Dr. Who

If Nick Wright has come around, the gig is definitely up.

The old guild system of the middle ages was designed to provide just this sort of progression from novice to master craftsman. The world of post-industrial individualism greatly increased choice and the geographical scope for talent, but it really vitiated all those soft forms of social integration that allowed persons to mature into excellence and prosper. It happens everywhere, but this is a good example in a relatively specialized ecosystem as it were.

Honestly, at this point, anyone with an ounce of simple instinct for self-preservation has got to know its no longer even possible to play the skeptic card for click bate without appearing utterly clueless.

Well, his mistake was he left 13 seconds on the clock.

I basically agree. The hiring inequity can be separated out from the paying to lose which cannot be tolerated without putting the whole league in question. The former is complicated and so ideologically charged it becomes polemical so there is more heat than light. I sure don't know how to resolve it, but it seems to me rather than focus on head coaches, there needs to be much more attention to placing minorities at the Coordinator level which is the best logical path to eventually becoming a head coach. Personally, I subscribe to MLK's dictum that one ought to be judged by the content of one's character and not by factors entirely outside anyone's control such as race or gender, but that remains largely aspirational and obviously other factors do become problematic in the real world.

Can the NFL really afford to cave at all when the charges so materially go to the integrity of the league? I think they are going to play hard ball.

Throwback blues with standing buffalo is the best uniform in football, but hard to argue taste. The all white is a very crisp look and we seem to always lose with the white over blue combo, so I can't see it without a trace of pessimism seeping through. The red on red is the only combo I truly dislike. Royal blue is our color. Red reminds me of the old Patriot uniforms when they were bad like they are supposed to be.

He better have strong evidence, because if its equivocal or purely subject to interpretation, NFL lawyers are going to eat him alive.

Folks will debate that, but he'd sure be my first pick. It's not just his superior athletic gifts at the most important position in football. Leadership and intangibles come into play. Fella is the real deal across the board.

He potentially destroyed his career to make a point? Very Captain Ahab.

Let's hope so. They've got a puzzling track record on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe Gabe Davis was the beneficiary of KC locking down Diggs, I dunno, but still seems like he should have been on the field much more rather than Sanders. It took injury for Bates to get time at Guard, but the oline seemed to gel when he did. Took them a while to settle on Singletary as the bell cow. They find a blocking scheme that seems to work with their personnel and now they are looking at coaches that favor a system that precisely does not fit the majority of our oline. Whatever they do, I'll be optimistic because Josh is that good, but it would be nice to not have to worry about this hire.

No, I believe that was Josh Rosen. Rosen even met with Rodgers. They discussed how to ingratiate yourself with the media and fans.

I'm not arguing about going for two all the time or ridiculously extravagant fourth down decisions as exhibited throughout the year by Brandon Staley. As folks upthread indicated before me, the 13 seconds debacle sure seemed like conservative, overly cautious playcalling that had the opposite effect from what was intended. I'm not sure if you want to put Daboll's offense on McDermott, but there were weird lulls when we seemed content to run safe plays, eg. involving Reggie Gilliam or the consecutive run plays that frivolously threw away drives in the KC game; also red zone choices that appear to forget that Josh Allen is a dangerous man. My surmise is that McDermott has worked to overcome a native tendency to play it close to the vest. He often succeeds, but in crisis situations, he sometimes reverts.

I wouldn't want to follow Brady. I think NOLA is in bad shape or Payton would not have bailed. Miami is going to be fun after this offseason. Pittsburgh makes the most sense to me, though I'm hoping somehow we retain him (unlikely.)

I would say McDermott is strangely erratic. He is bold, but then goes turtle at bad times.

Since I'm an UGA fan, I'm curious where you think George Pickens is likely to land in terms of draft round. I can never seem to find objectivity when it comes to a fella I liked in college, but I think he can be a solid pro.

I don't. I think the NFL is largely very corporate, very safe. They capitulate all the time to political pressure, so I find it generally difficult to believe that systemic racism is behind the lack of minority hires. The kind of binary choices you suggest -- retreads or flavor of the moment is very human. We go with what we are familiar with or we take a chance on what might be the next hot thing. It would be mature and wise to consider the fella with competence, experience, but who hasn't gotten a chance to lead at the highest level yet, but that requires going past the first "safe choice," and bypassing the easy sell of who everyone is clamoring for. In short, the explanation seems to me more a matter of typical psychology than massive indifference to social inequities. Add in that in the NFL even bad teams make money, and you have a recipe for doing the easy thing which is "human, all too human." All that said, I believe Flores is actually a hot name and his premature litigation may have cost him a head coach position.

I didn't listen to it, but I'm pretty sure the real message is "sure would like more snaps and a legit shot at #2 WR."

Well, the dominant media is going to play it as a heroic stand against racism, not a big baby tantrum. You know how that will play out.

It is more complicated. I hadn't thought about that.

And why shouldn't we be at the top of his list?

In the academic world, most of the open positions posted are not actually genuine. Institutions are required by law to put them out there, but the vast majority already have someone or a select few in mind. Schools admission policies routinely select against more qualified Asian students and hardly anyone cares. In this particular case, Flores would have been more admirable if he had outed Ross and quit rather than waiting to use it as an Ace when he doesn't like the hand he's been dealt.

I think the rule invites that kind of hypocrisy. You can disapprove of it, but there isn't going to be any legal sanction to address it.

Seattle, Atlanta, and **** had a part in those SB victories as well. They had a lot go their way . . . it's always seemed to me the inverse Buffalo Bills law. The football gods made us pay the karmic price for all that good fortune, not that I'm bitter or anything.

Thanks for sharing. This is sure to help assuage the angry and sad feelings around here.