Coach Tuesday

The problem with this game is that the Ravens are clearly a better football team almost on every level.

Well, Dunne put out Part 3 today and that’s basically his exact conclusion - that the problems really start and stop at Halas Hall.

My thoughts exactly. Maybe one time try it the other way Brandon?

Yup I read that last week - good stuff.

So you could be right and my hypothesis is if you are he will face consequences. We will see. 32 sources is 32 sources, he’s at least presenting it as real journalism (your point about peer review is a fair one, don’t know what his process is as a solo but you’d hope he vets it past colleagues in some form), some of the specific events he talks about either did or did not happen and if they didn’t, he’ll be destroyed. If they did, not sure how they can be explained away. If Caleb routinely skips film study and prep sessions and turns and walks back onto the field while his coach is instructing him during games, there may not be a lot of help from “other perspectives.”

True. And it also hides whether he heard opposing perspectives that some of the 32 sources told him - if so that’s poor journalism, you’d think he’d at least PRESENT the other side (which he even kind of did with McD). But this thing reads like a consensus opinion. Again, he’s really putting himself out there I would think. If he’s over his skis his goose could be cooked forever. But then again maybe we’re just so post-norms no one will hold it against him. That would be sad.

“For this three-part series, Go Long chatted with 32 sources. Coaches, scouts, execs, players and staffers inside Halas Hall guide readers through the sludge. Many have landed new jobs. To share their experiences without fear of retribution they’re granted a condition of anonymity.”

Well this one might make or break him. He’s really putting sh— out there in this piece. He’s basically calling the entire Bears front office a clown show, this is going to be put on blast I would think (again, very curious about the late summer Friday release) and if he got material parts of it wrong he’s going to get roasted and possibly even canceled. This is a bigger story than McD having a tight sphincter - Poles just basically gave himself an extension, they spent a ton of money on a mercurial QB whisperer coach but then also paid their young untested backup QB a surprisingly large amount in a new contract before the season. Chicago is a potential powder keg and Dunne may have just lit the match - we will quickly find out if the flames engulf him instead. EDIT: I guess the timing is bc Tyler is hoping it gets absorbed all day today in time to be the hot pregame topic on opening day Sunday. Which I agree is diabolical. But I mean he appears to be relying on a whole army of sources - if he’s full of it, he’ll get absolutely skewered to the point of being dunzo.

I’d rather talk about the content.

Agree with that. Just the latest of the many things Goff has had to overcome in his career - this notion that Johnson made him. Goff was done dirty by McVay and he could’ve lost his fight and confidence being exiled to Detroit and instead it turns out he has incredible football (and general human, if you read about him) character. Really interesting and impressive dude.

Certainly possible. The quotes were pretty extensive and seemed also from folks with less skin in the game - but it certainly could be the case. That’s why I’m interested to see who sticks up for Caleb.

The article discusses that in detail - quotes coaches who dispute that narrative and say it was Caleb who refused and then threw Waldron under the bus. I didn’t say I was through discussing the substance. This is going to be a big story (odd he released it on a late summer Friday though). The idea that Caleb is an entitled kid who may have a serious learning disability that multiple levels of people covered up systemically to protect his draft status - fascinating stuff. Dunne interviewed and quotes many people who were in the room when he was drafted, when he was coached, etc.

I’ll say this: it’ll be really interesting to see how many/which people speak up to defend Caleb in response to this. And also if this stuff is true, whether Caleb can change - if he can’t, Ben Johnson isn’t going to let it tank his career (he has spent too long waiting for this opportunity). He’ll switch to Tyson Bagent and never look back - and I think Baget may be legit.

Splitting hairs maybe but I view Allen as a “big slot” type, Ladd as a “small slot.” Ladd and Shakir have a similar body type and play style whereas Allen is more like what Keon could (and maybe should) be as a “big slot” (cue the “your mom” jokes I know). Long way of saying I still think Ladd would be duplicative here given that we have Shakir. But I could see an offense here with Keon and Shakir both in slot roles.

If Stephen A. Smith explained in detail who his sources are (by category, not by name) and broke news about things that happened, then yes I would. If he was just spouting hot takes and loud unsourced opinions then yes I think it would be fair game to do the same back to him. I’m not going to get into this further (with you), I’ve said my view on it.

No, that's misdirection. The OP posted about the content of the article. You immediately chimed in with a troll-post about the author. You're admitting you haven't read the article. I don't think that's productive, and that's my opinion. And I also find it ironic (I know you would say that it's "fitting") that your issue with him is that he provocatively takes shots at people without providing substance.

IDK how you can accuse him of hiding behind a paywall (it’s his livelihood - if he joined “Big Media” the hordes here would dismiss him on that basis instead), and he’s literally putting his name on a piece accusing Caleb of being a coach-killer who may have dyslexia and refuses to hear criticism, and accusing Poles of being an unqualified autocrat who concealed critical information from his coaching staff about the most important player on the roster. Dunne is signing his own name to all of that and he’ll have to deal with the consequences. As opposed to someone hiding behind a message board screen name saying all kinds of things about the messenger. Again, I’m not pro-Dunne. I thought his hit on McD was petty and weak but to his credit he went and sat down with Beane and McD and that had to have been awkward, but he did his job and I found him somewhat (but not enough) contrite about his previous writing. But what kills me is view around here that and in society that killing the messenger is the right response to a message you don’t like. And folks coming on here basically saying “I haven’t read this and shouldn’t have to but I’m sure it sucks” how is that contributing to the discourse in any productive way? It’s just troll behavior being legitimized.

Yeah I totally completely disagree with you. I thought his hit piece on McD was cheap because what was the big reveal? That a young coach gets nervous under pressure? So what? But this piece goes way deeper and many of Dunne’s other longform pieces do too. Attacking the speaker as a quick way to kill the speech (and avoid having to engage with its content - or even read it), is very 2025, I get it, we’re a society of Twitter trolls now, but I’m not signing up for it. Please point those out so we can have a discussion about them, Andy.

I would encourage anyone who is interested to actually read Dunne’s longform piece in its entirety. He details his extensive sources. The piece is fascinating. Very juicy to say that Caleb has dyslexia and Poles didn’t tell his coaches.

Shut up clown.

Those clutch plays are the difference.

Crap the Chiefs may have landed a future AP left tackle…

He’s a pirate.

Have you ever signed a lease? It was heavily subsidized, not free.

Um based on WHAT? The pre-New Deal era in the U.S. was know for some pretty depraved corporate behavior. The East India Company of Britain subjugated entire populations. Ever hear about the Banana Massacre? Chiquita is still selling its wares today!