Somebody needs to do a deep dive on first round quarterbacks and rank their situation when they came into the league. Coaching, surrounding players including offensive lineman, stability of the franchise, etc. I would love to see how those add up. I bet there would be more of a correlation between success and the situation vs when they were drafted
I see some sort of plus/minus system working here. -100 if you are drafted by the Browns. +100 if you are drafted by a team that is coached by Andy Reid.
I don’t know what the Patriots are waiting for in order to go back to those awesome uniforms. Can’t we just admit that the teams who switched uniforms in the awful sports fashion era (late 90’s to mid 00’s) made a big mistake? It’s been 20 years. We all made bad decisions back then, like painting the walls in our house green. Patriots, Broncos, Vikings and Giants all need to switch back. And don’t get me started on how the Texans should be the Oilers and wearing powder blue.
I can’t be the only one who would thoroughly enjoy Joe writing a Steelers anti-diary, as he savors every bit of implosion by one of most-despised teams. Then again, with his luck, he would start writing just as they turned their season around.
It seems as though the 49ers - admittedly my team - have been completely glossed over during this whole process. I'm not upset about it, and I love this whole series of fantastic articles (the Chicago bit about the ketchup had me cackling with knowing joy for a while), but I can't recall seeing a single reason why the 49ers don't do anything for you, and they were completely forgotten when mentioning the Bills defensive prowess this season and how few points allowed they have. The Niners have been their equal in that category, while being a scary, swarming defense at all levels on the field. Injuries are the only thing that will prevent them from being possibly the clear best in the league by season's end. Curious what your actual thoughts are on the 49ers, and why they've never really entered this experiment, as either an option, or even really an actual team in the NFL.
I think Joe likes the struggle and suffering. And he seems drawn to the Rust Belt/industrial cities that have also struggled. The Niners have won a bunch of Super Bowls, they are located in what is probably the richest area in the United States, and an area with fantastic natural beauty and very nice weather.
That's totally fair. And as someobody who's a Niners, Orioles, and Sacramento effing Kings fan, I know all the things about struggle and suffering haha. Granted the Niners have their 5 rings, their last one was the '94 season, when I was 9, and became a fan. It's all been heartbreak in huge moments or long stretches of ineptitude since. But we have a lot of stellar history, and all-time players, and I'd understand if he just never even entertained them as a team. Though part of my point was that they don't even really seem to exist in Joe's world as an NFL fan haha.
"And the Bills are 4-1, they probably should be 5-0, and they look pretty close to invincible. They have allowed, by far, the fewest points in the NFL."
Not that it takes away from the point of your Bills assessment, but that 2nd sentence should say, "They and the 49ers have allowed, by far, the fewest points in the NFL." They both have allowed 61. Next place team has allowed 80.
I've literally never met another haha. I'm 37, and from Iowa, so it was either pick the midwest teams everybody else I knew did, or find my own. And there was Cal Ripken, Jerry Rice, and Steve Young to very quickly steal my allegiance, and here we are. Cheers!
As much as I would like to see you pick the Chiefs, I can see the pull of the Bills. Close to the same area, never won a Super Bowl (I was a fan of the Marv Levy era Bills that made it 4 consecutive times - not my favorite team, obviously, but they would have had a big + at the time on Joe's happiness scale), sporting a QB that his Browns passed on, and already a very good team.
But sometimes it is hard to take on a team you have never rooted for and have no history with when they are that good. Unless you are just that bandwagon type, and Joe does not seem like that. You kind of feel like and 80s 49ers fan, a 90s Cowboys fan, or a 2000's Patriots fan. You haven't been through the hard times to properly appreciate the success.
He has been through it with the Chiefs, though. From teams coached up to good records by Marty Schottenheimer that couldn't win in the playoffs, to the Dick Vermeil Priest Holmes Trent Green teams that couldn't be stopped and also couldn't stop anyone. (The 2004 Chiefs had an average of of over 57 points scored + given up per game. I don't know if that is a record, but it should be.) Then his last season covering them being a team in disarray - a 2-14 season with a guy named Tyler Thigpen as their starting QB, firing their GM and coach, trading Tony Gonzalez, and being the worst team in the NFL. I think that history, along with the chance for weekly bonding with his daughter, will put the Chiefs over the top.
And the Giants? The New Jersey Giants? You can’t be serious (ok, as Jerz boy I might be a fan - my team! line the Devils! - but they refuse to be honest, so: No)
You can take the boy out of Cleveland, but you can never take Cleveland out of the boy. With the whole country to choose from, all but one of Joe's finalists are not just from the rust-belt, but within spitting distance of Lake Erie.
Joe, please come and join Bills Mafia… you’ll feel better about the bandwagon than you would with Kansas City (and you wouldn’t have to deal with any inconvenient familial I-told-you-sos). When they win, you’ll be on top of the world with us, the most fun fans of all time, a foundational member of a championship legacy. Can you imagine what Buffalo will look like when it happens? They’ll destroy every folding table in the 716. Plus! If they make it far and then somehow lose, hell, you’ll be reminded of the good ol’ days in Cleveland (which is what you might be looking for in Detroit). It’s a win/win.
We haven’t reached the mountaintop yet, there’s plenty of time to jump aboard this rocket just before takeoff!
There is an elephant in the room with this team search and Kansas City that I haven't seen Joe write about yet. Given his beliefs on the Guardians name change and his advocacy for the Atlanta Hammers, it would be hard to embrace a team doing the tomahawk chop. But, it can be just as hard to condemn these things outright when friends and family have embraced a team. The point has been made many times that no fanbase is completely free from these issues, but the tomahawk chop is pretty glaringly gross. Also, ignoring these things when adopting a team as an adult seems worse than when you inherit a team as a child, although logically I am not sure there is a difference. Hopefully Joe addresses this in coming weeks because he probably has some interesting insights.
As a Bills fan, I cannot emphasize enough that we represent Salvatore in your story.
We spent almost 20 years watching Don Brady prance to superstardom year after year, and we could only dream about a taste of that glory.
Now, the franchise has painstakingly assembled a juggernaut, and we're still processing what it means to possibly be the best team in the NFL.
AND YET... being a Bills fan means always looking over your shoulder for what's going to trip you up. Two excruciating playoff losses to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last two years won't easily be forgotten.
It might look like it's a breeze being a Bills fan in 2022, but the real ones will tell you, we're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Is this real life? We're still not sure.
Yup. This. And I know I am not alone in BillsWorld when I say I cringe every time Allen takes off with the ball up the middle and locks eyes with the Safety. Slide Josh Slide...
Is there any reason why you can’t root for (enjoy) multiple teams? That short list is a bunch of very old franchises that for one reason or another you enjoy watching. Why not just enjoy them all!
Alternatively, since you haven’t officially rooted for every team in the list, maybe you get to the end and decide that you want to root for Buffalo, KC, and Philadelphia, all for different reasons. Seems perfectly reasonable!
“I’m digging these New York Jets. It’s a team filled with cool names — Breece Hall, Braxton Berrios, C.J. Uzomah, Sauce Gardner.”
{Trying desperately to wake from a dream . . . but strangely not really wanting to}
“It looks like Zach Wilson can play.”
{No. I’m TRYING to wake up now}
I’m looking forward to my Jets week.
{Zzzzzzzzz}
Somebody needs to do a deep dive on first round quarterbacks and rank their situation when they came into the league. Coaching, surrounding players including offensive lineman, stability of the franchise, etc. I would love to see how those add up. I bet there would be more of a correlation between success and the situation vs when they were drafted
I see some sort of plus/minus system working here. -100 if you are drafted by the Browns. +100 if you are drafted by a team that is coached by Andy Reid.
I don’t know what the Patriots are waiting for in order to go back to those awesome uniforms. Can’t we just admit that the teams who switched uniforms in the awful sports fashion era (late 90’s to mid 00’s) made a big mistake? It’s been 20 years. We all made bad decisions back then, like painting the walls in our house green. Patriots, Broncos, Vikings and Giants all need to switch back. And don’t get me started on how the Texans should be the Oilers and wearing powder blue.
I can’t be the only one who would thoroughly enjoy Joe writing a Steelers anti-diary, as he savors every bit of implosion by one of most-despised teams. Then again, with his luck, he would start writing just as they turned their season around.
It seems as though the 49ers - admittedly my team - have been completely glossed over during this whole process. I'm not upset about it, and I love this whole series of fantastic articles (the Chicago bit about the ketchup had me cackling with knowing joy for a while), but I can't recall seeing a single reason why the 49ers don't do anything for you, and they were completely forgotten when mentioning the Bills defensive prowess this season and how few points allowed they have. The Niners have been their equal in that category, while being a scary, swarming defense at all levels on the field. Injuries are the only thing that will prevent them from being possibly the clear best in the league by season's end. Curious what your actual thoughts are on the 49ers, and why they've never really entered this experiment, as either an option, or even really an actual team in the NFL.
I think Joe likes the struggle and suffering. And he seems drawn to the Rust Belt/industrial cities that have also struggled. The Niners have won a bunch of Super Bowls, they are located in what is probably the richest area in the United States, and an area with fantastic natural beauty and very nice weather.
That's totally fair. And as someobody who's a Niners, Orioles, and Sacramento effing Kings fan, I know all the things about struggle and suffering haha. Granted the Niners have their 5 rings, their last one was the '94 season, when I was 9, and became a fan. It's all been heartbreak in huge moments or long stretches of ineptitude since. But we have a lot of stellar history, and all-time players, and I'd understand if he just never even entertained them as a team. Though part of my point was that they don't even really seem to exist in Joe's world as an NFL fan haha.
"And the Bills are 4-1, they probably should be 5-0, and they look pretty close to invincible. They have allowed, by far, the fewest points in the NFL."
Not that it takes away from the point of your Bills assessment, but that 2nd sentence should say, "They and the 49ers have allowed, by far, the fewest points in the NFL." They both have allowed 61. Next place team has allowed 80.
As a 49ers AND Orioles fan, I very much appreciate this comment from you haha
Wow, same here. Don't often run across that combo haha.
I've literally never met another haha. I'm 37, and from Iowa, so it was either pick the midwest teams everybody else I knew did, or find my own. And there was Cal Ripken, Jerry Rice, and Steve Young to very quickly steal my allegiance, and here we are. Cheers!
As much as I would like to see you pick the Chiefs, I can see the pull of the Bills. Close to the same area, never won a Super Bowl (I was a fan of the Marv Levy era Bills that made it 4 consecutive times - not my favorite team, obviously, but they would have had a big + at the time on Joe's happiness scale), sporting a QB that his Browns passed on, and already a very good team.
But sometimes it is hard to take on a team you have never rooted for and have no history with when they are that good. Unless you are just that bandwagon type, and Joe does not seem like that. You kind of feel like and 80s 49ers fan, a 90s Cowboys fan, or a 2000's Patriots fan. You haven't been through the hard times to properly appreciate the success.
He has been through it with the Chiefs, though. From teams coached up to good records by Marty Schottenheimer that couldn't win in the playoffs, to the Dick Vermeil Priest Holmes Trent Green teams that couldn't be stopped and also couldn't stop anyone. (The 2004 Chiefs had an average of of over 57 points scored + given up per game. I don't know if that is a record, but it should be.) Then his last season covering them being a team in disarray - a 2-14 season with a guy named Tyler Thigpen as their starting QB, firing their GM and coach, trading Tony Gonzalez, and being the worst team in the NFL. I think that history, along with the chance for weekly bonding with his daughter, will put the Chiefs over the top.
Yeah, it’s gotta be the Bills.
The Chiefs? Huh? Absolutely not.
And the Giants? The New Jersey Giants? You can’t be serious (ok, as Jerz boy I might be a fan - my team! line the Devils! - but they refuse to be honest, so: No)
Are Lions worth all the agony?
Browns? Didn’t they move to Baltimore or somewhere?
So again: the Bills! (games in the snow go with!)
You can take the boy out of Cleveland, but you can never take Cleveland out of the boy. With the whole country to choose from, all but one of Joe's finalists are not just from the rust-belt, but within spitting distance of Lake Erie.
Joe, please come and join Bills Mafia… you’ll feel better about the bandwagon than you would with Kansas City (and you wouldn’t have to deal with any inconvenient familial I-told-you-sos). When they win, you’ll be on top of the world with us, the most fun fans of all time, a foundational member of a championship legacy. Can you imagine what Buffalo will look like when it happens? They’ll destroy every folding table in the 716. Plus! If they make it far and then somehow lose, hell, you’ll be reminded of the good ol’ days in Cleveland (which is what you might be looking for in Detroit). It’s a win/win.
We haven’t reached the mountaintop yet, there’s plenty of time to jump aboard this rocket just before takeoff!
There is an elephant in the room with this team search and Kansas City that I haven't seen Joe write about yet. Given his beliefs on the Guardians name change and his advocacy for the Atlanta Hammers, it would be hard to embrace a team doing the tomahawk chop. But, it can be just as hard to condemn these things outright when friends and family have embraced a team. The point has been made many times that no fanbase is completely free from these issues, but the tomahawk chop is pretty glaringly gross. Also, ignoring these things when adopting a team as an adult seems worse than when you inherit a team as a child, although logically I am not sure there is a difference. Hopefully Joe addresses this in coming weeks because he probably has some interesting insights.
Wait, why did Da Bears get ruled out? Justin Fields just threw for a season high 208 yards!!!
Justin Fields threw for a season high 208 yards.
The Bills are the best storyline in the NFL right now. I say get on board!
As a Bills fan, I cannot emphasize enough that we represent Salvatore in your story.
We spent almost 20 years watching Don Brady prance to superstardom year after year, and we could only dream about a taste of that glory.
Now, the franchise has painstakingly assembled a juggernaut, and we're still processing what it means to possibly be the best team in the NFL.
AND YET... being a Bills fan means always looking over your shoulder for what's going to trip you up. Two excruciating playoff losses to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last two years won't easily be forgotten.
It might look like it's a breeze being a Bills fan in 2022, but the real ones will tell you, we're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Is this real life? We're still not sure.
Yup. This. And I know I am not alone in BillsWorld when I say I cringe every time Allen takes off with the ball up the middle and locks eyes with the Safety. Slide Josh Slide...
Is there any reason why you can’t root for (enjoy) multiple teams? That short list is a bunch of very old franchises that for one reason or another you enjoy watching. Why not just enjoy them all!
Alternatively, since you haven’t officially rooted for every team in the list, maybe you get to the end and decide that you want to root for Buffalo, KC, and Philadelphia, all for different reasons. Seems perfectly reasonable!
Just give in to the urges. Make the Posnanskis a 100% Chiefs family.