NFL Playoffs running thread

I sure as hell didn't. To some extent I still don't.

 

Yeah, that's not good for the Rams

 

Fair enough. I'll unpack it.


1. I don't think Josh Allen has the skillset either, but he wasn't in the playoffs. He isn’t an accurate passer, neither is Jackson. Allen does have a stronger arm than Jackson, and he’s, surprisingly, a better runner – as it turns out, Wyoming left a shitload of wins on the table not running that guy more – but Allen struggles with the same basic things Jackson does: Turnovers and taking bad sacks. (Allen is a turnover machine and has long been.)


2. You can’t run that offense for much longer. For one, Jackson’s gonna get hurt, since he, like everyone else, is not built like Cam Newton. Second, defenses catch on.


3. Recent Super Bowl history doesn’t have a lot of middling QBs. It has, perhaps, two – Foles and Kaepernick. I’d argue Foles is well beyond middling but, at any rate, an outstanding risk 7 years into his career at that salary, with seasoned experience in the Reid/Pederson system. Kaepernick, IMO, is better than Jackson, too.


The other QBs in the last 10 years:

Brady -4

Ryan -1

P. Manning - 3

E. Manning -1

Big Ben - 2

Warner -1

Newton -1

Brees - 1

Rodgers - 1

Wilson – 2

Flacco -1


4. The longer and more you invest in something, the longer and more you invest in it, and, in pro sports terms, it’s only worth investing in if it bears actual fruit. The Broncos wisely cut bait with Tebow, and nobody else jumped in because, the time and effort it would have taken to get Tebow to, I dunno, where Baker Mayfield was right away would have been years. You build teams with the mind to win titles, right, and, in the AFC, until Brady retires, that’s beating the Patriots. As a franchise of course you ask that: Can Jackson win a playoff game over New England? The Chiefs had to ask that question about Alex Smith. We're talking about a guy who threw for 4,000 and 25 TDs last year. KC traded that guy to make way for Mahomes, who, if a little bit more error prone, can beat anyone anytime. That's the business. There's that or whatever the Dolphins are every year.

It's possible Jackson could pan out just so. But I don't see it. He's not a real tall guy. He's a good runner, but he's not anywhere near in Vick's league. (Vick rushed for 6000 yards!) He's never been very accurate. He's a good athlete, but NFL defenses reduce, to a great degree, his ability to turn 15-yard scrambles into 45-yard tour de forces like he did in college. When ESPN built this long, elaborate defense of Jackson partially based on Vick I cringed; Vick could throw a ball 70 yards and outrun an entire defense. Jackson was wonderful in college, but his upside doesn't touch, for example, Deshaun Watson. (Or Jameis Winston, who has all the tools and needs a real HC like Arians.)

5. If the Ravens are serious about maximizing Jackson, they’ll hire Petrino, who is one of the world’s best playcallers and someone who can build an offense around Jackson. The guy's a prick but he can call an offense and develop a QB.

 

Plans discussed to move AFC title game to a larger venue if Chargers end up as host

AFC Championship Game could be held in L.A. Coliseum, possibility of Sunday/Monday title games discussed

 

A conference championship game at the small soccer stadium would be fantastic.
This idea is so bad, it must have Goodell's fingerprints on it.

 

Attendance at StubHub Center, or whatever the new name is, is usually three-quarters visiting fans, one-eighth Chargers fans and one-eighth empty seats. With no large Colts fan base in Southern California, no one is going to attend anyway. Might as well play at Carson High.

 

I tried to buy tickets the week of the Chargers Ravens game in December. The cheapest seat I could find was $250. We decided to watch it on TV and I didn't see an empty seat. Don't be silly, the place would be sold out and regardless of the fan ratio it would be awesome.

 

Some lucky Rams fans are paying off a tenth of their mortgages this week selling to Cowboys fans.

It's the Southland, so that's saying something.

 

Cowboys have held all or part of training camp in Ventura County in the past, so there's that too.

 

It's currently raining in LA, and is supposed to continue all day. Get you unders in now.