern. It would have effectively paired Benton (1T) and his run-stopping prowess, with Adebawore's (3T) athleticism and explosiveness as quality reinforcements for Detroit.
GRADE THAT'LL MAKE ME LOOK STUPID IN THREE YEARS: C+
I understand that the actual value and such is way better in the third-round, but I still don't really think Hooker will be an NFL starter, and thus this is too rich for someone I think will be a career backup. There's some very definite upside, and obviously if he does end up becoming a starting quarterback at some point in time, he'll have an opportunity to absolutely make this grade look stupid if he does develop into the player some NFL folks believe he can be. Overall, I just think there's too many hurdles to be overcome, and I think this pick would have been much better used elsewhere.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 3, Pick #96 (via ARI) --NT Brodric Martin (Western Kentucky)

https://preview.redd.it/216holkbfwwa1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=f62254d388a1decda87a2fe35dbbe4d4e1946b73
MEASUREMENTS:

HEIGHT:	6046	ARM LENGTH:	35.00
WEIGHT:	330 pounds	HAND SIZE:	9 1/8
WINGSPAN:	83 1/4	RAS TOTAL:	2.13
BEST RAS MSMNT:	Weight (95th)	WORST RAS MSMNT:	Vertical (16th)

SUMMARY: With the iDL pool draining, the Lions used their recently acquired surplus of picks to go up and add a significant piece in Martin. Not the most publicly hyped up player, but Martin shined at the Shrine Bowl, and is an ideal fit for the Lions need and scheme. Most of the analysts out there had Martin as a round 5-7ish caliber player, which likely means I may have been the highest on anyone, grading him as a mid-fourth rounder. In fact, in the final seven round mock I made, I had Martin going to the Chargers at 4.125:
So given the reality that the DT pool was dwindling, I absolutely loved the Lions going up and adding the beefy interior defender. Let's talk about why...
STRENGTHS:

Power at the Point of Attack: Very strong in the upper and lower body, Martin is able to stone offensive linemen at the point of attack. He's an absolute load to move off the ball. When it comes to bolstering the Lions run defense, Martin is an excellent fit for that.
Light Feet & Lateral Movement: The thing that separates just a big dude from a big nose tackle is the foot quickness. A big, plodding NT isn't worth much, but Martin has light feet and can low key kind of scoot on film, able to work side-to-side and make tackles down the line.
Football IQ and Awareness: Think he does a nice job with run scheme recognition in front of high and figuring out where he needs to be. With quality pursuit, good gap discipline, and strong play, he'll be a very useful addition to the Lions run defense.

WHY DIDN'T HE GO HIGHER?:

Needs More Discipline as a Player: The biggest concern, and likely career determining narrative, is how Martin handles adjusting to his duties as a full-time NFL player. When he's in shape and keeping the weight in check, he's a high-caliber run stuffer. However, when he lacks conditioning, he can be sluggish and ineffective.
Pad Level is Inconsistent: Again this goes back to conditioning but when Martin is a little gassed, his pad level gets too high and movement comes easier for the OL against him. Really will need to focus on anchoring in more and again, getting in better shape.
Good Stack, Bad Shed: The technique is called "stack-and-shed", and Martin is a pro at the first part, but needs work to shuck linemen with his hands to create separation in order to make tackles. Will be a focal part for him.

ROLE AS A ROOKIE: Martin will step in quickly and make a contribution for the Lions in a hurry due to their limited DT depth. He's likely a bit of a NT-only type, but with the Lions shifting their two DT's between the 1T and 3T alignments, I think it's a limited enough ask that Martin can do both, thus making him capable of playing
FUTURE OUTLOOK: The upside on Martin, as has been repeated a lot now, is his discipline. When Martin's weight is kept in check and the conditioning high, he's a quality 2-down starter for a competitive team. He does not project as much in the pass rushing department, and thus the long-term role is really a run-down specialist, but it's a big need for the Lions and he's got all the tools to do it for a long-time in Detroit.
MEDIA EVALUATION:

EvaluatoBoard	Rank	EvaluatoBoard	Rank
PFF Big Board:	163rd overall	Bleacher Report's Board:	223rd overall
The Beast Ranking:	23rd ranked DT	Daniel Jeremiah's Top-150:	131st overall
The Draft Network's Board:	300th overall (no profile though)	ESPN Big Board:	164th overall

WHO WOULD BO77 HAVE PICKED? Again, harder to project these with trades, by my hope when this one was announced was Old Dominion OL Nick Saldiveri, a versatile OT/G prospect whom I would have loved to have added and developed to start at guard in 2024.
GRADE THAT'LL MAKE ME LOOK STUPID IN THREE YEARS: A-.
Much like Jahmyr Gibbs, this is a very similar feel, where the Lions may have took him a little bit earlier than I'd prefer, but I absolutely love the player they ended up with nonetheless. And additionally, another similarity to the Gibbs pick, I am only going with an A- because Martin does not project as a full-time player, rather a run-stopping specialist on first- and second-downs who will likely be subbed out on third downs. However, that works perfectly for Detroit. Great add by the Lions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 5, Pick #152 -- OL Colby Sorsdal (William & Mary)

https://preview.redd.it/g6qtnc7dfwwa1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=e06792770dfecc1e031af8b5ace6438424b6b79b
MEASUREMENTS:

HEIGHT:	6053	ARM LENGTH:	33.00
WEIGHT:	304 pounds	HAND SIZE:	10.00
WINGSPAN:	79 3/8	RAS TOTAL:	6.48 (OT), 7.79 (OG)
BEST RAS MSMNT:	Broad Jump (96th)	WORST RAS MSMNT:	10-Yard Split (23rd)

SUMMARY: To be perfectly honest -- yes, I actually did know who Sorsdal was prior to the Lions picking him in the fifth-round. Yes, I am a dork. Yes, I spend too much time on the Draft. I did, however, only have a round seven grade on him. Sorsdal is a surprise for many, and I actually did not include him on my Lions fit board as he came across as far more of a wide zone scheme fit, rather than working well in the Lions scheme (more later), however, he's an experience lineman who will likely work at OT and G for the Lions, with upside to become an average NFL starter down the road, fitting a need for future iOL help in Detroit.
STRENGTHS:

High Quality Athlete on the OL: Able to reach defenders laterally with fluid hips and light feet. Moves in a very fluid fashion, and he can work out in space on screens and pulls, getting to the second-level and hitting defensive backs in the open field. Smooth hips.
Finisher Mentality & Team Captain: He certainly fits the intangibles aspect of a stereotypical Brad Holmes-Dan Campbell pick. He had 40+ starts over five seasons and was voted a team captain.
Good Footwork & Pass Set: Sorsdal is a very smooth athlete, and it really is augmented by good footwork on his run fits and in his pass set. Very smooth deep set (vertical set), that gains depth, and keeps his base.

WHY DIDN'T HE GO HIGHER?:

Lack of Power: Sorsdal managed to generate movement at the FCS level, but lacks power in his punch, and the drive in his lower body to move dudes off the ball at the NFL level. He'll need to bulk up to become a stating guard at the NFL level.
Hand Placement is Erratic: The biggest technical deficiency of Sorsdal game is the hand placement. Misses too often against lesser competition, and struggles to land punches with leverage.
Competition Level: Going from FCS to NFL is a challenge for anyone, so this is not specific to Sorsdal personally, but rather a general point of understanding. It's usually harder to do for linemen than skills as well. Not saying he can't make the jump, just that it's a challenge.

ROLE AS A ROOKIE: As mentioned above, I do believe the Lions will give him reps at tackle and guard. So early on, provided he makes the 53-man roster, he can compete with Matt Nelson for the OT3 role, while also taking some time to get stronger before kicking inside to guard.
FUTURE OUTLOOK: Unless the Lions think they've found some massive gem and Sorsdal's going to replace Taylor Decker at left tackle in two seasons, the most likely outlook is that Hank Fraley decides Sordsal is worth developing at guard, getting him stronger and fitting him in at guard. So overall, he becomes a moldable piece with the capacity to play tackle in a pinch, but a long-term upside at guard.
MEDIA EVALUATION:

EvaluatoBoard	Rank	EvaluatoBoard	Rank
PFF Big Board:	- - -	Bleacher Report's Board:	193rd overall (iOL)
The Beast Ranking:	53rd ranked OT	Daniel Jeremiah's Top-150:	- - -
The Draft Network's Board:	- - -	ESPN Big Board:	- - -

** Note here: Brian Baldinger & Duke Manyweather both had some quality remarks on Sorsdal on Twitter, which is more of an endorsement than media big boards when it comes to OL prospects. Duke even called him "the sleeper of the Draft."
WHO WOULD BO77 HAVE PICKED? Why my class already having OL earlier, as well as double DT, I probably would have added a second cornerback in Purdue's Cory Trice, as he slid a bit and was still on the board here, even after adding hypothetical Christian Gonzalez back at 12.
GRADE THAT'LL MAKE ME LOOK STUPID IN THREE YEARS: B
No issue with Sorsdal, even if I did not have him as high. Once you get to Day 3, the projections are way more varied, and developmental upside is a key factor, and that's certainly something Sorsdal offers, given his size and athleticism and tenacity. Provided he makes the roster, his positional versatility will be a quality asset early on, as a backup tackle and guard, and then the ultimate upside will be determined within two years or so, as the Lions could see a good deal of turnover at the guard positions, giving Sorsdal a chance to earn a starting role. And if Holmes and Manyweather do turn out to be correct on his upside, a quality guard in the fifth is a steal. Long way to go before then however.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 7, Pick #219 (via PHI?) -- WR Antoine Green (North Carolina)

https://preview.redd.it/n3dbi0cffwwa1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa346a462ffd2d8c633eef9b4c317e3ac69ee187
MEASUREMENTS:

HEIGHT:	6016	ARM LENGTH:	32 1/8
WEIGHT:	199 pounds	HAND SIZE:	9.00
WINGSPAN:	77 1/8	RAS TOTAL:	8.68
BEST RAS MSMNT:	10 Yard Split (96th)	WORST RAS MSMNT:	Vertical (43rd)

SUMMARY: Brad Holmes spent so much time moving up and down and up and down that truly I do not really remember how we got here. I have been all over Green since very early in this process, listing him, Hendon Hooker, and Sam LaPorta all as Lions picks in the first Predictive Mock I did this season. Green's an elite fit as a developmental receiver with a very special skill set and the overall upside to develop into a starting caliber option down the road if things go well.
STRENGTHS:

Leverage Through Quick Release: Green has a very nice release at the line of scrimmage, with good footwork and pad level to get into his long stride in a hurry and gain positional leverage on defenders. Really nice at creating separation through his release, not just with speed.
Faster on Film than Forty-Time: Green only put up a 4.47 forty-yard dash, which is quite good (82nd percentile), but consistently gets behind everyone and looks more like a low 4.4 runner on film. He's got the speed to burn defenses over the top.
Good Hands & Ball Tracking: The other facets that make a vertical threat are how well they track the ball in the air and position themselves to get underneath it. Between that and strong hands at the catch point, Green can even adjust to underthrown shots quite well, making him a QB's best friend down the field.

WHY DIDN'T HE GO HIGHER?:

Lack of a Route Tree: Very much a vert-and-go receiver who ran a quite limited route tree in Phil Longo's Air Raid attack. While Green is an experienced deep threat, it did come as a result of him being used as the runner to pull the safeties up high to create space for Josh Downs underneath.
Limited Versatility: Both in terms of experience, Green is a bit of a one-trick pony, and is not likely to offer a ton of versatility in his career, especially early on. Does not standout aside from his vertical element.

ROLE AS A ROOKIE: With a veteran in Marvin Jones Jr. likely starting off as the Lions X-WR, and Josh Reynolds able to eat up snaps there, I do not project a significant role if Green does indeed make the roster. He'd likely be a WR5 or WR6 this season, using much of the year to get acclimated and develop his route tree a bit more.
FUTURE OUTLOOK: With the Lions set to have Jones, Reynolds, and Raymond all on expiring deals following this season, the future outlook for Green is that he'd have the ability to work from a WR5/6 as a rookie up to a WR3/4 in year two if he can expand that route tree. I don't think he has much more to his game than a vertical threat WR3, but with the Lions needing to create space for Amon-Ra to work over the middle, Green can be a useful low-end starter for the Lions throughout his career.
MEDIA EVALUATION:

EvaluatoBoard	Rank	EvaluatoBoard	Rank
PFF Big Board:	- - -	Bleacher Report's Board:	- - -
The Beast Ranking:	43rd ranked WR	Daniel Jeremiah's Top-150:	- - -
The Draft Network's Board:	186th overall	ESPN Big Board:	118th overall (WR15)

WHO WOULD BO77 HAVE PICKED? Antoine Green would have been my pick here, and was the Lions pick overall. Brad and I were quite aligned in this one.
GRADE THAT'LL MAKE ME LOOK STUPID IN THREE YEARS: A
Love the fit as a vertical threat on the outside. Seventh-round picks are usually nothing to get worked up on, as half of them don't even make the roster as rookies anyways. However, this is a flawless selection, adding a player who fits the scheme to a T, fills a lower end need quite well, has upside to become a consistent contributor, and also checks off nearly all benchmarks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLASS GRADE

Best Pick: Think this one is pretty easy from a valuation standpoint entering and exiting the Draft, but Detroit snagging Brian Branch at pick #45, that was a highly savvy move from Holmes. Branch is very underrated, and offers an elite combination of versatility, on-field production, and football IQ. This defense got a heck of a lot better with Branch's addition.
Maybe Prefer We Do That One Over? For me, the biggest I have the most gripes with was probably Hendon Hooker at 68th. Will fully acknowledge it's a much better spot for him overall, but I am just not a fan there, and think a win now team like Detroit would have been better off adding more defense, or a guard, or, well a lot of other options there. Hooker's just not my guy, though again, much better spot to grab him.
Final Grade That'll Also Make Me Look Stupid in Three Years: B+. Obviously it's going to require some pretty strong showings from Holmes' surprise selectees, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell, to really validate Holmes against the positional value mafia. However, the Lions added a lot of sharp football players who can make early impacts for a team that believes it's on the cusp of playoff contention and maybe more.
Then as far as the remainder of the picks go, Holmes added a lot of players with clean fits and high level intangibles in the middle rounds. Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Brodric Martin stick out as a high caliber players who will step into rotational roles quickly, with the upside to develop into starters in short order. And then Holmes also took a shot on a developmental quarterback in Hendon Hooker, remaining a man of his word when it came to his promise to bolster the backup QB position.
Overall, a lot to like about this draft class, provided folks can get over their misapplied positional value fetish. Lot of excellent football players who check off key boxes for athleticism, scheme fits, and intangibles, all of which equates to a promising class, even if it did not unfold in the manner some figured it would be. As always, I would remind folks that it is okay to share your opinion. Brad Holmes is a very good GM, but is not perfect. Don't let it turn into overly dramatic doom and gloom, as you should still trust that Holmes largely made some quality moves for the Lions, based on his track record, though if you didn't like a player or two, there's no shame in that, just be a low-caliber SOL fan and endlessly harp on their short-comings and how the pick will ruin them. Trust a bit that the GM who has turned the narrative on Detroit around probably has a decent grasp on what he's doing.
Stayed tuned for future posts at Motor City Football, my Substack. We will be adding the new players into our mold data and seeing how the trends are changing/becoming clearer. As always, hope you enjoyed.

submitted by Grouchy_Tiger_5140 to detroitlions [link] [comments]

2023.04.27 03:49 AmbassadorNo6393 Really good draft story.

I’m on year three of Madden and might have had the best three years with any auto-generated rookie I have ever had on All-Madden / 9 minute quarters.
I drafted Jason Dwyer with the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft since I had another QB for three years that ended up being a bust. Dwyer ended up being a 74 overall with normal development which I thought was a huge letdown since the other three quarterbacks selected in that round (pictures of them above) ended up all having superstar development. (Ainge upgraded to SSXF due to good play). The other QB’s ended up being 75-77 overall’s.
Dwyer’s rookie year, I didn’t expect much, I actually thought I might have drafted another bust. But he EXPLODED onto the scene, throwing for over 5’500 yards and 53 touchdowns. Falcons went 9-8 and barely made the playoffs losing to the Saints in the wild card round. During that year, he earned a pro bowl nod, NFC OROY, and 2026 Best Quarterback and 3rd in MVP voting.
Dwyer’s second year, he somehow outdid his rookie year. Throwing for 5’900 yards and 60 touchdowns. Falcons went 9-8 and missed the playoffs this time. During that year, he earned a pro bowl nod, 2027 Best Quarterback and won the MVP.
Just wanted to share this story and see if some people found it interesting and also to see if it does not matter if players attributes and overalls are good initially, more so if they gel into the system and scheme fit? This quarterback is unlike anything I have ever seen experienced before.

submitted by AmbassadorNo6393 to Madden [link] [comments]

2023.04.20 15:57 Sconnie92 Around the Alliance 03.23 - THE ST LOUIS REVOLVING DOORS

In this edition of Around the Alliance...

News and Notes
Mock Draft 3.0
Power Rankings 2023 Debut

News and Notes

Free agency began this month with a full blitz of 54 waivers clearing on Friday, April 7th. This was a notable difference from years past, as teams had no limits on negotiations and way more cash to spend as result pf the Inflation Encouragement Act.
- Tony Pollard shocked the world by landing a massive $60 deal through 2028. His next highest offer was from Hawaii for $25 through 2024. While it certainly seems like Swansea outbid only themselves, no one can really know what smokescreens were being played behind closed doors.
- Deebo Samuel generated the most interest, as he received offers from 7 teams. Ultimately, Samuel returned home to Swansea on a $40 deal through 2026.
- Swansea opened up the vaults with a record spending spree of $230. This was a surprise only because the Cario Cup IV runner-ups had been lying low thus far, declining all extensions and restricted free agent signings. Seen from the big picture, the Ducks have always been unashamed to give out big contracts to keep their own. They're still paying Darius Slayton $50 through 2024 after all. Of the $230 they dished out, $120 went to bring back former Ducks.
- Additional team spending broke down as follows for day 1:
  - ABQ - $108
  - ALK - $2
  - DDN - $158
  - HI - $42
  - LNC - $0
  - MEX - $0
  - NW - $99
  - OKC - $2
  - STL - $0
- Days 2-4 saw Hawaii spend $10, Lincoln $7, and Alaska $7 along with a smattering of $0 contracts across the board.
You may have noticed that there was a lack of Brooklyn on the above list and the return of the mighty Alaska Kodiak.
- Some of the offseason turnover across front offices included the Lincoln Johnsons poaching GM Steinke from the Clydesdales to take over Director of Football Operations for the Johnsons. Without the ties to the city, owner and coach Spira (now acting GM again) relocated the franchise back to Alaska and brought back the Kodiak!
- Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Gorillas had operations taken over by the Brooklyn Ownership Trust following several missed deadlines from the front office. This led to the sale of the team to new owner Frauenhoff. The franchise, which was the original St Louis Clydesdales 2019-2021, was then announced to be headed back to the Gateway city, but this time as the St Louis Rivermen. Will the new name offset the ghosts of the past and basement level Legacy Score?
On the trading front, one deal has gone through since the last AtA and it was a biggie. Arch-rivals Dunedin and Alaska made a QB swap with the Kodiak receiving QB Russell Wilson, hot off his new $22/2yr deal, and WR Devin Duvernay ($5/1yr) while the Rangers received Lamar Jackson ($50/1yr with 1st extension) and the 2023 4.

Mock Draft 3.0

For this version of our UFFA mock draft, we used that fancy AI that everyone is talking about (or maybe that's just what the robots want you to think is happening) to compile the most likely, smoke-free big board out there.
This was done with consideration of consensus rankings, ADP, and generous use of the "auto-pick" function.
See the full board here.
Some key takeaways.

After the chalk walk of Bijan Robinson at 1.01, the computer foresees a run of three QBs with Young going to OKC, Stroud to ALK, and Richardson to HI.
The first draft pick of the Rivermen is RB Jahmyr Gibbs at 1.06, shortly followed by WR Jordan Addison at 1.08.
Despite the massive hype that this class has TE gamechangers, the computers saw right through the smokescreen by projecting the first TE (Michael Mayer) to come off the board to the St Louis Rivermen at 2.08. Dalton Kincaid was next (to STL again) at 3.01 with Darnell Washington lasted until 3.10 with OKC.
A massive QB tier break happened, as QB4 Will Levis went 1.07 to Mexico City and the QB5 (Hendon Hooker) didn't come off the board until 3.08 to St Louis.
10 QBs are taken, 17 RBs, 14 WRs, and 9 TEs is the final position tally.

Power Rankings

Biggest Rise +5 DDN
Biggest Fall -3 ABQ, LNC

Dunedin Rangers (High: 1 / Low: 4 / +5) ~~ After a slew of QB signings (including a sign and trade of Russell Wilson for Lamar Jackson), the Rangers come in as the early favorites for the Cario Cup! Could this finally be the year the Exterior division changes hands? That depends on if the robust QB and WR rooms for Dunedin can compensate for the thin backfield of Dalvin Cook, JK Dobbins and not much else.
Alaska Kodiak ( 1 / 6 / +1 ) ~~ With some shifting of co-ownership, the former St Louis Clydesdales are back in Alaska as the Kodiak again! In true Alaskan fashion, the Kodiak didn't take long to start wheeling and dealing as they sent away Lamar to arch-rival Dunedin. Clearly Lamar and his 1y$50 contract was going to be too expensive for a second extension, as the team downgraded to Russell Wilson on a more manageable 2y$22 deal. With the 1.01 and 1.03 in July's rookie draft in their pocket, it might only be a matter of time before the Kodiak retake their familiar place atop the power rankings.
Northwoods Hodags ( 2 / 4 / -2) ~~ Despite being back-to-back Cario Cup champs, the Hoes enter 2023 with serious doubters. Then again, it's not unwarranted. The RB cupboard is pretty bare with David Montgomery, Isaih Pacheco, Tyler Allgeier, Alex Mattison, and Kenny Gainwell. Pat Mahomes with George Kittle and MAndrews remains the bedrock of Northwoods, but with a lot of expiring WR contracts after 2023 it seems likely that the Hodags are going to make a run at Cario Cup V and then light the fuse on the dynamite!
Swansea City Ducks ( 3 / 5 / -2 ) ~~ The Cario Cup IV runner-ups had an expensive Spring, handing out $60 to Tony Pollard, $50 to Nick Chubb, and $40 to Deebo Samuel. The backfield in Swansea continues to be the bread and butter with Najee Harris and Saquon Barkley still on the roster along with the signings. Expect City to go hard in the draft at WR and TE. The departure of Dallas Goedert leaves them vulnerable at TE and the WR group has a big drop off from starters (Deebo, Dionte Johnson, DK Metcalf) to the bench (Chase Claypool, Amari Rodgers, Darius Slayton, Van Jefferson).
Hawaii Volcanoes ( 2 / 7 / +3 ) ~~ Highly controversial among the rankers, Hawaii has more believers than doubters this time, as they crack into the top half of the Alliance rankings. Additions of Calvin Ridley (signed 3y$39) and Tyreek Hill (trade) position the Volcanoes to make a big splash in the wide-open Exterior division. As draft season begins in earnest, mocks are having a hard time deciding what to do with Hawaii at 1.04. JSN is likely the BAP with Bijan, Young, Stroud often the top 3 picks, but Hawaii has a definite need for a QB2 upgrade behind Jalen Hurts rather than another WR.
Oklahoma City ( 4 / 5 / +1) ~~ The Storm continue to live in Alliance purgatory. Across the board, the roster is plenty good enough, but is still over reliant on Josh Allen to do it all. Kyler Murray was brought in from Alaska as a possible option in the Superflex (provided his rehab goes well), but he is also on the last year of his contract. It's almost a foregone conclusion that OKC is going to grab a QB of the future at 1.02, but the betting lines are all over the place if they'll be going Young or Stroud (with some mocks even looking at them grabbing Richardson as a Josh Allen 2.0 project).
Lincoln Johnsons ( 2 / 7 / -3 ) ~~ The 2022 Comeback Team of the Year has had a rough start to 2023 as they missed big in free agency along with losing AJ Dillon to Alaska after not matching his RFA offer. In many ways, the Johnsons are following the model of stars/scrubs as their starting lineup is filled with All-Pros and the bench populated with $1 or even $0 contracts. That goes to explain the massive variance in rankings from Alliance members.
Albuquerque Roadrunners ( 6 / 8 / -3 ) ~~ After another year of one-and-done in the wildcard round, the fans in the desert are getting restless. The front office has built a roster with higher ceiling than sneaking into the 5th seed, but a floor that could reach deep into the cellar. 2023 may prove to be a pivotal moment in the Runner's history as they either finally reach playoff success or finally implode from all of their bloated, veteran contracts.
Mexico City Sundragons ( 7 / 8 / - ) ~~ Mexico comes in at the bottom of the Exterior division rankings as they enter phase 2 of their rebuild. The Sundragons recently announced additions to their front office with minority co-owners joining the ranks. Time will tell if these moves behind the scenes will lead to more aggressive moves on the field. With only Javonte Williams, James Cook, Cole Kmet (and Dyami Brown for some reason) under contract past 2024, this team is still in search for its identity.
St Louis Rivermen ( 9 / 9 / - ) ~~ Under new ownership, the Brooklyn Gorillas have relocated to St. Louis and rebranded as the Rivermen. But a new logo and color scheme doesn't change the massive renovation underway. Outside of Dak Prescott and a taxi full of 2022 WR studs (Drake London, Garrett Wilson, George Pickens), the Rivermen have very little to excite fans in the Gateway City. Additionally, the entire non-taxi roster is only under contract for 2023. Expect St. Louis to be sellers ahead of the draft, even if it's only sending the likes of DJ Chark for multiple 3rds just so they'll have a full roster for this year and next.

submitted by Sconnie92 to UFFA [link] [comments]

2023.04.13 10:25 rammer_2001 Can we just fuck off with the play ins as a whole?

So allow to me to just say that the NBAs playoff picture was already flawed as it was. With the top 8 teams on the east and west being able to make the playoffs, that already allows 16/30 teams to be eligible for a playoff appearance. A 53.3% chance to make the playoffs, meaning it's more likely for you to make the playoffs on the contrary to missing them.
So now we factor in the play-ins. That's 2 extra teams on each conference being able to go in a playoff spot. Meaning that 20 spots in total are available if you combine the playoff and play-in spots. Since the common consensus is to consider the play-ins the postseason, that means 20/30 teams can make the post season. A sixty six percent chance of a postseason appearance.
That means you have to be in the bottom ten overall teams and somehow suck enough that you don't make the postseason. You see the issue right? Now I know the NHL also has a 16 team bracket, but they balanced it out by adding 2 teams. At least they made it to where you had to be the good half of teams in the regular season to make it in. Not great, but not terrible.
Yes I also know that the NFL and MLB have also had playoff expansions in recent years, but it's still a respectable ratio. The NFL (14/30) is just under half so it's not the worst thing ever, and the 7th seeds can put up a good fight sometimes. The MLB (12/30) added one seed, but it's still the most cutthroat league to make the postseason in. I think the 6th seed is fine though, I mean look at Philly.
I just don't think the playoffs in the NBA really have much lust to it anymore. To me the PRIME playoff bracket was the one the MLB had before the CBA razzle dazzle. Division winners with top 2 wild card. I feel like the NBA should go to this to make it feel more like a prestigious task to make it in, rather than just "yay! We didn't suck"
Just my 2 cents, had to rant there. Good morning everyone (4:25 E.T)

submitted by rammer_2001 to UrinatingTree [link] [comments]

2023.04.05 22:50 subreddit_stats Subreddit Stats: youtubetv top posts from 2018-02-01 to 2023-04-03 01:01 PDT

Period: 1886.15 days

	Submissions	Comments
Total	999	66846
Rate (per day)	0.53	35.39
Unique Redditors	728	14615
Combined Score	94148	252054

Top Submitters' Top Submissions

4442 points, 1 submission: estephens13
1. $15 price increase is unacceptable (4442 points, 1365 comments)
1658 points, 18 submissions: MelloGang17
1. Youtube TV Down? Keeps saying "No internet connection" over and over (286 points, 193 comments)
2. Looks like a big win for YTTV in the sports world - Here comes Sunday ticket (161 points, 373 comments)
3. Kudos to YTTV (149 points, 67 comments)
4. Let's get real for a second, there's no way YTTV drops ESPN/Disney (130 points, 240 comments)
5. Please add the XFL as a league (111 points, 37 comments)
6. PSA: Preseason football may have blackouts. Nothing YTTV can do, or any other streaming service for that matter. This is NOT the case for regular season. (95 points, 57 comments)
7. NFL Network and Vue have until end of July to make a deal...... Now is the time YTTV, this could make YTTV the true winner in the sports market (84 points, 98 comments)
8. ESPN is airing Kobe Bryants final game at 9 tonight, how do we record this if it's not listed (83 points, 35 comments)
9. 1 feature I would really like to see (72 points, 19 comments)
10. ESPN has gone dark.... For now (64 points, 137 comments)
1140 points, 10 submissions: CaptinKirk
1. Can we please add CSpan1, 2 & 3 to YTTV (286 points, 69 comments)
2. It’s going to be 2021 in a few hours and YouTubeTV still doesn’t have Dolby Digital 5.1 (192 points, 72 comments)
3. PSA - T-Mobile 50 percent off only requires Magenta Max, home internet not required. (130 points, 101 comments)
4. Oh Where Oh Where are Thou Dolby Digital 5.1? (102 points, 35 comments)
5. I wish there was a previous channel button. (101 points, 18 comments)
6. Any word on the 4K rollout that was announced last year? (92 points, 118 comments)
7. The Weather Channel would be great to have right now... (72 points, 120 comments)
8. YTTV Sent users "Free" Tivo 4K streams, only to now say they are not supported. (61 points, 37 comments)
9. 50 percent off of YTTV for T-Mobile customers next Tuesday. (55 points, 55 comments)
10. Any updates on 5.1? (49 points, 40 comments)
1074 points, 12 submissions: RainesWright
1. New Viacom Channels Coming (132 points, 219 comments)
2. Applied T-Mobile $10 Per Month Discount On YouTubeTV (117 points, 88 comments)
3. FYI: Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Is Unavailable For Streaming Over The Internet via CBS Tonight (112 points, 96 comments)
4. $6 To $7 Billion Each Year For NFL Broadcast Rights Between ESPN/ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, and Amazon... Just One More Reason Why Pay-TV Will Become More Expensive In The Future (105 points, 58 comments)
5. HBOmax and Cinemax FREE Preview Weekend (102 points, 47 comments)
6. MLB to RSN’s: It’s Time To Think Direct-To-Consumer (That May Not Require Pay-TV Authentication) (102 points, 88 comments)
7. Roku Did This Same Thing To Spectrum Late Last Year... Just Don’t Delete The App (94 points, 49 comments)
8. Sinclair Gives Update on [RSN] Direct-To-Consumer Plans and Carriage Dispute with Hulu & YouTube TV (72 points, 147 comments)
9. ESPN4K and NASA4K Showing On My Interface (Likely A Glitch) (70 points, 31 comments)
10. YouTube TV Has Had “No On-Going Discussions” with NESN to Bring Back Bruins & Red Sox Games (63 points, 73 comments)
1007 points, 1 submission: scoot87
1. Youtube TV has reached a deal with Disney (1007 points, 715 comments)
961 points, 9 submissions: gomets1969
1. VOD is not DVR! (270 points, 76 comments)
2. YTTV performed exceptionally well during some big-time sporting events this week (136 points, 63 comments)
3. Anyone else not experiencing many problems? (125 points, 96 comments)
4. STICKY: Not everything on YTTV is available in 4K. In fact, 99.9 percent of it isn't. (120 points, 62 comments)
5. Thumbs up for the new Chromecast with Google TV (113 points, 170 comments)
6. Holiday Heads Up regarding Frosty and Rudolph (55 points, 13 comments)
7. Breaking Bad marathon starts today (50 points, 11 comments)
8. In a nutshell - Live 4K works on ATV4K 2021, NOT on ATV4K 2017 (48 points, 49 comments)
9. It's almost the most wonderful time of the year - Frosty and Rudolph rants :) (44 points, 30 comments)
912 points, 1 submission: BalorClub52
1. YouTube premium should be included with YouTube TV subscription. (912 points, 152 comments)
898 points, 3 submissions: Jeffmister
1. Viacom's cable networks will be added to YouTube TV this Summer (441 points, 370 comments)
2. NBCUniversal and YTTV have agreed to a short carriage extension while negotiations continue. (355 points, 264 comments)
3. 9to5Google: YouTube TV for Android is getting ready to let you download shows for offline watching (102 points, 22 comments)
812 points, 2 submissions: amburroni
1. Request: YouTube TV should come with YouTube Premium (737 points, 95 comments)
2. Request: During the YouTube TV commercial breaks (bears, babbling brook, etc) ask the user if they switched over the laundry (75 points, 39 comments)
805 points, 6 submissions: coleslau42
1. We’re live on PlayStation (307 points, 107 comments)
2. YTV Current Known Issues (164 points, 261 comments)
3. now i'm just a user (156 points, 42 comments)
4. DVR prioritisation (64 points, 42 comments)
5. AppleTV app is live (61 points, 70 comments)
6. YTV Back up (53 points, 29 comments)
781 points, 7 submissions: bryanesler
1. Answers needed from YTTV engineers (332 points, 120 comments)
2. YTTV needs to prioritize bugs, and stop adding/changing features (107 points, 147 comments)
3. Picture quality seems to be deteriorating (96 points, 73 comments)
4. Looks like ESPN is crapping out AGAIN today (79 points, 73 comments)
5. 60fps on ALL channels (68 points, 34 comments)
6. ABC News Live added (52 points, 32 comments)
7. What YTTV needs to add to enhance the experience (not more channels) (47 points, 54 comments)
687 points, 1 submission: Banto2000
1. YouTubeTV and YouTube down for anyone else right now? Can bring up guide but video playing hangs. (687 points, 685 comments)
658 points, 6 submissions: 08830
1. YouTube TV adds a $20 monthly upgrade for 4K support, offline viewing (181 points, 439 comments)
2. YouTube TV to finally add picture-in-picture on iOS. Surround sound support is coming to more devices as well (eventually). (137 points, 73 comments)
3. YouTube TV is not getting a price hike in the ‘near term,’ according to product chief (119 points, 117 comments)
4. YouTube TV now integrates with Fire TV’s Live Guide (97 points, 83 comments)
5. YouTube TV and NBC Programming Update (Official Statement) (76 points, 181 comments)
6. Univision, YouTube TV Reach Carriage Deal for Linear Networks (48 points, 64 comments)
646 points, 6 submissions: rrainwater
1. PBS And PBS Kids Coming Later This Year (183 points, 49 comments)
2. Youtube TV Returns to Roku (182 points, 162 comments)
3. Please Stop With the All White Ad Spots (97 points, 20 comments)
4. MLB Network is Live! (75 points, 84 comments)
5. More Fox RSNs Dropped (57 points, 205 comments)
6. YTTV Showing Shark Fin in the Playbar for Shark Week (52 points, 11 comments)
633 points, 5 submissions: ericgtr12
1. Sticking with YTTV - They've been good to us (173 points, 220 comments)
2. Can we please get a megathread around the pause/play restarting issue? (156 points, 314 comments)
3. YTTV's own ads of scenic forests and beaches are a welcome and pleasant break from the norm (147 points, 17 comments)
4. Feature Request: Option to Disable Opening Sound (85 points, 34 comments)
5. Key Plays Feature is Awesome (72 points, 14 comments)
594 points, 3 submissions: TeamYouTube_Jessie
1. multiview streaming rolling out to 100% of YouTubeTV members TODAY for March Madness! (304 points, 204 comments)
2. An update from YouTube (225 points, 174 comments)
3. NFL Sunday Ticket Coming to YouTube TV & YouTube Primetime Channels (65 points, 110 comments)
526 points, 6 submissions: amir_twist_of_fate
1. Sinclair's Diamond Sports close to bankruptcy. MLB, NBA, NHL contracts will end. (116 points, 84 comments)
2. Sports fans are being sidelined as leagues, RSNs, streaming, networks fight the decay of pay TV (99 points, 63 comments)
3. ‘#GameOver’ for Sinclair’s RSN Streaming Plan, Analyst Says (98 points, 65 comments)
4. Fanatics reportedly could enter the sports media world, with many believing Sinclair’s RSN business could go bust (93 points, 57 comments)
5. Roku might lose Amazon Prime Video next (62 points, 84 comments)
6. Diamond (SinclaiBally) defaults on debt - RSNs up for grabs soon... (58 points, 42 comments)
525 points, 3 submissions: DOS-76
1. Variety: YouTube TV Completely Gets Rid of Forced Ads for Cloud DVR Recordings (293 points, 66 comments)
2. EPIX 30-Day Free Preview (3/26 - 4/25) (175 points, 39 comments)
3. Extended 30-Day Trials for Showtime, Acorn TV, and More (57 points, 33 comments)
521 points, 6 submissions: gtvexpress
1. 5.1 rollout was a more of marketing ploy by YouTube ( and a complete failure) (134 points, 85 comments)
2. 5.1 audio has been a failed rollout. (118 points, 74 comments)
3. Happy fifth birthday Youtube TV. (101 points, 64 comments)
4. No 5.1 audio yet (70 points, 36 comments)
5. Any updates on 5.1 audio (52 points, 30 comments)
6. 5.1 audio - any updates? (46 points, 46 comments)
508 points, 5 submissions: blastoise_irl
1. PBS Channel is already prepared for launching on YouTube TV! (165 points, 45 comments)
2. Finally, the channel we are all looking for. QVC and WGN America is expected to hit YouTube TV soon. /s (104 points, 137 comments)
3. YouTube TV's watching history is now hidden from YouTube. (102 points, 22 comments)
4. HBO and Cinemax Homepage are now live on YouTube TV! (76 points, 54 comments)
5. Shout out for the greatness of YTTV during F1's Azerbaijan GP this weekend. (61 points, 21 comments)
485 points, 4 submissions: Wetblanket55
1. Thank you Engineers (246 points, 26 comments)
2. Go Live Button Request (108 points, 25 comments)
3. YTTV Engineers 2020 (84 points, 148 comments)
4. Most Wanted Features (47 points, 140 comments)
482 points, 4 submissions: LVegasGuy
1. YouTube TV and NBCU Are Finalizing a New Carriage Deal, Channels to Remain on Service (231 points, 232 comments)
2. Youtube TV keeps forgetting my HBO Max subscription (131 points, 72 comments)
3. The Bally Sports bankruptcy is in motion for next week (78 points, 65 comments)
4. Now that YouTube TV has The Weather Channel is there a way to get local weather? (42 points, 27 comments)
446 points, 1 submission: newtoreddit247
1. YTTV should include YouTube subscription. This would help obtain new subscribers and retain existing, especially with the rising subscription costs. (446 points, 82 comments)
439 points, 3 submissions: Btrips
1. Who's NOT cancelling? (240 points, 543 comments)
2. Why I’m NOT canceling YTTV (157 points, 179 comments)
3. when is the updated guide coming to Apple TV? (42 points, 38 comments)
428 points, 1 submission: Hakan1218
1. Price Increasing to $$72.99/mo per internal news (428 points, 995 comments)
427 points, 6 submissions: MikeyInVirginia
1. YouTube TV is now available in every TV market in the US (135 points, 52 comments)
2. Google, add NHL and NFL channels to YTTV PLEASE - Before the seasons start this fall (72 points, 82 comments)
3. Channels coming to Youtube TV before end of year (67 points, 93 comments)
4. Youtube TV is a great deal, Fubo raises price $10 more (60 points, 54 comments)
5. Youtube TV, I cry out to you, PLEASE add NHL Network (52 points, 51 comments)
6. Starz coming to Youtube TV next month (41 points, 32 comments)
418 points, 1 submission: phizzleout
1. If we subscribe to YouTubeTV, shouldn't we have ad-free YouTube as well? (418 points, 122 comments)
399 points, 5 submissions: NeoHyper64
1. When will Google fix YouTube TV's low bitrate problem? (110 points, 111 comments)
2. Given how much Google knows about me, YTTV sure is DUMB... (106 points, 59 comments)
3. Real-time comparison of YouTubeTV versus DirecTV Stream (66 points, 204 comments)
4. Maybe we should start posting side-by-side picture quality comparisons (59 points, 104 comments)
5. Letter from YouTube boss confirms multiview support later this year (58 points, 24 comments)
394 points, 5 submissions: imaref
1. Google adding YoutubeTV to Youtube interface and possibly free equipment if needed (188 points, 156 comments)
2. I was right! (57 points, 64 comments)
3. Something that would be helpful (56 points, 18 comments)
4. "Add to your library" (49 points, 9 comments)
5. How about a "Just Added" row (44 points, 8 comments)
390 points, 1 submission: SnottyMonkey
1. Lack of 5.1 is now becoming embarrassing (390 points, 131 comments)
378 points, 6 submissions: YYqs0C6oFH
1. NFL Preseason streaming FAQ/blackouts Megathread (80 points, 51 comments)
2. New 4K listings from Fox and ESPN. College Basketball and NFL playoffs (80 points, 40 comments)
3. Regional Sports Networks and Blackouts FAQ Megathread (80 points, 136 comments)
4. Multiview update - early access rolling out to select subscribers now (48 points, 64 comments)
5. NBC 4K Winter Olympics schedule (46 points, 53 comments)
6. MLB Network 4K added (44 points, 26 comments)
368 points, 2 submissions: youtube_tv_pm
1. Subscribers should now have access to DVR recordings for CBS content (207 points, 72 comments)
2. Do I smell something on Fire? (161 points, 146 comments)
365 points, 2 submissions: absurdcreatures
1. YouTube TV should include ad-free regular YouTube (279 points, 63 comments)
2. Please, please stop removing new shows from "Library" after I watch one minute!!! (86 points, 23 comments)
364 points, 4 submissions: 7thton
1. [Updated inside] Posts about Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN will not be allowed. (166 points, 55 comments)
2. YouTube TV’s live guide and library are getting much better starting today (91 points, 104 comments)
3. Fubo pulls multiple channels, including AMC and BBC America (54 points, 47 comments)
4. 5.1 Audio Mega Thread (53 points, 109 comments)
355 points, 2 submissions: Btwnframes
1. YouTube tv and Disney programming update (225 points, 685 comments)
2. For those cancelling YouTube TV (130 points, 205 comments)
341 points, 1 submission: gavalant
1. PBS Targeting a November 4th Launch on YouTube TV (341 points, 92 comments)
336 points, 3 submissions: Programmer92
1. Can we get the year a show or movie was made added to the " about" section? (154 points, 25 comments)
2. YouTube Premium With YTTV? (132 points, 72 comments)
3. Why do only some things show up on the "Resume Watching" section? (50 points, 13 comments)
327 points, 2 submissions: terekpenitent
1. First $64.99 charge (223 points, 269 comments)
2. Be sure to fill out the YTTV survey that is being pushed to your email (104 points, 39 comments)
326 points, 1 submission: moonfullofstars
1. Remember to cancel Sports Plus package tonight if you only have it for NFL Red Zone. (326 points, 53 comments)
321 points, 2 submissions: vipstrippers
1. Fox Regional Sports Channels, gone soon. (243 points, 709 comments)
2. Viewers continue to lose out in dispute between NESN and YouTube TV (78 points, 64 comments)
320 points, 2 submissions: chicano3601
1. YouTube TV Hits 5 Million Subscribers; Becomes Largest Live TV Streaming Service (249 points, 128 comments)
2. YouTube TV to Give a Free 5-Day Preview to HBO Max Until May 8 (71 points, 23 comments)
315 points, 1 submission: taylorwmj
1. Be angry at Sinclair, not Google/YTTV (315 points, 246 comments)
311 points, 1 submission: Mc_Lovin81
1. 1 week left, don’t forget to cancel NFL Redzone (311 points, 48 comments)
310 points, 4 submissions: Machiavelli127
1. YTTV has a specific area for submitting feedback regarding the price increase (136 points, 119 comments)
2. Copa America Final stream is awful! (77 points, 40 comments)
3. The glitch with the preview pane not showing the correct thumbnail when fast forwarding is driving me INSANE! (55 points, 31 comments)
4. I love the "Catch up with key plays" feature but it REALLY needs to be improved (42 points, 7 comments)
306 points, 2 submissions: paulfromatlanta
1. YouTube TV update will reportedly let you watch four channels at once (214 points, 128 comments)
2. YouTube TV Is the Best Live TV Service of 2018 Beating Out PlayStation Vue, DIRECTV NOW, Sling, & Others (2018 Cordie Awards) (92 points, 51 comments)
305 points, 1 submission: 121910
1. NBC tried to force YouTube TV to bundle Peacock into customers’ monthly payment (305 points, 264 comments)
302 points, 4 submissions: fosterm83
1. So how many of you use YouTube tv as your only source of live tv? How is it working out? Are you missing channels you used to watch? (123 points, 254 comments)
2. So how many people feel with youtube tv endless dvr that base Hulu is not needed? (72 points, 64 comments)
3. Youtube tv is great. What other services do you use with Youtube tv to enhance your cord cutting experience? (59 points, 98 comments)
4. Now that youtube tv is on fire tv. Which device is best for you tube tv. (48 points, 82 comments)
297 points, 3 submissions: KeepLeftAtTheFork
1. I am absolutely geeking out over YT TV right now (118 points, 73 comments)
2. I would have rather paid $15 extra to get my regional sports channels back. (118 points, 57 comments)
3. Given the recent price hike, are you cancelling or staying? (61 points, 221 comments)
290 points, 4 submissions: bartturner
1. YouTube TV now #5 most popular video streaming service in the US (110 points, 67 comments)
2. YouTube TV Web Client Now Lets You Control Video Playback Speed (76 points, 28 comments)
3. The best Android TV streamers to replace every kind of Roku (55 points, 44 comments)
4. Google’s ‘Sabrina’ Android TV dongle appears at major retailers suggesting $49-$59 price (49 points, 41 comments)
289 points, 1 submission: gderti
1. Multiview is the greatest advancement to TV sports in decades. (289 points, 125 comments)
288 points, 2 submissions: medicmaan
1. It’s 2022, Betty White Died, they sell 8k TVs and ESPN who has 4K still broadcasts their college championship bowl game in 720p (245 points, 71 comments)
2. I’m college footballed out tonight. 4K looked great and yttv makes it so easy to get into a game with the key play highlights feature…well done (43 points, 23 comments)
287 points, 3 submissions: Streetvan1980
1. Please: Add date/Year of production For all programming. How is this not in the info already? (158 points, 25 comments)
2. Why doesn’t it show the year movies and shows were made? (87 points, 36 comments)
3. Why are Children’s Shows Paused While Searching Guide? (42 points, 35 comments)
287 points, 1 submission: Tommyc813
1. YouTubeTV and NBCU have come to an agreement (287 points, 163 comments)
286 points, 1 submission: WonkyMcPiddlebum
1. Really Glad I’m Paying an Extra $15 a Month . . . (286 points, 147 comments)
281 points, 1 submission: ericklemyelmo
1. it's time, with an increase in price, the amount of concurrent viewers should also increase from 3 to 4/5 (281 points, 99 comments)
280 points, 1 submission: jumbopetite1
1. Good bye YouTube tv. With the loss of ESPN, you lose a customer. Been with you since the beginning. (280 points, 650 comments)
275 points, 1 submission: chriggsiii
1. I Ain't Got Nothing (275 points, 438 comments)
274 points, 3 submissions: doorknob2150
1. How to get the $10/month off YTTV with T-Mobile - non-TVision customers (119 points, 138 comments)
2. Not sure if it matters this much to anyone else, but YTTV and Safari are friends now. (87 points, 29 comments)
3. Anyone else miss channel surfing? (68 points, 44 comments)
271 points, 1 submission: GoldAlternative6157
1. Enjoy the Zen, we’ll be right back… (271 points, 64 comments)
266 points, 1 submission: Mr-954
1. YouTube TV begins testing multiview to let sports fans watch four games at once (266 points, 139 comments)
261 points, 2 submissions: eugenefitzherb
1. Back with YouTubeTV (178 points, 115 comments)
2. Chromecast with Google TV (83 points, 193 comments)
259 points, 1 submission: 88flux
1. Google and Roku in a dispute. YouTube TV app might lose support on Roku. (259 points, 512 comments)
257 points, 2 submissions: elbeborandy
1. YouTube TV now offers offline downloads and 4k streaming! (159 points, 276 comments)
2. YouTube is finally rolling out picture-in-picture mode for YouTube TV on iOS: (98 points, 35 comments)
257 points, 1 submission: risk0
1. It is a bit insulting to get an email from YTTV telling me that Baseball is back and to set my DVR after they dropped my regional sports network from their lineup! (257 points, 88 comments)
248 points, 4 submissions: SirTacoBell
1. New YouTube TV feature! Fantasy Football (80 points, 50 comments)
2. CW Networks being added throughout the country! If custom guide is on, ensure you manually add CW to your guide! (79 points, 44 comments)
3. T-mobile YouTube TV deal simple to redeem! (47 points, 91 comments)
4. Hitting emails now! "To ensure our loyal YouTube TV members have a great watch experience (including the ability to watch 4K content on our optional new add-on service coming soon!), we want to offer you a free TiVo® Stream 4K device.*" (42 points, 53 comments)
247 points, 5 submissions: slow__hand
1. Examples of live, DVR vs. VOD picture quality (60 points, 52 comments)
2. How many of you pay for the 4K package just for the extra streams? (52 points, 89 comments)
3. YTTV help needed - REALLY bad compression issues on network shows (live and DVR. not VOD) for last month (46 points, 52 comments)
4. A positive post about YTTV's DVR system (for a change!) (45 points, 26 comments)
5. 5.1 on YTTV in the future? (44 points, 48 comments)
246 points, 2 submissions: jbraft
1. The NBC-Universal & YouTube TV Standoff Isn't Just Another Carriage Dispute - Variety (158 points, 131 comments)
2. Dark Mode.... FINALLY!!! (88 points, 30 comments)
246 points, 1 submission: leedawg25
1. PBS is live. (246 points, 186 comments)
242 points, 3 submissions: Sheikynyc
1. With Corona Cancelling All Sports.... (139 points, 35 comments)
2. AMEX Reimbursing Streaming Fees (59 points, 50 comments)
3. Sort DVR by Date Recorded (44 points, 30 comments)
240 points, 1 submission: catchthetams
1. Maybe it's just me but if we have YTTV we shouldn't have ads on Youtube (240 points, 54 comments)
229 points, 1 submission: dunl9874
1. youtube tv should include youtube premium especially with the price hike (229 points, 72 comments)
227 points, 2 submissions: hoosier031989
1. YTTV Down? (180 points, 270 comments)
2. For users who switched....what did you choose? (47 points, 127 comments)
221 points, 3 submissions: misterdoinkinberg
1. Value of 4K Option (78 points, 133 comments)
2. YTTV Now Works In Safari!!! (77 points, 18 comments)
3. Feature Request: Long Press for Guide Info (66 points, 18 comments)
221 points, 1 submission: travemisimo
1. REMINDER: NFL RedZone ends next week (221 points, 37 comments)
220 points, 2 submissions: pantheman75
1. Crap... my YouTube TV monthly cost just went up to $47... (170 points, 64 comments)
2. TNT appears to be out on YouTubeTV (50 points, 58 comments)
220 points, 1 submission: BigCommieMachine
1. Who else would kill for an “Enjoy the Zen” channel? (220 points, 55 comments)
216 points, 4 submissions: InfoAssistant
1. Did they just? (73 points, 46 comments)
2. Drumroll.... 🥁 (51 points, 155 comments)
3. Wanted Features. (48 points, 65 comments)
4. Statements from both Disney and Google (44 points, 274 comments)
212 points, 1 submission: Gunner_KC
1. YouTube TV multi-view is 🔥🔥🔥 (212 points, 133 comments)
208 points, 2 submissions: make-something
1. Please add 5.1 - it might make the price hike a little more tollerable (156 points, 56 comments)
2. Paused shows get hung up on the generic commercial screens during fast forward. (52 points, 20 comments)
208 points, 1 submission: Only4TheShow
1. You would think we would have access to YouTube premium with a YTTV account ….. rant (208 points, 95 comments)
205 points, 1 submission: kitttkatttttt
1. Major updates to sports on YouTube TV (205 points, 59 comments)
204 points, 2 submissions: SpiderDice
1. Hey Google, please bring more of the "Nature Scenes" during commercial times. (134 points, 9 comments)
2. Time icon just got updated to Snowflake (70 points, 18 comments)
204 points, 1 submission: Compnut
1. YouTube TV should have a zen channel (204 points, 33 comments)
202 points, 1 submission: imnotlying2u
1. 4K add-on is an absolute scam (202 points, 99 comments)
198 points, 3 submissions: spazz75
1. Unlimted DVR is the Best (81 points, 44 comments)
2. I would like see (76 points, 22 comments)
3. When are we getting HBO? (41 points, 23 comments)
196 points, 1 submission: WinnieLulu
1. At this point I would pay an additional $30/month to Google/YTTV to never play that Applebee’s commercial again (196 points, 105 comments)
193 points, 2 submissions: budderocks
1. Free NFL Redzone from Friday, September 11 at 2pm EDT through Sunday, September 13 at 11:59pm EDT! (126 points, 43 comments)
2. Unlimited DVR is the game changer that we already know about. (67 points, 19 comments)
193 points, 1 submission: Xvisionman
1. What is the deal with the LOUD intro sound (193 points, 53 comments)
192 points, 2 submissions: vampireanarchy
1. YouTube TV is Testing a New Grid Guide with Picture-In-Picture Preview (136 points, 80 comments)
2. Every couple of months HBO max doesn’t recognize my subscription through YouTube TV (56 points, 41 comments)
190 points, 1 submission: JaredGreenberg
1. NFL, Google announce agreement to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV, Primetime Channels (190 points, 246 comments)
190 points, 1 submission: Neteru1920
1. Has YTTV Become Cable? (190 points, 210 comments)
187 points, 1 submission: Unclassified1
1. PSA - if you have a custom channel guide, you have to manually re-add the Disney stations back. They won’t show back up automatically wherever they had been. (187 points, 70 comments)
185 points, 1 submission: kwed76
1. Bundle YouTube Premium & YouTube TV (185 points, 33 comments)
184 points, 1 submission: chargingblue
1. Well the email went out, goodbye NBCU channels. (184 points, 670 comments)

Top Commenters

rrainwater (3776 points, 889 comments)
R3ddit0rN0t (2910 points, 390 comments)
bryanesler (2377 points, 445 comments)
coleslau42 (1817 points, 147 comments)
YYqs0C6oFH (1657 points, 357 comments)
44problems (1314 points, 260 comments)
youtube_tv_pm (1167 points, 178 comments)
turbineseaplane (1012 points, 117 comments)
MelloGang17 (983 points, 260 comments)
jshafron (975 points, 179 comments)
TeamYouTube (901 points, 163 comments)
bartturner (897 points, 359 comments)
nathanburton27 (868 points, 282 comments)
RainesWright (782 points, 208 comments)
pawdog (726 points, 268 comments)
altsuperego (726 points, 212 comments)
neuroticsmurf (697 points, 70 comments)
excoriator (679 points, 136 comments)
LGAMER3412 (620 points, 105 comments)
decker12 (579 points, 116 comments)
NeoHyper64 (577 points, 216 comments)
mitchdwx (574 points, 19 comments)
chriggsiii (552 points, 400 comments)
mjrengaw (535 points, 64 comments)
Stormy-Monday (531 points, 65 comments)
ninkorn (523 points, 56 comments)
Flunky_Junky_Monkey (520 points, 45 comments)
InfoAssistant (518 points, 122 comments)
Fatus_Assticus (518 points, 93 comments)
CaptinKirk (515 points, 156 comments)
mattcoz2 (513 points, 183 comments)
paulfromatlanta (490 points, 51 comments)
Bobb_o (480 points, 96 comments)
Shiftylee (479 points, 191 comments)
HighOnGoofballs (470 points, 80 comments)
yearsreeling (467 points, 35 comments)
sherryillk (467 points, 14 comments)
dh4645 (451 points, 138 comments)
Meinlein (447 points, 4 comments)
sjsharksfan12 (443 points, 91 comments)
PresenceIll6771 (441 points, 90 comments)
CrustyBatchOfNature (432 points, 96 comments)
kchristainsen (430 points, 20 comments)
djjsin (428 points, 115 comments)
KingTut44 (426 points, 18 comments)
beermit (425 points, 57 comments)
enjoytheshow (415 points, 76 comments)
langjie (396 points, 46 comments)
bicyclemom (388 points, 101 comments)
kdex86 (383 points, 123 comments)
enki941 (380 points, 86 comments)
Ploddit (380 points, 33 comments)
pfmiller0 (379 points, 56 comments)
TrustLeft (365 points, 214 comments)
junkit33 (358 points, 50 comments)
JoyousGamer (352 points, 201 comments)
maverick1096 (352 points, 64 comments)
CensorVictim (351 points, 86 comments)
EastCoast_Cyclist (349 points, 54 comments)
gomets1969 (344 points, 131 comments)
diagoro1 (337 points, 122 comments)
ChicagoShadow (335 points, 16 comments)
neatgeek83 (328 points, 45 comments)
mrdctaylor (318 points, 56 comments)
taylorwmj (314 points, 107 comments)
miasm3 (314 points, 33 comments)
vaxick (313 points, 46 comments)
DM725 (311 points, 77 comments)
morphinapg (309 points, 129 comments)
slow__hand (306 points, 104 comments)
WiWiWiWiWiWi (306 points, 99 comments)
f0gax (298 points, 46 comments)
RacingGoat (297 points, 31 comments)
rentzington (294 points, 75 comments)
Hazy_Arc (293 points, 29 comments)
ImprovisedJew (288 points, 52 comments)
nrron (285 points, 88 comments)
08830 (285 points, 47 comments)
thezerosubnet (284 points, 45 comments)
Section_80 (282 points, 43 comments)
drv687 (280 points, 80 comments)
MitchLGC (279 points, 22 comments)
zlandar (278 points, 19 comments)
Smarktalk (273 points, 65 comments)
VillhelmSupreme (271 points, 16 comments)
thessnake03 (268 points, 57 comments)
SteveIsTheDude (268 points, 53 comments)
Lkr721993 (267 points, 80 comments)
TheJadedSF (266 points, 43 comments)
Kidnovatex (265 points, 58 comments)
pkelly500 (263 points, 78 comments)
JortsForSale (263 points, 23 comments)
my2545 (258 points, 44 comments)
monkeyman80 (257 points, 51 comments)
justathoughtfromme (257 points, 26 comments)
ytv-tpm (254 points, 102 comments)
Machiavelli127 (254 points, 55 comments)
wurtin (253 points, 32 comments)
verdi1987 (252 points, 57 comments)
threes__and__sevens (250 points, 2 comments)

Top Submissions

$15 price increase is unacceptable by estephens13 (4442 points, 1365 comments)
Youtube TV has reached a deal with Disney by scoot87 (1007 points, 715 comments)
YouTube premium should be included with YouTube TV subscription. by BalorClub52 (912 points, 152 comments)
Request: YouTube TV should come with YouTube Premium by amburroni (737 points, 95 comments)
YouTubeTV and YouTube down for anyone else right now? Can bring up guide but video playing hangs. by Banto2000 (687 points, 685 comments)
YTTV should include YouTube subscription. This would help obtain new subscribers and retain existing, especially with the rising subscription costs. by newtoreddit247 (446 points, 82 comments)
Viacom's cable networks will be added to YouTube TV this Summer by Jeffmister (441 points, 370 comments)
Price Increasing to $$72.99/mo per internal news by Hakan1218 (428 points, 995 comments)
If we subscribe to YouTubeTV, shouldn't we have ad-free YouTube as well? by phizzleout (418 points, 122 comments)
Lack of 5.1 is now becoming embarrassing by SnottyMonkey (390 points, 131 comments)

Top Comments

423 points: Meinlein's comment in Price Increasing to $$72.99/mo per internal news
406 points: sherryillk's comment in Price Increasing to $$72.99/mo per internal news
321 points: deleted's comment in $15 price increase is unacceptable
303 points: R3ddit0rN0t's comment in Has YTTV Become Cable?
271 points: kchristainsen's comment in $15 price increase is unacceptable
255 points: Flunky_Junky_Monkey's comment in Youtube TV has reached a deal with Disney
252 points: threes__and__sevens's comment in I wish there was a "I don't care about sports" option.
243 points: youtube_tv_pm's comment in YouTubeTV and YouTube down for anyone else right now? Can bring up guide but video playing hangs.
239 points: deleted's comment in $15 price increase is unacceptable
221 points: yearsreeling's comment in NBC tried to force YouTube TV to bundle Peacock into customers’ monthly payment

Generated with BBoe's Subreddit Stats

submitted by subreddit_stats to subreddit_stats [link] [comments]

2023.04.01 23:25 bluecjj NBA/ABA "dynasty" Rankings, Part 3 (Dynastenders)

Full Series:

Introduction
Bridesmaids
Dynastenders (this post)
Dynasties

I’ve been sitting on this series for a while, but because I don’t want to redo everything after the season, I want to hopefully get both of these last installments in before the end of the regular season. There are two teams on these respective lists (Milwaukee and Golden State) who are still relevant today, which will hopefully pique some interest. I might end up editing longer write-ups for some of these teams later, while still making sure to get the post out in a reasonable amount of time.
A “dynastender”, coined by Bill Simmons, is a team who won a championship, but failed to qualify as a Dynasty proper (which requires three or more titles in six or fewer seasons). While the Bridesmaid list had 15 entries (as it takes more to stand out without a title to your name), this Dynastender list is lengthier (23 teams), as winning a championship will give you enough points to get to 10 most of the tme.
It’s often said in contexts like this that nobody remembers second place, and you’d rather be at the bottom of this list than at the top of the previous one. However, thinking about it I’m not sure I agree. That’s true in one respect, but Bridesmaids do have the advantage of standing out for their lack of hardware; having the marks of a potential dynasty with zero championships is a compelling storyline, but if you do win a championship you might run the risk of getting blurred together with numerous other teams with similar storylines.
There are two slight changes I made to the rules when it comes to displaying players and coaches: [1] if a coach won a championship, they get included (Pat Riley wouldn’t be included on the Heat otherwise); [2] for a player to make the list for 20 Win Shares, only seasons where they’re top 5 on the team in WS count (my memory of the Bridesmaid list is vague, and I might have missed 20-WS players before, but this rule change makes it easier for me to not miss anyone).
Two more notes by way of citation:

I got all of the data for this series from Basketball Reference.
Credit to Joe Dimino for having his own NFL dynasty system shortly after James’ MLB one. His is part of the family tree of this one, although I don’t think I mentioned it in my original post.

Missed the Cut

I actually have to make some cuts to get under 40,000 characters, so this is what I decided to cut (I'll put this section in the comments). Besides, maybe it'll help build suspense for which teams did and didn't make the main list.

23. St. Louis Hawks, 1957-1961

Head Coach: Alex Hannum, Ed Macauley, Paul Seymour
Key Players: Bob Petit, Cliff Hagan, Clyde Lovellette, Ed Macauley
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 19th in Points (12.39), 23rd in adjusted Championships (0.52), 8th in adjusted Finals appearances (2.07), 23rd in win% (.597), 20th in playoff win% (.528), 23rd in adjusted Net Rating (+1.3), 23rd in Top 5 aNR (+1.3)
Avg z-score: -1.08
Just like with the Bridesmaid list, we start with a team from the early days of the NBA; accomplishments like making two Finals and winning one are likely to be more impressive today than back when there were a handful of teams in the league. The title the Hawks did win also comes in at #3 on Bill Simmons’ footnote title list, due to a Bill Russell injury which weakened the Celtics. On the other hand, that was the only Finals loss that one of the greatest teams of all time suffered, and the Hawks took them to seven in ‘57 and ‘60. So maybe winning a single title is a “fairer” result than thinking only about Russell’s injury would lead one to believe.

22. Seattle SuperSonics, 1978-1980

Head Coach: Lenny Wilkens
Key Players: Gus Williams, Jack Sikma, Dennis Johnson, Lonnie Shelton, Marvin Webster
Dynastender Rankings: 21st-23rd in Seasons (3), 20th in Points (11.77), 16th in adjusted Championships (0.86), 15th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.71), 20th in win% (.630), 12th-13th in playoff win% (.593), 21st in adjusted Net Rating (+2.7), 22nd in Top 5 aNR (+1.6)
Avg z-score: -0.82
These guys might be the most forgettable post-merger team in this entire series, at least from where I’m sitting. Mike the NBA Guy agrees with me, as he made a YouTube video with basically the same name. It probably doesn’t help that they didn’t have many memorable players, and that they played in the 70s; too late for the nostalgic Wilt/Russell era, but too early for the Bird/Magic era.
In ‘78, Seattle lost a seven-game Finals series to the Bullets, the worst NBA champion of all time (by both win percentage and net rating). The next season, they won an extremely nail-biting conference finals against the Suns, and struck back by beating Washington in five to get the title. 56 wins and a conference final loss in 1980 was enough to qualify for this list, but they weren’t able to sustain success for long enough to be remembered.

21. Miami Heat, 2004-2006

Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy, Pat Riley
Key Players: Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Shaquille O’Neal, Eddie Jones, Damon Jones, Lamar Odom
Dynastender Rankings: 21st-23rd in Seasons (3), 23rd in Points (10), 8th-13th in adjusted Championships (1), 19th-21st in adjusted Finals appearances (1), 22nd in win% (.622), 5th in playoff win% (.647), 17th in adjusted Net Rating (+3.3), 21st in Top 5 aNR (+2.0)
Avg z-score: -0.76
Shaq’s last real hurrah was in Miami, where his stint alongside Dwyane Wade was so short that despite winning a (footnote) championship, his years alone actually wouldn’t have been enough for his team to be an official Dynastender. The 2004 series between Miami and New Orleans is otherwise rather forgettable, but the Heat qualified for that season- and for the list overall- because they were able to eke that series out in seven.
Relatively speaking, the only real bright spot keeping the Heat ahead of the Sonics is their playoff record; in fact, this is the first of five teams we’ll cover in this series who have a higher win percentage in the playoffs than in the regular season. Two sweeps to start off 2005 help, as well as two close series losses in ‘04 and ‘05, followed by a solid championship run where nobody took Miami to seven.

20. Los Angeles/Utah Stars, 1970-1974

Head Coach: Bill Sharman, LaDell Andersen, Joe Mullaney
Key Players: Zelmo Beaty, Willie Wise, Jimmy Jones, Ron Boone, Mark Calvin
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 18th in Points (13.17), 19th-20th in adjusted Championships (0.61), 13th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.79), 19th in win% (.633), 10th in playoff win% (.595), 18th in adjusted Net Rating (+3.15), 18th in Top 5 aNR (+3.15)
Avg z-score: -0.64
If this team doesn’t look familiar, it’s because I decided to include the ABA for this series.
The LA Stars managed to make the ABA Finals after a 43-41 season in 1970, the year before they moved to Utah. The team improved after moving, sporting 57, 60, and 55-win seasons, and squeaking out a championship in ‘71 after seven-game series in both of the final rounds, including the mighty Pacers. Utah would be the 1-seed in the Western division the next three seasons, but lose in the playoffs: twice to the Pacers, and once to a team coming up on this list.

19. Rochester Royals, 1949-1954

Head Coach: Les Harrison
Key Players: Bobby Wanzer, Arnie Risen, Bob Davies, Arnie Johnson, Jack Coleman
Dynastender Rankings: 5th-8th in Seasons (6), 17th-18th in Points (13.17), 19th-20th in adjusted Championships (0.61), 22nd in adjusted Finals appearances (0.61), 14th in win% (.658), 23rd in playoff win% (.500), 14th in adjusted Net Rating (+4.0), 14th in Top 5 aNR (+4.3)
Avg z-score: -0.64
This Royals team is best known as the last time the Kings’ franchise has won a title; when you have to go back this far, it’s probably even more humiliating than simply having never won a title at all.
We have to go all the way back to the BAA for the start of this run; where in ‘48-49, the Royals had the best record in the league but lost the Division Finals to Mikan’s Lakers. Then in 1950, the new NBA had a best-of 3 format before the Finals, where the Royals got swept in two games against the Ft. Wayne Pistons. It was in Rochester’s worst regular season of this run (‘51) that they actually won the championship, in what was also their only Finals appearance. They sustained their run with three more moderately good regular seasons, but petered out in the playoffs against the Lakers (twice) and Pistons (once).

18. Kentucky Colonels, 1970-1975

Head Coach: Gene Rhodes, Joe Mullaney, Babe McCarthy, Hubie Brown
Key Players: Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, Louie Dampier, Goose Ligon, Darel Carrier, Cincy Powell
Dynastender Rankings: 5th-8th in Seasons (6), 16th in Points (13.76), 21st-22nd in adjusted Championships (0.58), 14th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.76), 18th in win% (.643), 17th in playoff win% (.570), 15th in adjusted Net Rating (+3.7), 13th in Top 5 aNR (+4.5)
Avg z-score: -0.51
We’re back in the ABA, and to a team which somehow had six different head coaches in a six-year period of success.
Like happens occasionally in this list, the seasons where Kentucky saw playoff success aren’t the ones you’d necessarily expect. They had the best regular season in ABA history (68-16, +8 net rating), and lost in the first round of the playoffs. However, that season was sandwizhed between two Finals runs where they went 44-40 and 56-28 in the RS. They lost two Game 7s in those Finals, and even outscored the Pacers in ‘73, meaning this Dynastender run was reasonably close to becoming a Dynasty. However, they didn’t get to the 10-pont threshold until their actual championship season, with an impressive 12-3 playoff run including a convincing 5-game defeat of Indiana.

17. New York Nets, 1974-1976

Head Coach: Kevin Loughery
Key Players: Julius Erving, Brian Taylor, Billy Paultz, Larry Kenon
Dynastender Rankings: 21st-23rd in Seasons (3), 22nd in Points (10.14), 7th in adjusted Championships (1.13), 18th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.13), 13th in win% (.667), 4th in playoff win% (.656), 12th in adjusted Net Rating (+4.4), 20th in Top 5 aNR (+2.65)
Avg z-score: -0.49
Rounding out our ABA section is a short-but-sweet run of two titles in three years from Dr. J and the Nets. They also had a very impressive championship run at the start of their Dynastender, going 12-2 in the ‘74 playoffs. They then rounded out ABA history by beating the Nuggets in a six-game Finals in 1976.

16. Houston Rockets, 1993-1997

Head Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich
Key Players: Hakeem Olajuwon, Kenny Smith, Clyde Drexler, Mario Ellie, Otis Thorpe, Charles Barkley
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 12th in Points (17), 3rd in adjusted Championships (1.90), 12th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.90), 16th in win% (.646), 12th-13th in playoff win% (.593), 22nd in adjusted Net Rating (+2.4), 17th in Top 5 aNR (+3.3)
Avg z-score: -0.49
We’ve left the land of historical footnotes, and from this point on these teams will mostly be remembered by hard-core fans.
With Michael Jordan spending his time either playing baseball or losing a memory-holed second-round series to Orlando, the man picked ahead of him in the ‘84 draft took advantage of the power vacuum. He led Houston to two straight titles, including an empathic upset sweep over the aforementioned Magic. Then they tried forming a superteam with Barkley, but John Stockton and the Jazz ended their season, and it turns out their Dynastender.
Hakeem’s Rockets are stuck near ABA-land, with their biggest problem being their weak regular seasons (both in terms of net rating and win percentage, plus missed opportunities for Points). Their second championship, and the Points it gave them, does help, but it can only propel them so far when every other category is lacking.

15. Philadelphia 76ers, 1966-1969

Head Coach: Dolph Schayes, Alex Hannum, Jack Ramsay
Key Players: Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Billy Cunningham
Dynastender Rankings: 17th-20th in Seasons (4), 21st in Points (10.67), 21st-22nd in adjusted Championships (0.58), 23rd in adjusted Finals appearances (0.58), 2nd in win% (.738), 21st in playoff win% (.526), 8th in adjusted Net Rating (+5.15), 15th in Top 5 aNR (+4.1)
Avg z-score: -0.41
This franchise enjoyed three full seasons of Wilt’s services, and took advantage; with a stupendous 185-58 regular season record (a 62-win pace), and a ‘67 season which ended the Celtics’ eight-peat of championships emphatically.
That season’s East Finals ended 4-1 in Philly’s favor, with the Sixers outscoring the Celtics by a total of 50 points. Both of those metrics (the three-game and 50-point margin) were franchise records for Celtics losses; the three-game margin wasn’t beaten until 1983, and the 50-point drubbing wouldn’t be topped until 2004. Beating the eight-time defending champs this badly is extremely impressive.
Still, the Sixers didn’t count as a Dynastender quite yet until 1969, when the remnants of the team were able to amass 55 wins with Wilt no longer in town.

14. Boston Celtics, 1972-1977

Head Coach: Tom Heinsohn
Key Players: John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Paul Silas, Don Nelson, Don Chaney
Dynastender Rankings: 5th-8th in Seasons (6), 9th in Points (18.52), 5th in adjusted Championships (1.53), 16th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.53), 9th in win% (.687), 14th in playoff win% (.588), 20th in adjusted Net Rating (+3.1), 16th in Top 5 aNR (+4.05)
Avg z-score: -0.28
After the retirement of Bill Russell, the Celtics were nearly able to continue his Dynasty (spoiler alert!). 1970 was a dud, a sub-.500 season worth (approximately) -3 points. ‘71 was another playoff miss, but they finished over .500 (44-38), for -2 points. Boston finally got into the positive category in ‘72, but only for 2 points (56 wins and a conference finals loss), meaning that the Celtics satisfied criteria 4 for ending a dynasty (as ‘69 and ‘72 both had to be worth at least three points).
But while Russell’s Dynasty was over, a couple of the same players who were around for its twilight were able to put together a Dynastender on its coattails. Two championships and six seasons of success are both impressive, but other numbers are underwhelming. They have some distance between themselves and everyone below them, but their weak net rating and lack of a popping stat to make up for it keep them in the teens.

13. Cleveland Cavaliers, 2015-2018

Head Coach: David Blatt, Tyronn Lue
Key Players: LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving
Dynastender Rankings: 17th-20th in Seasons (4), 10th-11th in Points (18), 8th-13th in adjusted Championships (1), 2nd-3rd in adjusted Finals appearances (4), 17th in win% (.643), 1st in playoff win% (.679), 16th in adjusted Net Rating (+3.45), 19th in Top 5 aNR (+2.8)
Avg z-score: -0.27
Of course, few people would think about this Cavs team in isolation; really, it’s a link in the chain of LeBron’s career, which is why I’ll be discussing him as the only player-centric Dynasty on the next list.
However, going through an exercise like this can help underline how special it is to make four Finals in a row. When we include era adjustments, only one other Dynastender that we’ll talk about beats 4 Finals appearances, and the only other one to match it is when LeBron did it with the Heat in the four previous seasons.
The one major asterisk everyone puts on this team is that the East was weak. That might be true, but it’s also overstated. Out of 133 Dynastender seasons, the Cavs’ strengths of schedule (per Basketball Reference) rank, in chronological order: 72th-75th, 97th-99th, 62nd, and 68th-69th. That’s nothing to particularly write home about (although the Cavs’ own weak point differentials meant they weren’t decreasing their own SOS as much as some other teams). Of 78 teams who lost in the conference finals since the 16-team playoff format started, the net rating of the Cavs’ ECF opponents ranked: 38th, 45th, 70th, 60th. Out of 156 second-round losers, Cleveland’s opponents ranked: 91st-92nd, 74th-77th, 55th-60th, and 9th. To be fair, these numbers would be a bit lower if you took SOS into account; but they’re not totally dismal.
In the big picture, it’s relatively rare for people to criticize the Raptors, or the Bucks, or the Big Three Celtics, or the Shaq-Wade Heat, because of a weak conference; even though all of these teams I mentioned have SOSs comparably bad as the Cavs throughout their Dynastender runs. But it was and is brought up over and over again for LeBron’s teams, because his teams were the only ones who were able to consistently benefit from the weak conference. People were complaining about the lack of competition in the East, because when you’re up against LeBron the standard is so much higher to meaningfully count as “competition”.
With all of that said, the Cavs’ weak regular seasons, combined with the fact that LeBron only stayed for four years, anchors them out of the top 10.

12. Toronto Raptors, 2016-2020

Head Coach: Dwane Casey, Nick Nurse
Key Players: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Pascal Siakam, Kawhi Leonard
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 13th in Points (16), 8th-13th in adjusted Championships (1), 19th-21st in adjusted Finals appearances (1), 6th in win% (.693), 19th in playoff win% (.547), 6th in adjusted Net Rating (+5.4), 8th in Top 5 aNR (+5.4)
Avg z-score: -0.24
The Raptors are one of the weirdest entries in this series, as their run almost feels like three different ones.
The first chapter came as three consecutive solid regular seasons (56, 51 and 59 wins) that were all ended by the aforementioned Cavs. Then they traded for Kawhi Leonard and won a championship with him (A footnote title? Or not?), for the second, one-season chapter. Then they managed to unexpectedly have a great season in the COVID-interrupted 2019-20 campaign, including a 60-win pace and a narrow second-round loss, for one final, one-season chapter.
Putting all of the pieces together, this run registers as an impressive one as far as regular-season success goes, finishing 6th among Dynatenders for both regular-season win percentage and adjusted net rating. Playoff success was a different story, which the aforementioned LeBron series (two of which were sweeps) are mostly responsible for (plus the fact that many of their series wins were close, including their last three wins in ‘19).
This run is technically not officially over yet, but the Raptors would have to win the championship this season in order to extend it. Needless to say, that’s not very likely.

11. New York Knicks, 1969-1974

Head Coach: Red Holzman
Key Players: Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Dick Barnett, Jerry Lucas, Earl Monroe
Dynastender Rankings: 5th-8th in Seasons (6), 8th in Points (18.6), 6th in adjusted Championships (1.44), 7th in adjusted Finals appearances (2.19), 15th in win% (.650), 11th in playoff win% (.593), 11th in adjusted Net Rating (+4.5), 11th in Top 5 aNR (+5.0)
Avg z-score: -0.20
The Knicks were terrible for most of the sixties, never even reaching a .400 win percentage from ‘60 to ‘66. New York had never won a championship, so when the late Willis Reed’s famous heroics helped them beat the Lakers in 1970, it was truly a new leaf to turn over for the club. That season was followed up by a third-straight 50-win season, and then two more consecutive Finals appearances, including another win in ‘73.

10. Milwaukee Bucks, 2019-present

Head Coach: Mike Budenholzer
Key Players: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe
Dynastender Rankings: 17th-20th in Seasons (4), 15th in Points (15), 8th-13th in adjusted Championships (1), 19th-21st in adjusted Finals appearances (1), 7th in win% (.689), 6th in playoff win% (.633), 3rd in adjusted Net Rating (+6.3), 10th in Top 5 aNR (+5.1)
Avg z-score: -0.10
The NBA’s only reigning Dynastender (that we know of) lands just inside the top ten. All of these numbers are only as of the end of last year, although the Bucks’ run is already confirmed as continuing another season (as they’ve gotten to 50 wins).
A pressing question, of course, might be how the Bucks’ ranking might change depending on their playoff results this year. It’s hard to project, because it depends on some specifics (like how their regular- and post-season records will shake out). However, if I change nothing but seasons/points/champs/finals to account for an NBA championship this season, the Bucks go up to #6 on this list (breaking into what’s currently a pretty solid top-6). Adjusting for a conference finals loss (adding one season and three points) would push them up two spots, to #8.
Looking at the profile of Milwaukee’s accomplishments so far, their net rating (3rd when adjusted for strength of schedule) is what sticks out to me the most. In fact, that’s an area where the Bucks will actually take a hit at the end of this season, because they’ve had a relatively underwhelming net rating this time around.

9. Los Angeles Lakers, 1962-1973

Head Coach: Fred Schaus, Butch van Breda Kolff, Joe Mullaney, Bill Sharman
Key Players: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Rudy LaRusso, Happy Hairston, Dick Barnett, Jim McMillian, Archie Clark
Dynastender Rankings: 1st in Seasons (12), 4th in Points (23.19), 17th-18th in adjusted Championships (0.75), 1st in adjusted Finals appearances (5.7), 21st in win% (.626), 18th in playoff win% (.552), 19th in adjusted Net Rating (+3.1), 7th in Top 5 aNR (+5.5)
Avg z-score: -0.04
The Lakers of Jerry West’s time represented a kind of dynasty of second-place finishes. Their nine Finals appearances in the 12-year run is incredible, although it’s adjusted down to 5.7 because of the number of teams in the league when they were accomplished.
These Lakers’ ability to contend for a long period of time is impressive, and if I did these rankings by Points alone, they’d be at #4 among Dynastenders on that strength. Weak regular seasons, though, prevent them from reaching thoe heights in my more complicated system.

8. Boston Celtics, 2008-2012

Head Coach: Doc Rivers
Key Players: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 10th-11th in Points (18), 8th-13th in adjusted Championships (1), 9th-10th in adjusted Finals appearances (2), 5th in win% (.693), 15th in playoff win% (.581), 4th in adjusted Net Rating (+6.0), 3rd in Top 5 aNR (+6.0)
Avg z-score: -0.03
Known as a major step forward into the “superteam” era, the Big Three Celtics hit the ground running, posting their best season by far (67 wins and a title) in their first season together. As such, they’re the only NBA Dynastender to win a title in the first season of their run. Perhaps, that might be what contributes to this squad’s legacy; most teams have to build for a couple of years but the Big Three Celtics hit the ground running and made an immediate impression.
They had a chance to make a Dynasty out of it, but a Garnett injury hampered their chances in ‘09, and they couldn't pull out a Game 7 against the Lakers in ‘10. Great regular seasons propel the team into the top-10 Dynastenders, although the short length of the run and underwhelming playoff results limit how high they could rise.

7. Detroit Pistons, 2002-2008

Head Coach: Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown, Flip Saunders
Key Players: Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Jon Barry
Dynastender Rankings: 4th in Seasons (7), 3rd in Points (25), 14th in adjusted Championships (0.98), 11th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.98), 12th in win% (.669), 16th in playoff win% (.579), 10th in adjusted Net Rating (+4.8), 6th in Top 5 aNR (+5.7)
Avg z-score: 0.00
What really carries this Pistons team is their Point total, which is buoyed both by their longevity (7 seasons is a fairly good length for a run) and the streak of six straight conference finals appearances for which they are somewhat famous. Six straight three-point seasons (in the Dynasty Point system) has only been equalled by the Jazz (six straight), Russell Celtics (eight straight), and the Showtime Lakers (ten straight), so it’s a very impressive feat that’s worthy of putting the ‘00s Pistons in this kind of tier.
Because of how many deep runs the Pistons made, it’s not that hard to imagine a couple years going differently resulting in a Dynasty; like ‘05 (losing in Game 7 of the Finals), or ‘06/’08 (two six-game losses to the eventual champions).
Somewhat surprisingly, they don’t rank very highly in playoff win percentage, due to the fact that they won some surprisingly close series (like TOR ‘02, ORL ‘03, CLE ‘06) and lost a couple of lopsided ones (BOS ‘02, NJ ‘03).

6. Detroit Pistons, 1987-1991

Head Coach: Chuck Daly
Key Players: Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Adrian Dantley
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 5th in Points (21.68), 4th in adjusted Championships (1.86), 6th in adjusted Finals appearances (2.74), 11th in win% (.678), 3rd in playoff win% (.678), 9th in adjusted Net Rating (+4.9), 12th in Top 5 aNR (+4.9)
Avg z-score: 0.13
The second straight Pistons team on the list is the closest Dynastender to being on the Dynasty list. The ‘88 Finals ended with two very close games (that weren’t without controversy either), both of which could have won the Pistons the championship. Had they done so, and still won the next two, they would get the requisite three titles (in six or fewer seasons) for the Dynasty label. However, this team fails to resemble Dynasties in both number of championships and in length; every post-merger Dynasty lasted at least nine seasons by mysystem, where Detroit lasted only five. The Pistons got their two titles, got eclipsed by the Bulls, and disappeared.
Playoff success carries this run, as the Bad Boys nearly had as good of a win percentage in the second season as in the first. Unlike their ‘00s successors, they dominated series, winning 9 series by three games or more in this Dynastender run, losing only once by such a margin.

5. Dallas Mavericks, 2001-2011

Head Coach: Don Nelson, Avery Johnson, Rick Carlisle
Key Players: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Erick Dampier, Josh Howard, Jason Kidd, Shawn Bradley, Tyson Chandler, Antawn Jamison
Dynastender Rankings: 2nd in Seasons (11), 2nd in Points (27), 8th-13th in adjusted Championships (1), 9th-10th in adjusted Finals appearances (2), 8th in win% (.687), 22nd in playoff win% (.512), 7th in adjusted Net Rating (+5.4), 2nd in Top 5 aNR (+7.0)
Avg z-score: 0.19
The Mavericks’ relative absence from the later rounds of the playoffs might have made you think that the 2011 team was a one-year wonder. However, that’s not the case. It was a year that topped off what was a very impressive run of success up to that point, at least in the regular season.
Every season in this run, Dallas had a record good enough to earn them points for my system (a 50-win pace). That’s 11 straight seasons, a very impressive feat that’s only been bettered by the Showtime Lakers, the Russell Celtics, and the Duncan Spurs. Dirk and co. were consistently good year in and year out, which is the driving force behind them making the top 5 of the Dynastender list.
Of course, what came between the Mavs and the very top of this list (or even a part of the Dynasty list) is a lack of playoff success. The playoff record (65-62) sticks out like a sore thumb, an atrocious 22nd out of 23 qualifying Dynastenders. The biggest symbol of said disappointment is the infamous series they lost to the 8-seed Warriors in 2007, following a 67-win regular season that featured an MVP from Nowitzki.
A disparity between regular season and playoff success that’s this large is really astounding, and the large sample calls into question the conventional analytic wisdom that the playoffs are basically just a noise-fest. Here are some highlights (or lowlights), as not everyone might know/remember much about Dallas’ playoff journey (I know I didn’t before researching):

2001: The Mavs overcome a big deficit at Utah in a decisive Game 5, but get destroyed by San Antonio in Round 2.
2002: A sweep against Minnesota, but a 5-game loss against the memorable ‘02 Kings team (including an OT Game 4 loss)
2003: Dirk gets injured during the WCF, and the Mavericks lose to the Spurs (although they benefitted from a Chris Weber injury the round before).
2004: Another loss to the Kings, this time in Round 1. Dallas misses two opportunities at the end of one-possession Games 4 and 5 to end the series.
2005: A comeback from a 2-0 deficit against McGrady and Yao’s Rockets, followed by an OT Game 6 loss at home to Phoenix to end the season (a Steve Nash three ties it with 6 seconds left, followed by a near-miss from Stackhouse at the buzzer).
2006: This run is fairly well-known, so I’ll ignore it.
2007: This one’s also pretty well-documented. It’ll also make you cry if you think about it enough.
2008: A convincing loss against Chris Paul and the Hornets in the first round.
2009: An impressive five-game win against the Spurs, followed by a five-game loss to Carmelo and the Nuggets, with three double-digit road losses and two close home games that the teams split (including a Carmelo game-winner after an uncalled intentional foul)
2010: Yet another series against the Spurs (the fifth in ten years); this one a 4-2 win for San Antonio as the 7-seed.

Dallas entered 2011 having lost in the first round three times in four years, and this long stretch of playoff failure made their great championship run all the sweeter.

4. Los Angeles Lakers, 2008-2012

Head Coach: Phil Jackson, Mike Brown
Key Players: Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 6th-7th in Points (21), 1st-2nd in adjusted Championships (2), 5th in adjusted Finals appearances (3), 4th in win% (.703), 8th in playoff win% (.618), 5th in adjusted Net Rating (+5.8), 4th in Top 5 aNR (+5.8)
Avg z-score: 0.21
Fittingly, the Celtics and Lakers had Dynastenders spanning the exact same five seasons. The Lakers’ version gets the nod both because they won the 2010 matchup, and because the Lakers had more consistent postseason success, winning 62% of their playoff games (and making three Finals) to the Celtics’ 58% (and two).
There might be some quibbles about this run not being connected to the Shaqobe era, but the consensus seems to be in separating the two, and my system concurs (the ‘05-07 run of seasons is enough disappointment to put the kibosh on the initial Dynasty).

3. Philadelphia 76ers, 1977-1986

Head Coach: Gene Shue, Billy Cunningham, Matt Guokas
Key Players: Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, Steve Mix, Charles Barkley, George McGinnis, Doug Collins
Dynastender Rankings: 3rd in Seasons (10), 1st in Points (30), 15th in adjusted Championships (0.88), 4th in adjusted Finals appearances (3.46), 10th in win% (.683), 9th in playoff win% (.603), 13th in adjusted Net Rating (+4.3), 5th in Top 5 aNR (+5.8)
Avg z-score: 0.28
Moses Malone’s “Fo Fo” Sixers only won one championship, but they had an extended period of relevance of which it was a part. In ten seasons, they made it to four NBA Finals and seven conference finals, only losing in the first round once. They also won 50 games in all but one season, the 47-win ‘79. In total, their 560 wins in these ten seasons ranked first in the league, with only two other teams (BOS 539, LAL 552) even getting to 500.
This team might slip through the cracks a bit, because apart from their one title, they’re often remembered in the contexts of their losses; they lost to Bill Walton’s Blazers, they lost to Magic’s iconic Game 6 performance, and they lost the 3-1 lead against the ‘81 Celtics. These Sixers had the definite potential for a Dynasty if a couple of these (or other) losses went the other way.
My Point system loves this team’s longevity and consistency, as can be seen from their top rank in that category. They only end up outside of the top spot on this list because there’s two other teams who were particularly excellent over smaller periods of time.

2. Milwaukee Bucks, 1970-1974

Head Coach: Larry Costello
Key Players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Dandridge, Oscar Robertson, Jon McGlocklin, Lucius Allen, Flynn Robinson
Dynastender Rankings: 9th-16th in Seasons (5), 14th in Points (15.66), 17th-18th in adjusted Championships (0.75), 17th in adjusted Finals appearances (1.51), 1st in win% (.741), 7th in playoff win% (.632), 1st in adjusted Net Rating (+7.6), 1st in Top 5 aNR (+7.6)
Avg z-score: 0.31
Of the teams you were anticipating on this list, the ‘70s Bucks might not have been one of them. They were from the “dark ages” of the ‘70s that everybody forgets about. There’s a chance that you knew they had a great ‘71 season, but not much else.
However, these Bucks had a heck of a run. They hit the ground running their first season without Kareem, immediately winning 56 games, losing in the Division Finals. Then followed one of the greatest seasons of all time, where they posted a net-rating record that wouldn’t be broken for 21 years (and their aNR still hasn’t been beaten by a non-Dynasty), and dominated the postseason to boot. ‘72 was the Lakers’ year, but the Bucks were still nothing to sneeze at; 63 wins and a second-straight double-digit net rating (only the ‘15-17 Warriors and ‘96-97 Bulls can boast the same). Not only that, but they actually outscored the Lakers in their playoff series that year! ‘73 saw a disappointing first-round upset loss to Golden State (in which the Bucks also scored more points), but after a third-straight 60-win season (another feat only Dynasties share). Finally, the Bucks narrowly missed what would have been the NBA’s only four-season streak of 60+ wins (they won 59), and an iconic Kareem shot forced a seventh NBA Finals game which they ended up losing.
I was originally as puzzled by the Bucks’ high ranking as you all might have been, but actually going back and breaking down all of their seasons has sold me on them. 304 regular-season wins over a five-year period is incredible, and they were just a few playoff games away from a Dynasty that would’ve potentially been remembered among the best.

1. Miami Heat, 2011-2014

Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra
Key Players: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh
Dynastender Rankings: 17th-20th in Seasons (4), 6th-7th in Points (21), 1st-2nd in adjusted Championships (2), 2nd-3rd in adjusted Finals appearances (3.46), 3rd in win% (.718), 2nd in playoff win% (.678), 2nd in adjusted Net Rating (+6.4), 9th in Top 5 aNR (+5.1)
Avg z-score: 0.38
While this team isn’t the closest on this list to being a Dynasty (the Pistons are), in some ways they might be the team that feels like a dynasty the most, or that most had the aura that many dynasties share.
From the moment Miami’s Big 3 was official, everyone knew it was the Heat against the world. LeBron infamously made a tongue-in-cheek allusion to a mega-dynasty, and it was up to everyone else to try to stop it. The fact that this run has an air of disappointment about its final results, despite four Finals and two rings in four tries, is almost the biggest testament there is. Out of 16 playoff series, they only lost twice to two very good teams, but it’s still not quite good enough, precisely because this team was so good that perfection was their standard.
The Heat are a good example of the upside of my final ranking system, and its general favoritism towards short but great runs. Now that I’m looking at the list, it would feel a little wrong for the Heat to be 6th-7th, and not even make the top 5 Dynastenders, as would be the case if I went on Points alone. Yes, they only lasted for four years, but the way they defined the NBA for that stretch goes beyond most other Dynastenders.
We could, perhaps, touch on how much of a footnote 2012 should be, where there could be some arguments back and forth. On the one hand, I don’t really believe in footnotes based on shortened regular-seasons (at least in the NBA’s cases, where we were still left with decent regular seasons that were >half of a normal one), and also history bore out that Derrick Rose getting injured was more of a norm than an exception. On the other hand, the ECF we got was pretty close, which could lead one to wonder whether Chicago with home court could have tipped the balance in the other direction.

submitted by bluecjj to nba [link] [comments]

2023.03.24 19:53 Could-Have-Been-King [High School Robotics] When teams were hacked on the biggest stage of the FIRST Robotics Competition

Hi everyone, it's me again. First off, wow, I was NOT expecting so many people to react to my last post. I guess people really like robots?
This post is a follow-up of sorts to that other bit of drama. Some of the players are the same: Teams 1114 and 2056 both make appearances here again, but we have a whole new suite of team numbers for you to remember.
This is the story of how 9000+ people watched the best robots in the world get sabotaged, live, at the finals of the World Championships. It's obviously tilted towards 1114 and 2056 - because they were explicitly named in the resulting report - but it also affected 10 other amazing teams that year.
Background: FIRST Robotics
I wrote about the unique nature of FIRST Robotics in my other post, so I'll quickly summarize what I said there: FIRST is a robotics competition for high-schoolers where teams build 120-lb robots to play a unique game. The game changes every year, and teams have 6 weeks to build a robot to play that game. Those robots then go to competition, qualifying for the World Championships.
The founding principle of FIRST is Gracious Professionalism. It's the idea of competing like hell on the field (within the rules, of course) while helping each other succeed off of it. It's not uncommon for teams in the finals of competition to be helping repair each other's robots between matches, even if that's making it harder for them to win.
Gracious Professionalism comes through in a lot of ways. In FIRST, it has been boiled down to "Act like your Grandma is watching." Always be fair, polite, and professional. It's hard to really convey how important GP is to people who haven't lived through FIRST.
Championship Structure
In FIRST, teams compete in local, regional competitions to qualify for the World Championship Event. Champs is huge: 400+ teams (the largest regionals are 70 teams, for context). FIRST Champs takes over NFL stadiums - in 2012, when this drama happens, the event was held at the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis, the then-home of the St Louis Rams.
Because there are so many teams competing, teams are randomly separated into divisions. In 2012 there were four divisions: Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, and Curie. Each division played through a regular weekend competition, and then the winners of each division faced off on Einstein, the Final Field.
2012: Rebound Rumble
2012's game was called Rebound Rumble. Robots had to score foam basketballs into different hoops for more points, while also moving across a steel barrier in the middle of the field. To help cross, there were three bridges: one for each alliance, and one "neutral" bridge which served as the centre of the drama of my last post.
At the end of the match, alliances got extra points for balancing robots on these bridges, with the most points for alliances that could balance all three robots on the bridge at once. These difficult "Triple Balances" had the potential to swing a match. Just watch the first-ever competitive triple balance, and also some dangers of going for balances.
By the time Champs came around, teams had found a good balance (ehe) between scoring hoops and balancing on the bridge. But there were some alliances that could do both, including 1114 and 2056.
The Eh-Team
Even though this was their 6th year of competing at Worlds, 2012 was just the second time 1114 and 2056 were in the same division. They were in the Archimedes field, and 2056 seeded 2nd. They picked 1114, and then rounded out their alliance with team 4334, another Canadian team from Alberta who'd built a verrrrrry small robot. I believe this was the first time all three members of an alliance were Canadian. They were instantly called the Eh-Team, and Canadians flocked to Archimedes to watch them compete (after their own teams were eliminated).
The Eh-Team won Archimedes thanks to pulling off the Triple balance. 2056 and 1114 had built "long" robots, and common perception was that you needed "wide" robots to pull off the move. If 4334 wasn't so tiny, they probably couldn't have done it.
All this to say, hopes were high going into Einstein. 1114 was a well-known and admired team across all FIRST, and 2056 was just starting to make a name for themselves from under 1114's shadow as well. They were widely seen as the favourites heading into the Finals.
Einstein 2012
I was actually there watching this competition, so I'm going to describe it how it happened. In the first match, Team 118 the Robonauts from Houston, Texas stopped moving for a portion of the match. Their alliance fought valliantly, but couldn't overcome the loss of their top-scorer.
The second semi-finals match featured the Eh-Team. Halfway through the match, 2056's robot stopped moving as well. Then 1114's robot died. 2/3rds of the alliance were dead in the water.
There was chaos in the stands. People were confused. FIRST officials immediately flooded the field as the match ended, and the area around the field looked like a kicked anthill.
FIRST announced that they were going to replay the first set of Semi-Finals matches again. This was unprecedented. FIRST only replays matches when they know that they were the cause of the issue - if it's an issue with the robots, then the results stand.
But the issues kept happening. 118 died again just 4 seconds into the match. 2056 and 1114 died in their match as well. But FIRST didn't replay those matches. They pushed on, and both alliances were eliminated. The crowd alternated from silent to outraged. It was like watching a ship sink. Everyone knew something was happening. But nobody knew what.
In the finals, a whole new set of teams died intermittantly. 4 of the 6 teams in the finals - including 2 of the World Champions - died at various points in the matches. When the dust cleared - and the confetti flew - teams 16, 25, and 180 had been crowned champions, but even they had a hard time celebrating.
Oh, also, there was a Tornado Warning at the same time. It was some Shakespeare, King-Lear-In-The-Storm sort of event.
Aftermath: Einstein
People immediately started blaming FIRST for what had happened, both for ignoring what seemed to be an issue with their field, and for continuing on regardless of the compromised competition.
Most of the anger came from the Einstein field itself. FIRST builds a limited number of fields every year and ships them around the world for competitions, but the field used for Einstein is always brand new. The public was convinced that the issue was in the field, which hadn't been tested in competitive play.
In a /FRC Reddit Post, one user comments:

I was confused as to how Red lost comms in both the original match and the re-match. I didn't fully believe it was a driver-side issue. If the field really is to blame, I want an entire re-re-match of Einstein. And on a tested field this time.

Scrolling through the Match Thread on Chief Delphi (the unofficial FRC forums) shows how people started to notice robots going down. At this point, everyone is in shock seeing that 118 and the Eh-Team were still dying.
One user sums it up:

So to summarize, all we know is that there were 4 robots that seemed to work fine on division fields, and failed to work on Einstein for some reason. But all FIRST knows is that there’s 4 robots that consistently didn’t work on Einstein, so it must be a problem with the robots.

I'm having trouble picking out specific threads or posts to pull, but suffice to say, people were Not Happy. Nobody was happy. This was seen as a huge black eye for FIRST, and there was a lot of criticism of FIRST for the way they handled the competition.
FIRST quarantined the robots and the field immediately following Einstein. They flew the field to their headquarters in New Hampshire and put all 12 robots in big plastic bags to be shipped as well. Everything was left in its immediately-post-Einstein state. They announced that they were going to run tests and an inquiry into what happened on Einstein. (This was received positively by the community).
Nobody expected what had actually happened.
More Background: WIFI and Radio
FIRST robots act wirelessly, controlled with joysticks or video-game controllers. Each robot is equipped with a radio that is linked to the field infrastructure, which lets the drivers control the robots. But in 2012, FIRST changed their central control system that every robot used. They changed from a radio-based system to a wifi-based system.
The 2012 season was plagued with issues that could be described as Growing Pains as everyone adjusted to the new system. So there was lots of blame on FIRST relating to wifi usage or overload, and it was seen as the source of the issues on Einstein.
See, since the field was using wifi networks, you could actually see the networks on your phone or laptop. You could theoretically connect to these networks and disrupt communications. I say theoretically because the FIRST FMS (Field Management System) generated a new password for each network at the beginning of every match. You would have ~2 minutes to hack a randomly-generated password. This was seen as Impossible by FIRST (and it was), but there was one catch...
Okay, back to the drama.
The Einstein Inquiry
FIRST flew all their top techs and also recruited 18 industry experts to try to figure out what went wrong. They then invited reps from all 12 Einstein teams to New Hampshire to run tests and answer questions.
Unfortunately, FIRST changed their website and nuked their Director's Blogs in 2017, which means that the initial blog posts announcing the inquiry and the results of the inquiry are now lost (even Web Archive shows "sorry, that page no longer exists"). Luckily, the actual report from the inquiry is still up.
The report found that every robot on Einstein had some sort of issue, whether faulty wiring that could have caused reboots, to poor code that interacted weirdly with the FMS. All of these issues are usual occurences - high schoolers build and code these robots, after all - but did not actually explain why there were so many outages at once on Einstein.
However, the report also found the most salacious cause of the issues in FIRST history (not clickbait):

While the Einstein matches were in progress, an individual was observed near the field using a cell phone in an apparent attempt to access the field WiFi network. This individual had attempted to engage field personnel in discussions while the field personnel were troubleshooting other issues. This individual was asked to put away the cell phone, and complied. Later, the individual was observed using the cell phone again, and at that point, before the last two Einstein matches were played, was asked to leave the field area, and did so.

The report conclusions start on page 20, but here are some snippets which I'll refer to later:

118 – This chain of events was replicated during the Einstein testing weekend and caused symptoms identical to those seen in all three of 118's matches on Einstein.

(They had found an issue with 118's gyro that caused them to lose connection. It was an unfortunate team issue, not a field issue.

1114 – While the positive terminal on the main battery connector was not fully inserted, and the main breaker had a sensitive “off” switch, rigorous and aggressive testing of the robot on the field did not result in any command response failures. Because of this, failed client authentication is a stronger explanation of the command response failures, especially in light of the witness report of this activity

(1114 had a host of robot issues, but was most likely interfered with.)

2056 – There was a confirmed report of failed client authentication as the cause of the command response failure for this robot in the original Semi-Final 2-1. In the replay of Semi-Final 2-1, the D-Link robot radio was unresponsive to network pings, suggesting that the radio may have lost power. ... Further testing later in the weekend revealed that this robot radio exhibited the same unresponsive behavior when failed client authentication was used. Therefore, either scenario could explain this command response failure.

(2056 was found to be specifically interfered with, no ifs-ands-or-buts.)
Chief Delphi Reacts!
The thread on FIRST's report is over 380 posts long, which just shows how hard this report hit the community. Lots of commenters showed surprise at all of the robot and coding issues.
But then the thread quickly devolved. While FIRST identified that there was someone who was attempting to DDoS attack teams on Einstein, they kept their identity secret. Allegations and potential finger-pointing started flying as people try to be Internet Detectives:

I do think it’s worth noting that prior to their being knocked out, the Archimedes alliance was the only one suffering problems likely caused by FCA. If the interferer had an agenda, it seems that 1114, 2056, and 4334 was the primary target.

This is a good reminder: with the identity of the hacker unknown, this had the potential to tarnish some good reputations:

I think this thought process is very dangerous, before you know it you are pointing the finger at certain teams that were on Einstein. It could have been so many iterations of people and pointing the finger at someone specifically the wrong someone is not what FIRST is about.

Karthik, a lead mentor from 1114, comes in and heavily suggests that the Einstein teams know the identity of the individual behind the attack:

We are shocked, dismayed and troubled that an individual on a FIRST team would actually perform an intentional, malicious, wireless attack on our alliance. We are concerned that neither the individual nor the team he is associated have yet to come forward and publicly apologize for this horrendous incident. We hope that they come forward publicly soon, so we can all put this terrible event behind us. It would be a shame if they hid under the cloak of anonymity. Even if the team was completely unaware of the individual’s actions, we would still hope that they would come forward, so that some of the motives would become more clear.

Some people push back, warning against mob justice:

... the point im getting at is, putting forth the person and team publicly would do far greater harm to the team and their image amongst their peers and the FIRST community. I think a much better solution to what Karthik wants, and is justified in wanting, is to have all the parties involved meet so that everyone can be satisfied as to reasons why, punishment, etc… But I do beleive that this shouldnt be known to the masses.

As the community argues whether or not the individual or team should come forward, some users have some fun with their points:

Wow, I just found this:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SAMSUNG TO WITHDRAW FROM AMERICAN MARKET FOLLOWING ATTACK BY ROGUE DEVICE
The actions of the individual Samsung Galaxy Nexus device that deliberately disrupted the 28 Apr 2012 Einstein matches were reprehensible and unjustifiable. ... Samsung will make all possible efforts to identify and bring to justice the specific device responsible for the actions of 28 Apr. Samsung and its corporate partners are taking immediate action to shut down all US and Canadian manufacturing and sales activity, followed by a phased withdrawal from the North American market. Additional details will be forthcoming.

This was obviously a joke (the report noted that the hacker used a Samsung Nexus phone) but because this is the internet, some people didn't catch it:

Considering that Samsung just release the Samsung S3 I am holding in my hand forgive me if I doubt the validity of this statement in the sense it could be taken. Such a move would financially utterly destroy their company and in point of fact cause massive financial damage to the manufacturers that support them.

Around now, FIRST sends an eblast to all teams (I can't find the actual email, but its referred to throughout the thread) saying that the hacker has received a lifetime ban from FIRST and that they weren't a member of any of the "winning teams". This is the first time (and I believe the only?) FIRST has ever banned someone from participation. Also, the implication that it wasn't a winning teams leads more people to conclude that the hacker was one of the other 9 Einstein teams.
Another Einstein team chimes in:

Look, there is more to this story. We actually do know exactly who did this and we know more about their motive than you’d think. No it wasn’t curiousity or accidental. We had eye-witnesses to some suspicious behavior right on Einstein. We took pictures of the person. We told the FTA right on the spot. We even told our opponent 1114. We didn’t put the whole puzzle together until New Hampshire (i.e. we didn’t fully understand what we were seeing at the time) but now we know exactly what happened and who did it.

Holtzman - coach for 2056 - comes into the thread and gives an emotional account of his experiences at the inquiry. He ends his post saying:

We in no way blame the entire team for the actions of this individual, but do feel they should stand up and acknowledge that a member of their team was responsible for the FCA attacks on multiple Einstein teams, and potentially others at the Championship and other events. We will give them time to do properly while being respectful to the innocent members of their team.

(Other Einstein teams, including 987 who had robot issues in the finals, voice agreement with this post. By this point, it is clear that FIRST and the 12 teams know who the hacker is and wants them to come forward.)
Finally, this user comes up with the Worst Take of the Thread:

as a gamer I have made my skin thicker against hackers so that when I hear foul play was suspected I can positively say “then up your game”.

The Hacker, Revealed
A month later, Team 548 - who was part of the Newton alliance with 118 - comes to FIRST and asks them to release a statement to the community. FIRST does so.
Chief Delphi Thread. Once again, the specific post has been deleted from FIRST's website, but thankfully this time the Wayback Machine comes in clutch. Full statement here, with highlights:

On page 10 of the 40 page report, in section FAILED CLIENT AUTHENTICATION ON EINSTEIN it was made mention that an individual was observed near the field using a cell phone in an apparent attempt to access the field Wi-Fi network. This individual was a mentor for Team 548...
The individual has consistently stated that this occurred once and once only. We, Team 548, apologize that the action of an individual member of our team contributed to the controversy and issues associated with Einstein. Specifically, we extend our apologies to Teams 1114, 2056, and 4334 and the impact to their teams.

FRC's Director Frank Merrick releases the statement with the following statement:

To be clear, there are some differences between this understanding of events and the events as presented in the Einstein Report. FIRST continues to stand by its report.

The community largely applauds 548 for coming forward and apologizing, and as far as I can tell, there's no further penalty on them. But users also do note Frank's language, and refer to the report that says that 2056 and 1114 were interfered with in multiple matches.
No posts are made from Einstein teams in that thread.
Back to Einstein: What Happened
Remember what I had said about the Wifi networks up above? Well, a mentor from team 548 the Robostangs had discovered an issue with a mid-season software patch. It turns out that you didn't have to enter the correct password to disrupt service - you just needed to submit any password, and the network's response was to automatically reboot, effectively severing connection.
As I was writing this, sangu- replied to my other post explaining their view of what had happened (they were a driver on one of the Einstein teams). Their whole post is great as well, read it here. In particular, I had never heard this part:

During this time a programming mentor on 548 shouted "I know why these robots are not working, there is a hacker in the building and I can show you how they are breaking these robots!" He took out his phone and said "I will make 1114 sit dead on the field!" ... The mentor then took out his phone and repeatedly connected to the 1114 robot, DDOS'ing it and the robot sat dead on the field. He then moved to 2056 and did the same thing. At this point, he was completely convinced that someone out in the stands was DDOS'ing the competition.

548 was on 118's alliance, and when this mentor saw 118 stop moving in their match, he went to FIRST officials to tell them that he thought he knew the cause of the issues (to be clear, he didn't). FIRST officials ignored him, since they were all busy trying to figure out what was going on, and so he took it on himself to show them.
The FIRST Report says:

After Championship, this individual came forward wishing to share knowledge regarding the failed client authentication issue. The individual claimed to have attempted to connect to the network associated with Team 2056 during Semi-Final 2-1 and observed that this attempt corresponded with the robot losing communication.

He then was removed from the field, and apparently did so. But despite claiming he only impacted the first (replayed) semi-final match, FIRST found that 1114 and 2056 were most likely blocked again in their second match. Either this mentor never told the full truth (probable), or there was a second hacker in the audience.
Side-Drama: Total, Unfounded Conjecture
Some people point out that 1717 D'Penguineers, a strong team from California, had similar comms issues in the Newton playoffs before being eliminated in the semi-finals. These observations take a more ominous lean when the hacker is revealed: 548's alliance were the Newton Champions.
A 1717 team member confirms that they have no idea what caused their robot to lose connection in their matches.
No formal allegations are made connecting 1717 with the hacker. They also did not compete directly against 548 in the Newton eliminations.
The Aftermath
As I said, the hacker in question was banned for life from FIRST. To my knowledge, they have never been identified outside of their former membership on Team 548.
1114 won the Championship Chairman's Award that year, recognizing them as one of the ideal teams in the competition not just for having a great robot, but for their efforts in building community and spreading STEM education. They remain a Hall of Fame team.
2056 came inches of winning on Einstein in 2016, losing by a single penalty tiebreaker point. They have yet to win the World Championship.
FIRST committed to greater transparency around their FMS and specs, releasing whitepapers about their systems. While not perfect, teams generally agree that they treated the situation fairly and as best as anyone could.

submitted by Could-Have-Been-King to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]

2023.02.20 21:44 GronkyKong1011 Thank You EA

Thank you for creating crap every year.
Thank you for making the holding penalty go against me after every friggin significant play when playing FOTF.
Thank you for making the defensive backs - who are beat by at least three steps - catch up to and block every damn deep ball I throw.
Thank you for making the running back in FOTF barely get any yards per carry.
Thank you for making things like seeing your standings in FOTF nearly impossible to see until the “Playoff Picture” is available.
Thank your for immersive elements only during season 1.
Thank you for making contract negotiations impossible (if you even get the chance to choose who you sign with - which you often don’t).
Thank you for maxing out player progression so easily.
Thank you for not allowing game sliders to be adjusted for FOTF so that the user might have a chance to correct your crappy programming.
Thank you for charging $100 for a game that has less features than NFL 2K.
Cheers!

submitted by GronkyKong1011 to Madden [link] [comments]

2023.02.20 06:05 GutsMan85 Mid-Season Team Press Conferences

https://imgur.io/ZgncuwI
This post is your chance to speak to the media and give the rest of league a mid-season update regarding your Team.
As the new custom teams and NFL originals continue to fight it out for a shot to stay in the running for the championship, the playoff picture (and more importantly, the Shaky Bowl picture - ooh la la!) becomes clearer.
Give the league an update regarding player expectations or injury, coaching qualms, and outside facility activities (please spoiler tag your NSFW activities - i.e. hookers, cocaine, and any unapproved protein powders).
See you at the podium!
RRLN-XXX Editor-in-Chief, u/Gutsman85

submitted by GutsMan85 to RetroBowlLeagueReddit [link] [comments]

2023.02.19 13:46 Failed-Time-Traveler Apple TV review

Last night we got a chance to see Apple’s broadcast, as they showed a couple preseason games.
A few points for anyone who missed it

The studio show was fine. Clearly they had done their research, knew the players and the team’s tendencies. Gave a good lead-in to the game but not too long. Felt like the studio team was still developing their chemistry, but it wasn’t bad. I’d give it a B+
Resolution. For the first time i ever recall seeing, we got to see a non-playoff game in 1080P. And holy heck did it look amazing. I was watching on a huge 75” screen, and I had to check because I thought the broadcast might have even been 4K (it wasn’t, but apple said that’s the plan in a few years). Regardless, it looked basically as crisp as the World Cup games which were 4K. Without being technical, it’s a huge upgrade from the 720 that ESPN broadcasts in or the 1080i which Fox broadcast in. Picture is amazing! Solid A (and A+ once 4K comes out)
They also had sufficient camera angles that they were able to cut away to player closeup, or different angles on goals or key plays, stuff like that. Get more like an NFL game in that way. A
The screen graphics were very Apple-appropriate minimalist. Which worked. A tiny apple graphic in the upper right hand screen. And a very small scoreboard/clock in the upper left. Means that 97% of your screen is the action on the field and not some stupid promotional stuff. The scoreboard graphic was a bit boring, but I’ll take boring over intrusive any day. A-
Announcers were fine. They knew the game and the team and the players. I wasn’t blown away, but not really disappointed either. I’ll give it a solid B.

I’m sure I’m missing a few things. But overall an ENORMOUS upgrade over what we had previously. For the first time, it felt like a big-boy sports broadcast. If you don’t get a free subscription through season tix or T-Mobile, it’s worth the price.

submitted by Failed-Time-Traveler to TheMassive [link] [comments]

2023.02.16 23:44 CraneStyleNJ Is there a "Meta" in art?

Hello, I was doing some studying, working on my fundamentals and so forth and it got me thinking, Is there a "Meta" when it comes to the online (and offline) sharing of art?
When I mean about the Meta isn't about Zuckerbucker's company and questionable VR world but what I mean for example is in any form of competition, there is always a form of strategies or character selections that end up dominating the upper tiers of high level play.
For example in League of Legends there are characters depending on the current update that tends to be popular or in some cases "broken" in which high level victories aren't attainable unless said top 3 characters are involved.
In Super Smash Bros Brawl (best example I can give since Smash Ultimate hasn't had many tournaments during the pandemic) in any tourney finals YOU WAS GUARANTEED to see Meta Knight or Snake.
In The NFL, it goes without saying if you don't have a duel threat QB (A QB that can throw the ball and win games with his legs), your not making the playoffs (Tom Brady is an exception though as a pocket passer but than again he was a GOAT).
In the NBA, if you don't have a stretch 4 or 5 (a Power Forward or Center who is above 6'10 and can hit 3 pointers), your not making the playoffs.
But my question though is, is there a certain style, use of colors, composition, lighting choice or even lineart (or lack of therefor) that constitutes likes or sales? Do paintings receive more general likes then drawings? Does the bigger picture excel over details? Does "Social Proof" give a drawing or painting more appeal versus something that is better on a technical standpoint but is more obscure?
Now yes, art isn't a competition and we should all draw for ourselves and what comes into our minds but art competitions do exist. Don't the judges have to follow a certain criteria to judge the submissions? There has to be something that sticks out to them vs all the other submissions they would receive and a certain "meta" has to be reached to reach top 3, right?
From what I can gather, most "liked and recommended" drawings off Instagram tends to be highly rendered, unsaturated pastel painted anime girls with single color backgrounds and reddit seems to favor highly rendered dynamic, foreshortened anime girls with big butts and anything that doesn't fall in those categories seem to be left in the dust.
I ask this question for the reason of trying to give my own artwork more of an appeal and at the same time if one should "follow the meta" or do his/her own thing and not put so much thought into it.
Thanks for reading and if there are other "metas" you happened to notice, please share them here!

submitted by CraneStyleNJ to ArtistLounge [link] [comments]

2023.02.16 00:11 hwillburger Why we should draft a QB in round 1

Let’s just take a look at the 2023 playoff picture from this year and look at all of the teams that drafted a QB over the years.
Chargers: Justin Herbert Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence Ravens: Lamar Jackson Bengals: Joe Burrow Dolphins: Tua Tagoviola Bills: Josh Allen Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes Giants: Daniel Jones 49ers: Brock Purdy Eagles: Jalen Hurts
Guys like Mahomes (taken 10th in his draft was viewed as too big of a wild card), Allen (who had blatant accuracy issues and was the 3rd QB taken in his draft), Lamar (who didn’t have the arm strength and drafted 32nd overall in the same draft as Josh Allen), Hurts (who was drafted in the second round in the same draft as Tua), Herbert (didn’t have as great as numbers and also drafted behind Tua despite having all of the physical tools) all had their flaws going throughout the draft process.
What doesn’t work? Rolling with a bridge QB and you can literally use the Panthers as an example. Since Cam Newton we have had Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, and PJ Walker because we have been too afraid to draft high on a QB and miss. Other teams just from this year that also had bridge QBs and were terrible: Colts (Matt Ryan), Commanders (Carson Wentz), Saints (Andy Dalton). The key to winning nowadays is hitting on a QB through the draft while also not having to pay them a ton because of their rookie contract. The Bengals for example are absolutely abusing this right now with Burrow and Chase both on their rookie deals which has led them to a super bowl appearance and back to back AFC championship games.
At some point, the Carolina Panthers have to take a chance. If AR15 is there at the 9th pick that would immediately give us a QB with a top 5 rushing ability and a top 5 arm in the league right on draft day. He also has the highest ceiling of any of the QBs and was asked to run a ton of NFL-like schemes and route concepts (unlike Corral at Ole Miss). He’d be able to sit right behind Darnold if he needs to develop and Frank Reich also gets his guy from day 1 instead of dealing with another potential Matt Ryan situation in Indy if we ended up getting Carr and not drafting a QB.
But why would we want Carr? He had a down year last year when he had Davante Adams, Waller, Josh Jacobs, and Hunter Renfrow. The only option we have there is to hope Reich can make it work and also draft offensive heavy but I’d much prefer us actually take a chance on a QB. I would never be mad if we took someone like Levis or AR (who have all of the tools to be successful in the NFL) and they ended up not working out.
Either way, excited for next year. Let’s ride.

submitted by hwillburger to panthers [link] [comments]

2023.02.14 05:59 DillyBa Why my team looks 5th in playoff picture?

Hello, I recently started watch NFL and playing madden for the first time. So I’m playing face of the franchise in madden 22, my team’s record is 11-4 but im 5th in playoff picture while 3rd team has a record of 9-6. Also 1st team has a record of 11-4 too. Why is that?

submitted by DillyBa to Madden [link] [comments]

2023.02.11 17:54 DySyncZ [Serious] Why Isn't Hendon Hooker More Highly Rated?

Full disclosure I casually enjoy college football and very deeply invest into the NFL, so I don't watch every game or make the effort to dive into film so I am asking because I feel like I don't have the breadth of knowledge to fully get it. Hooker was the reason that Tennessee was relevant to the playoff picture last year. From what I saw he looked great, but I know he got hurt. Is that the reason that he's not more highly rated in the draft or are there other concerns about him that I wasn't paying enough attention to notice?

submitted by DySyncZ to NFL_Draft [link] [comments]

2023.02.10 21:41 Rsubs33 Game Preview Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) vs Kansas City Chiefs (16-3)

Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) vs the Kansas City Chiefs (16-3)
The Eagles took care of business two weeks ago in the NFCCG when they cruised to a 31-7 win against the 49ers in a game that did not live up to its hype after 49ers QB Brock Purdy tore his UCL on the 49ers first drive when he was sacked by Hassan Reddick who also forced a fumble on the play. Regardless of the injury, the Eagles still dominated the 49ers in the trenches and won the lopsided affair in dominating fashion. They will take on the number one seed from the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs had a much tougher challenge when they faced off against the Bengals and won on a last second FG by Harrison Buckner. This game will showcase the two best teams in the NFL this season which finished with identical records and identical points scored. It will also be the first Super Bowl played between two brothers as C Jason Kelce for the Eagles will take on his younger brother Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. Perhaps something more monumental, it will be the first time that both Super Bowl teams are led by African American QBs which were the MVP(Mahomes) and the MVP runner up (Hurts). These two teams are pretty evenly matched, both have talented QBs, strong offensive and defensive lines, good coaches and talented TEs, but Eagles have the advantage on the outside on both sides of the ball with their talented WR and CB duos. The Eagles need to be disciplined on defense to keep Mahomes contained and limit future HOF TE Travis Kelce. The Eagles will also have to be aware of the screen game. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is one of the best in the league at designing screens and I expect a fair number to be called to try to negate the Eagles potent pass rush. The Eagles need to stay in their lanes and not get up field to break up these screens for a loss. On the other side, the Eagles need to be worried about Chris Jones, who is a game wrecker as he proved in the AFCCG game with 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. The Eagles OL is significantly better than the Bengals’ OL, and they will need to continue what they have done in their first two playoff games where they protected Hurts and gave him time to throw and established the run game early to create a balanced attack. If the Eagles can do that they should be able to put up some points against this Chiefs defense. Let’s get another ring. Go Birds!

Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) vs the Kansas City Chiefs (16-3)

The Eagles took care of business two weeks ago in the NFCCG when they cruised to a 31-7 win against the 49ers in a game that did not live up to its hype after 49ers QB Brock Purdy tore his UCL on the 49ers first drive when he was sacked by Hassan Reddick who also forced a fumble on the play. Regardless of the injury, the Eagles still dominated the 49ers in the trenches and won the lopsided affair in dominating fashion. They will take on the number one seed from the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs had a much tougher challenge when they faced off against the Bengals and won on a last second FG by Harrison Buckner. This game will showcase the two best teams in the NFL this season which finished with identical records and identical points scored. It will also be the first Super Bowl played between two brothers as C Jason Kelce for the Eagles will take on his younger brother Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. Perhaps something more monumental, it will be the first time that both Super Bowl teams are led by African American QBs which were the MVP(Mahomes) and the MVP runner up (Hurts). These two teams are pretty evenly matched, both have talented QBs, strong offensive and defensive lines, good coaches and talented TEs, but Eagles have the advantage on the outside on both sides of the ball with their talented WR and CB duos. The Eagles need to be disciplined on defense to keep Mahomes contained and limit future HOF TE Travis Kelce. The Eagles will also have to be aware of the screen game. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is one of the best in the league at designing screens and I expect a fair number to be called to try to negate the Eagles potent pass rush. The Eagles need to stay in their lanes and not get up field to break up these screens for a loss. On the other side, the Eagles need to be worried about Chris Jones, who is a game wrecker as he proved in the AFCCG game with 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. The Eagles OL is significantly better than the Bengals’ OL, and they will need to continue what they have done in their first two playoff games where they protected Hurts and gave him time to throw and established the run game early to create a balanced attack. If the Eagles can do that they should be able to put up some points against this Chiefs defense. Let’s get another ring. Go Birds!

General Information
Posting Rules and Guidelines
Remember to join us on Discord during the game!
New to the Eagles? Take a look at our New Fan Page!

Date
Sunday, February 12th, 2023

Game Time	Game Location
6:30 PM - Eastern	State Farm Stadium
5:30 PM - Central	1 Cardinals Drive
4:30 PM - Mountain	Glendale, AZ 85305
3:30 PM - Pacific	Wikipedia - Map

Weather Forecast
Stadium Type: Dome
Surface: Grass
Temperature: 86°F
Feels Like: 86°F
Forecast: Clear. Clear throughout the day.
Chance of Precipitation: 0%
Cloud Coverage:11%
Wind: Southeast 3 MPH

Betting Odds
OddShark Information
Favorite/Opening Line: Philadelphia -1.5
OveUnder: 50.5
Moneyline Eagles -120, Chiefs +105
Record vs. Spread: Philadelphia 10-9, Kansas City 8-11

Where to Watch on TV
FOX will broadcast Sunday’s game to a national audience. Kevin Burkhardt will handle the play-by-play duties and Greg Olsen will provide analysis. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines.
TV Map - Week 21 TV Coverage Map

Radio Streams
Disclaimer: Subscription Based Official NFL Radio Streams available via TuneIn
List of Eagles Radio network member stations with internet broadcast availability
Radio.com 94.1 Desktop Streaming

Listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick
Calling the game on 94WIP and the Eagles Radio Network will be Merrill Reese, the NFL’s longest-tenured play-by-play announcer (46th season). Joining Reese in the radio booth will be former Eagles All-Pro wide receiver Mike Quick, while Howard Eskin will report from the sidelines.

Location	Station	Frequency
Philadelphia, PA	WIP-FM	94.1 FM and 610 AM
Allentown, PA	WCTO-FM	96.1 FM
Atlantic City/South Jersey	WENJ-FM	97.3 FM
Levittown, PA	WBCB-AM	1490 AM
Northumberland, PA	WEGH-FM	107.3 FM
Pottsville, PA	WPPA-AM	1360 AM
Reading, PA	WEEU-AM	830 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WAFL-FM	97.7 FM
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA	WEJL-FM	96.1 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WAFL-FM	97.7 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WEJL-AM	630 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WBAX-AM	1240 AM
Williamsport, PA	WBZD-FM	93.3 FM
Wilmington, DE	WDEL-FM/AM	101.7 FM
York/LancasteHarrisburg, PA	WSOX-FM	96.1 FM

Philadelphia Spanish Radio
Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen and Bill Kulik will handle the broadcast in Spanish on Mega 105.7 FM in Philadelphia and the Eagles Spanish Radio Network.

Location	Station	Frequency
Philadelphia, PA	LA MEGA	105.7 FM
Atlantic City, NJ	WIBG	1020 AM; 101.3 FM

Chiefs Radio
Chiefs Radio Mitch Holthus returns for his 28th season in the Kansas City radio booth handling the play by play duties. Former Kansas City Chief Kendall Gammon returns as the Network's full-time color analyst. Dani Welniak will report from the sidelines.

National Radio
Westwood One will carry the game with Kevin Harlan will handle the play by play duties with Kurt Warner providing analysis and Laura Okmin and Mike Golic reporting from the sidelines.

Satellite Radio

Satellite Radio

Station	Eagles Channel	Chiefs Channel
Sirius Radio	SIRI 83 (Streaming 825)	SIRI 82 (Streaming 815)
XM Radio	XM 225 (Streaming 825)	XM 226 (Streaming 815)
Sirius XM Radio	SXM 225 (Streaming 825)	SXM 226 (Streaming 827)

Eagles Social Media	Chiefs Social Media
Website	Website
Facebook	Facebook
Twitter	Twitter
Instagram	Instagram
Snapchat: Eagles	Snapchat: OfficialChiefs
TikTok	TikTok

NFC Playoff Picture

Seed	Team	Division	Record
1	Eagles	East	14-3
2	~~49ers~~	West	13-4
3	~~Vikings~~	North	13-4
4	~~Buccaneers~~	South	8-9
5	~~Cowboys~~	East	13-4
6	~~Giants~~	East	10-7-1
7	~~Seahawks~~	West	9-8

AFC Playoff Picture

Seed	Team	Division	Record
1	Chiefs	West	14-3
2	~~Bills~~	East	13-3
3	~~Bengals~~	North	12-4
4	~~Jaguars~~	South	9-8
5	~~Chargers~~	West	10-7
6	~~Ravens~~	North	10-7
7	~~Dolphins~~	East	9-8

This Weekends AFC Games

Series Information
The Kansas City Chiefs lead the series (5-4)
Series History
Head to Head Box Scores
First Game Played
October 22nd, 1972 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. Philadelphia Eagles 21 - Kansas City Chiefs 20
Points Leader
The Philadelphia Eagles lead the Kansas City Chiefs (219-218)
Coaches Record
Nick Sirianni: 0-1 against the Chiefs
Andy Reid: 3-0 against Eagles
Coaches Head to Head
Reid leads 1-0
Quarterback Record
Jalen Hurts: Against Chiefs: 0-1
Patrick Mahomes: Against Eagles: 1-0
Quarterbacks Head to Head
Jalen Hurts vs. Patrick Mahomes: Mahomes leads 1-0
Records per Stadium
Record @ Lincoln Financial Field: Chiefs lead the Eagles: 1-2
Record @ Arrowhead Stadium: Eagles lead the Chiefs: Series tied 3-2

Rankings and Last Meeting Information
NFL.com Power Ranking
Eagles No. 1 - Chiefs No. 2
Record
Eagles: 16-3
Chiefs: 16-3
Last Meeting
October 3rd, 2021
The Eagles shot themselves in the football multiple times in a shootout with the chiefs, on the first drive Hurts completed his first three passes for 56 yards, but overthrew Zach Ertz in the endzone forcing the Eagles to settle for a FG. In the 2nd quarter Hurts missed an open Greg Ward in the endzone after a TD pass to Goedert was called back after Hurts held the ball too long on a RPO and an ineligible downfield was called. The Chiefs pulled away in the second after Mahomes threw a pass overhand, underhand and shoveled another to give the Chiefs a 21-10 lead going into half. The Eagles missed more opportunities in the 3rd when a Zach Ertz TD was negated by an offensive pass interference call on JJAW and the Eagles settled for a FG. KC added three more TDs in the second half for the 42-30 win over the Eagles to give Andy Reid his 100 career coaching win with the Chiefs.
Click here to view the Video Recap
Click here to view the Stats Recap

Last 10 Meetings

Date	Winner	Loser	Score
10/03/2021	Chiefs	Eagles	42-30
09/17/2017	Chiefs	Eagles	27-20
09/19/2013	Chiefs	Eagles	26-16
09/27/2009	Eagles	Chiefs	34-14
10/2/2005	Eagles	Chiefs	37-31
11/29/2001	Eagles	Chiefs	23-10
09/27/1998	Chiefs	Eagles	24-21
10/11/1992	Chiefs	Eagles	24-17
10/22/1972	Eagles	Chiefs	21-20

Injury Reports	Depth Charts
Eagles	Eagles
Chiefs	Chiefs

2022 “Expert” Picks
Week 22 - "Expert" Picks

2022 Team Stats
Eagles Season Stats
Chiefs Season Stats

2022 Regular Season Stats (Starters/Leaders)

Passing

Name	CMP	ATT	PCT	YDS	TD	INT	RAT
Hurts	306	460	66.5%	3701	22	6	101.6
Mahomes	435	648	67.1%	5250	41	12	105.2

Rushing

Name	ATT	YDS	YDS/G	AVG	TD
Sanders	259	1269	74.6	4.9	11
Pacheco	170	830	48.8	4.9	5

Receiving

Name	REC	YDS	YDS/G	AVG	TD
Brown	88	1496	88.0	17.0	11
Kelce	110	1338	12.2	78.7	12

Sacks

Name	Sacks	Team Total
Reddick	16	70
Jones	15.5	55

Tackles

Name	Total	Solo	Assist	Sacks
Edwards	159	99	60	2.0
Bolton	180	108	72	2.0

Interceptions

Name	Ints	Team Total
Gardner-Johnson	6	17
Sneed/Thornhill	3	11

Punting

Name	ATT	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	IN 20	TB
Kern	10	408	53	40.8	36.6	1	0
Siposs(IR)	44	2005	59	45.6	40.5	16	3
Townsend	53	2672	76	50.4	45.6	22	4

Kicking

Name	ATT	MADE	%	LONG	PAT
Elliot	20	23	87.0%	56	51/53
Butker	18	24	75.0%	63	38/41

Kick Returns

Name	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Scott	15	406	27.1	66	0
Pacheco	29	597	20.6	48	0

Punt Returns

Name	RET	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	FC
Covey	33	308	9.3	27	0	19
Moore	14	86	6.1	15	0	4

League Rankings 2022

Offense Rankings

Category	Eagles Stat	Eagles Rank	Chiefs Stat	Chiefs Rank
Total Offense	389.1	3rd	413.6	1st
Rush Offense	147.6	5th	115.9	20th
Pass Offense	241.5	9th	297.8	1st
Points Per Game	28.1	3rd	29.2	1st
3rd-Down Offense	46.6%	4th	48.7%	2nd
4th-Down Offense	68.8%	4th	75.0%	2nd
Red Zone Offense (TD%)	72.2%	3rd	69.4%	2nd

Defense Rankings

Category	Eagles Stat	Eagles Rank	Chiefs Stat	Chiefs Rank
Total Defense	301.5	2nd	328.2	11th
Rush Defense	121.6	16th(t)	107.7	8th
Pass Defense	179.8	1st	220.9	18th
Points Per Game	20.2	8th	21.7	16th
3rd-Down Defense	38.6%	14th	38.3%	13th
4th-Down Defense	60.0%	25th	57.1%	21st
Red Zone Defense (TD%)	52.7%	11th	67.3%	31st

Team

Category	Eagles Stat	Eagles Rank	Chiefs Stat	Chiefs Rank
Turnover Diff.	+8	3rd)	-3	22nd
Penalty Per Game	5.3	12th(t)	5.1	7th
Penalty Yards Per Game	40.1	8th	49.3	20th

Recap from Last Week’s Games
Eagles
A game that was hyped up all week turned into quite the dud as the Eagles welcomed the 49ers to town for the NFCCG. The Eagles scored on the opening drive after the refs missed the ball coming loose on a Devonta Smith catch and the Eagles hurried to the line and ran a play as Shanahan kept the challenge flag in his pocket. The Eagles ran the ball in two plays later to Miles Sanders to take a 7-0 lead. On the following possession, the 49ers learned why the Eagles led the league in sacks when they tried to block Hassan Reddick with a TE leading to a sack fumble which took QB Brock Purdy out of the game with a UCL injury. From there the 49ers could do little on offense, though the 49ers did tie it up with a Christian McCaffrey TD run, however the Eagles took the lead right back on the next possession to give them a 14-7 lead. The Eagles extended the lead further after a fumbled snap by the 49ers and the Eagles made it 21-7 going into half time. On the first possession after the half it went from bad to worse for the 49ers as they lost their second QB Josh Johnson to a concussion. With the 49ers already losing the battle in the trenches on both sides of the football and now down 14 points and no way to pass the Eagles ran out the clock with long time consuming drives on 2 out of their next 3 possessions which ate up 13+ minutes of clock and added another 11 points for the Eagles as they finished off the 49ers 31-7.
Chiefs
The Chiefs took on the Bengals in a game where the Chiefs were looking to knock the Bengals down a notch after the Bengals won three straight against them dating back to last season. Patrick Mahomes was hobbled with a high ankle sprain and the Chiefs were missing multiple WRs with injuries as well, but this year's MVP was determined to make sure it would not be four straight losses to the Bengals. Mahomes threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, even though he was missing three of his wide receivers to injuries by the end. Marquez Valdes-Scantling led with 116 yards and a touchdown, while Travis Kelce had seven catches for 78 yards and a score. The Chiefs defense chipped in as well, sacking Bengals QB Joe Burrow 5 times including 2 by Chris Jones who was a terror all day for the Bengals OL. The game did have some controversy. With just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Kansas City ran a play on third-and-9 that fell short of the first-down marker. As the Chiefs' offense went to the sideline for an apparent punt, officials convened to discuss the clock. Referee Ron Torbert ruled that the play should be nullified because of a timekeeping mistake on the preceding second-down play, an incomplete pass. The Chiefs were awarded another third-down play, baffling NFL fans watching. On the second third-and-9 play, a defensive holding penalty by Bengals cornerback Eli Apple negated a sack of Patrick Mahomes and gave the Chiefs a first down. However, the Chiefs picked up just 1 more yard on the series. This made do-over a loss of 1 minute, 10 seconds off the clock which in the interest of fairness, was incredibly important at that stage of such a big game. But it didn't result in any extra points for the Chiefs. The game ended up coming down to the wire tied 20-20 on the final drive where it was 3rd and 4 for the Chiefs from the Cincinnati 47 where Mahomes took off bad ankle and all got the first down before running out of bounds where he was pushed from behind by Bengals LB Joseph Ossai giving the Chiefs another 15 yards. This put the Chiefs in FG range at the Bengals 27 with just 3 seconds left on the clock. The Chiefs kicker hit the 45 yards FG with no time on the clock to give the Chiefs the 23-20 win.

Connections
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid held the same title with the Eagles from 1999-2012 and is the franchises all-time wins leader.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni served in a number of roles for the Chiefs from 2009-2012 including Offensive Quality Control Coach, Assistant QB Coach and WR Coach.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub was selected by the Eagles in the 1985 NFL Draft and served as Philadelphia’s special teams/asst. DL coach from 2001-03.
Eagles players Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce, and Fletcher Cox all played under Andy Reid while he was the coach of the Eagles.
Eagles C Jason Kelce’s brother is Chiefs TE Travis Kelce.
Chiefs LB Coach Ken Fajole held the same role with the Eagles from 2016-2020.
RB Coach Greg Lewis played for the Eagles from 2003-2008 and was the WR coach for the Eagles in 2016.
Chiefs OT Prince Tega Wanogho was drafted by the Eagles in the 6th round of the 2020 draft and was on their practice squad last season.
Chiefs TE coach Tom Melvin was an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the Eagles from 1999-2001 before becoming their TE coach from 2002-2012.
Chiefs DC Steve Spagnulo served in a number of roles for the Eagles from 1999-2006 including Defensive Assistant, Defensive Backs coach and LB Coach.
Chiefs Strength and Conditioning coach Barry Rubin held the same role with the Eagles from 2010-2012.
Chiefs QB Coach Matt Nagy played one season for the Eagles on their PS in 2009 and worked for the Eagles in various roles from 2008-2012.

2023 Pro Bowlers

Eagles	Chiefs
C Jason Kelce (Starter)	QB Patrick Mahomes (Starter)
QB Jalen Hurts (Starter)	TE Travis Kelce (Starter)
WR AJ Brown (Starter)	OT Orlando Brown Jr.
OT Lane Johnson (Starter)	G Joe Thuney
G Landon Dickerson(Starter)	C Creed Humphrey (Starter)
RB Miles Sanders	DT Chris Jones (Starter)
OLB Hassan Reddick	P Tommy Townsend (Starter)
CB Darius Slay (Starter)	-

General
Referee: Carl Cheffers
Philadelphia, which joined Kansas City as the only 14-win teams in the NFL this season, is set to appear in its fourth ever Super Bowl, having previously done so in 1980, 2004 and 2017 (Eagles defeated New England, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII). Overall, Super Bowl LVII marks the franchise’s eighth NFL title game (also 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1960).
Since 2004, only five NFL teams have reached the Super Bowl three times – New England (seven), Philadelphia (three), Kansas City (three), Pittsburgh (three) and Seattle (three). The Eagles are also one of four franchises to appear in multiple Super Bowls since 2017, along with Kansas City (three), L.A. Rams (two) and New England (two).
Jeffrey Lurie is the fourth individual owner to have three different head coaches reach the Super Bowl (Andy Reid, Doug Pederson and Nick Sirianni), joining Pat Bowlen (Broncos – Dan Reeves, Mike Shanahan, John Fox, Gary Kubiak), Al Davis (Raiders – John Madden, Tom Flores, Bill Callahan) and Georgia Frontiere (Rams – Ray Malavasi, Dick Vermeil, Mike Martz). Lurie and Davis are the only ones to reach three Super Bowls with a different head coach and QB in each season.
Since 2000, Philadelphia is tied for the 2nd-most playoff victories (16) in the NFL, trailing only New England (30), and is tied for the 3rd-most postseason trips (15), behind the Patriots (18) and Packers (16). Also, the Eagles have played in the 2nd-most conference championships (seven) since 2001, with only New England (13) appearing in more.
Excluding owners who acted as their team’s general managers, Howie Roseman is the second general manager to reach multiple Super Bowls with a different head coach and QB in each season (only one to do so in a five-year span), joining Ozzie Newsome with Baltimore in 2000 (Brian Billick/Trent Dilfer) and 2012 (John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco).
Roseman was voted the 2022 NFL Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America. He became the fourth general manager to earn the award multiple times since it was established in 1993, joining Bill Polian (five), Scott Pioli (three) and George Young (two).
The Eagles are one of only three NFL franchises to appear in the playoffs in five of the last six seasons (including two No. 1 seeds and three NFC East titles), joining Kansas City (six) and Buffalo (five).
At 41 years old, Nick Sirianni is the youngest head coach in franchise history to appear in a Super Bowl. He is also the second head coach in Eagles history to reach the Super Bowl within their first two years at the helm, joining Doug Pederson in 2017 (Super Bowl LII).
During the regular season, Sirianni led the Eagles to a franchise-record 14 wins, which is tied for the most by anyone in their first two career years as an NFL head coach, joining Jim Caldwell (2009 Colts), Mike Martz (2001 Rams) and George Seifert (1989 and 1990 49ers).
Including playoffs, Philadelphia is currently tied with the 2017 team (finished 16-3) for the most wins in franchise history.
Andy Reid served as the Eagles’ head coach for 14 seasons (1999- 2012). Super Bowl LVII marks just the fifth time in NFL history that a team faces its former head coach in the Super Bowl. The previous instances include the Patriots vs. Pete Carroll’s Seahawks (XLIX), the Raiders vs. Jon Gruden’s Buccaneers (XXXVII), the Broncos vs. Dan Reeves’ Falcons (XXXIII) and the Colts vs. Weeb Ewbank’s Jets (III).
This matchup features two MVP finalists in Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes and represents the first ever Super Bowl featuring two Black starting QBs. Hurts is aiming to become the fourth Black QB to win a Super Bowl (also Mahomes, Doug Williams and Russell Wilson).
Hurts (14-1, .933) and Mahomes (14-3, .824) tied for the most QB wins in the NFL this year. They also finished 1st and 2nd in passer rating (Mahomes, 105.2; Hurts, 101.5) and yards per attempt (Mahomes, 8.10; Hurts, 8.05), while ranking among the top in TD/INT ratio (Hurts, 2nd, 3.67; Mahomes, 3rd, 3.42), total yards per game (Mahomes, 1st, 329.9; Hurts, 3rd, 297.4) and total TDs (Mahomes, 1st, 45; Hurts, 4th, 35).
Including playoffs, Jalen Hurts is 16-1 as a starter this year. The only QB to go 17-1 and win the Super Bowl was Joe Montana in 1984.
Hurts is tied for the most single-season wins by a QB during their first three years in the NFL, joining Russell Wilson (2013), Kurt Warner (1999), Dan Marino (1984) and Joe Montana (1981).
At 24 years, 189 days, Hurts is the seventh youngest QB to ever play in a Super Bowl (youngest in Eagles history), trailing only Dan Marino in 1984 (23-127), Ben Roethlisberger in 2005 (23-340, won), David Woodley in 1983 (24-97), Jared Goff in 2018 (24-112), Patrick Mahomes in 2019 (24-138, won) and Tom Brady in 2001 (24-184, won).
In the regular season, Hurts became the fourth NFL QB since 2000 to lead his team to 14+ wins while posting 35+ total TDs and 8-or-fewer giveaways, joining Patrick Mahomes (2020), Aaron Rodgers (2011) and Tom Brady (2010). He also tied the single-season team record with 35 total TDs (also Randall Cunningham in 1990), including 13 rushing TDs (2nd-most ever by an NFL QB, behind Cam Newton’s 14 in 2011).
In Week 4 of 2021 vs. Kansas City, Hurts threw for a career-high 387 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and a 105.1 passer rating on 32-of-48 passing
Following its victories over New York (W, 38-7) and San Francisco (W, 31-7) in the Wild Card Round and NFC Championship Game, Philadelphia became the first team in NFL history to score 31+ points while allowing 7-or-fewer points multiple times in the same postseason.
The Eagles are the first NFL team to allow 7-or-fewer points multiple times in a playoff run since the 2000 Ravens (three). Furthermore, the last time Philadelphia gave up 7-or-fewer points in consecutive playoff games was during the 1948 and 1949 NFL Championships.
The Eagles became the seventh team in NFL history to win multiple games by 24+ points in a postseason, joining the 2002 Buccaneers, 1992 Cowboys, 1989 49ers (three), 1988 49ers, 1985 Bears and 1983 Raiders. Each of those teams went on to win the Super Bowl.
Notably, Philadelphia is the first NFL team to rank among the Top 3 in the NFL in total offense (389.1 ypg, 3rd) and total defense (301.5 ypg, 2nd) in the same season since the 2010 San Diego Chargers.
In the NFC Championship Game vs. San Francisco, the Eagles rushed for 148 yards and a franchise-playoff-record 4 TDs (by three different players). It was the first time the 49ers had allowed 4 rushing TDs in a single game in more than six years (4 on 10/16/16 at Buffalo).
Philadelphia became the fifth team in NFL history to record 3+ rushing TDs in back-to-back playoff games, joining the 2019 Patriots, 2013 49ers, 1973 Dolphins and 1941 Bears.
Philadelphia scored a franchise-record 477 points in 2022, including team records in total TDs (59), scrimmage TDs (57) and rushing TDs (32). The Eagles’ 32 rushing TDs tied for the 3rd-most in league history, trailing the 1962 Packers (36) as well as the 1976 Steelers (33). Their 39 rushing TDs, including playoffs, are the most in NFL history.
The Eagles also finished the regular season with franchise records in third-down conversion rate (45.9%, previously 45.7% in 2021) and red zone TD efficiency (67.8%, previously 66.7% in 2019).
A.J. Brown (career-high 1,496) and DeVonta Smith (career-high 1,196) are the first 1,000+ yard receiving duo in franchise history.
Brown’s career-high 1,496 receiving yards finished 4th in the league behind Justin Jefferson (1,809), Tyreek Hill (1,710) and Davante Adams (1,516). In his first season with the Eagles, Brown set a single-season franchise record with 1,496 receiving yards, surpassing the previous mark owned by Mike Quick in 1983 (1,409).
Brown also tied for 3rd in the NFL with a career-high-tying 11 receiving TDs (also 2020), behind Davante Adams (14) and Travis Kelce (12). He also averaged 17.0 yards per catch, a figure that ranked 2nd in the league, trailing only Jaylen Waddle (18.1) (min. 50 catches).
DeVonta Smith finished his second NFL season with 95 receptions, which are the most by a WR in Eagles history, eclipsing the previous mark owned by Irving Fryar in 1996 (88).
The Eagles set a single-season franchise record with an NFL-leading 70 sacks. Since 1982, when sacks became an official statistic, only the 1984 Bears (72) and 1989 Vikings (71) have totaled more.
Philadelphia is the only NFL team since 1982 to have four different players record 10.0+ sacks in the same season – Haason Reddick (16.0), Brandon Graham (11.0), Javon Hargrave (11.0) and Josh Sweat (11.0).
Haason Reddick tied for the 2nd-most sacks (career-high 16.0) in the NFL, trailing only Nick Bosa (18.5). His 16.0 sacks are tied for the 3rd most by any NFL player in their first season with a team, trailing only Shaquil Barrett with Tampa Bay in 2019 (19.5) and Bryce Paup with Buffalo in 1995 (17.5). Reddick, who also led the league with 5 strip sacks and 5 FFs (tied), became the first NFL player to produce 10.0+ sacks in three consecutive seasons with three different teams.
Including playoffs, Reddick has 19.5 sacks in 19 games. His 3.5 sacks this postseason are the most by an Eagle in a single playoff run.
At age 34, Brandon Graham registered double-digit sacks (11.0) for the first time in his career. He is the oldest NFL player with 11.0+ sacks since Julius Peppers (age 37) and Terrell Suggs (age 35) in 2017.
Javon Hargrave recorded a career-high 11.0 sacks, which ranks 4th among NFL DTs this season, trailing Chris Jones (15.5), Quinnen Williams (12) and Daron Payne (11.5). Hargrave’s 11.0 sacks are the most by an Eagles DT since Andy Harmon in 1993 (11.5).
Miles Sanders finished the regular season as one of three NFL RBs to produce 1,200+ rushing yards (career-high 1,269, 5th in NFL), 11+ rushing TDs (career-high 11) and a 4.5+ rushing average (4.9) this season, joining Josh Jacobs and Nick Chubb. He also became the third Eagles RB to record 1,200+ rushing yards and 10+ rushing TDs in a season, joining Ricky Watters (1995, 1996) and LeSean McCoy (2011).
Since 1970, only three NFL centers have been selected first-team AllPro five times: Dermontti Dawson (six), Mike Webster and Jason Kelce. Dawson and Webster are both Pro Football Hall of Famers.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lane Johnson has not allowed a sack since Week 11 of 2020 or a QB hit since Week 7 of 2021.
Despite missing five games due to injury, Dallas Goedert ranked 2nd among all league TEs in yards per reception (12.8), trailing only Jordan Akins (13.4). Goedert also finished 3rd in yards after the catch (420), behind Travis Kelce (648) and Evan Engram (465), as well as 3rd in 20+ yard receptions (11), behind Kelce (19) and George Kittle (12).
T.J. Edwards registered a career-high 159 total tackles, which finished 7th overall in the league. His 159 tackles are the 2nd-most by an Eagle in the last 31 seasons, trailing Byron Evans in 1992 (175).
James Bradberry finished with the 3rd-lowest passer rating allowed in the NFL (55.9) (min. 50 targets) and posted the 3rd-most PDs (17).
Bradberry and Darius Slay finished as the only CB tandem in the NFL to both produce 14+ PDs and 3+ INTs this season.

Fun Fact

The Dallas Texans was the initial name of the team when billionaire Lamar Hunt formed them as one of the first teams in the American Football League. Hunt moved the team to Kansas City in 1963 and gave them the moniker “Chiefs,” thus the franchise’s time in Dallas wouldn’t last very long. The Kansas City Chiefs became one of the new clubs in the National Football League in 1970 as a result of the AFL-NFL merger.

Draft Picks

Eagles	Chiefs
DT Jordan Davis	CB Trent McDuffie
C Cam Jurgens	DE George Karlaftis
LB Nakobe Dean	WR Skyy Moore
DE Kyron Johnson	S Bryan Cook
TE Grant Calcaterra	LB Leo Chenal
-	OT Darian Kinnard
-	CB Jaylen Watson
-	RB Isiah Pacheco
-	S Nazeeh Johnson

Notable Off-season Additions

Eagles	Chiefs
WR AJ Brown	WR Kadarius Toney
DE Hassan Reddick	DT Danny Shelton
CB James Bradberry	S Deon Bush
RB Trey Sermon	WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR Zach Pascal	WR Juju Smith-Schuster
LB Kyzir White	C Austin Reiter
QB Ian Book	S Justin Reid
DE Robert Quinn	RB Ronald Jones II
DT Linval Joseph	DE Carlos Dunlap
DT Ndamukong Suh	-

Notable Off-season Departures

Eagles	Chiefs
CB Steven Nelson	WR Tyreek Hill
WR Jalen Reagor	CB Rashad Fenton
WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside	G Austin Blythe
OG Brandon Brooks	S Tyrann Mathieu
OG Nate Herbig	DE Melvin Ingram
LB Eric Wilson	CB Mike Hughes
LB Davion Taylor	LB Ben Niemann
S Anthony Davis	Wr Byron Pringle
DT Jarran Reed
OT Mike Remmers
WR Demarcus Robinson
S Daniel Sorenson

Pro Football Focus Matchup Charts courtesy of PFF Edge (join.profootballfocus.com/edge/)
WDB Matchups

FLY, EAGLES, FLY

By now, you’ve probably read all about this game’s storyline, inhaling every new article published with anticipation only building. You come to Reddit and refresh your team sub’s feed with a sort of giddiness. You put in your earphones at work a bit more so you can listen to some football podcasts. Every time you see another fan wearing your team’s gear, there’s that knowing glance of camaraderie like you’re the ones that will be going to battle in just a few days. Because you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Chiefs fans don’t get it. This means something else to us. Our fervor and pride is what makes Philly Philly. It’s a city that’s always been written off, often been considered “second chair”. Today, let’s talk about another time a team wearing red thought they could outlast us (and failed). Today, let’s go back 245 years to 1777. Revolutionary War: Philadelphia, home of the Continental Congress. The same Continental Congress that had left Philly already once before was set to abandon the city once again, retreating westward to Lancaster and York. George Washington’s army hadn’t managed to hold off the Redcoats as they approached Philadelphia from the southwest. Outnumbered, the rebels fought tooth and nail at the Battle of Brandywine, but ultimately lost double the soldiers the Redcoats had. With the opposition’s retreat, the Reds came to Philly thinking the Congress’s retreat meant the city’s easy subjugation. That confidence was short-lived. The Red officer in charge of the occupation resigned. His replacement was ordered to retreat. The occupation had lasted from September to June. As the Red general pulled northward, Washington’s army pursued. No f&>^ing way were those assholes getting away with it. With reinforcements powered by air (French ships, deep passing game…shh…just roll with it), that Red general crumbled. By 1778, he sent a messenger to ask to be recalled home. You can’t outlast us. You don’t understand what it means to bide your time, what it does to you, what it has done to us over the years and what it meant to us to win in 2018. We’re Eagles fans. That rabid and informed yearning, that burning deep inside has become ingrained in us from an early age. It’s not going anywhere after winning one. Because we’re still getting written off. Our team “lucked” into this position. Noone likes us, we don’t care. It’s a Philly thing.

Matchups to Watch
Skinny and Swole Batman vs the young corners of the Chiefs
The Eagles talented WR duo combined for 2692 and 18 TDs this season and have jokingly been called the Batmans on the team which other players have joined in on. They will face off against a very young secondary of the Chiefs which includes rookies Trent McDuffie and Jaylon Brown along with third year CB L'Jarius Sneed. None of the three have been overwhelmingly impressive this season, but nickel CB Watson has been picked on the most, giving up 51 receptions and 5 TDs with an opposing QB rating of 93.4 when targeted according to PFF. Look for the Eagles to go to 11 personnel quite a bit to get Watson on the field to take advantage of the mismatch Smith and Brown have against him. Watson in particular may have issues with Smith who is quick and is a great route runner which has been a weakness for Watson this season for him this year as he thrives on being a physical CB. If Smith is able to get off the line, he should be able to get open on Watson down field. AJ Brown on the other side may be a mismatch for any of the Chiefs corners though, he has roughly 30lbs on all three of them and should have no issue getting off the ball against them. As you can see in the PFF WCB Matchups above, PFF really likes this matchup as well. Brown is due for a big day, after being relatively quiet in the first two playoff games, mainly due to the Eagles going up big early and focusing on the run. Brown is going to be eager to get the ball in his hands and find the endzone, something he has not done since the Saints game back in week 17.The Eagles will need to get these two going against a Chiefs team that is going to put up points.
Eagles OL vs Chris Jones
Chris Jones is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL and he is a DPOY finalist for a reason. Jones lines up all across the line with DC, Steve Spagnulo, always looking for mismatches for his defense’s best player. That will not be as for Spagnulo this time around though as it was last season where the Eagles were starting backups at both tackle positions and right guard, with Lane Johnson being a last minute scratch due to anxiety and Mailata and Seumalo both missing the game with injuries. The Eagles will have all their starters in for this one though, even though Lane Johnson is battling a torn adductor in his groin and Dickerson will be sporting a brace on his elbow. The entire line will have to be ready for Jones though and know where it is lining up, especially after Jones wreaked havoc in the AFCCG blowing up the run and sacking Joe Burrow 2 times. That said, the Eagles OL is significantly better than the OL of Cincinnati. PFF ranked the Eagles as the top OL in the league this season while the Bengals ranked 28th. The Eagles OL also took care of business last week against the 49ers, virtually shutting down probable DPOY Nick Bosa and getting more pancakes than a fat kid at iHOP. The Eagles will need to do the same to Jones and the rest of the Chiefs DL this week as well. If the Eagles are able to establish the run and give Hurts time this offense should be able to put up some points.

Special thanks to Dweddpiewitt for his help in creating this Game Preview.
Note this looks best in www.old.reddit.com, new reddit messed up my formatting which trying to find fixes for

submitted by Rsubs33 to eagles [link] [comments]

2023.02.10 14:01 Mammoth_Way_6559 Somehow made the playoffs with a 7-10 record 🤣

submitted by Mammoth_Way_6559 to Madden [link] [comments]

2023.02.07 18:09 hallach_halil An in-depth preview of Super Bowl LVII:

https://preview.redd.it/y6eh6pefdsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=f03f750f31ddd85e35439b5da3f593a4b14f0211

We have arrived at Super Bowl LVII and for as dominant as other teams may have been for stretches, I think we ended up with the two best teams in the league facing off – not only in terms what they did all season long, but also the versions we get from them leading into this matchup. With both sides entering the tournament atop their conference, the Chiefs were able to overcome a high-ankle strain by Patrick Mahomes and got revenge on the team that kept them from going to the big game last year, while the Eagles were dominant in their two wins, with a point-margin of +55 in their two playoff matchups (with some help in the lattern one, where the 49ers ended up with basically no quarterback left).
You could also call this the “Storyline Bowl” because of all the different angles to this matchup off the field. For starters, you have Chiefs head coach Andy Reid facing his former team, which he could never quite get all the way over the hump with, along with DC Steve Spagnuolo spending his first eight years in the NFL with that organization as a defensive assistant. Meanwhile the head-man on the other side in Nick Sirianni actually started his NFL career as a quality control coach in Kansas City, a couple of years before Reid arrived there. We’ll see the first Super Bowl between brothers, with Travis and Jason Kelce on either side, who both already have a ring, but were still each the best players at their positions respectively this season. Depending on the results of NFL Honors, we may have the guys finish first and second in MVP at quarterback with Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, who might still both be dealing with injury, but have done a great job playing through those. And even for more of the football nerds – we’ve got KC and Philly with the number one offense vs. defense respectively in yards per play.
As I do every week, I wanted to dive into the tape and numbers, to give you comprehensive insight into who both these teams are, how they match up on both sides of the ball, some players who could be X-factors and finally I give you my prediction on what I think will happen.
Let’s get into it:

Chiefs offense vs. Eagles defense:

https://preview.redd.it/9hwbo56hdsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=dbcd62213ed2afffd9b828f65fe485368d1b6823

Kansas City obviously led the league with 29.2 points per game during the regular season and 2.71 points per drive, but they also averaged 0.3 yards more per play than any other team (6.4). Their offense was easily number one in DVOA (25.2%) and EPA per play (0.179). However, while many people still look at the Chiefs as this uber-explosive aerial attack, that constantly stresses defenses vertically, they’ve really become a much more efficient machine as a unit. Mahomes finished the regular season only 23rd in intended air yards per pass attempt (7.2) and he was actually second in YAC per completion (6.6). In part that has been due to teams feeling more comfortable blitzing and playing man against this group of receivers, but also Pat has shown so much maturity this season, of getting to his checkdown or outlet when the defense was falling off in deep zone coverages. With opponents bracketing Travis Kelce at a high rate, they’ve needed to find other solutions against the looks they’re presented with. KC is one of the best groups at utilizing stacks and bunches, in combination with rub-routes, to give their receivers advantages against man-coverage, while being unique in the way they create voids against zone, by letting guys push straight at safeties and forcing them to match, along with attacking the rules of coverages.

https://reddit.com/link/10w73p8/video/5tv2qzixgsga1/player
Where the KC offense has added another dimension this year, is their traditional run game, as altogether they finished the regular season sixth in rushing success rate (44.5%). That’s actually slightly lower than 2021, but their top two backs this year average 4.63 yards compared to 4.09 yards per rush. Isaiah Pacheco has given this group a physical presence, who they hand the ball off a lot more from under center this season. That young man runs with an aggression and violence that this team has been missing in past years, along with having legit burst to threaten the corner and clear the second level if the backside doesn’t cover enough ground laterally. While they do run some zone concepts, especially in combination with their RPO game, what Andy Reid and Eric Bienemy excel at is using angles and drawing up gap-schemes including multiple pullers, such a power and counter from different personnel sets. A key ingredient to that is their variety in usage of tight-ends. Their 13 personnel (three TEs) in particular is a weapon for them, as they can analyze how opposing defense match them, and depending on that, get Travis Kelce, Noah Gray and Jody Fortson in favorable matchups in the pass game, or take advantage of pulling smaller bodies into the box.

https://reddit.com/link/10w73p8/video/5otlpd40hsga1/player

Examining the Chiefs offensive line, with Orlando Brown at left tackle, they can cover up guys on the front-side, to string out lateral plays. And between the interior three of Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, they’re all more than comfortable being utilized as pullers, while Smith is the biggest mauler on down-blocks and the other two execute reach- and seal-blocks very effectively. Andrew Wylie at right tackle may be the weak-link of that group, but he’s the most experienced in that system, now in his fifth season with the Chiefs and 69 starts to his resume. As a team, they’ve averaged 3.4 yards before contact on the ground. As far as the pass game is concerned, the O-line was charged with the third-fewest sacks allowed (26) and while Mahomes is close to average in pressure rate (19.4%), if you take that number in relation to time spent in the pocket before the ball comes out (2.6 seconds), he’d be tied for the sixth-highest rate. Even though I would challenge the way ESPN calculates this, they have the Chiefs with by far the highest pass-block win rate in 2022 at 75%. And looking at their two playoff games, Mahomes has only been pressured on 18.8 and 10.2% respectively. The way this unit handles games up front, sorts out simulated pressure and passes off twists is very impressive.

https://reddit.com/link/10w73p8/video/zmeglge0hsga1/player

Finally, for KC’s offense, since Mahomes was put under center, they’ve been one of the best situational offense, in particular finishing top-three in third down percentage each of the past five years. They finished the 2022 season second in third (48.7%), fourth down (75.0%) and red-zone percentage (69.4%) each. Over their five most recent games in particular, they’ve converted 82.3% of their red-zone trips into six points. That’s a result of Andy Reid’s willingness to delve into all kinds of creative play-designs, Patrick Mahomes’ magic off script and the mind-meld you see between him and Travis Kelce in those condensed spaces. Whether it’s some full-house sets, where anybody in the backfield could receive the snap, running “Ring around the Rosie” or any of their different shovel pass variations they throw out, they’re a unique group to prepare for. Plus, then of course you have the best QB-to-pass-catcher combinations in the game, where Pat and Kelce can make up stuff on the fly and see that condensed space very similarly, which allows them to cash in even when the defense seemingly does everything right.

https://reddit.com/link/10w73p8/video/uvq7fln0hsga1/player

https://preview.redd.it/j4ufr0pidsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=e79f1d4dc640a1fd8488d61413e4f73cc8a00a6f

Now, switching over to the Eagles defense, they’ve been one of the more consistent and at times dominant units in the league. On average, they’ve allowed just over 20 points per game, with seven each in their two playoff games – even though you can argue the Giants were certainly outmatched and the 49ers played large stretches with a quarterback who couldn’t actually throw the ball. Nevertheless, they finished the regular season number six in defensive DVOA (-9.7%) and forced the fifth-most takeaways in the league (27). Under defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, Philly has seen an overhaul of defensive principles to some degree, compared to 2021. While they still run a lot of zone-coverage, they do a much better job of squeezing down passing windows and letting their safeties attack forward in quarters, not nearly giving as much easy access to the middle of the field. And with the addition of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, they can change up the picture from when the ball is snapped, rotating him towards the deep middle – a role he hasn’t tasked with since his college days. As far as blitz rate is concerned, they’ve increased from 31st (17.4%) to 18th (22.1%), in large part due to Haason Reddick being on the field as a hybrid linebacker, who they rush along with the four down-linemen a lot of times.

https://reddit.com/link/10w73p8/video/rffhqe42hsga1/player

Philadelphia has been particularly effective against the pass, being responsible for an NFL-low 4.9 net yards per dropback. Their two starting corners Darius Slay and James Bradberry have surrendered passer ratings of 83.9 and 51.6 respectively, with three picks each to their names. Both understand very well to play to their leverage and funnel vertical routes to the safeties inside of them. While Marcus Epps is better at driving on routes and buzzing down as a flat defender or robber, CGJ has really capitalized of those opportunities to make plays on the ball, being tied for the lead-league with six interceptions, despite missing five games. Meanwhile on the second level, T.J. Edwards has had the best season of his career, in terms of how quickly he IDs and triggers on run schemes, but also his usage on passing downs. That’s where pairing him up with Kyzir White has reaped major benefits, because now he’s the one who gets matched up with backs a lot of times in cover-fou-six on the weakside, as he’s right on par with Bradberry on the perimeter, holding opponents to just 4.4 yards per target.

https://i.redd.it/4zdrdqinosga1.gif

Of course a major reason this group has been so much better on the back-end is thanks to the pressure they create up front. The Eagles recorded the third-most sacks in NFL history (70) behind only the ’85 and ’86 Bears respectively, and they were only 0.1% behind the Cowboys with a pressure rate of 25.5 percent. Looking at ESPN’s pass-rush win rate metric, Philly has the edge rusher with the second-best mark in Haason Reddick (28%) and an IDL in Javon Hargrave, who’s tied for second at his position (17%). They keep those guys fresh as well, as they have ten guys playing at least 16% of snaps, if you count Reddick, who led them at just under 74%. At times this season they’ve had some issues this season stopping the run, due to some of the front mechanics – which I’ll get to in a minute – but also some injuries along the D-line. Now, with some of the veteran additions, those have been largely ironed out and they can bring those guys in waves.

https://i.redd.it/pmv65sx8tsga1.gif

https://preview.redd.it/7xgigkmjdsga1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba8b7047e4b63e42be88e028558dfdc2e462b2e9

Since I just talked about the trenches, why not start by breaking down how these two sides match up. Looking at Brandon Thorn’s D-line rankings, the Eagles D-line was at the top of the league, but the Chiefs finished the season as the sixth-best O-line themselves, and their interior-three is as good as any out there right now. Their tackles are closer to average, with Haason Reddick having a significant advantage over right tackle Andrew Wylie, who was responsible for nine sacks and had seven accepted penalties in 2022. However, what Andy Reid can do in terms of mitigating any disadvantages on the edges is remarkable. I think back to the Chiefs’ trip to San Francisco and how much they slowed down Nick Bosa, in terms of not being allowed to attack and having to process too much information. And we’ve seen this group make the heads on linebackers spin on several occasions throughout the years, with misdirection, eye-candy and a diverse screen game. Philly also led the NFL with 97 tackles for loss during the regular season, but I have a tough seeing Kansas City go laterally a whole lot and allow those guys on the other side to defeat single-blocks. Rather I think they’ll use that aggressiveness against them on trap, wham and counter plays. The Eagles finished the regular season 23rd in rushing success rate (43.2%) and EPA per rush (-0.023). Especially when KC goes to 12 personnel, the tendencies for Philly would say that they’ll counter five-man surfaces, and when the 49ers put both tight-ends to one side, we saw Kyzir White actually move over the wing in more of “penny” front, where Edwards is the only linebacker behind it. That’s where Reid & company put a lot of pressure on the opposition, with being corrected in reading their keys.

https://i.redd.it/gji5l9zbgsga1.gif

Going back to that NFC title game, backup Josh Johnson – as long as he was available ran himself into trouble, getting wide against looping D-tackles and drifting too deep at times – that won’t happen with this version of Patrick Mahomes, who is one of the niftiest quarterbacks at pocket navigation in the NFL today. How much he can manipulate rush lanes and potentially deliver off-script with that banged-up ankle will be a major factor. From a coverage perspective, the most interesting will be if DC Jonathan Gannon can change up the picture enough post-snap to make Mahomes hold onto the field or if KC will be able to dictate what they’ll face, in particular considering I thought motions typically forced them to simplify things and use a lot of cover-four or -six. Because of how much the Chiefs want to attack between the numbers, with heavier tight-end usage and the addition of Juju Smith-Schuster as a “power slot”, which they haven’t had prior to his arrival, they can lessen the impact of those two great corners on the other side. And the second thing will be how they approach the usage of tight-ends and Travis Kelce especially. Could we see Chauncey Gardner-Johnson be more heavily deployed in the slot, similar to their most recent matchup, or does Gannon use the two weeks of preparation, to install some designer coverages, for designated passing situations?

Eagles offense vs. Chiefs defense:

https://preview.redd.it/r98pyiykdsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e813fb9e4859029f40b9c14534c13fc4ce20515

Let’s switch over to when the Eagles have the football. In 2021, they became one of the most effective rushing attacks in the league, along with what Jalen Hurts could deliver as a scrambler and a lot of the deep crossing and post routes off play-action. The passing game has evolved in a major way this season, thanks in large part to the draft-day trade for A.J. Brown and how the presence affects defenses. In the 15 games played with Jalen Hurts under center, Philly has turned the ball over multiple times just three times, and they’ve scored at least 24 points in all but four of those. Once again, just looking at the 15 games with Hurts at QB, the Eagles would be one of only three teams to average just below one giveaway per contest. While the volume at which they run the ball – due to regularly bleeding out the clock with the lead – “only” has them tied for 12th in yards per rush, I’ll present a couple of the more advanced numbers in a second, and they’re tied for third in net yards per dropback (7.1). Altogether, they finished the regular season at number three in offensive DVOA (15.1%) and what I love about the way offensive coordinator Stane Steichen calls plays, is how he allows those great players they have all across that unit to be featured in rather simplistic fashion, with clear play-designs, that include multiple options, plus some of the little wrinkles they add regularly off those.

https://i.redd.it/7cpb0vjhgsga1.gif

Everything of course starts up front for this group. Philadelphia has the best and most versatile O-line in the NFL – and I’m not sure if it’s particularly close. The physical ability of that group in combination with the tutelage of position Jeff Stoutland, allows Steichen to call up anything from a simple zone to long-developing passing concepts. As a unit, they finished 2022 at number one in pass-blocking and third in run-blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. The advanced rushing numbers for Philly have been completely absurd, in comparison to the rest of the league. They are the only team with a rushing success rate of over 50% and their EPA per rush +0.72 is twice as high as the next-closest team (Ravens at 0.34). You see them attack the edges of a defense with outside zone, they can create vertical movement on duo, take advantage of angles by pulling bodies and then they match those things beautifully with easy alerts. Having Jalen Hurts as an extra body in the run game, to where you have to account for him pulling the ball at all times certainly helps. In particular, they’ve been pretty much unstoppable in short-yardage situations. Including the postseason, Philly has converted 31 of 35 QB sneaks into first downs or touchdowns, when they’ve had a yards or less to gain (88.6%). And the Eagles as a team have gone for fourth down 80% of times when the analytics would suggest that as the smart decision, according to RBSDM.com

https://i.redd.it/zz8cz00jgsga1.gif

However, Philly also ran an NFL-high 185 RPOs during this season – only eight teams reached the hundred-mark. They can put defenders in conflict, by having to commit downhill and leave a window to attack with glance routes, and they can afford to leave the backside contain player unblocked, because either he flattens down the line and allows Hurts to pull the ball or he stays home and then often they have the tight-end sifting across the formation and releasing into the flats. The outside receiver to that side if regularly tasked with picking off anybody trying to redirect against that slip route, plus as a change-up off that, the wideout will release as a threat behind that. That way, they simplify the job for the quarterback by being able to key on one read and then become a play-maker off that. Yet, they can also spread the field and create space by forcing the defense to get into lighter boxes. They love to run draw from out of their 11 personnel sets, especially when they go empty and run it towards the shade nose in an OveUnder four-man front, where the guard to that side can block down and Jason Kelce wraps around, to become the lead-blocker for Hurts.

https://i.redd.it/nvsl60tkgsga1.gif

For all of that to be as effective, the development of Jalen Hurts as a passer and the threat that he can attack all of levels of the field was imperative. In particular for defenses to respect the perimeter weapons, how he delivers beautiful, high-arcing balls down the sideline for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, is a major ingredient. Compared to 2021, Hurts’ average yards per attempt increased from 7.2 to 8.8 yards. As a team, they Eagles finished top-four in third (45.9%), fourth down (68.8%) and red-zone TD percentage (67.8%) for the regular season. Hurts become a much better distributor and while he still doesn’t feel as comfortable working deep into progressions, if there’s a little bit of color in the backfield, the offensive infrastructure combined with his mental progress, allow him to find solutions to most problems defenses throw at him. That was apparent when facing overloaded fronts and some of the cover-zero rain that the Dolphins popularized over the last couple of years. Here’s an example against the Giants early on in their week 18 victory over the Giants, where Hurts decides to lock the left tackle on his man and slide the rest of the line, in order to make Landon Collins rush rather then drop out, and create a clear window to get this ball to Quez Watkins on a little hitch for the first down.

https://preview.redd.it/vef169vldsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0c30eb24c4b0d6fd36ce7492f14763fe2aa4aba

As far as the Chiefs defense is concerned, they were dead-average in defensive DVOA (17th), but they finished 12th in dropback and 10th in rushing success rate respectively. So the issue were more so the big plays they’ve given up, in large part due to relying on rookies way more than they’ve done in part years. On defense alone, first-year players have combined for over 3000(!) snaps this year. For comparison’s sake, last year Nick Bolton was the only rookie to log even 50 snaps. With that being said, those young players have grown a lot and the defensive numbers have been a lot better from week 16 on. Just looking at those five games, their EPA per play of -0.077, which would rank fourth league-wide behind only the 49ers, Cowboys and Patriots. And dissecting who they’ve faced across that stretch, only one of those offenses have ranked outside the top-15 in EPA per play themselves. One name that stands out here is Trent McDuffie, since in the 13 games without him, they didn’t allow a single 300-yard passer, while four of the six QBs they’ve faced without him have reached the mark. That’s not necessarily just the result of McDuffie playing, but the fact that they can deploy him in the slot and use L’Jarius Sneed in the boundary, now lot leaving two rookies on guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins out wide, thinking back to the AFC Championship.

https://i.redd.it/o3o5pddassga1.gif

While Kansas City’s run defense was a weakness in years past, they rarely control opponents to dictate game-scripts, in part because of how effective their own offense is at converting possessions into points, when given fewer opportunities, but also what they’ve built in the front-seven. This season, they have held opponents to under 120 rushing yards in 13 of 19 games. Along with the trade for Frank Clark and Chris Jones ascending to the level of a Defensive Player of the Player candidate, they’ve found guys to play more of the strong-side defensive end role, typically with those longer body types, before spending a first-round pick on George Karlaftis this April. Meanwhile, rotating through a trio of Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Waron and Khalen Saunders at shade nose, has been working for them, to keep those linebackers clean. And that’s where those guys can shine. Nick Bolton already was a key player for them as a rookie, but how quickly he triggers on stuff and the speed to beat blockers to the spot is very impressive. And Willie Gay’s range alongside him is a major asset in both facets of the game. Plus, they frequently shift their D-line just before the snap and blitz the backside backer, to cover up an extra man from climbing up a lot of times. As a unit, they’ve been able to create negative plays on the ground at a higher rate, being tied for sixth with 89 tackles for loss during the regular season. Chris Jones has the short-area agility to back-door against zone schemes and he’s quick to go underneath down-block on the backside, before chasing down the puller and get to the ball-carrier. And opposing linemen better get on their horse, if they want to cut off the angles of those backers on toss/sweep plays, as well peel off combos earlier in time. Going back to the AFC title game, if you take away Joe Burrow’s four scrambles for 30 yards, the Chiefs were able to hold the Bengals to just 13 carries worth 41 yards.

https://i.redd.it/wmzh2fxbssga1.gif

What they do in the pass game is where they’ve seen a major transition. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has a reputation for throwing out crazy blitzes and playing physical man-coverage behind. However, with three rookies starting the secondary for the most part and an offense on the other side, less built on quick-scoring drives, they’ve changed their approach, in order to play more complementary football. After being ninth and sixth in 2020 and ’21 respectively, the Chiefs actually ranked just 14th in blitz rate (24.2%) this season. That’s combined with playng split-safety coverages on an NFL-high 57% of coverage snaps. However, that doesn’t mean giving receivers easy access at all, as their corners are in press-alignment on 44% and those young guys can challenge opposing receivers off the line, with help over the top, so to speak. And it’s not just that, but thanks to having two veteran safeties in Juan Thornhill and Justin Reid, they’re excellent as disguising coverages without compromising themselves in where they can get to ultimately. That’s how they force quarterbacks to pull down the ball and find solutions post-snap. Kansas City sacked the Bengals’ Joe Burrow five times most recently, where all but one of those I would label as “coverage sacks”.

https://i.redd.it/albi4dfessga1.gif

Despite a much lower blitz rate, they’ve actually finished the regular season fifth in pressure rate per dropback (24.9%) for the second year in a row. According to ESPN, Chris Jones easily led all interior D-linemen with a 21% pass-rush win rate this season (next-closest was at 17%), despite being double-team at a higher rate than anybody else, at a stupid 68% of dropbacks. That sets the table for guys around him to capitalize on winning one-on-one matchups. KC has four other D-linemen with at least four sacks and 16+ pressures. Yet, depending on who they use as the primary slot defender – Sneed, Reid or McDuffie – on some key downs, Spags still excels at creating free rushers by bringing guys from different angles and forcing the O-line to communicate mid-play. So there’s a lot of variety in the way they can force offenses to process information pre- and post-snap, to create errors, while at same time being very sound in their coverage distribution.

https://preview.redd.it/18h7ra1ndsga1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b6f3f42920c332337040dd7904a28262ddea7b8

We’ll probably get an idea early on about how much the Eagles offense can dictate terms with their ground game. As I outlined and backed up with statistics, they have been dominant in the regard for most of the season and it’ll take a great performance on Kansas City’s side to slow that area down. Back when I previewed the regular season (week 13) matchup between the Chiefs and Bengals, I showed a few examples on how Chris Jones has improved as a run-defender at the point of attack. However, Philly has consistently been able to wash down the front-side on zone concepts and ride three-techniques into the lap of the backside backer on power. If he can split those combos and/or the second-level defenders scrape over the action quickly enough will be an element to track. Of course it’s also going to be a big game for Derrick Nnadi not getting sealed on the backside and holding his ground when the offense tries to go vertically. And he’ll need those other bodies to give him a breather a few times, to avoid getting physically tired out and overwhelmed as the game progresses. Maybe we’ll see recently-signed Brandon Williams be a bigger part of the game and look if he can give them 10-15 snaps of what he used to be in Baltimore. It’s certainly a product of the volume we saw, with 44(!) rush attempts against the 49ers, but those guys were able to hold Philly to 3.4 yards per carry in the NFC title game, largely thanks to how aggressive they were on the second and third level to fill. Particularly those backside LBs didn’t shuffle along much, but rather decided to shoot their gun and basically run-blitz from behind. Meanwhile, KC just executed a very effective plan to slow down Cincinnati’s attack, with those last-second shifts and blitzes from the second level, which can create that confusion against gap- or man-schemes, since altered responsibilities can’t be communicated in time. Even when opponents have gone heavy on 11 personnel, which the Eagles use on well over 70% of plays, and they catch Kansas City in dime personnel, Justin Reid does not shy away from filling the A-gap either.

https://i.redd.it/rtihr55fssga1.gif

Now, as much as the Niners were able to contain Philly’s run game in the NFC Championship game – which by the way San Francisco had the second-best EPA against defensively for the season (-0.174), compared to Kansas City being 16th – that vaunted pass-rush for the Niners could barely get a hand on Hurts, sacking him once and just getting two additional hits on. The O-line of the Birds had no issues picking up twists and games run by the defense. With that being said, I thought the 49ers back-seven actually did a very good job in designated dropback situations, passing off and falling underneath those deep crossers and post routes. And while I would say those ideas of how they structure coverages is in line with the new-found shifts for Kansas City, the challenging part in trying to break down this matchup on this side of the ball, is the fact that Steve Spagnuolo isn’t really as hung up with general schematic tendencies, but rather is willing to craft a gameplan specifically designed to attack the weaknesses or challenge teams to win in different ways than they usually do. We do know that he wants to bring pressure in high-leverage moments, but as I outlined earlier, they bring extra bodies at a much lower rate. While they might sprinkle in it every once in a while, they’ve liked to play quite a bit of two-man versus the better passing attacks in the AFC – that’s a death wish going up against Jalen Hurts and what he presents as a runner, if you have everybody in the back-seven with their backs to him. So I’d expect a lot more quarters, similar to what we saw in KC’s latter matchup with the Bengals, along with some late weak-side rotations, in order to cloud that passing lane they may have with A.J. Brown as the single receiver running a slant route away from his corner with outside leverage. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Justin Reid at big nickel, to alleviate some issues in their run fits, with one less defender in the box, if Philly spreads them out.

https://i.redd.it/wvb0a1p7osga1.gif

A common misconception about Jalen Hurts is what he provides as an off-schedule creator, because he’s been so deadly at making one guy miss in the backfield and breaks the spirits of defense by picking up third downs with legs. However, in fact he’s completing just 37% of his passes, for 4.2 yards per attempt and a QB rating of around 52, when throwing outside the pocket. And a layer that stands out in terms of pressure, he’s only 28th in success rate and 29th in EPA per dropback when the defense rushes five or more guys, according to Sports Info Solutions. I’m sure the Eagles will want to test those young corners on the other side with vertical shots on the perimeter – and I ultimately went with another name, but Jaylen Watson likely starting as one of the outside corners could have easily been an X-factor. Yet, they have not been able to cash in on those nearly as regularly since Hurts sprained his SC joint of his throwing arm. I think he attempted four of those go balls in the NFC title game and didn’t complete any, with more wobble and those being further off target than we’re used to. It’s obviously a very small sample size, but in those three games Hurts has played with the banged-up shoulder, his EPA + CPOE (completion percentage above expected) composite has taken a nose-dive from 0.155 (second among QBs behind only Mahomes) to just 0.054 (which would rank 23rd for the full season). And the Chiefs will need to create those stops between the twenties, by not giving that guy easy opportunities, because they were the second-worst defense in the red-zone during the regular season, allowing touchdowns on 67.3% of those trips.

X-factors:

https://preview.redd.it/aswnzm9odsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=42906d757c3a6945423908c465921e1fcdb37a9e

Chiefs – Kadarius Toney & Mike Danna

Since being traded from the Giants, Toney has once again dealt with lower body injuries, which along with some of the interpersonal relationships, were the reason a New York team devoid of WR talent was ready to move on from a first-round pick just a year-and-a-half later. He has only played 133 total snaps for KC, but he’s caught 20 of 26 targets for 216 yards and he’s carried the ball six times for an additional 73 yards, with two combined touchdowns. For the regular season, Toney was the only wide receiver on the team who finished above 56th for his position in PFF’s rankings (WR20). Mecole Hardman is currently listed as doubtful for Sunday and the Chiefs need that one guy they can use as eye-candy on jet sweep fakes and orbit motions, but also to create some cheap offense at times on screen passes and at times as the outlet, if the defense doesn’t account for a guy like him – just as we saw in Toney’s debut with the Chiefs at Jacksonville, which I believe still is deemed the most wide-open touchdown of the season, when he was left all alone in the flats off a sweep fake. So his status for the game due to the ankle sprain and what he can provide, in terms of how jittery and explosive he is when given the ball, along with the effect he can have just as a presence once established to the defense, will be an important factor.
While Toney is a fairly well-known name, due to his draft status, some of the headlines he’s made off the field, but also some very impressive moments when suited up, I don’t think many casual NFL fans are familiar with the name Mike Danna. A fifth-round pick for the Chiefs in 2020, his role Spags’ defense has increased all three years and I’d say he’s one of the more underrated pass-rushers and overall players in football. Danna has missed four games this year, but when available, he’s played a career-high 54% of defensive snaps, And it has led to new personal top-marks in sacks (five) and additional pressures (16). He also had three tackles for loss and a couple of forced fumbles during the regular season. Even though first-rounder George Karlaftis has started every game, these last two weeks he and Danna have played basically the exact same amount of snaps. I could see the latter play a lot of strong-side defensive end on early downs, allowing Frank Clark to chase from the backside and be soloed up when the Eagles go to play-action, while Danna takes care of combo-blocks between the tackle and tight-end at the point of attack, fighting over down-blocks and funneling the ball back inside. The third-year man can be effective rushing off the edge, but mostly it’s what he can bring reducing inside and going against guards, which could make a difference.

https://preview.redd.it/rn6552dpdsga1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=3db2a5f3194bcea793032001399686a0521fc5bb

Eagles – Landon Dickerson & Reed Blankenship

Rest of the analysis can be found here!

Prediction:

27-24 Chiefs

So many of the numbers I’ve brought up in this breakdown favor the Eagles, and right now I’d say they feature a more complete all-around roster. If you take out the two games with Gardner Minshew starting at quarterback, the Eagles would be tied for number one with the 49ers in turnover differential (+13). And they’ve had the advantage up front in most of their matchups this season. However, all that be viewed in the lense of them having faced the 32nd-ranked schedule this season, according to Football Outsiders. Against teams that were close to their talent level, they’ve gotten challenged, and I don’t think they’ve faced an offense particularly in the stratosphere of Kansas City.
The Chiefs are more battle-tested, looking at this postseason run and in terms of the competition they’ve faced throughout the regular season. Patrick Mahomes has been pretty unflappable during his MVP campaign, and has shredded some of the best defenses in the NFL, such as the Buccaneers, 49ers and the Broncos twice. Obviously how much more comfortable he is now at moving around on the banged-up ankle will be a key element, but he already showed some really encouraging signs two weeks prior to Super Bowl LVII.
Philadelphia still has quite a few players left from that championship run five years ago, but a lot of guys that will be in the spotlight on February 12th for the Eagles haven’t been on that stage. That includes the head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, the quarterback and no players in defensive back-seven. I just believe Andy Reid’s staff and Patrick Mahomes have more answers for what the Eagles defense presents, being able to attack certain areas and having the combination of O-line plus schematic ways to slow down the defensive front on other side from taking over the game. And Philly’s offense has been nearly unstoppable in large part thanks to how many great players they have, but at its core is fairly simplistic in the way they build plays off another, to where Spags can give them some unscouted looks, which throw off the plan and don’t allow the Eagles to stay ahead of the chains as regularly as they’re used to
This should be a highly entertaining game between the two best teams for most of the season and I believe it will be decided by a razor-thin margin, but I’m going with the championship pedigree of the Chiefs here and think Harrison Butker hits a game-winning field goal with time running out.

If you enjoyed this analysis, please consider checking out the original piece, and feel free to check out my Youtube channel for more detailed content like this!

Twitter: @ halilsfbtalk Instagram: @ halilsrealfootballtalk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halilsrealfootballtalk/

submitted by hallach_halil to nfl [link] [comments]

2023.01.30 05:11 lashie This damn one popping up every time I scroll through the Reddit app !!

submitted by lashie to CommercialsIHate [link] [comments]

2023.01.29 22:03 SiccSemperTyrannis The Kraken are off until February 7. Here's where to get your hockey fix until then.

The Kraken are starting the All Star break early and won't play for more than a week until next Tuesday. I've put together a list of other games worth watching to get all of us hockey addicts through the break.

Sunday, Jan 29 (today!)

Boston vs Carolina (ESPN+, 2pm): The best team in the NHL visits the Metropolitan Division leading Hurricanes in a potential Eastern Conference Final preview of teams that have met twice in the playoffs in the past 4 seasons. Recommended broadcast feed: Carolina.
Tri-Ctiy Americas vs Everett Silvertips (WHL, 4pm): The Tips and Americans are battling for playoff seeding in this US Division showdown. Tickets start at $10.

Monday, Jan 30

St Louis vs Winnipeg (NHL Network, 5pm): The Blues are desperate to get back into the playoff picture while the surprisingly-good Jets want to get back in the hunt for the Central Division lead. Since this is on NHL Network, it'll likely be blacked out on ESPN+ unfortunately.

Tuesday, Jan 31

Washington vs Columbus (ESPN+, 4pm): The Caps are battling to stay in a playoff spot while the Jackets just want to get healthy and get the season over with. Recommended broadcast feed: Washington.
Swift Current vs Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL, 7pm): The Thunderbrids are absolutely stacked with NHL prospects and are getting ready for a deep playoff run. Tickets are 2-for-1 with the 2-for-Tuesdays promo. https://tickets.seattlethunderbirds.com/

Wednesday, Feb 1

Carolina vs Buffalo (TNT, 4:30 pm): The Sabres are one of the best stories in the NHL this season (after the Kraken of course) with exciting young stars like Tage Thompson. The playoffs are a possibility but they'll have to go through the Canes to get 2 points.

Thursday, Feb 2

Free Day: IDK, watch a hockey movie like Miracle, Slapshot, or Goon.

Friday, Feb 3

NHL All Stars Skills Competition (ESPN, 7:30pm): This might be controversial but I actually enjoy the skills competition more than the All-Star Game(s). Get ready for gimmicks and cringe and hopefully a healthy Matty Beniers.
Everett Silvertips vs Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL, 7pm): There's also real hockey on as the Seattle area's 2 WHL clubs battle it out in Kent. https://tickets.seattlethunderbirds.com/

Saturday, Feb 4

NHL All Stars Game (ABC/ESPN+, 12pm noon): There's nothing else on. Don't play a drinking game based on every time someone scores.

Sunday, Feb 5

Spokane Chiefs vs Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL, 5pm): Watch the Birds show Eastern Washington who's in charge. Who cares about the NFL Pro Bowl anyways? https://tickets.seattlethunderbirds.com/

Monday, Feb 6

Vancouver vs New Jersey (ESPN+, 4:30): Jack Hughes is on pace to break the Devils' single-season scoring records. Playing the Canucks should help. Recommended broadcast feed: New Jersey.
P.S. - there's also a ton of college and women's pro hockey available on ESPN+ if you're a real hockey sicko. Schedule here.

submitted by SiccSemperTyrannis to SeattleKraken [link] [comments]