[FarmBoy]

1 vs #2 in both AFC and NFC.  For a year that it seemed thee was a fair bit of parity out there, and when the underdog won in the wildcard round 3/4 times, the divisional round shows the advantage of the bye week and home field advantage.

I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs and Saints.


BC

Not sure yesterday's outcomes disproves there is talent parity. Coaching disparity can explain some of the outcome. Pederson has gotten a lot of positive press as a good coach, but Belichek, Reid, and Payton have really deep resumes. McVay is a young star so not clear if he's the real deal in the long run, but Garret has proven he can't get it done in the post season consistently.

[FarmBoy]

1 vs #2 in both AFC and NFC.  For a year that it seemed thee was a fair bit of parity out there, and when the underdog won in the wildcard round 3/4 times, the divisional round shows the advantage of the bye week and home field advantage.

I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs and Saints.


BC

Not sure yesterday's outcomes disproves there is talent parity. Coaching disparity can explain some of the outcome. Pederson has gotten a lot of positive press as a good coach, but Belichek, Reid, and Payton have really deep resumes. McVay is a young star so not clear if he's the real deal in the long run, but Garret has proven he can't get it done in the post season consistently.

[OutsiderFan]

Many coaches could get the Rams this far. Look at the talent McVay has:

QB: I've never been sold on Jared Goff as an elite, championship level QB, but he is certainly good enough on a talent-stacked team and was the #1 overall pick.

RB: Todd Gurley, the #3 overall pick from a few years ago who is one of best in NFL.

LT: Andrew Whitworth, a perennial Pro Bowl player the Bengals stupidly let get away.

WR: Robert Woods.  I think Stanford fans can remember how good he is.

WR: Brandin Cooks. One of the fastest WR in the NFL this side of Tyreke Hill.

DT: Aaron Donald. The best interior DL in the NFL.

CB Marcus Peters has had a down year, but was a Pro Bowl player previously, same with Aqib Talib.

These are some of the best players at their positions in the NFL, and if there aren't quite the best, they aren't far behind.  And it's not like the rest of the roster doesn't have some good talent on it.

This Rams team is as loaded as the 1994 Niners were. If they don't win the Super Bowl, McVay is overrated, because no team in the playoffs has as much talent as the Rams do this season.

[OutsiderFan]

Many coaches could get the Rams this far. Look at the talent McVay has:

QB: I've never been sold on Jared Goff as an elite, championship level QB, but he is certainly good enough on a talent-stacked team and was the #1 overall pick.

RB: Todd Gurley, the #3 overall pick from a few years ago who is one of best in NFL.

LT: Andrew Whitworth, a perennial Pro Bowl player the Bengals stupidly let get away.

WR: Robert Woods.  I think Stanford fans can remember how good he is.

WR: Brandin Cooks. One of the fastest WR in the NFL this side of Tyreke Hill.

DT: Aaron Donald. The best interior DL in the NFL.

CB Marcus Peters has had a down year, but was a Pro Bowl player previously, same with Aqib Talib.

These are some of the best players at their positions in the NFL, and if there aren't quite the best, they aren't far behind.  And it's not like the rest of the roster doesn't have some good talent on it.

This Rams team is as loaded as the 1994 Niners were. If they don't win the Super Bowl, McVay is overrated, because no team in the playoffs has as much talent as the Rams do this season.

[Nan3cy]

1 vs #2 in both AFC and NFC.  For a year that it seemed thee was a fair bit of parity out there, and when the underdog won in the wildcard round 3/4 times, the divisional round shows the advantage of the bye week and home field advantage.

I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs and Saints.


BC

Me too. The Saints because they're the only team of the four to have any Stanford guys on the roster. The Chiefs because I'm just unutterably tired of the Patriots.

[Nan3cy]

1 vs #2 in both AFC and NFC.  For a year that it seemed thee was a fair bit of parity out there, and when the underdog won in the wildcard round 3/4 times, the divisional round shows the advantage of the bye week and home field advantage.

I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs and Saints.


BC

Me too. The Saints because they're the only team of the four to have any Stanford guys on the roster. The Chiefs because I'm just unutterably tired of the Patriots.

[BostonCard]

1 vs #2 in both AFC and NFC.  For a year that it seemed thee was a fair bit of parity out there, and when the underdog won in the wildcard round 3/4 times, the divisional round shows the advantage of the bye week and home field advantage.

I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs and Saints.


BC

Not sure yesterday's outcomes disproves there is talent parity. Coaching disparity can explain some of the outcome. Pederson has gotten a lot of positive press as a good coach, but Belichek, Reid, and Payton have really deep resumes. McVay is a young star so not clear if he's the real deal in the long run, but Garret has proven he can't get it done in the post season consistently.

I'm not arguing that the outcomes disprove talent parity. As I noted, there is an advantage to having a bye week and homefield advantage.  In the NFL, home teams win about 58% of the time, so having four home teams win is not that crazy, even if there was perfect parity (.58^4 = .1).  Add in the benefits of the bye, and we presume there is at least some disparity (after all, the winning teams all had a better record during the regular season).

The "coaching disparity" is not really falsifiable, but you are right that the four winning coaches have a generally higher winning percentage than the four losing head coaches.  But again, this sort of thing doesn't explain how the Steelers failed to make the playoffs (Mike Tomlin is one of the most experienced and amongst the highest winning percentage coaches); ditto Mike McCarthy.

BC

[BostonCard]

1 vs #2 in both AFC and NFC.  For a year that it seemed thee was a fair bit of parity out there, and when the underdog won in the wildcard round 3/4 times, the divisional round shows the advantage of the bye week and home field advantage.

I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs and Saints.


BC

Not sure yesterday's outcomes disproves there is talent parity. Coaching disparity can explain some of the outcome. Pederson has gotten a lot of positive press as a good coach, but Belichek, Reid, and Payton have really deep resumes. McVay is a young star so not clear if he's the real deal in the long run, but Garret has proven he can't get it done in the post season consistently.

I'm not arguing that the outcomes disprove talent parity. As I noted, there is an advantage to having a bye week and homefield advantage.  In the NFL, home teams win about 58% of the time, so having four home teams win is not that crazy, even if there was perfect parity (.58^4 = .1).  Add in the benefits of the bye, and we presume there is at least some disparity (after all, the winning teams all had a better record during the regular season).

The "coaching disparity" is not really falsifiable, but you are right that the four winning coaches have a generally higher winning percentage than the four losing head coaches.  But again, this sort of thing doesn't explain how the Steelers failed to make the playoffs (Mike Tomlin is one of the most experienced and amongst the highest winning percentage coaches); ditto Mike McCarthy.

BC

[Phogge]

Rooting for the Chiefs. Andy Reid is great to work with. Anybody from the Belichek tree is the worst. Payton slugged one of our guys years ago and got away with it. **** him.

[Phogge]

Rooting for the Chiefs. Andy Reid is great to work with. Anybody from the Belichek tree is the worst. Payton slugged one of our guys years ago and got away with it. **** him.

[FarmBoy]

But again, this sort of thing doesn't explain how the Steelers failed to make the playoffs (Mike Tomlin is one of the most experienced and amongst the highest winning percentage coaches); ditto Mike McCarthy.

Well, it's been discussed throughout the season that some believe Tomlin has "lost the locker room". So past win % not withstanding, some would argue he's not a great coach any more.

I don't know much about what went down with McCarthy in GB, but Rodgers wen to Kal, so I'll blame him for screwing up what should have been a dynasty after their 2011 Super Bowl win.

[FarmBoy]

But again, this sort of thing doesn't explain how the Steelers failed to make the playoffs (Mike Tomlin is one of the most experienced and amongst the highest winning percentage coaches); ditto Mike McCarthy.

Well, it's been discussed throughout the season that some believe Tomlin has "lost the locker room". So past win % not withstanding, some would argue he's not a great coach any more.

I don't know much about what went down with McCarthy in GB, but Rodgers wen to Kal, so I'll blame him for screwing up what should have been a dynasty after their 2011 Super Bowl win.

[Hurlburt88]

I blame Rodgers and also was not thrilled with the way he publicly ran Ty out of town.  Led me to root alongside Winflop for the Bears . . .

[Hurlburt88]

I blame Rodgers and also was not thrilled with the way he publicly ran Ty out of town.  Led me to root alongside Winflop for the Bears . . .