Scathing FO article on Steelers vs. Tampa

[Ghost]

Wow. I'm not certain where all of this hostility is coming from, but I'm going to attempt to explain this belief with a minimum of snide contrariness and a complete absence of ellipses.

It isn't necessarily the case that anyone believes that all coaches are the same, all teams are the same, etc.

But, it is a fact that all teams draft from the same talent pool and just about every coach has learned strategies and philosophies from other coaches on different teams. If those strategies weren't explicitly taught, coaches look at film. And copy things that they see and incorporate them
into their own play books.

Now, a better way to state the point would be this:

If Seattle and Jacksonville played 10 times, Seattle would probably win 9 out of those 10 times. But, since they don't play 10 times, there is always the chance that the game could be the hypothetical 1 in 10. The differences in the talent and coaching aren't so great that a win can be fully guaranteed each and every Sunday. This has led to the popularity of so-called "suicide pools".

Because there is only one game per week, the stakes of winning are much greater than baseball or basketball.

Every single week, there are so-called "stunning upsets" in the NFL. My question is, if these upsets happen virtually every week, why are the so stunning? These upsets seem fairly commonplace.

The 0-16 Detroit Lions are brought up. The thing is, 4 of their losses were by 7 points or less. One of those was a 2 point loss. It isn't as though they were not competitive in all 16 games.

By that same token, there has been only one 16-0 regular season, and that team lost in the SB to a wild
card team.

I can't speak for anyone else, but part of the reason that I find the NFL compelling is that very real possibility of an upset. Unfortunately, sometimes, the Steelers happen to be on the receiving end.

This is a nice write up. Sincerely. Has a lot of well reasoned thought and gets your point across without telling anyone else they don't understand the game or insulting them or telling them how you are a more enlightened poster because of your opinion, etc.

There is nothing wrong with differences of opinion. In fact they're great. Drives interesting discussion. And you can argue with someone on one point and then agree in a different thread. But constantly telling people they don't grasp the nuances of the game is tiresome. Especially when it's not true.

[Slapstick]

This is a nice write up. Sincerely. Has a lot of well reasoned thought and gets your point across without telling anyone else they don't understand the game or insulting them or telling them how you are a more enlightened poster because of your opinion, etc.

There is nothing wrong with differences of opinion. In fact they're great. Drives interesting discussion. And you can argue with someone on one point and then agree in a different thread. But constantly telling people they don't grasp the nuances of the game is tiresome. Especially when it's not true.

If that's what you took some of my previous posts to mean, that was not the intent.

Now, I did absolutely mess with some people I thought were freaking out. I will probably do so again (though I really hope that it is not today!).

Let's just sit back and (hopefully) watch the Steelers put a beat down on the Jacksonville Jagoffs.

[Mr.wizard]

Do you sing any other tune? It's so tiresome listening to your stupidity. According to you all teams are the same, all coaches are the same, and every team has the same talent level. Jacksonville is equal to Seattle....

I'm sure the 0-16 Lions were no less superior than any other team in the league that year. Please stop posting your nonsense. The board is exhauseted having to listen to a know nothing tool.

I'm 100% positive you have been the least fun person at every party you have ever attended your entire life. People pray (including atheists) that you don't come over and talk to them.

Whoa Whoa Whoa! I actually agree with a lot of what he is saying here, if you notice he said 80% to 90% of the teams are not better than one another by a wide margin. This is true, an NFL game can turn on one mistake and any team can win any sunday, this is because there is a high level of parity. certain teams just matchup differently against other teams, mostly due to philosophy and scheme.

[BURGH86STEEL]

So you don't understand the hostility and then proceed to say, some people will never truly understand, disappointment clouds judgement, people would rather live with anger than see enlightenment, that you have a better understanding of why a team loses, and that people are stubborn.

5 separate statements of condesending, narcissistic garbage with no intent other than tell people you have a better grip on how the game works. And every post you make is some variation of this theme. It shouldn't be hard to understand at all.

I don't believe anything I posted was condescending. You choose to take it how you wanted. The fact remains that some people will never understand certain things regardless of the facts presented. Do you notice the same arguments and statements being rehashed over and over again? Many of those arguments/opinions are rooted in stubbornness, even when facts are presented.

Implying that this team simply plays down to the level of the competition shows a lack of respect for the competition and lack of understanding of how any opponent can win on any given Sunday based on different factors.

I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I don't care what you think of me or my opinons. If you don't like what I post then don't read it.

[Ghost]

I don't believe anything I posted was condescending. You choose to take it how you wanted. The fact remains that some people will never understand certain things regardless of the facts presented. Do you notice the same arguments and statements being rehashed over and over again? Many of those arguments/opinions are rooted in stubbornness, even when facts are presented.

Implying that this team simply plays down to the level of the competition shows a lack of respect for the competition and lack of understanding of how any opponent can win on any given Sunday based on different factors.

I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I don't care what you think of me or my opinons. If you don't like what I post then don't read it.

Of course you don't care. You're the guy who would be driving North on the South side of the highway wondering why hundreds of other people are wrong. And my feelings aren't hurt in the least.