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I'm glad the Jets won, both because I'm a Seahawks fan and because I don't want 0-16 seasons to become too frequent(I was kinda bummed when the '17 Browns went 0-16 because I wanted to go another few decades without an 0-16 team after the '08 Lions).
Would that it were so simple.
Thank god the Jets spoiled their tank. New England can land the finishing blow by losing out and sending Trevor Lawrence to Jacksonville.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Vegas sports fans have finally learned they can't have their teams make it to the playoffs every year(BTW, I notice the Raiders' second stint in Oakland actually lasted longer than the first).
Would that it were so simple.
The Jets win again, lol. NY def. Cleveland, 23-16. Jacksonville has the No. 1 overall pick.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
vicarious
Who could have foreseen this turn of fortune
Would that it were so simple.
Cleveland losing to a bottom feeder team with the playoffs on the line is, even in a year like 2020, the most Cleveland thing ever, tbh.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
So, drumroll please! All times Eastern.
Saturday: Colts at Bills 1:05, Rams at Seahawks 4:40, Buccaneers at Washington 8:15
Sunday: Ravens at Titans 1:05, Bears at Saints 4:40, Browns at Steelers 8:15
Chiefs and Packers on bye.
With not alot of analysis, if I were to bet right now I'd say Bills-Packers Super Bowl.
Would that it were so simple.
So:
The Super Bowl
My pick: Bucs v. Chiefs.
The 2020 Classic: [Redacted] v. Browns.
The safest bet: Packers v. Chiefs.
Wild Card Round
Bills vs. Colts: Bills by 4 points.
Rams vs. Seahawks: Rams by 1 point.
Buccaneers vs. [Redacted]: Bucs by 14 points.
Ravens vs. Titans: Titans by 5 points.
Bears vs. Saints: Saints by 14 points.
Browns vs. Steelers: Browns by 5 points.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
One thing that's gotta be a bummer for Patriots fans is that their first nonwinning season since 2000 prevented them from tying the NFL record for most consecutive winning seasons, held by the Cowboys from 1966-85.
Would that it were so simple.
Well, I mean, duh. Losing in general stings. And it might be one less, but those are nineteen seasons in the salary cap and free agency era, immensely harder to pull off. We'll never see its like again.
7-9 with a depleted roster and a COVID outbreak is an over-achievement based on what the 2020 Patriots were on paper.
In any case, Adam Gase was just fired, and I'm torn over whether it was because the Jets won too many games or won too few. With an organization as impoverished as they, they might not have been tanking at all. They might just really be that terrible.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Would that it were so simple.
So apparently some Eagles players had to be physically held back from fighting Doug Pederson
when he tanked their Week 17 game.
Some were angry. Two defensive players had to be held back from approaching Pederson. Center Jason Kelce and another offensive starter went to the coach to ask him why he had pulled the starting quarterback with the Eagles trailing by only three.
Hurts was distraught, as well. Even though he had been told Wednesday that there was a chance Sudfeld could play, he couldn’t understand why Pederson would make the switch, sources close to the situation said.
The NBC broadcast caught Hurts on the bench after he was replaced apparently saying, “That’s not right.”
“As a competitor, I play to win,” Hurts said after the game when asked for his reaction. “You have to trust [Pederson’s plan].”
In many cases, Eagles players and assistants had no inclination that Sudfeld was part of the offensive game plan, and if they did, they figured it had been abandoned because of the tight score.
I was wondering: how do sports teams in general stay motivated to win games in which they don't really have anything at stake(and in some cases actually benefit by losing)?
vicarious
Professional pride?
No one should want to be a quitter
The goals of players and the goals of the front office don't align — front office may want better draft picks but players may be playing for new contracts elsewhere. Players won't care about draft position if they're not going to be around when that draft pick makes an impact a few years from now.
Would that it were so simple.
There can be performance-based incentives tied to their performance during the season. It can affect their selection to the Pro Bowl or as an All-Pro, which can have deeper implications on their career.
Draft picks are fundamentally just lottery tickets. You don't know if your No. 1 overall will pan out. But there isn't any saving a team where losing has become normalized.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Does the team get any incentive for players to hit their performance bonuses? (Other than keeping said player happy obviously.)
I believe that performance bonuses are split into "likely to get" and "unlikely to get".
"Likely to get" bonuses are immediately applied against the current year's cap number and so the money is considered spent in salary cap terms before the season starts. "Unlikely to get" bonuses are only accrued to the salary cap if the target is met, and I'm not sure what year it gets applied to (the current year or the next year)
It just strikes me that for some targets a lot of it is in the hands of coaches etc. Like say Alvin Kamara had an unlikely to get target of scoring seven touchdowns in one game. That would put a completely different spin on the decision to have Taysom Hill run it in, as they would be specifically denying the opportunity for Alvin to make his target, which saves them money.
I guess there are a few too many conflict of interest potentials which gets me worried, and personally teams should be rewarded for having their players achieve their goals. I don't know, maybe say the team which awards the highest amount of performance bonus cash Vs potential bonus cash gets an additional fourth round draft pick or something.
The salary cap always hurts my brain...
Financially, I don't think so. At least directly. The purported firewall against owners trying to manipulate gameday decisions to avoid doing that is the fact that general managers and coaches are in the way, but even then there have been accusations of players being sat or otherwise held back from the chance at reaching incentive clauses for financial rather than athletic reasons.
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
I got a question for a story.
Which football position is the best and the worst for a big, strong, but nimble guy with a strong wrestling background?
For the best, I'm guessing the most obvious pick is linebacker, and for the worst, probably runningback?
I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.
Define nimble - that was the only ambiguous term. Big and strong tend to nice things to have in any player at any position. Also, how fast can your guy run? There does tend to be a clear difference between speed positions (wide receivers and cornerbacks) and strength positions (linebackers / tight end).
I'd have more questions about your guy from a personality standpoint as that might help differentiate between certain spots. For example, being in the offensive line is generally seen as a thankless task, so if your guy is someone who is happy to let others take the credit and enjoys being part of a close knit team then O-Line might be his natural home.
I would say though - NFL player is a pretty high bar, and the wrestling background wouldn't really come into it. Someone who played in college would be more believable - I could imagine someone getting a scholarship as a wrester but then trying out for the football team as a walk-on, and eventually earning a scholarship due to his abilities.
Please note: I have never played American Football, only a (British) observer. You might say that makes me more qualified if you are trying to leverage American Football tropes for your story - but I have never worn the pads, taken a hit etc. and I will always say that you really do have to play a sport to fully understand and appreciate it.
Edited by singularityshot on Jan 15th 2021 at 8:43:34 AM
Would that it were so simple.
Offensive tackle or a pass rushing linebacker. Nimbleness and lateral quickness is really important for working the line of scrimmage.
Am I a weirdo?
I'd say offensive tackle is good. I know a lot of offensive line coaches actually look for a wrestling background. However, it would depend a bit on other personality traits. If your character is more aggressive or impulsive, you'd want a defensive end or pass rushing linebacker. Offensive tackle would likely emphasize a slightly more controlled and disciplined character. On the other hand, if your character is more of an intelligent leader type, you could make him a center.
Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
Thanks for the answers! should've been a lot more specific.
As for "nimble," I used that word to encompass that he has flexibility, good reflex, and fast on his feet. He can dodge a sucker punch thrown from behind, do cartwheels and backflips despite weighing over 200 lbs, and he can sprint 100 m in about 10.9 seconds.
And for his personality, he's really loud, boisterous, highly aggressive, loves getting physical, and doesn't mind playing dirty every once in a while. At the same time, he understands the importance of discipline and organization (he actually applies to the US Naval Academy and rises up all the way to an admiral in the future), so getting the spotlight is a non-priority for him.
Offensive tackle sounds good.
Edited by dRoy on Jan 16th 2021 at 1:23:43 AM
I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.
Heh, this discussion got me thinking: how could we apply a Five Man Band template to the O-Line? Just for fun of course, and since it'll be a stretch for some of the definitions I'd never actually add it to the trope page, but still, this is my first attempt...
The Leader: Centre
The Lancer: Left Guard
The Smart Guy: Left Tackle
The Big Guy: Right Tackle
The Chick: Right Guard
The Sixth Ranger: Any time there is a Tackle Eligible.
Tell me why I am wrong below!
Edited by singularityshot on Jan 15th 2021 at 9:46:17 AM
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
The center is the quarterback, right?
I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.
Would that it were so simple.
Sixth ranger is the tight end or a fullback.
The center is the guy who stands in front of the quarterback.
Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Jan 15th 2021 at 2:27:45 PM
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."