UnluckyforSome

Just try to enjoy it for what it is. I don't need to convince myself that Young is good. He isn't. If this team makes the playoffs with the cinder block of Young dragging them down all season, even better. But, some crucial things still need to happen, and being close, and moral victories, and at-least-they-tried isn't good enough.

Because he is confident they are measurably better than us, and he doesn't want his team buying into the talk about being losers and flopping at the end of the season. Not saying it is right, not saying it will be effective. They've won the division 5 or 6 straight times though, and were the favorite to win this year as well. The bottom has fallen out only since their bye week. At 1 point there was talk of being #1 in the NFC and Mayfield as MVP.

If it hinges on pass rush, we are in trouble. No argument about the first two on your list.

Somewhat ironically, BYU, previously before joining a reformulated Big 12, was also an Independent.

Well, mostly for lack of anyone else, he is our sack leader as well.

Not that we really have the pass rush to make hay out of this, but..it can't hinder things.

Upfront, I was disappointed with the games last year. After it was all said and done, there really seemed to be an overwhelming hope that something similar to the basketball tournament would be created with this format. Cinderellas work in basketball for a few reasons, notably 1 player can have far more impact, positive or negative, on a 5-person team. Every year there are a handful of teams that have a real claim to being a national champion contender. James Madison and Tulane have no shot. The same thing can be said about most of the other teams in the field. Expanding it to more and more teams isn't going to have the effect of bringing in more contenders. It will have the effect of making up more 1-sided games instead. But, it is more football. Quantity over quality I guess. I can't wait until it moves up to 20 or 24 teams, or even more. Let every team in with 7 wins. That is bowl-eligible, plus 1. Maybe this year will be different and it will be full of good, close games, with compelling performances between the very best teams in the country. I kind of doubt it though.

I would rather see a return to the old way of doing it. Go back to pre-BCS days. It will not happen, but this has rapidly become a bunch of petty foolishness and a money-grab.

It is more how exhausting and tedious everything becomes with the extreme over-exposure. The tv commercials that run constantly. The coverage that is over-the-top because everyone wants to constantly hear how great they are. It's the next big thing! Popularity breeds contempt.

No matter what, it should always be remembered, the mascot is a black cat.

Unless it is a Panthers dynasty of course.

The change has been teams playing two high safeties to choke off big passing numbers. Your top tier qbs still produce though, and I do not think it will translate into an economic shift across positions in the league. The premium positions, qb, lt, pass rush, will still be the premiums.

There is still time to have them as double digit underdogs.

100% and the worst part of all that was it being predicated on the assumption they had the qb in place. I would not even be sure he plays next season now with how late this injury occurred. No matter what, Jones isn't going to be available next September.

The problem with that is that the Falcons look like they have called it a season.