To thrive in the NFL’s postseason you need an elite quarterback. There are no second chances; it’s one and done. Just ask the Detroit Lions.
The Saquon Barkley-led Philadelphia Eagles may challenge that theory but the exception generally doesn’t make the rule.
On the latest episode of “The Athletic Football Show”, Robert Mays was joined by Derrik Klassen and old friend Nate Tice to discuss why January is quarterback season.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in “The Athletic Football Show” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Robert: This seems so stupid and self-evident. But we’ve done this show in the past and I don’t think we’ve talked about this – transcendent quarterbacks are the teams that win in January. I’m looking at this from the point of view of somebody whose team was hiring a head coach this offseason. You look at what’s worked and what hasn’t and what lessons you can learn from around the NFL. What kind of offensive coordinator do you hire? What position groups do you pay? I think those conversations are important. But when you have one of those quarterbacks, those conversations matter less.
Should you think your team can skimp on receiving talent because the Bills and Chiefs do? Or is that something where what happens with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are different conversations than what should happen for everybody else? Why this feels important now is because I don’t know if Jayden Daniels is already the fifth-best quarterback in the league, but I think in some ways he’s on his way to being one of these players where what he is papers over certain weaknesses you can have in other elements of your roster.
We’re going to look at percentages over time of what types of coaches with certain backgrounds win games and Super Bowls. Part of me wants to be like ‘don’t look at Sean McDermott’s background when figuring out why the Bills are successful. Don’t look at John Harbaugh’s background as you’re trying to figure out why the Ravens are successful’. They’re good coaches because they’re good coaches, but they have the aliens. And when you have one of those guys, everything else starts to matter not less, but in a slightly different way. We can try to figure out the details and pie charts of how you’re paying people and all that stuff until the cows come home. Having one of the dudes is probably the most important factor in you getting to this Super Bowl weekend.
Derrik: The team that’s good to put against this is the Green Bay Packers because they’re a team that doesn’t have star talent at the receiver position or the offensive line… it’s a lot of good enough. When you have Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson, a lot of good enough will get you into this spot where you can go to a conference championship game. A quarterback like Jordan Love is good but he’s not one of those guys. So, when you’re dropping down a level you end up in a spot where you’re always in the game, but getting over the hump is a lot harder when you don’t have that one guy who can do it for you.
Robert: I love this because I think it’s piecing together two different things. Is the Ravens’ offensive line that demonstrably better than the Packers’ offensive line?
Derrik: No, but they have Lamar Jackson (laughs).
Nate: No, but same tier.
Robert: And then is the Bills’ receiving core demonstrably better than the Packers’ receiving core?
Derrik: Not really.
Robert: Probably not. I think we collectively like Khalil Shakir, but I don’t think they’re in a vastly different tier. But because the Bills have Josh Allen, it all feels very different, and it changes the calculus everywhere else. So I think that’s a perfect guy to throw out there Derrik because Jordan Love is a good quarterback, but he is not one of these guys and it changes everything about the way we feel about how everything else is constructed.
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(Top Photo: Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)