The Frankish Reich

So silly. There was a news story. Woman knifed to death on a train. Apparently random. It was a local story that got a lot of press. Then there was a video. A picture paints a thousand words and all that. It brought home the truly gruesome/random nature of the attack. It went viral, including nationally. This is what happens with all such things. The right wing persecution complex is getting ridiculous.

snap counts from last night: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/2025-snap-counts.htm DT: - Oliver and Daquan: both 69% of plays - Sanders: 31% - Walker: 25% I didn't notice any differences against the run, so I'm guessing Ogunjobi is the great hope here when he comes off suspension? Not so great a plan given that he's been considered stronger against the pass Given the exact same snap counts for Ed and Daquan, I think you're right.

Collinsworth nicely pointed out exactly why it matters that DBs don't respect Keon's "speed," showing how they were effectively playing him tight without the deep threat. And then Keon nicely showed how he can work around that problem, at least when the other team is protecting a lead.

If the shoe fits ...

Now it's perhaps the most ethically conflicted person in the administration - Bill Pulte, son of the homebuilder god, the guy who would profit most from lower mortgage rates - at loggerheads with Scott Bessent, the seemingly reasonable face the White House likes to send out there to calm markets. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/08/scott-bessent-bill-pulte-blowup-00549956 Trump Boys' new club is where the action is! Bessent suggesting he and Pulte should take it outside. Pulte, of course, is the guy combing through mortgage records of Trump's political opponents.

Here's a guy on Reddit who did way more work on rating kickers than anyone really should. Basically an expected points/value added as compared to the completely league-average kicker last year. Note that Prater (small sample!) ranked 17 (basically middle of the pack, about 60th percentile) and Bass ranked 31 (not so good). Bass signed a big contract and there's a big dead cap hit, so if healthy, he'll be back. This is just to say that that big contract was a bad idea because very similar kickers (Prater) obviously can be signed off the street. And that's particularly true with the newest kickoff rules that really don't reward long kickoffs. I'm thinking Beane kind of panic signed him. If Prater continues to be money, I'd expect Bass's injury to linger just a little bit longer than strictly necessary ...

I have nothing against Bass. I think he's a very good kicker. But bringing in a 41 year old with about 36 hours to prepare and having him kick a long FG and a highly pressured (remember: no TO to allow the FG team to come on) game winner tells me that maybe we overpay "very good" kickers. Bass is not peak Justin Tucker or Harrison Butker. Those guys are special. So was peak Matt Prater.

Prater hit from 57 last year before getting hurt, 62 the year before. I think it's fair to assume that his range is a bit dimished at 41 years old, but I wouldn't have any concerns about sending him out there for anything up to that 57. With the new kickoff rules, teams should be willing to sacrifice a little leg strength for a little more accuracy too.

Are you suggesting that Prater will be our kicker for the next 20 years without missing a game? He'll be 61!

Really missing Alec Anderson

Hey, Coleman looks like he belongs! Not like an elite receiver, but a guy who warranted an end of 1st round pick.

Because we no longer have Patrick DiMarco to fill that role

I'm not really sure how we're still kinda sorta in it, but we are ...

Go ahead. Hang 50 on us. Sometimes a big shock isn't the worst thing.

Can't wait for the All 22. Is there nobody open down field? Allen has had time on many pass calls but there just doesn't seem like he has anywhere to go with the ball.

When are those steroid boys eligible to return? Game 7? We need some major PEDs here.

I know what the numbers say here, but I'd take the 1 XP.

Unimpressive TD drive, but we'll take it.

I think our WR corps got quietly worse. Is no one open down field?

When does Leslie Frazier's leave of absence end?

Yes, you do seem to be smarter than liberal morons. Good for you and your family. I saw Rand Paul on one of the Sunday morning news shows. He said something like this about the CDC: "they think they know better than you about vaccines." Yes! They do! They know better than the average person because it is their job to know better than the average person. You know who knows better about the dangers of nuclear materials than you or me? The Nuclear Regulatory Commission experts. You know who knows better than you or me about acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water? The EPA! We're no longer in the Question Authority bumper sticker world. We're in the Dismiss Authority or Assume Authority Wants to Make Us Subservient to Something or Other world. It's a good thing to encourage debate and to question the advice of official boards and commissions; it is foolhardy to dismiss it, or even worse to ascribe some kind of sinister motivations to it. And that's where we are. Most annoying: we know Trump doesn't believe his own Administration's bs. We know that he believes Operation Warp Speed was a great achievement (it was!). But he's more concerned about retaining power (or holding off another RFK Jr challenge to his anointed successor) than he is about telling the truth here.

I just said all this nonsense started with granola types. So are you proud that you're following their lead right off the cliff?

One of the other threads reminded me of this: is Lee Davinci's star continuing to rise? Sadly, it seems that he is now down to 3 monthly listeners on Spotify. Go MAGA, go get a real job?

Zach Wilson time! It's gonna happen sooner or later with Tua's fragility. And I do think Zach has a second act here ...

And if Fields continues to play well - at least like he did at the start of last season and the first half today - there will be a good debate about whether the Steelers should've just stuck with him. I've been long on Fields for some time now ...