The Frankish Reich

Much like the Shanahans, any Roman-coached offense will, without fail, run the ball effectively. Yes, we are in a pass-happy NFL today. But the lack of a consistent run game has hurt us before, and it may very well hurt us again.

I agree. Roman’s history: - success in SF with Kaep, a guy who basically would never be the classic dropback/pocket passer. - success is Buffalo by using his system to hide the shortcomings of Tyrod Taylor - success in Baltimore with Lamar. See Point 1, above. So what happens if he inherits a really, really good QB who can win in all kinds of different ways? Does he transform him into a run-first guy? Or does he build a system that complements that QB’s abilities? Before Kaep he had Alex Smith in SF, during the time Smith turned from consensus bust into Pro Bowl QB. Smith was the (extremely) poor man’s Josh Allen — a good (not great like Josh) thrower and a good (not great like Josh) runner. It won’t happen, but it would be very interesting. Actually, the Broncos may want to give Roman a call … Edit: hat tip to Alphadawg7 - you beat me to it.

I've mentioned before that I've had clearances at various times and for various reasons. And here's what always gets me: is it too much to ask that our elected representatives be people who could pass a security clearance investigation and keep that clearance? - Swalwell: FAIL - Matt Gaetz: FAIL (hey, let's appoint him, Boebert, MGT to investigate other people! It takes one to know one) - Trump/Biden (and yes, Hillary): FAIL And probably dozens of other members of Congress who have been compromised in some manner or other, and/or who have egregiously mishandled classified information. At least George Santos was given committee assignments where he really can't do any harm. Go for it! I'm worried that your past may be too clean to ever get elected.

No. The party leadership can freeze you out if they choose to. They make the rules.

I have to disagree. We can't underestimate the ego, now perhaps merging into self-delusion. He absolutely wants to show he's not the reason for his team's collapse. Raiders: I don't see it. That means getting past Mahomes and Herbert. He chose Tampa because it gave him a clear route to the post-season. I suspect the same reasoning will prevail now. Titans: Nashville? I don't see it. The lights of Music Row aren't bright enough. So ... Miami. Old man owner loves him. They have the horses and need a QB. Josh and the Bills are the only deterrent to that. Mid-season I would've said "back home to SF" but the way Purdy has played (and the way Tommy has played) makes me think that won't ever happen. Absolutely not "a journeyman." That's Teddy Bridgewater. He's a clear huge upgrade over that. Would he be "great" in Miami? I'm not sure, but revenge fantasies aside, I'd rather not see him playing there.

Truth. But some truths need not be spoken.

Thanks. Forgot all about Kurt Warner. Older fans like me were conditioned to think that these old/beat-up QBs to new teams always failed. I saw Johnny Unitas being humiliated in San Diego and Joe Namath beclowning himself in Los Angeles. But that was a different NFL that didn't protect its QBs, and those were truly different 7-step drop, heave it up, pre-West Coast offense days. Even back then there were exceptions like Craig Morton playing maybe the best QB in the NFL in Denver in his mid-30s. And Post-2000 results have been pretty good.

Agreed. It's called "being smarter." You don't risk you body in a Week 2 blowout against the Titans (1 rushing attempt), but you do against KC when the top seed is (or so we thought) on the line (12). The last 3 games vs. KC: 11 rushes, 11 rushes, 12 rushes. And the playoffs are different ...

Scroll back in this thread and you'll see my comment that there's something really fishy about this ostensibly gay man (and I do believe he's gay) marrying a Brazilian woman c. 2012. Here's a guy (on a conservative website!) who seems to know a thing or two about immigration law digging a little deeper: https://cis.org/North/NY-TimesGeorge-SantosImmigrationMarriage-Maze Both parties are at fault for not vetting his resume before the elections of 2020 and 2022; he lost the first time, and won the second time. But I think it is only fair to examine and amplify an immigration-related implication that has been laid on him, more or less in passing, by the New York Times in its lead story in the Sunday paper on January 15: "Mr. Santos, who is openly gay, had been married to a woman. The report did not offer conclusive details, but some people briefed on the findings wondered whether the marriage was done for immigration purposes." Although that article ran on for 91 column-inches in the print edition, there was no follow-up text on “the immigration purposes” charge. The suggestion was just left hanging there." Was that for her immigration purposes, or for his? Believe me, there's more to come on this angle, but he'll benefit from the largely pro-Democratic mainstream media shying away from anything that suggest immigration fraud (since all immigrants are obviously good and noble), and from the conservative media being more interested in protecting their slim majority than in asking obvious questions.

True. But ... ... we forget that Favre DID make the Jets better. That signing is usually considered an epic fail. But the Jets went from 4-12 with the 25th ranked offense in 2007 (the year before Favre) to 9-7 with the 9th ranked scoring offense in 2008 with Favre. And then another 9-7 as the Rex Ryan/Mark Sanchez era started in 2009, but with the 17th ranked offense (top ranked defense). So, be careful what we wish for. Semi-washed Aaron Rodgers >>> prime Zach Wilson. EDIT: kinda like Drew Bledsoe to the Bills. 3-13, 27th ranked scoring offense in 2001 (Rob Johnson/Van Pelt), 8-8, 11th ranked offense in the first Bledsoe year. My take: these aging good (not all great!) QBs to new teams usually DO work, sometimes brilliantly (Peyton Manning, Brady, Matthew Stafford, Carson Palmer to the Cards but not to the Raiders), sometimes decently (Bledsoe, Favre twice, Montana, Moon), and rarely totally fail (that's why Russell Wilson is such a mystery case, although Donovan McNabb was a somewhat lesser fail).

Probably. I mean, since there's no other reason anyone would be thinking about giving him another job.

Lance never made sense with where the Niners are in the competitive cycle. He was a project on a win-now roster. Even if he hadn't been injured I always assumed that they'd revert back to Jimmy G. at some point this season. The win-now thing became even more apparent with the McCaffrey trade. I think Lance isn't really an option for them anymore.

It wouldn't make sense to bring Brady to the Phins, except for ... ... Ross obviously wanted him when they tampered with Brady, and I doubt the last 3 years have done much to change the old man's mind. He's 82, and seems obsessed with winning a Super Bowl before he goes bye-bye ... Miami does have a Super Bowl quality roster right now, but for the QB position. Which is a huge "but for." Even if they were sold on Tua as The Guy, they can't be anymore given his injury history. That SB quality roster has an expiration date, particularly since speed doesn't age well. So: Carr? Not too appealing. Some huge restructuring/mortgaging the future to bring in Lamar? Same. Garoppolo? Sure, but is a 32 year old Jimmy coming off multiple injuries really better than a 46 year old healthy Tommy? ... Brady does have the (eroding) skillset that fits the Phins. Ultimate quick read/quick release guy. That's what was working with Tua. And there's that "we're getting the band back together for one final tour" thing with Gronk. 2 year contract, win or start from scratch when Ross is 85? I can see it. If I'm Ross, where's my better option right now?

I sure hope they didn’t use any nightshades in those implants.

Exactly. One of my experiences in the civilian sector: I supervised a guy who was, without a doubt, the most honest person I ever supervised in the federal government. He would take half a day off for a dentist appointment, then email me to say the appointment went unusually fast and he only needed to take an hour and a half of leave. And lots of other things like that when no one was looking. He was working with a classified file. He got distracted by a call or email or whatever. He went to the restroom, leaving the file on his desk. No reason to think anyone saw it; he was gone for 5 minutes. He called me to self-report a violation. I had to refer it up. That triggered a full investigatory team from DC. They interviewed him. They investigated whether he had any unusual contacts recently. The interviewed everyone with access to his office. Thank goodness they finally found (correctly) no potential damage to national security. He kept his job (and got promoted to my job later on) with just a letter or reprimand: "be more careful." That's one document, one honest guy, one honest mistake, one immediate self-report. Biden, like Trump, will get the full treatment, and he deserves it. His sloppiness or whatever has, at a minimum, taken away a really good talking point for him in the next election. Right now the apparent immediate self-report upon (apparently) discovering the docs is a positive, but we don't -- and won't -- know the full story for some time.

He does seem to be on the spectrum. Obviously smart (you don't even get near Yale if you're not), but a strange affect. Weird things he says are often taken as deadpan humor, but he never signals that he intended them as humor with a wry smile. Odd bird. I enjoy having him in the NFL if only because he's the polar opposite of the tough talking typical head coach. (McD has some of that in him too, although to a much lesser degree. It's a new generation!)

That Vikes defense is bad. But ... did Daniel Jones just go out and actually affirmatively WIN a game rather than just game-managing a way for the Giants to avoid losing it? He's always been a interesting case to me. He has shown real big-playmaking skills from time-to-time, usually buried by a bad offense and bad offensive scheme around him. Daboll may be allowing an actual winner to emerge? Still too soon to tell, but I'm guessing they commit to him for better or for worse.

Larry Summers explains it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/16/republicans-house-irs-tax-service/ Paywalled, so here's a couple clips: In past work, we have shown that an investment in the IRS similar in size to that of the Inflation Reduction Act would generate more than $1 trillion in additional tax revenue over a decade by reducing the “tax gap” — the difference between owed and paid taxes. But this is, in fact, conservative, as recent research has emphasized a point left out of our calculation: Successful audit activity raises future collections from taxpayers who face enforcement activity. If their home office deduction is disallowed once, taxpayers do not attempt the same deduction again. Reasonable people can disagree about how progressive the tax code should be. But we cannot see any logical argument rules that operate differently for certain taxpayers. Most Americans have most of their tax liability automatically withheld and earn income in ways that are reported directly to the IRS — for example, interest income on the 1099-INT or dividend income on the 1099-DIV. But the most privileged Americans accrue income in opaque ways that are not subject to this type of reporting and, therefore, are a source of a large percentage of the tax gap. The whole thing is worth reading. Summers is no fool, and no puppet of any administration or agenda - he did manage to get himself fired as Dean at Harvard for saying some unwoke things. He's not offering a spirited defense of our system of taxation; he's just stating the simple fact that if this is our system, it ought to work fairly across persons from all income categories and ways of generating income. Right now, it doesn't.

Why exactly was it so long? It crawled. Was it lack of a running game and lots of incompletions? Miami using up every second of play clock and then some on every play?

Good point. I kind of disagree, but good point. The offense is now all boom and bust, big play or big turnover. The defense is still bend but don’t break, make ‘em out together a 12 play/70 yard drive, and watch the mistake come that means they don’t convert or even turn it over. It’s a weird mix since head coaches usually don’t like living in that mix of risk-taking/risk-averse worlds.

Miami: 231 yards of offense. QB held to a 44.7 QB Rating. 4 turnovers on offense. And somehow people find a way to blame Leslie Frazier?

Elam!! Worth the first round pick!!!

Blitz fail, almost a first down

Weird effin game. Nail biter, but the opposite of the great KC-bills shootout last year. This one is more a comedy of errors on both sides.

And here comes the INT/strip sack to save us….