Trenches and Defense not QB and firepower

[Goonies]

Let me just say this, Ross has half azzzz this whole process. We should of cleaned house period. Philbin is not I repeat is not a championship coach. Coyle is garbage. We should of cleaned house. I'll give philbin this season and that's it. If we are not in the playoffs next season clean house period.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

The low point in league history was a few years ago when Green Bay won the Super Bowl over Pittsburgh and ran the ball only 10 or 12 times while doing so. It was so sickening I try to forget the specifics, even though I normally remember extreme stats like that for decades.

I'll concede I was concerned the pantyhose passing style might take over the league. You certainly had idiots at Football Outsiders all but giggling that it was a certainty. But I give Schatz credit this season for predicting Seattle over Denver in the Super Bowl during preseason and sticking with it before the game.

Joe Philbin was a part of that Packer team that refused to run the ball. Huge danger zone, as I posted when we hired him. I have no idea how so many posters mock the Parcells method but have no trouble running the ball only 21.8 times per game, which is a proven path to failure if you lack an elite quarterback. Actually, many posters here have grudgingly accepted that the running game is still necessary, just as the Phibin-less Packers knew enough to draft Lacy and Franklin last spring.

There's nothing more beautiful in football than a team constructed like Seattle and exposing the pantyhose passing team as Seattle did yesterday. I can't believe the posts claiming it was a boring game. j-off-her-doll predicted that a lopsided result was possible. Kudos to him. On most sites the happy adjusters were picking Denver, by overboard fixation on Seattle's home/road reputation and trying to claim the receiver matchups favored the Broncos. I like that I don't have to weigh variables. Seattle's YPPA Differential was +2.1 and Denver was +1.6. That was enough for a play on Seattle, and a playoff record of 7-2 against the spread. Yeah, I'm sure I would have equaled that mark as a happy adjuster.

During the Griese years, Dolphin fans literally laughed at the weakling one-dimensional passing teams that faced Miami. There weren't many teams like that in the '70s but we chewed them up unmercifully. Then somehow during the Marino years we willingly became everything that we had mocked. I still have a difficult time believing it, just like it's incomprehensible that we traded the Orange Bowl for Sun Life.

I don't know that it's feasible to successfully emulate Seattle. The 49ers are not as close as it appears. Note how their defense was beaten against Baltimore last year. Even if the 49ers emerge above Seattle they are no cinch to control a top offense as Seattle did.

Seattle found a young general manager with rare ability. We could have tried to pluck someone from their tree but there's no guarantee the underlings share unique insight. My theme has always been that we lack brilliant people atop the organization. I'll give Hickey the benefit of a doubt, even if that search didn't fit any of the methods I would use. Why are we interviewing from scratch, and then scrambling to fill the position to avoid embarrassment? Ideally you would already have a name or two in mind from following their careers and listening to people you respect, and then zero in on them. But as ckparrothead said in a personal message, it's hard to be significantly above average or below average in that position. The market dictates the price for you. Most likely we have another moderate guy, not someone who can uncover late gems simultaneous with hitting big on a reasonable percentage of premium picks.

For a while I was tracking RA's, YPA, yards against, points against, and TO differential. I think I stopped around week 13 (got too depressing, considering that the Dolphins were still in the playoff hunt). But at the time I stopped, Seattle was in the top 5 in every category. I picked them in the preseason based on how I felt they matched up with other potential playoff teams, but seeing the disparity between them and the rest of the league changed them from slight favorites to overwhelming favorites.

It's going to be interesting to see how SF deals with Kaepernick moving forward. During the season, they very obviously limited his running and scrambling in an effort to preserve his health. Going forward, they have do everything possible to finish with a better record than Seattle, and the Cardinals and Rams are very tough for 3rd and 4th place teas in that division. You and I both noted it after the NFC Championship, but Kaepernick's physical talent is the one thing that gives SF a chance when the two teams play. Their secondary isn't nearly as sound as Seattle's, and their pass rush is less consistent. They don't match up as well against teams like Denver and New Orleans.

When you hear about guys willing to take less money to play with Seattle - before they've won anything - that should open eyes. I think Seattle will likely win another title and could win two more. The physicality and quality of the division are concerns; the Patriots didn't have to deal with anything like it when they won their 3 SB's in 4 years. My biggest concern, though, is Pete Carroll's age. He seems - by coaching standards - a well-adjusted guy. I think he'll be honest with himself and leave before he feels he can't do it anymore. I'd love to see him coach into his 70s - assuming that's what he wants - but it's asking a lot of a guy.