Brand J

I didn’t say Lamar was more deserving of the MVP than Josh Allen, I said the award wasn’t given to Lamar simply because he was Black like you all believed and then pointed out the reasons for why he won. The Bills were “the best team in the NFL” for about one week, after they beat the Dolphins early in the year. The Ravens were by far the most consistent and dominate and beat the crap out of top contenders. That’s really not debatable.

Lamar didn’t play against the Steelers in the final regular season game, so he was 6-2. But check this out… Ravens 25 Texans 9 Ravens 28 Browns 3 Ravens 38 Lions 6 Ravens 33 49ers 19 Ravens 56 Dolphins 19 Optics matter. Of their 13 regular seasons wins, 9 were by double digits. Of the eight teams in NFL history that had 9 wins by double digits or more, all had made the Super Bowl and only one of those didn’t win. The Lamar led Ravens bludgeoned teams and that’s why he’s MVP of the regular season, because he played phenomenal at times. It wasn’t because “let’s give the award to him because he’s Black.” I’m surprised so many of you agreed with that take.

Guess I’ll be one of the few who strongly disagrees with this take. The Ravens were the model of consistency all year, they bludgeoned other top teams in the league. Lamar played phenomenal at times, he was captain of “the best team in the league.” If Josh’s Bills beat up on contender after contender like the Ravens and Josh also had the low turnover output Lamar had (ie didn’t cost his team games), there’s no doubt Josh would’ve been in the MVP discussion all year long and the likely winner. When the Dolphins were hot early, Hill and Tua were heavily discussed. Before the 49ers hit their lull, Brock Purdy and McCaffrey were heavily discussed. Nowadays they seem to award the MVP to a player on the perceived best team rather than the player who was most impactful league wide. Race has nothing to do with it.

“Bodymore, Murdaland” The Wire was a great series, all but season 2. That one was a dud.

Like Elam? Cody Ford? Dawson Knox? Tremaine Edmunds? Just messing with you. No GM gets home run picks on every trade up. I’d rather he trade down and accumulate capital in the early rounds.

McCaffrey’s probably not dropping those passes that went off of Cook’s hands. Cook needs to hit the jugs machine in the offseason. I’d say he also needs to do the hand/eye coordination drills Knox did, but Knox is still dropping gimmes, so maybe those are a waste of time.

I always thought Curry would pursue basketball over football. The money’s better, less to spread around. EDIT: Just watched the video @KDIGGZ posted. I know there have been numerous McDonald All Americans who have flamed out in college, but Curry’s free fall as the number one recruit in the nation was pretty hard to fathom. He went to UNC and became a dud. Maybe too many focuses at once.

I’d have to lean towards “yes.” If it was a matter of simply being fortunate enough to play with two future hall of famers, we could point to his supporting cast. Last year and this year tells me it’s Mahomes. He likely would’ve thrived in whatever situation - as long as his OL was at least adequate. Stafford was always a good player, but comparing his rosters in Detroit with the one he had in the SB, there’s no comparison. I think Stafford would’ve had just as much success as Goff in Detroit this year if we switched the QBs, because that Detroit roster is much better now than the ones he had to work with.

Oh yeah, never did I say every SB win was due to Brady, of course it wasn’t. But the Pats don’t make it to all those SBs if it wasn’t for Brady. His influence on the regular season and the playoffs was greater than his HC and that’s the point. Coaches can only do so much, it’s up to the players to execute and more often than not, Brady made the plays that needed to be made when he needed to make them. And his supporting cast also helped.

Reason being he was athletically underwhelming, kept getting rotated out with Drew Henson at Michigan, and most importantly, it’s impossible to measure intangibles. It was a missed evaluation from all 32 clubs, but you can’t blame the teams. Tom Brady was an exception, no one saw his success coming. Mahomes had his own set of reasons for not being the #1 QB taken in the draft, but when the coach/QB discussion comes up, I’d say 70-75% of a coach’s success depends on his QB. It’s not the other way around, nor is it 50/50. Belichick, though a great defensive mind, would be nowhere near GOAT debate if Brady hadn’t lucked into his lap at pick 199 AND if Mo Lewis hadn’t ended Bledsoe’s tenure in NE.

Tom Brady was simply a game manager when he first took the field, true, but as a Patriots fan, I’m sure you remember the quote where your offensive coordinator said “once Tom got in the game, the offense was just different. It was like a well oiled machine.” Brady hardly made mistakes, he didn’t do things to beat the team, he kept his side of the ball clean and moving, which is all you could ask from him at that point. The argument was that Belichick has never had a QB who was even “above average” and I asked what about Drew Bledsoe? Two different QBs, yet two vastly different results.

Drew Bledsoe? Belichick went 5-11 with him in 2000, 0-2 in 2001. Tom Brady stepped in and went 14-3 his first year, same roster Bledsoe (and Belichick) had to work with. Unless you believe Drew Bledsoe wasn’t an above average QB…

I don’t think any team is giving up a first rounder for an expensive 30 year old WR coming off a down year. If there’s such a team gullible enough to make that sort of deal, Beane would jump at it IMO.

Do you think you’ll be in Buffalo next year? ”Well, yeah, I’m under contract. Unless you know something I don’t…” Bills knew what they were getting in Diggs when they sent a 1st, two 4ths and a 6th to MIN. I’m actually a little surprised the Vikings got that much considering another high profile WR had been traded just before him and it wasn’t for a 1st. Name escapes me, thinking it was Hopkins? Also didn’t have to sign him to a 4 year $96M extension when a two year money raise would’ve sufficed given his age. Bills made their own bed.

We’d be in a much better spot today, no doubt. Also have to believe Jefferson wouldn’t completely disappear in the playoffs when corners are allowed to be more physical. No one saw the sort of success that was ahead for Jefferson or he would’ve been the first receiver off the board. That was a missed evaluation by everyone but the Vikings. The draft is a crapshoot, doesn’t make sense to trade up for any position that isn’t the face of your franchise. And even that’s a huge risk (hello, Carolina). Trade down if anything, accumulate capital in the early rounds.

I did, but disputed the “sure thing” support for a trade up. Agreed with your second point.

True, so why reduce the number of chances you have on potentially hitting on very good to great players at other positions? We’re not talking about trading up for a QB here. It’s a WR.

Too bad that even the “he’s as sure as a sure thing ever was” didn’t even turn out “sure” in the end. No such thing. The draft is a crapshoot, if the Bills burn capital moving up and miss on the pick, the franchise will be set behind KC even more. If they hit on the pick, great, but now other areas that could’ve had young, cost controlled talent will suffer. Best approach has always been to accumulate picks in the “money” rounds, we just don’t do it often enough.

Diggs’s disappearing act in the playoffs is no different from every single member of the defensive line. I don’t understand it really.

For someone who “can’t tell you what the future holds,” despite the fact he’s firmly under contract the next four years, to me it sounds like he got word the team may want to do something with his contract that doesn’t benefit him. Pay cut request?

Two ruthless tormentors.

It’s a much less physical game today than when Brady played. You can’t even touch the QB in many instances, so that helps. If Mahomes wants to play for 20, he’s got the sort of game that could do it.

On the longer end, but definitely a good watch. Notable quotes: “If you sacrifice for players now, it probably won’t work out for you, but if you sacrifice for the future, the future is likely to be bright.” “Teams make irrational decisions all the time.” ”The likelihood of a player at any position being better than the one selected after him is 52%, essentially a coin flip.” What he says about NFL GMs makes complete sense, they’re antsy and make terrible trades to move up because they don’t have an eye on a future they may not be a part of. Everything is done for the “now.” Despite all the evidence we have of how moving up for players probably isn’t worth the risk, the same idiotic decisions are made every year. What CAR gave up for Bryce Young was criminal. Stockpiling 1-5 picks and/or selecting where I’m slotted would be my practice every year as GM. If I have to leave the room until the pick comes up to resist the temptation to trade up, so be it.

Beane said he traded with MIN for Diggs because he didn’t believe the team could get high enough to select one of the top 3 WRs (Lamb, Jeudy, and Ruggs). With that first rounder the Vikings picked Justin Jefferson and would have him on a cost controlled rookie contract for at least 4 years. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: if trading up guaranteed you’d be getting a superior talent in comparison to what you could get later, I’d be all for it, but that’s not at all how the NFL draft works. Why people, including Beane, have such a fascination with moving up and losing out on other potential contributors I’ll never understand. Picking the right guy is what matters, NOT where he’s picked. With that said, trade up for the QB if you absolutely believe in him, understandable because he plays the most important position in sports. But for any other position? “That’s a no from me, dawg.” I’ll throw up if Beane trades into the top 10 for a WR, especially considering how this team needs a bevy of good talent on cheap, cost controlled contracts.

It’s funny because I had the opposite reaction after watching his pro day. I felt he was trying to throw the farthest footballs he could rather than actually trying to complete the pass by hitting his downfield man in stride. Like he was trying too hard to show off what a cannon he had. I felt he was a physical specimen of a QB, but didn’t do all the other things well enough to ever be a good QB, much less a great one. It’s funny when I look back on it now, but you just never really know how a guy will pan out based on his college tape and measurables.