2022 NFL Season Thread

[Sylvanfan]

These games always seem to be close. Kelce keeps finding ways to make these big plays. Been lucky to watch him and Tony Gonzalez play tight end for the Chiefs for most of the last 25 years.

Chargers can't afford too many more losses, but if they get a bit healthier they're still a dangerous team

[DropIt]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So I'll throw this analytics/nerd theory I'm seeing out there: Chargers were better off intentionally missing the EP so the Chiefs would have been less aggressive being down 3 versus needing a TD down 4.

But a tie and OT loss gets you crucified

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

If you're a Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings, or Niners fan, you have to be loving what you're seeing tonight. Eagles getting somewhat exposed as an above average team that benifitted from an easy schedule. Combine that with the Bills not being able to avoid finding ways to lose, and the SB is much more wide open than it seemed a couple weeks ago.

As a Vikings fan I can assure you I wasn’t loving anything I saw tonight.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by speede5

As a Vikings fan I can assure you I wasn’t loving anything I saw tonight.

That was from a week ago when Philly was losing to Washington.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

That was from a week ago when Philly was losing to Washington.

Ya I noticed after I posted that I was a couple pages back. Doesn’t change how I feel today though lol.

[dirk diggler]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

Classic Chargers

it was so predictable. I said to my son on the last drive, that KC would march down with no problem and Kelce would get the TD with about 20 seconds left. I was wrong, it was 30 seconds. Seen this script far too often. The Chargers have had a lot of injuries but i see the same script for Herbert as i did with Rivers, i just cant see him winning there. Every year, the talk is about the Chargers talent.... nothing changes

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

it was so predictable. I said to my son on the last drive, that KC would march down with no problem and Kelce would get the TD with about 20 seconds left. I was wrong, it was 30 seconds. Seen this script far too often. The Chargers have had a lot of injuries but i see the same script for Herbert as i did with Rivers, i just cant see him winning there. Every year, the talk is about the Chargers talent.... nothing changes

Nothing is going to change in the AFC West until Andy Reid retires. Hebert is good but he's not Mahomes good and Staley is a middling coach. No match for the Chiefs. Nothing the other AFCW teams do really matters as long as he's coaching the Chiefs. Kelce will be 34 next season and once he slows down it's going to make things more difficult for Mahomes but Reid will find find a way to make it work like he always does. After Walsh he's probably the greatest offensive mind in NFL history IMO.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Has anyone really good come from that McVay coaching tree? McVay himself is overrated, but a lot of the Rams staff around the league and they suck.

[dirk diggler]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Nothing is going to change in the AFC West until Andy Reid retires. Hebert is good but he's not Mahomes good and Staley is a middling coach. No match for the Chiefs. Nothing the other AFCW teams do really matters as long as he's coaching the Chiefs. Kelce will be 34 next season and once he slows down it's going to make things more difficult for Mahomes but Reid will find find a way to make it work like he always does. After Walsh he's probably the greatest offensive mind in NFL history IMO.

do you feel that Herbert would be Mahomes good or close to if he was in KC and Mahomes in LA? i tend to agree with you regarding Reid and the coaching. Always wondered what it would be like if the talented chargers teams of the past were coached by a great coach for several years.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So I'll throw this analytics/nerd theory I'm seeing out there: Chargers were better off intentionally missing the EP so the Chiefs would have been less aggressive being down 3 versus needing a TD down 4.

What about the Chargers scoring too early? They threw on first and second down with under 2 minutes left from the 4. They got a bit lucky that Herbert caught the one knocked down pass to burn a time out for K.C. But 1:46 and two timeouts is too much time for 80% of the teams in this league let alone a top tier one.

I guess they did get the ball back with 30 seconds on 3 time outs only needing a field goal.

After the Allen play the first down, Eckeler getting that first down to put them on the 4 with two minutes left put them in a bad situation...he probably should have stopped at 8 yards and sat down in hindsight so they could run for an easy first down after that and burn more clock.

[ResAlien]

Finally and it’s way too late but Melvin Gordon’s a free agent

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

do you feel that Herbert would be Mahomes good or close to if he was in KC and Mahomes in LA? i tend to agree with you regarding Reid and the coaching. Always wondered what it would be like if the talented chargers teams of the past were coached by a great coach for several years.

The Chargers need to do something about their Oilers calibre team doctors. Organization seems to have similar people skills too. Every year they have injuries that seem to sink their season.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

do you feel that Herbert would be Mahomes good or close to if he was in KC and Mahomes in LA? i tend to agree with you regarding Reid and the coaching. Always wondered what it would be like if the talented chargers teams of the past were coached by a great coach for several years.

I think Andy could replicate a lot of the same success with Hebert but there is some stuff Mahomes does that other QB's don't do. A lot of teams should have Sean Payton on speed dial including the Chargers.

[SuperMatt18]

Honestly Mahomes is underrated at this point.

You see people compare Herbert and even Josh Allen to him...and honestly I'm not sure they are in the same stratosphere in terms of week to week, season to season ability to be consistently elite.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Honestly Mahomes is underrated at this point.

You see people compare Herbert and even Josh Allen to him...and honestly I'm not sure they are in the same stratosphere in terms of week to week, season to season ability to be consistently elite.

Experience and situation also needs to be taken into account too.

Mahomes was drafted 10th overall because a first place team who won 12 games the prior year traded up for him and he sat all but one game that year playing for a first place team. So from the beginning he had a really good situation as s player. He's now in year 6 of his career all with the same HC and the last 5 with the same OC and a lot of continuity with the coaching staff.

This year Mahomes is balancing out the athleticism he has with smarts and experience to push his game to another level. 12 months ago...he had to dial things back because he had been struggling much like what we see with Josh Allen right now. He had to learn the balance of being patient and when to take risks to make big plays.

So Mahomes is an awesome elite QB, and he is the Alpha of the current group of under 30 QB's in the league. But there's a pretty good stack of guys in Allen, Burrow, Jackson, Herbert, and Hurts who are 24 to 26 and less experience behind him who will challenge. Even Tua might hang around as the Joe Flacco am I elite guy with that group. Deshaun Watson despite being out of the game for nearly two years is still the same age as Mahomes.

So as these other guys complete their rookie deals and get to their next contracts it will be more even to compare them. The issue for Herbert is that the Chargers might waste two years with him being a productive guy on a cheap deal that they can surround with Superior proven talent. The two better comparables for him are Tua and Burrow. One has been to a Superbowl, the other is on a first place team, and both currently are on teams in playoff spots. 7 weeks is a lot of season to play, but if the Chargers miss the playoffs and Mac Jones doesn't...it won't be a good look for them.

[SuperMatt18]

Here's the thing...I don't disagree those guys are good quarterbacks but IMO Mahomes is just a level above and shouldn't be mentioned as a comparable. He doesn't have comparables in that group.

Nobody comes close to what he did in 2018, or his super Bowl win in 2019 and a super bowl appearance in 2020. He's on another level this season too.

Watson is probably actually the closest to him stats wise...but his off-field issues leave him a tier below.

Lamar is probably the closest impact wise when he's at the top of his game, but he's not nearly as consistent as Mahomes. Same thing with Allen.

Maybe one of Herbert, Hurts, Burrow, Tua, etc could get to his level but they aren't close yet.

Sure he had the best situation to be groomed into and grow with Reid, Hill, and Kelce, but it's still discounting how good he is if you don't think he's at least one level above those guys.

Honestly he's at that Lebron James level where he could be MVP every single season...but he needs to have a better season than those guys around him because he's so good he almost gets held to a different standard. He had 700 more passing yards, and same passing TDs as Rodgers last year, and his team was just as good, and wasn't even really mentioned in MVP discussion for some reason. Look what happened to Rodgers without Adams, Mahomes loses Hill and didn't miss a beat.

2019 and 2021 were considered down years for him in the regular season. 2019 he had 26 TD, 5 INTS, went 11-3, and a 77.7 QBR, oh and won a super bowl. 2021 he went 37 TDs, 13 INTs, and went 12-5 with a 62.2 QBR. Those are career years for other guys and people call those regular seasons disappointing for him.

I honestly think he's starting to be underrated.

And I doubt the Chargers care if Mac Jones makes the playoffs and Herbert doesnt'...doesn't change that Herbert is the better QB all day long.

[Erick Estrada]

As far as I'm concerned Mahomes is in his own tier. The rest of the league starts a tier below him. Hurts and Tua are several tiers below him and I doubt that ever changes. Burrow has a chance to get into the conversation but he takes too much sacks. Allen turns the ball over too much. Hebert is falling into Rivers territory stuck in the Chargers vortex. Fans love the shiny new things but I don't think any of them are close to Mahomes.

[Sylvanfan]

I think Josh Allen is very close to Mahomes. He's a year back in terms of experience and I think he's running pretty close. Mahomes flat out best him in the 2021 AFC Title game, but tell me what Allen needed to do in the game in January save win a coin toss? He played him even just didn't get the luck. We'll see the rest of this year and these playoffs how he stacks up with another year of experience.
These guys are still young enough that the experience matters.

The Chargers should care if they miss the playoffs. They're squandering a hell of an opportunity with a good young QB.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

If they aren't starting Flacco or even Mike White next week they are admitting this season is over. Wilson isn't the answer right now, and probably not ever, so why keep persisting with him? He's dog####.

certainly sounds like they'll make a change.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1594815886891708417

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I think Josh Allen is very close to Mahomes. He's a year back in terms of experience and I think he's running pretty close. Mahomes flat out best him in the 2021 AFC Title game, but tell me what Allen needed to do in the game in January save win a coin toss? He played him even just didn't get the luck. We'll see the rest of this year and these playoffs how he stacks up with another year of experience.
These guys are still young enough that the experience matters.

The Chargers should care if they miss the playoffs. They're squandering a hell of an opportunity with a good young QB.

I think in one game that Allen might be able to keep up with Mahomes, pure talent wise. But when it comes to game to game, season to season consistency, and being able to be a game breaker each and every week…it’s not close yet.

And sorry missed the point in your original post - thought you were somehow saying they’d rather have Mac Jones.