I believe that NY Giants play in a Tundra Tier Stadium, but the NY Jets do not . I would explain this by citing the southerly location of the Jets locker room, and the fact that the older Giants Fan Base is generally unaware of Patagonia MicroPuff technology.
Who is the best football writer of all time? Seems like baseball and basketball have had more good writing and good writers than football through the years.
Ethan, I suppose you calling yourself the GOAT football writer is funny. But, I'm actually just waiting until you pull a LeBron and declare yourself "The GOAT" Basketball writer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjupzEcV_ys
Used to enjoy Gregg Easterbrook’s TMQ from the 2000s to mid-2010s; at some point he became persona non grata at ESPN and disappeared into the online nether world.
I have read some really good football books. I guess Halberstam "Education of a Coach" and Michael Lewis "The Blind Side" don't count though. Leibovich's "Big Game" was excellent. As was Wickersham's "Better to be Feared". And here's an underrated one "Bill Parcells 2014" Autobiography, written with Nunyo Demasio.
Best column writers? John Clayton was great. I enjoyed JAWS. Barnwell I suppose is the gold standard now.
And even if Detroit and Minnesota played outdoors, because the NFC North has all of CHI, GB, DET, and MN, there’s only the possibility of playing in ONE of those cities/stadiums in any given postseason.
Basically the AFC needs a “true” North division that includes Buffalo, Denver, etc.
I thought Peyton Manning had a very strong arm, at least until that final season in Denver? Am I wearing rose-colored glasses and letting nostalgia get me?
Peyton had a very good arm until the very end. Not nuclear tier like Allen but above average for NFL QBs and above the line for what is needed to be great
(Old man yells at weather), but it would have been a lot more interesting to see how Tua and the Dolphins played in the playoffs than to see how they can play in insanely cold weather. Snow games are fun. These crazy cold games kind of suck. The fans are muted, the game is just weird, it all looks kind of miserable.
I think Tua’s play should also be raising the question about whether we will ever see another elite left handed QB again. Maybe Penix will be the guy but I’d bet against it given the last 20 years of history. You have to go back to Michael Vick, Steve young, mark Brunnell and even Boomer Esiason to find lefties with real levels of success. Will be interesting to see how Penix shakes out.
As a Philadelphian who now makes five-ten trips to Allegheny County each year to visit the in-laws and various family/friends, Pittsburgh has noticeably worse winters.
I live in the NY Metro area. And I have a lot of family / spent a lot of time in Philly. The weather in these two cities is comparable. But, once you go to the great lakes...ouch! And even last year (2022 season) just before Xmas, Steelers were playing a brutal game at home vs the Raiders at night. They were selling tickets that night for $7. And from my understanding or 7 bucks was pretty decent seats.
There are so many confounders here! Colder games are also usually in December and January, when teams have a lot more tape to study about QBs and their tendencies. Also night games (i.e. prime-time games) tend to be colder.
Taking Tua's recent struggles, we can identify it is not clear that cold weather was the culprit. He didn't play particularly well (or was outright bad) in the three last regular season losses the Dolphins had. Two of those were at night and in Miami (Titans and Bills), and not very stringent weather (Titans game: 64F; Ravens game: 50F; Bills game: 63F; all three with wind in single digits MPH).
I think there is a compelling case that when you have a competent, well-studied defense, and it is the "witching hour" of the season, a QB like Tua will struggle. Cold may be one of the factors, but if it is not moving to the NFC will not address all.
I think that Tua’s play is more impacted by a lack of mobility/footspeed and a huge decrease in accuracy when pressured. It could be due to his past injury issues, but he clearly doesn’t respond well after a defense brings early pressure. As a Fins fan, I’m pulling for him, but not sure if this will be correctable especially playing in McDaniels’s scheme.
I believe that NY Giants play in a Tundra Tier Stadium, but the NY Jets do not . I would explain this by citing the southerly location of the Jets locker room, and the fact that the older Giants Fan Base is generally unaware of Patagonia MicroPuff technology.
Who is the best football writer of all time? Seems like baseball and basketball have had more good writing and good writers than football through the years.
Thought we settled this. It’s me.
Ethan, I suppose you calling yourself the GOAT football writer is funny. But, I'm actually just waiting until you pull a LeBron and declare yourself "The GOAT" Basketball writer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjupzEcV_ys
Dan Jenkins, Paul Zimmerman, I'd put Dick Schaap up there too (Instant Replay and Distant Replay) Want to read a great article from an author known for other things: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/10/distant-replay/306988/
Doctor Z is the critics choice. Peter King is the public choice
Used to enjoy Gregg Easterbrook’s TMQ from the 2000s to mid-2010s; at some point he became persona non grata at ESPN and disappeared into the online nether world.
I have read some really good football books. I guess Halberstam "Education of a Coach" and Michael Lewis "The Blind Side" don't count though. Leibovich's "Big Game" was excellent. As was Wickersham's "Better to be Feared". And here's an underrated one "Bill Parcells 2014" Autobiography, written with Nunyo Demasio.
Best column writers? John Clayton was great. I enjoyed JAWS. Barnwell I suppose is the gold standard now.
And even if Detroit and Minnesota played outdoors, because the NFC North has all of CHI, GB, DET, and MN, there’s only the possibility of playing in ONE of those cities/stadiums in any given postseason.
Basically the AFC needs a “true” North division that includes Buffalo, Denver, etc.
I thought Peyton Manning had a very strong arm, at least until that final season in Denver? Am I wearing rose-colored glasses and letting nostalgia get me?
Peyton had a very good arm until the very end. Not nuclear tier like Allen but above average for NFL QBs and above the line for what is needed to be great
It was the neck surgeries that did him in. He was a slightly different QB those Denver years than he was in Indi.
(Old man yells at weather), but it would have been a lot more interesting to see how Tua and the Dolphins played in the playoffs than to see how they can play in insanely cold weather. Snow games are fun. These crazy cold games kind of suck. The fans are muted, the game is just weird, it all looks kind of miserable.
bears likely getting a dome too if they move out to Arlington Heights
Wasnt bears stadium renovated not too long ago?
I been for a ... the concourse areas were terrible. Couldnt even move, way too small
Just going by memory, but I think that may have been 20 years ago?
I think Tua’s play should also be raising the question about whether we will ever see another elite left handed QB again. Maybe Penix will be the guy but I’d bet against it given the last 20 years of history. You have to go back to Michael Vick, Steve young, mark Brunnell and even Boomer Esiason to find lefties with real levels of success. Will be interesting to see how Penix shakes out.
But shouldn’t left handers be over represented because defences aren’t used to them, in the same way a left handed post player is harder to defend?
Maybe I’m late to this but.... Seattle isn’t at least cold...????
I think Tua failed because he’s an ignorant Bible-thumping Jesus freak and not a progressive man of science like Aaron Rodgers.
1) Why are we putting Cincy and Boston in the tundra tier?
2) Why are pretending that Baltimore and Washington are cold?
The wind chill was -59 degrees at the 1982 AFC Championship game in Cincinnati. What exactly is your definition of tundra tier?
Why am I assuming you are from California?
Tua sucks
Would add Pittsburgh to those AFC tundra teams.
Forgot to add!
Weather Fight: Are Cleveland Pittsburgh and Boston really that much colder than New Jersey and Philly?
As a Philadelphian who now makes five-ten trips to Allegheny County each year to visit the in-laws and various family/friends, Pittsburgh has noticeably worse winters.
I live in the NY Metro area. And I have a lot of family / spent a lot of time in Philly. The weather in these two cities is comparable. But, once you go to the great lakes...ouch! And even last year (2022 season) just before Xmas, Steelers were playing a brutal game at home vs the Raiders at night. They were selling tickets that night for $7. And from my understanding or 7 bucks was pretty decent seats.
"How each team adjusts to the weather will ultimately help determine who wins this game. The Steelers' last game in conditions similar to the one they will face on Sunday occurred on Dec. 24, 2022, when they recorded a 13-10 win over the Raiders. Pittsburgh prevailed on a night where the game temperature was 9 degrees with 21-mph wind. "https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/steelers-bills-set-for-monday-and-will-not-be-pushed-back-again-says-n-y-governor-steelers-land-in-buffalo/#:~:text=24%2C%202022%2C%20when%20the%20Steelers,via%20the%20Pittsburgh%20Post%2DGazette.
Cleveland and Pittsburgh definitely due to the lake effect snow and wind. I think you could throw New York and Philly in, though.
There are so many confounders here! Colder games are also usually in December and January, when teams have a lot more tape to study about QBs and their tendencies. Also night games (i.e. prime-time games) tend to be colder.
Taking Tua's recent struggles, we can identify it is not clear that cold weather was the culprit. He didn't play particularly well (or was outright bad) in the three last regular season losses the Dolphins had. Two of those were at night and in Miami (Titans and Bills), and not very stringent weather (Titans game: 64F; Ravens game: 50F; Bills game: 63F; all three with wind in single digits MPH).
I think there is a compelling case that when you have a competent, well-studied defense, and it is the "witching hour" of the season, a QB like Tua will struggle. Cold may be one of the factors, but if it is not moving to the NFC will not address all.
I think that Tua’s play is more impacted by a lack of mobility/footspeed and a huge decrease in accuracy when pressured. It could be due to his past injury issues, but he clearly doesn’t respond well after a defense brings early pressure. As a Fins fan, I’m pulling for him, but not sure if this will be correctable especially playing in McDaniels’s scheme.