NFL 2023-2024 Season

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Interesting moves in the offseason... rumors swirling around Aaron Rogers possibly going to the NY Jets... other rumors swirling around Dan Snyder, who reportedly cleared out his offices at the Washington Commanders HQ and delayed paying player bonuses, presumably until after he's out as owner there.

Zeke no longer a Cowboy, Broncos bring in a strong backup QB, and Baker Mayfield gets to step into Tom Brady's shoes.

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Traffic may be a bit hectic in Vyn's neck of the woods late this week, with the NFL draft coming to his town.

[Vyn]

It is said that the positive economic impact to Kansas City for hosting that NFL draft was just north of $100,000,000.00. The only impact it had on me was adding 40 miles to my drive taking my wife to the hospital for a checkup. To add to that fun, basically every major highway in Kansas City was (and still is) in the midst of construction - with one being completely shut-down for those days.

Kansas City used to be known as a convention city, because so many orgs held their conventions here. At some point in the past, the powers that be stopped focusing on that, and of course the conventions - and the money they bring - dried up. I wonder if tasting that hundred million will influence their stance towards conventions in the future lol

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Kansas City's a fun town, I'm up for a convention there.

[Vyn]

I will say that the local gov has really pushed for development, and for the most part succeeded. The Power & Light district really is a big win. They are working valiantly on revitalizing the Plaza, which has gone down hill the past ten years or so, remains to be seen how that goes. Zona Rosa, which is basically the Plaza north of the Missouri river, continues to expand and is a very well thought out and implemented open-air shopping/dining/entertainment/living/office space. Heck, the company I work for bought one of the buildings there and we moved our HQ into it about a year ago.

The 18th and Vine district continues to get funding and attention, but for some reason just hasn't taken off like folks had hoped. Some great food there, and lots of neat places to visit (Negro League Museum, for example - oh, and Bryant's BBQ, the best) but it just doesn't draw the crowds to make it flourish. Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that it is on the outskirt of a pretty desolate industrial area with a seriously jacked up neighborhood to the south. I believe it comes down to a lot of folks not wanting to be down there in the evenings.

The River Market, Strawberry Hill, and other small but notable attractions are scattered throughout the city. Which points to one huge malfunction in KC: public transportation. The city was simply not designed for it, and so everything that has been done and continues to be done (streetcar project, which is pretty cool) feels like a glued-on afterthought. The bus system sucks hard, and the aforementioned streetcar only runs a very small line downtown. There is no "metro" (that's what they call the busline)/tram/subway. At all. If KC had what Washington, D.C. has in that regard it would be ten times the place it is today.

However, like I started with, there has and continues to be lots of successes.

And those are my thoughts on the NFL 2023-2024 Season ROFL.

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Bryant's BBQ, the best

Slow your roll there, Daddy V! We may need a BBQ thread to carry on a spirited discussion regarding "the best"...

As for mass transit, that can also be another thread. I play Cities: Skylines something hard, so I've got a lot to say on that subject. Could be fun.

But KC being a great place to visit? No debate there. Getting back to the BBQ, I will say that I 100% trust KC BBQ to be good stuff, which I cannot say for certain states east of Memphis...

Now for football discussion: Aaron Rogers - saving grace for the Jets or joining them in the Toilet Bowl Swirl that's been their brand for lo these many years?

[Vyn]

Rogers will bring some much needed moral to the Jets, but he's not the second coming of Joe Namath as some seem to think. One good season, then down the toilet.

Start your BBQ thread.

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I don't think he gets even one good season if the Jets can't put a good front line up.

[Vyn]

True - Rogers may find getting hammered by angry 350 lb dudes isn't as fun as it was when he was 25.

I'm liking what Denver has been up to. Payton is doing his thing and the owners basically gave him a blank check. Even their QB is sounding like a normal person and not a diva. Which doesn't win games but perhaps is a sign Payton is going to bring him to another level.

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I would love to see Denver not be a shitshow. There are teams that I root against, and Denver's one of them, but it's no fun when any team falls hard so badly that they can't do anything right. Give me teams that struggle, that *almost* win, and then break through for the upset here and there. And when they get to the level the top teams are at, we're guaranteed some close contests that are games for the ages. Both the Super Bowls that Philly was in come to mind, the recent one and the LII one. Great games, great competition, loved the experience.

I know they can't all be greats, but at least I can hope that none of them are basket cases.

[Vyn]

I agree with that - Denver has always been on my "enemy" list, but I don't want them to always be a gimme. Last season was painful to see, and I always want to beat them lol. But damn, all the players, staff, and their fans, it had to be a massive suck on their collective psyche, and for the teams they played against, most of the time it wasn't even a game. Just watching the clock run down while Denver ran around like a bunch of hockey players who suddenly found themselves on a NFL team. So, GO DENVER. Until they face the Chiefs. haha!

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Winning a rivalry game that was hard-fought: classic stuff.

Winning a rivalry game that was against a bucket of noodles with the other team's shirts on: It's still a win, but... something's missing...

And if the team stays weak for a long long time, it won't be a rival anymore.

I think that's why the AFC is more exciting right now. It's got some top talents in Mahomes, Burrows, Allen and they get to meet each other frequently. If Lamar Jackson can show up for more than half the games in a year, add the Ravens to the list and we all got eyes on the next big QB in Pittsburgh. If Denver can get hot under Payton, then we got us some GAMES coming up this season.

NFC has a great talent in Hurts and the Lions are waking up, which is great. But the rest of the conference needs to step it up to be able to be taken seriously as anything better than top of the mid-range in terms of quality.

[Vyn]

So, the Bears lost their 13th game in a row to KC today. they managed to score 10 points, only after the Chiefs pulled their starters halfway through the 3rd quarter. Chiefs scored 40, Mahomes limped around for a few minutes after one play and everyone gasped, Taylor Swift was there watching, wearing a Chiefs shirt.

The Broncos played the Dolphins. Or rather, the Dolphins scored the most points against a team in the NFL since 1966. 70 - 20. They had over 700 yards of offense. Their QB threw a perfect 16 for 16 in the first half. They had five running TDs. And the Broncos? Well, I was thinking their new HC would turn them around some. Maybe not all at once, but they are now 0-3 and played the single worst game of NFL football I have ever seen. Whoops!

Next week, the Bears play the Broncos.

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That Miami game was a real spanking on the out-to-pasture Broncs! Just about every discussion involving Miami starts with "If Tua stays healthy..." and then goes on to describe mighty feats and accomplishments in their future.

Cowboys found a way to lose without Trayvon Diggs. That it was to the Arizona Cactus Wrens only makes the cut deeper. If the loss was to a strong team from last year and it stayed competitive, we'd all be like "OK, make adjustments and retool." But to a team *trying* to get a win? With a new coach? After throwing an interception into the end zone? ooooooooooooooohhh, that's a sour taste in the mouth of this Cowboys fan.

Speaking of turnaround teams, the Indy Colts got lucky in a nail-biter of a game, getting that field goal in the last few mins of OT. Nice job, next time try and win in regular time, mmmkay?

Some other wins by hefty margins around the league, but none as big as 50. That smash-up HAS to make the folks in Denver realize it's not just last year's coach that needs changing...

[Vyn]

The Chiefs and Taylor Swift managed to defeat the Jets, but their QB did a good job. Broncos beat the Bears in the NFL's Sunday Fail Game.