09-27-2021, 08:56 AM -
I certainly understand! We've been let down plenty of times before and this looks like a prime candidate for being an illusion.
Of course there is also the slight possibility that they MAKE it real. I think the stats are definitely inflated due to who we've faced, but I also think these kind of starts often trigger a team to overperform. Most, if not all, of our best seasons started with some kind of magic that seemed to propel the team forward.
EX 1: Jake's 1st game
EX 2: 2008 game 1 magic last second TD against the Chargers
EX 3: Josh Norman's highlight reel interception in the endzone to secure the win over the Saints
Each of those seasons, I feel we had a few things fall our way combined with a few spectacular plays and it caused those teams to go drastically further than they would have otherwise. I also think missing the FG to lose against Denver in Game 1 of 2016 had enough of the opposite effect that it basically screwed that season. Same with one flat performance and losing Smitty in the 1st game of 2004.
So, while I recognize that we are not the elite team that stats say at the moment, I do have the hope that these inflated stats propel us further than we would've gone.
Of course there is also the slight possibility that they MAKE it real. I think the stats are definitely inflated due to who we've faced, but I also think these kind of starts often trigger a team to overperform. Most, if not all, of our best seasons started with some kind of magic that seemed to propel the team forward.
EX 1: Jake's 1st game
EX 2: 2008 game 1 magic last second TD against the Chargers
EX 3: Josh Norman's highlight reel interception in the endzone to secure the win over the Saints
Each of those seasons, I feel we had a few things fall our way combined with a few spectacular plays and it caused those teams to go drastically further than they would have otherwise. I also think missing the FG to lose against Denver in Game 1 of 2016 had enough of the opposite effect that it basically screwed that season. Same with one flat performance and losing Smitty in the 1st game of 2004.
So, while I recognize that we are not the elite team that stats say at the moment, I do have the hope that these inflated stats propel us further than we would've gone.