Is the overall talent level of the NFL in a "down" year?

[RealSNR]

And WTF does that mean?

Somebody showed me the podcast from Monday's PTI show. After Wilbon and Bob Ryan discussed the Donks loss, they moved to talking about the Chiefs as the last undefeated team in the 2nd segment. The question was "Are the Chiefs possibly the best team in the NFL?"

Bob Ryan did the usual, "No, who have they played, they seem to only squeak by bad teams instead of asserting dominance yadda yadda." He continued on, though, and said, "What this shows with the Chiefs being the NFL's last remaining unbeaten is that the overall talent level is down this year. There is a lack of truly dominant teams."

They continued the rest of the discussion without qualifying what that meant. Wilbon and Ryan both gave credit to Andy Reid and the KC D and oddly enough Alex Smith for telling the Niners to go **** themselves and continuing to win on a new team. So it wasn't all negative shit about the Chiefs.

My question is do you have any idea what Ryan possibly meant by this, and do you agree with it if you do?

[Direckshun]

I won't say that there's a lack of talent (WTF does that mean?), or that there's a lack of elite teams.

But the parity this year seems totally non existent.

You have three classes of teams right now about as clear as you've ever seen it. 10 teams are really good. 10 teams are absolute shit town. The gap between those two groups is hellaciously large.

It's pretty astonishing.

[Ace Gunner]

I miss hits. I don't agree there aren't dominant teams this season. I think there are fewer this season. As clunky as the offense is, the Chiefs are dominating opponents imo. same with Broncos & Saints, Seattle..

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I won't say that there's a lack of talent (WTF does that mean?), or that there's a lack of elite teams.

But the parity this year seems totally non existent.

You have three classes of teams right now about as clear as you've ever seen it. 10 teams are really good. 10 teams are absolute shit town. The gap between those two groups is hellaciously large.

It's pretty astonishing.

Yeah, the Vikes that played last night are every bit as bad as any team we've fielded in the past decade.

And Christ there have been some eggs laid this year by otherwise not terrible teams.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I won't say that there's a lack of talent (WTF does that mean?), or that there's a lack of elite teams.

But the parity this year seems totally non existent.

You have three classes of teams right now about as clear as you've ever seen it. 10 teams are really good. 10 teams are absolute shit town. The gap between those two groups is hellaciously large.

It's pretty astonishing.

How is this any different from any other year?

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by -King-

How is this any different from any other year?

Guess it's not. End thread!

[Saccopoo]

It means that Tom Brady isn't 7-0 and Manning just lost and they don't know the name of a single player on the Chiefs roster other than the coach, which means that the NFL now sucks.

Last year, the talent was crazy sick. There was a true East and West coast team battling it out in the Super Bowl and the Harbaugh brothers were the toast of the media.

Now, the ****ing slap dick Chiefs are kicking ass and the national media has been too ****ing lazy to look beyond 45 miles inward from either coast to notice that anybody else actually plays football professionally.

I guarantee you that if the 49er's or Pats were 7-0 right now, these shitstains would be talking about "dynasty" and shit like that. The Chiefs have been so bad that the only reason that they could be 7-0 is that the entire NFL decided to take a nose dive right into a shitter in the 2013 season.

[DaneMcCloud]

The reality is that the CBA signed in 2011 changed everything.

There is far less offseason contact. There are no more Two-a-Days, which were vital to conditioning, scheme and camaraderie. There is limited contact during the season.

The result is that talented veteran teams have the edge due to continuity. Teams with higher turnover suffer more. Bad teams are not likely to turn around quickly.

It will probably be another five years before the playing field is leveled but parity has really never existed in the NFL, despite their intentions.

[Ace Gunner]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Yeah, the Vikes that played last night are every bit as bad as any team we've fielded in the past decade.

And Christ there have been some eggs laid this year by otherwise not terrible teams.

steelers, cincy, niners.. did not expect those teams to falter

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Ace Gunner

steelers, cincy, niners.. did not expect those teams to falter

2-4, 5-2, 5-2.

Falter?

[notorious]

7-0 Giants, Cowboys, Packers, Steelers = Great teams


7-0 Chiefs = Must be a down year for talent


The media is butthurt because their darlings aren't the focus

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

It means that Tom Brady isn't 7-0 and Manning just lost and they don't know the name of a single player on the Chiefs roster other than the coach, which means that the NFL now sucks.

Last year, the talent was crazy sick. There was a true East and West coast team battling it out in the Super Bowl and the Harbaugh brothers were the toast of the media.

Now, the ****ing slap dick Chiefs are kicking ass and the national media has been too ****ing lazy to look beyond 45 miles inward from either coast to notice that anybody else actually plays football professionally.

I guarantee you that if the 49er's or Pats were 7-0 right now, these shitstains would be talking about "dynasty" and shit like that. The Chiefs have been so bad that the only reason that they could be 7-0 is that the entire NFL decided to take a nose dive right into a shitter in the 2013 season.

Outstanding post. You are turning into an invaluable asset on this forum.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

It means that Tom Brady isn't 7-0 and Manning just lost and they don't know the name of a single player on the Chiefs roster other than the coach, which means that the NFL now sucks.

Last year, the talent was crazy sick. There was a true East and West coast team battling it out in the Super Bowl and the Harbaugh brothers were the toast of the media.

Now, the ****ing slap dick Chiefs are kicking ass and the national media has been too ****ing lazy to look beyond 45 miles inward from either coast to notice that anybody else actually plays football professionally.

I guarantee you that if the 49er's or Pats were 7-0 right now, these shitstains would be talking about "dynasty" and shit like that. The Chiefs have been so bad that the only reason that they could be 7-0 is that the entire NFL decided to take a nose dive right into a shitter in the 2013 season.

You beat me to it.

[Hammock Parties]

I wouldn't say the talent is down, but there's a changing of the guard. A few teams are on the decline while others are struggling to come up.

I have no idea what happened to Houston and Atlanta.

[Gravedigger]

Kevin Keitzmann talked today about Mizzou not getting enough respect in the SEC, that it's always an excuse with the Good Ole Boys of the SEC to blame injuries, schedule etc for why Mizzou might win the SEC East. I believe this is the same old thing. Bob Ryan is as Patriots homer as they come, he's living in the Dynasty Days of yore and believes that there has to be a dominant team every year. But back to the excuse thing, it has to be that it's a down year talent wise in the NFL, it can't be that the Chiefs are gritty, hard nosed football players who might just be one of the best teams in the NFL. No, it has to be an excuse why we are 7-0, because we're not the usual bunch to be doing this great. If Pittsburgh, the Cowboys, or the Patriots had our schedule and they were 7-0, the talking heads around the league would say they're the best team in the NFL. Maybe it's not so much a mirage that we had so many Pro Bowlers last year at 2-14, maybe people knew that our talent was what was real and not our record.