fergie's ire

A great quote...I also remember the great t-shirt that some fans printed up during the second season. It said "Go for )" with a picture of a sinking pirate ship. Well, look at that....It's amazing what one can find on the interweb: Tampa Tee

And that is the problem. RBs have a high rate of injury. Yes, Saquon Barkley is a generational talent, but how much has he helped the Giants given that he has been out a lot of the time. Furthermore, I think I heard that when he was drafted, he was already top five in salary for running backs. So, even on a rookie deal he was not cheap. Because of their tendency to break down, few backs anymore seem worth it on their second contract (look at Zeke Elliot). Picking someone like Dobbins in the 2nd wouldn't be too bad, but I still wouldn't invest that high in a running back. The third round is about right...and just draft a running back often at that point in the draft. You might get lucky and find an Alvin Kamara, but otherwise you can get good, if not great, backs but at that position good is a better value.

I think their D is a lot like our O. Looked elite the second half of last year, but has underperformed so far this year.

Agree that because of his experience, Brissett was able to make quicker decisions which was needed against that pressure. So, it was fortunate for the Dolphins that Tua was out, but I also think it was fortunate for Tua. The way things were going, if he didn't get hurt, the kid was gonna get killed. Could've been MUCH worse than bruised ribs.

And though the sacks are great, Epenesa also showed why pressures can be just as impactful. He created an errant pass and knocked the quarterback out of the game on a 4th down play. This hit may have been the most impactful play of the game. (Though I think Brissett was better equipped to deal with the pressure.)

That confused me at first, but I THINK what he is saying is that because he missed time in training camp, they felt he wasn't as ready as others, so they benched him....even though he was healthy last week. So, scratched because of the previous injury...even though he had recovered from it.

Ya know, I've been thinking about that 4th down play based on a 2004 play. It looked great in the original, but then I thought 2004...but that's a Mularkey year. He used to LOVE those weird trick plays and while that one worked great against Seattle, most would have the results we saw Sunday: blow up in his face. I have a memory of a similar situation with a critical short yardage down about mid field. I think there was a pitch or handoff...and a little jump and then a lateral to the receiver on the sidelines....who was tackled for a loss. It was infuriating. He was a Sam Wyche disciple and I always remember Bill Walsh saying Wyche's problem was that sometimes he would rather trick you than beat you. In other words, you could have a 4th and 1 with a big physical quarterback who can almost certainly pick up the 1st keeping a drive alive but instead pitch the ball backward 7 yards. We do NOT need Daboll channeling his inner Mularkey. That would be bad.

Also, was it just me or did it seem like Beasley was not the same? I know, he's an easy target and that could create some bias against him that might shape my perception. But it seemed there were a couple of balls he could have hung onto but didn't, but also that Josh wasn't going to him the way he did last year. Last year whenever they needed some tough yards to pick up a first down, he would hit Beasley, and I just didn't see it much yesterday.

The lack of targets for Davis was infuriating. He looked like the best receiver out there.

I thought there were a lot of passes like that by a number of receivers. Beasley seemed to have a few. Yes, they were contested and knocked out (and not drops) but could have been held onto. They need to take lessons from the guy who COULD hang onto contested catches today: Knox. Josh also seemed off. Not terrible...but not his best.

Anyone know what happened to the condensed game on Gamepass? I'm a geezer, so I like to go to bed and watch the night games in the morning. It's great to watch the 40 minute version. But either I am not able to find it with the new layout, or they still don't have it up.

Yeah, as I said it's USUALLY a good predictor in baseball...but not always.

Sure...last year he played bad games to start, but you can only play the teams the schedule deals you. But look at the year before. He played the Patriots (a good defense) in week 1 and look what he did to them: https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401127860

I think that people talk about point differential because in sports like basketball and baseball it is extremely predictive. If a team is leading the division at the all star game, but has a narrow or even negative point differential, they are probably going to regress in the second half. It seems there was a team that bucked the odds a few years ago and continued with a strong record despite a poor run differential, but it's really rare. However, at the mid-point of the season those sports have 40 or 80 games on which to base an avg. The NFL has 8. The problem is, as you pointed out with the Bills, a few games can complete skew the average...There just isn't a large enough sample size.

"Less likely" is not the same as "prevent." Six seeds have won the Super Bowl, so getting the six seed does not prevent you from winning the Super Bowl. But a one seed is more likely to win a Super Bowl. So, you would much rather have the one seed than the six, and you would much rather have everyone vaccinated to decrease (but not eliminate) the chance of exposure and/or contagion.

By "ask again" does it mean "start a thread"? I'll get right on it.

Well, Gilliam wasn't....but I otherwise agree.

Well, and Hollister tomorrow.

The more I hear the media talk about Cam and the Patriots, the more I think that Belichick is doing the same thing we are doing with Hollister with the added bonus of f-ing with the media and the public. Has he said anything publicly about the cut yet?

Vet...one year deal....doubt anyone else wants him. Any chance they'll be re-signing him in a couple of days?

Does this mean we're trading for Ertz? (Asking for a friend.)

Did Trubisky get cut? Or did something happen to the Bills cuts thread?

I saw him make similar throws a few times last year. He learned how to swing his hips around to get into throwing position in a really quick and effortless motion that is amazing.

That's 3D chess, right there.

What I liked about Stevenson is not only that he is sure handed but that, because of that, he almost seems to be running as he catches and gets up field in top speed very quickly. To me, that is what made Roberts such a good returner. He wasn't overly shifty but he would get 10-15 yards up field very quickly. I think it is the reason he would run the ball out of the end zone so often. He thought he could get to the 25 before being caught and then he would have a chance to make a man miss and get better field position. He was often wrong, and it seemed like a Roberts special to get tackled at the 22, but because he kept doing it, I suspect that the coaches were okay with it. Sacrifice the 3 yards for the chance to gain an occasional 15 or 20. I noticed Stevenson mastering the same "get tackled at the 22" move, and he just reminds me of Roberts in a lot of ways. If that is a skill set the coaches value, I suspect they keep him.