TigerJ

The Titans now have 11 persons testing positive for COVID-19 (players and other team personnel). That's up from 8 the other day. I haven't seen a breakdown that shows how many of the current total are players - there were three the other day. One non-player affected is apparently the Titan's linebacker coach. Because of the new positives, the league has apparently postponed the game to a future, as yet undetermined date. That is a change from the earlier plans to play it on Monday or Tuesday evening. That in effect gives the Titans a bye week before their game with the Bills. Of course the situation is still subject to change, especially if more positives come to light in the next few days.

Unfortunately, that can't be easily measured, especially today when prospects hire people to coach them on how to answer questions and how to act in interviews. That is of course why people are always missing it in other athletes.

This is a better team than a year ago. The defense has struggled some due, I think, to Star Lotulelei's decision to sit out the season, injuries at linebacker and the fact that Buffalo has faced a couple hot QBs (yes Fitzpatrick gets hot in lots of games he plays) including one of the more feared offenses in the league. I think the defense, while it might not be to last years level, will improve some going forward, but in any case the improvement in the offense has more than made up for the slip in the defense. Remember, though, that Buffalo has one of the most difficult schedules in the league this year. I still think their record at the end of the season will be better than a year ago, but it may not be by much.

If Robert Woods were posting here, we could maybe argue the point with him, but really, what is the point of that. There have been more than a few times that the Rams have gotten calls they shouldn't have or calls were not made against than that should have been made.

Two days ago, I would have agreed. They will be tough games. Now it looks like the Raiders will have multiple players facing some kind of discipline over a failure to follow COVID-19 protocols. If that discipline involves suspensions, it could cripple a team already set to be without two starting WRs and a starting CB. Their only two active QBs are among the players who could face suspensions. Tennessee will be likely missing at least four players due to COVID-19 and it seems certain their game versus Pittsburgh will be delayed to Monday or possibly Tuesday night, giving them a short week to prepare for Buffalo.

Yeah, sometimes you'll get a good starter on the D-line from a third round pick, but if you can get a rotational player of a decent backup, you ought not be too disappointed. Harrison Phillips doesn't have the explosion to be effective pressuring the QB in pass defense. He's a bit undersized for 1 tech but with his wrestling background he's got a good understanding of leverage. He's also coming back from bilateral knee surgery. That can't make things easy. I still wouldn't want him to be my starting nose tackle.

Nah! Passion in reality TV is not a bad thing. It does put the league in a difficult spot. The league made a very public strong stand about fighting COVID-19, and has very strict protocols. A slap on the wrist penalty (a fine) for the players in Oakland who violated league protocol will undermine the credibility of the league, but at the same time, they would love to have a competitive game between the Raiders and Bills. I think the league will have to make a choice. If they want the protocols to be taken seriously, they have to suspend/quarantine the players involved.

I believe I recall that because Firebaugh High School was so small, they could not field a team with enough players to put 11 players on the field at the same time. Apparently similarly small schools in the same general area formed a league that played a version of football with only 7 players on the field at a time. Wikipedia reports that because a lot of team members also played baseball, the football team did not participate in "7 on 7 camps."

There's a lot of buffalos out there.

Most QBs drafted highly, with the expectation that they will soon be a starter in the NFL, were already recognized as quality QBs in high school. They got recruited by big schools with highly respected football programs. Even those who don't check all of those boxes check at least some of them. Josh Allen played 7 on 7 ball in high school and went to a junior college because no four years school wanted to touch him. He had far less preparation for the pro game than just about anybody we could name. That did not make the present situation (Josh Allen making a leap in year three) inevitable, but in my thinking it makes it far less shocking than for a QB with a more typical path to the pros. In my thinking this is almost a logical next step to what has ben a unique path for an NFL QB going all the way back to the beginning.

Heard on NFL Live - the league really wants to go ahead with the Pittsburgh - Tennessee Titans game scheduled for Sunday, yet threatened by COVID-19. Tennessee can't even get back into their building until Saturday. The league is considering making it a Monday night or even a Tuesday night game. Of course, that will have an impact on the ability of the Titans to prepare for their game with Buffalo the following week particularly if they can't play Pittsburgh until Tuesday. Presumably, they would have a Wednesday off followed by two, rather than three days of practice, and then a Saturday walk through. McDermott will be licking his chops.

I would like to see points for violations expire after a length of time. I don't really have a sense of how long that should be. I think abusive behavior should always be reprimanded most strongly, including the assessment of points. Inappropriate language should be the next most severely reprimanded. After that I don't care too much. I don't think about terms of service much at all in my daily posting. I figure that if I act with consideration and courtesy as I do in daily life, I should be OK. I had a mile reprimand once for a thread title that didn't have enough information. I don't recall any others.

I think the Jets should wait about ten years before deciding if Gase should be their coach long term. You can't rush these things.

I'm not so sure that this gives the Titans any kind of advantage. The question is what players are, or might become positive for COVID-19 leading up to Buffalo's game. A few key players out due to COVID could hurt Tennessee tremendously. More positive COVID tests are certainly possible, if not likely over the next 10 days or so. There is no way for players to do on field drills or run throughs of plays while in isolation, and if a player doesn't have a full gym at home, he probably can't do much strength or conditioning work. The coaching staff can game plan all they want, but translating that game plan into the players being able to execute it with a level of comfort and confidence is an entirely different story.

Is the OP referring to media when referring to so called draft experts? In any case, there are all kinds of opinions among media and fans alike, and among NFL scouts and GMs as well for that matter. As far as Nate Peterson is concerned, I don't think the Bills ever figured him to be a sure fire franchise QB. He was a smart QB with limited arm talent, who had success in college. I think his ceiling was regarded as limited starter or decent backup. What no one foresaw, nor really could have foreseen was his tendency to have brain cramps every time he stepped on the field in NFL regular season games. That's something he might eventually fix, but there's only so long you can have patience with a fatal flaw like that. My opinion of Josh Allen from the first moment I read up on him was that he had an intriguing skill set and athleticism but was severely underdeveloped. I was not unhappy the Bills drafted him when Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were off the board. I had no idea if he would develop but I really thought if he developed in a way where he could use the full potential of his skill set, he could be elite. That was not due to expertise in the draft. Everything I have in terms of knowledge is second and third hand. I read what others know and think. Then I formulate my own opinions, but those opinions are never so set in stone that I feel I can't change them. As far as Josh Allen in the present is concerned, I'm thrilled with what I'm seeing, but I think there is still some unrealized potential. He still occasionally falls into the "hero ball" trap. There are times when he needs to throw the ball away rather than risk a sack or an interception. If he never fixes that, I'm still happy he's my QB, but I think if he does fix it, he can be one of the great ones.