Conducting a little bit of an experiment with this discussion… when you hear the term “finesse” (typically in a derogatory manner), which teams from across the decades spring to mind?
What is even ‘finesse’?
I heard this lots about 90s teams throughout all sports including the Los Angeles Kings.
Finesse typically refers to a team that isn’t strong or physical but fast and quick, which is why it’s looked down on in football: smack them in the mouth and they fold like a house of cards.
Air coryell chargers
Fouts Chargers
Marino Dolphins
1990s Buffalo Bills
Rams under Dick Vermeil and Kurt Warner.
Rams “greatest show on turf” era
Colts at peak Peyton Manning era
Current Chiefs under Mahomes
Raiders that got blasted by Bucs in Super Bowl
100% agree with the Chiefs. They are getting a little more balance recently, but the first 4 years of Mahomes was finesse in my opinion
Have you seen Pacheco run?
A few years ago we were much more finesse, so I’ll 1/2 agree
- 2013 Broncos
- 2016 Falcons
- 2018 Chiefs
I always think of a finesse football team as one with high flying offense that gets let down by their defense.
high flying offense that gets let down by their defense
just summarized brees whole carrer
i mean some of the saints defenses are pretty famous for hitting people…
I remember hearing that a lot about the late '80s/early '90s Niners. Even though it wasn’t really true.
2019 ravens
The offense was not a finesse offense. It was literally the greatest rushing offense of all time and our OL was dominant.
The defense however was the definition of a finesse defense. They covered very well but they lived off of turnovers, all our pressure came from blitzes and our run D was soft as bread pudding. Nobody ever tested it until the playoffs bc the offense always jumped ahead to such giant leads.
True but didn’t the titans defense hold the ravens offense off for most of their he game until the ravens scored 2 tds in the 4th quarter.
98 Vikings with Moss, Carter and Robert Smith
Bill Walsh era 49ers
Air Coryell. Chargers
oh also the 2017 falcons
1994 Little Giants
O’Shea was the only real bruiser on defense and she only played half a game. Pretty sure Zoltek was their second-leading rusher behind Vennaro. This was a game that Urbania lost, not a game the Giants won. No yards given up and only up three scores? Should have been a warning signal.
A mix of hubris and painstakingly horrible mental mistakes (along with some really dodgy pursuit angles) lost the game.
Yet the Giants were the victors and their coach probably went home and banged the starting QB’s mom.
Going old school here- the team that first got called “finesse” by the modern media was the 1988 49ers.
This was especially used to contrast what the Bill Walsh coached West Coast Offense was doing with the timed receiving routes and lack of an emphasis on a run game first with teams like the NY Giants or Bears of the ‘80s. Well, as Keena Turner famously said during the post-game locker room interview, the “finesse ass 49ers” rolled into Soldier Field in the freezing cold during the NFCCG and wooped them 28-3.
I thought of the 80s 49ers as soon as I read the question. The first thing I think about from those teams is Montana to Rice. Both guys were smooth af. Then I remembered Roger Craig running like a maniac. Ronnie Lott crushing people. Charles Haley being Charles Haley, etc.
They weren’t soft, but compared to the teams you mentioned and Washington (the other Super Bowl winners of that era), they were definitely more finesse.