WeckMonster

every case is different Tommy Doyle played the 4th quarter against the Fins on a torn ACL bc we were out of lineman. Tom Brady walked off with a torn ACL… which was actually badass. And I hate him. Couple recent NCAA wrestlers won Natty’s on torn ACLs (Nolf, Starocci, OTool placed 2nd)

That basically doesn’t work anymore if you want to win a Super Bowl. Super bowls require a portion of your roster delivering more value than their contract. That portion is usually going to come from 1st/2nd rounders on their first contract. if Keon plays great in year 4, he’ll be renegotiating, getting paid and will be a net neutral value.

What’s the outlook for Hardy? Was surprised he didn’t make the 53 after a strong camp last year. He’s small but has speed and was great covering the slot in college. might just be a bad scheme fit with McDermott basically wanting big slow DBs who come up and make sure tackles after giving up an easy 9 on 3rd and 7. hopefully drafting Hairston means he evolves from his 1996 cover 3 shell.

1st and 2nd round picks need to be year 1 starters or at least have high impact roles. 3rd round picks same by year 2. Looking at 2024 we would’ve won a SB if that were the case. That WAS the case for the Eagles. -Coleman, Bishop, Carter = zero impact in playoffs. total whiff. -Kincaid, Torrence, Williams. Playoffs = 1 strong starter and 2 replacement level players in Kincaid and Williams. -Elam, Cook, Bernard. 1 bust and two strong starters. so 9 top picks in last 3 years yielded 3 starters, 2 replacement level players and 4 zero impact players in last years playoffs. We’d have done better picking from Kiper’s best available list. fingers crossed there are big turnarounds for Kincaid, Coleman, Bishop and Carter. Though the Bills seem to have signed/drafted over Carter already.

I agree today’s game can be super formulaic and boring. But I’ll ask you to trust me that the Defenders are way better than previous eras. Great offense and lame officiating totally skews how you see Defense. And I grew up idolizing guys like Joe Dumars, John Starks, Gary Payton, etc. 1. With 3 pt shooting, 5 out, etc, you probably have to guard 25% more space and an extra 2 guys on the perimeter than before. This makes Defenses look worse. 2. Fouls are called much more closely now. Guys like Harden and SGA would’ve been all stars but not MVPs if more contact was allowed. 3. 6ft guards and 7ft stiffs used to start on every team. They get hunted off the floor and out of the league now. Pretty much every one is big and fast. 4. The pool of 6’6” guys that can move laterally, close out, run like a deer has doubled with globalization.

This is WAY off. Basketball talent is 1000x better than even 20 years ago. Played in high school and now involved in travel circuit through my teenage kids. The skill level is insane. Early specialization, way better coaching, YouTube, camp circuits, etc. That’s just US. The game has globalized and 25% of the NBA is now international. That number will hit 50% in the next 20 years.

Wasn’t part of the decision to draft Bishop because Kincaid said he was so tough to go against at Utah? Turns out Kincaid would’ve said the same thing about the blocking sled. (this topic based on a Zapruder pic is both ridiculous and too fun to pass up)

Obviously anything can happen, but Vegas win totals predict: -AFC East opponents are all 500 or worse. NE on the rise. Jets on the descent. Miami still Miami. -NFC South is a struggle fest with Tampa as a 9.5 win Division champ. -Steelers and Cleveland still in QB purgatory. -Home schedule is dynamite! Games against 4 predicted Division champs (Balt, KC, Philly, TB) plus Cincy who carves McD zones up like air. Hopefully home field advantage is huge and we close the old stadium with some massive wins. Vegas Win Totals in parentheses with my subjective Win/Loss/Toss-Up HOME: Baltimore Ravens (11.5, Loss) Cincinnati Bengals (9.5, Loss) Kansas City Chiefs (11.5, Toss Up) Miami Dolphins (8.5, Win) New England Patriots (7.5, Win) New Orleans Saints (6.5, Win) New York Jets (5.5, Win) Philadelphia Eagles (11.5, Toss Up) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9.5, Toss Up) AWAY: Atlanta Falcons (7.5, Win) Carolina Panthers (6.5, Win) Cleveland Browns (4.5, Win) Houston Texans (9.5, Toss Up) Miami Dolphins (8.5, Sept Liquid IV Game = Toss Up, Oct-Jan = Win) New England Patriots (7.5, Toss Up) New York Jets (5.5, Win) Pittsburgh Steelers (8.5, Win) I'm seeing 9 Wins, 2 Losses, 6 Toss Ups.

It's both. McD is super predictable. Beane reloads but with versions of the same guy every year. Big, slow, stiff DEs that don't have the bend or speed to create pressure when it counts (Epenesa, Basham, Rousseau, now Jackson). Small DTs that get swallowed by power run teams (Oliver, Carter, now Sanders). I'm sure it's partially because it's what McD wants for his scheme. But these prototypes range from busts to JAGs to 2nd contract but not pro-bowlers.

Kids zoom around our neighborhood in them all the time. 10-12 year olds driving with all their friends piled on. Will be 0% surprised to eventually hear of a bad accident.

Chop Robinson was great in the second half of the season as a rookie. Think he’ll be a terror this year. I’d take him over any of the above in a heartbeat.

Yep. Have been through many of these and they often lead to reducing talent in organizations. As a generalization… High performers who feel good about their prospects outside often take the severance and find a new job quickly. Then often return with a promotion once their required time away passes. Low performers who don’t feel great about their prospects outside do not take the severance.

I hate the Bengals, think their ownership is bush league... but I actually don't think this is a terrible decision. Go all in on impact players and hope you draft / find cheap vets to fill the gaps. Think of all the lesser-impact players Beane spends $ on. I'd rather have Higgins than Roussea + Ogonjubi. I'd rather have Chase than Shakir + Palmer + Hoecht + Bosa. Out of those guys Shakir is the only one above average. The rest are JAGs that you can pick up anywhere. Hope our signings are better than I'm expecting and I eat my words...

This drives me INSANE. The safeties are literally so far back that WRs catch 25 yard passes 5 yards in front of our safeties. And this is with our CBs giving a cushion. I just don't understand the need to be THAT conservative. It's like playing 9 on 11 most plays.

Insanely terrible calls. That’s how you coach blocking. Along with Rapp, the refs had it in their mind that something must’ve happened as opposed to calling what they saw. Which is amateur behavior. The rule book basically allows for holding or PI flags on every play. That’s the point of having competent refs… know the difference.