Blokestradamus

Oh really? Because Richie sought him out at the end of the game, gave him a quick embrace and said "Nice play". That falls in your criteria for hatred.

Then call out your left guard too.

I've been critical of Tyrod a lot this season but I'm damn proud of that kid today. Hostile environment, put under pressure from Mills on a consistent basis, he showed some real poise at times. He was far from perfect but it's something to build on for him. Did enough to keep us in a game that we probably had little hope of winning on paper. If circumstances play out a little differently, we might get OT off the back of his performance.

I suppose we're going to get the pitchforks out for Richie Incognito too?

I've spoken many times before about the weird sort of romance that sport has to offer. There's no denying that some of it are in it for the love of the game but I can't imagine that it's a majority. Some of these guys come from the most horrendous backgrounds and football is their way out. As I said, a means to an end. The league doesn't care about fans or the players. The teams don't care about fans or the players. The players don't care about the league, the team or the fans. Once people accept that, it's so much easier not to sound like a moron when talking about sports.

Likewise. One of the finer DB coaches in the NFL, was a great teacher. Darby has regressed to his former FSU self where my notes just insisted on calling him "Baby McKelvin". The whole damn secondary seems to be fraying at the seams.

Can we finally admit that getting rid of Donnie Henderson was a terrible decision?

Football is a means to an end for many. Fans want it to mean more to them than it does, for some reason.

Starting to wish Chad's leg fell off so we could stop talking about him

Ryan Fitzpatrick is the American dream. He's been barely good enough to hold on to roster spots at times but has had incredible luck with starters getting injured. He's turned a middling skill set in $51 million in career earnings. It's bonkers, good on him.

Give me Hack or give me death! Bryce Petty - world class shotputter in another life.

I didn't see this last night. Woke up to a text that said "that Kelly kid you hate is done for the season" (expletives removed!) Every player should have the chance to thrive or fail due to their own performance. An injury is gutting, even when it occurs to someone I don't particularly like. What this means for his prospects is exactly what Yolo said, he'll have a Mettenberger style "drop". His attitude will undoubtedly rub some teams the wrong way and his tape isn't good enough to warrant a top pick. If he's not on his best behaviour, he'll end up a UDFA. If anything, this might be a good thing for Chad. He was never a day one starter and possibly being out until August should stop any temptation to throw him out there as a rookie. He needs developing and patience if he's going to amount to anything. This might facilitate that.

No denying that he's in a favourable circumstance. I don't actually think that, in the grand scheme of comparing to 31 other current starters, he's playing exceptionally well. When you apply the context that he's a rookie doing it, the performance is much more impressive. I give the coaching staff a lot of credit. They're not overwhelming him with responsibility, they're playing to his skill set and helping him keep the offense in rhythm. In a startlingly non-Buffalo fashion, they're actually developing the kid while he's playing. If Dak ends up being a high-calibre starter, it's because of the instruction he's receiving now, under the brightest of spotlights.

Solely by asking an experienced coach like Norv to take other advice on board, Zimmer knew it would alienate him. Zimmer didn't want to get rid of him by any means but he knew that it would essentially be to the detriment of their long-term relationship by trying to get Shurmur involved. Zimmer didn't force him out and that's true. He just took steps for his team that he thought was best and it would undoubtedly piss Norv off. I don't think Zimmer expected him to resign but it wasn't the first time they tried to get Norv to be flexible. After the 2015 season, there was frustration from some about his inability to adapt to the fact that Teddy was getting pummeled every other pass play. More frustration came from within the front office when guys like Adam Thielen were getting snaps over LaQuon Treadwell. As soon as Teddy got hurt and Bradford came in, it was pretty much certain that Norv was gone at the end of 2016. Teddy won't be able to play in 2017 and Shurmur is the Bradford whisperer. If the organisation didn't show him the door, they certainly opened it for him and told him that they had a backup plan while giving him several nudges to walk through it.

I'm not sure people should try to downplay what Dak has done just because Dallas knows how to build an offense. After all, that's the goal of all 32 teams. Same way I don't give our QB a free pass for missing his awful targets. Judge the play in a vacuum, add context afterwards.

But Earl Thomas is playing.

It begins. @ArifHasanNFL ESPN's @JeffDarlington: I'm told difference we'll see w/ Shurmur—less 7-step drops, more run-pass options, RBs out of backfield more often

You Americans don't know how easy you've got it. Shared revenue, no relegation, an implied 3-year waiting period to see how picks/coaches pan out. I think with Lee being a cog in the wheel, the process is fundamentally flawed. Even looking at the kind of guys Rex has had at QB before to the guys Whaley had a hand in picking, I'm not seeing a lot of cohesion on that front. Everyone knows I'm a Whaley fan but, if this all falls apart at some point, starting afresh with the ideals I laid out early is something to strive for.

From what I've heard, Zimmer was getting sick of clashing factions between Turner and the relationship between Shurmur and Sam Bradford. Shurmur wanted more input, Turner didn't like it. When it became obvious that Turner wasn't for changing, Zimmer stepped in and tried to get them on the same page. Norv decided he was doing more harm than good and resigned. Zimmer didn't force him out but it certainly sounds like Shurmur wasn't making it easy for him to stay. It might be completely wrong but I've not seen the person I got it from be wrong often.

Injuries are a huge red flag for Ross. Microfracture surgery will instantly make some teams run away. Haven't paid a lot of attention to Pettis yet but he's commanding plenty of attention with the way he's playing.

I know it's popular to call the draft a crapshoot for QBs (maybe because it makes us feel better for not having one) but I think a lot of teams fail from the outset and make the process near impossible. The worst thing to this process is indecision. If I had the chance at being a GM, I'd get three things sorted before drafting a QB. 1) Develop a clear idea of the type of offense I want for my team. Identity helps everything flows when the real decisions start. 2) Hire a head coach and/or offensive coordinator that believe in the same principles as I do. Cohesion should ease any friction further down the road. 3) Identity a select few traits that you want in your QB. At the very least, know which route combinations will become your staples and scout accordingly. Your process might be flawed. As a GM, you likely never get a second chance so go down your own way. You might go down in a ball of flames but, if you keep on moving the goal posts every year on what you're building, you're bound to fail anyway. How that great Seahawks defense was built was on these same principles. I believe every great team has to follow these kinds of ideals.

I've heard plenty to the contrary from people I trust on the Vikings.

Corey Davis - best overall WR. JuJu Smith - best Woods replacement. John Ross/Malachi Dupre - best deep WR fit. My top 10 - Corey Davis, Mike Williams, JuJu Smith, Gabe Marks, Malachi Dupre, Josh Reynolds, Stacy Coley, John Ross, KD Cannon, Simmie Cobbs Jr. Not everyone will declare, rankings will change, usual disclaimers

This is the absolute crux of the issue and why I'm almost completely convinced Cardale won't pan out. I have absolutely no faith in David Lee teaching him. I've not seen anything in Lee's past that I can look to as assurance that Cardale will make the significant strides necessary to become a starting calibre quarterback. We've seen at the college level that Tom Herman put together a game plan for Cardale in 2014 that he was capable of executing. Granted, half of that was just letting Zeke run the holy crap over everyone but he called plays that Cardale could execute. He's shown himself to be coachable and willing to take instruction. I just worry that he'll be getting bad instruction under Lee's mentoring.

Personally, I'm pretty much a straight traits guy so I won't dock him for the production. I've watched about 20 receivers so far, he's my #5. No doubt in my mind that spending a 2nd on him represents good value. Hell, if Will Fuller was a 1st round pick, I can make the case for Dupre too. Better than Fuller was, better hands.