DrDawkinstein

We're here to discuss. I can ask questions and pose things so folks can chime in. Dont get offended by my questioning, or take it as some personal slight to you or McD. I am absolutely counting on McD coming out with a far more aggressive Defense. Otherwise, why bother? But McD has never come across as a "LETS SMASH THEIR F%&$ING HEADS IN" guy. The team has been living his culture the last 5 years. And for that time, we've been soft on both sides of the ball. We've gotten bullied far more than we've done the bullying. But we win with talent and finesse. I got similarly mocked right before the Cincy game because I said I was worried and didnt think we'd have the toughness And then the game happened. (no offense LeGOATski, tried to take your name off the post. just for illustrative purposes) This is a Championship Coach's pregame speech, can you ever see McD pulling this?

All (or at leat most) of the companies you hear of making huge cuts lately all did the opposite during COVID and WAAAYYYYY over-hired. Just absolutely packed their rosters. To the point there were thousands of employees with not a lot to do. This happened for a couple of reasons: 1. Companies were hiring hard and fast to get those PPP loans based on number of employees and payrolls. 2. Entertainment and Tech companies saw a huge boom during COVID when everyone was at home. 2020 was one of the best years for revenue the multi-Billion dollar company I work for has ever had. And then 2021 beat it even further. But now, the other shoe has dropped. Those companies that benefited from the COVID lifestyles are having tough times. Folks arent home all day and night so arent using their services as much. We barely made our 2022 numbers (we actually didn't but leadership re-adjusted so it wouldnt be a complete failure). And with those tough times, all the folks that got over-hired are now being let go. But there are still a lot of people employed. Look at Salesforce. They had 35,000 employees in 2019. At the start of 2023, they had 79,390 employees. They MORE THAN DOUBLED during the COVID rush. And now are whittling back down to ~60,000. Which is still a ton more than before. So you hear "Salesforce laying off 10% of staff". And that sounds like a lot, and to the people affected that is a big deal. But That just means they are down from 79,000 to 71,000. And still double than where they started. Not all as bad as the headlines would lead you to believe.

Not her first Patriot, wont be her last. Pretty girl, but I cant get past that. Pass.

I get the nickname came from offensive calls, but I dont think his aggressive/gambling is only alive in those small situations. Especially as a former MLB/Special Teamer. And McD's defenses in Carolina were far more aggressive than they have been with the Bills, so hopefully he can bring some of that back from Carolina this year.

Yeah, I was trying not to go there in comparison because maybe I'm feeling that way unfairly just based on looks, but they also look alike ON the field. And then just coming from UFlorida in general...

For some reason, I dont have a good feeling about Torrence. As much as I'd love a young, talented OG/C, I lean towards the guys who are projected to the 2nd/3rd rounds.

For you draftniks out there, what does Drew Sanders have that Jack Campbell doesn't? I've heard a lot of talk about Campbell, but noticed that a lot of sites have him ranked behind Sanders as the #2 MLB prospect. Yet, I dont hear much hype about Sanders. They look to be about the same size.

IMO, I like when we have 1 or 2 designed/called Josh runs early in the game. Usually calms him down a little bit, AND establishes early on that the Defense needs to be ready for it. Gives them another wrinkle to think about. Plus, it feels like he takes less hits on designed runs where he has blockers to follow, as opposed to scrambles where the OL is still standing around trying to form a pocket and the LBs are flying at him in the open field.

I dont think anyone would argue against the results of that poll going to Mahomes. Because that is simply the reality of the situation. But, if we're looking to dig a little deeper, talking about the swap and change of scenery is a decent convo to have. IMO, you could rotate Mahomes, Allen, or Burrow into KC and get the same results they've seen. And that would give the nod to whoever was there winning SBs. Which is fair. Outside of those 3, I'm not sure a Championship is such a sure thing* with anyone else. (*as sure as it could be, obviously a lot in play to win a SB)

sorry, bud. great minds...

If they swapped teams, do you think we are winning a Super Bowl just because of Mahomes? And KC is more likely to go out in the Divisional round? Or does Josh steam roll his way to another KC Super Bowl with Reid and his supporting cast?

I was surprised Beane wasnt all over him when he hit FA in 2021.

I've wondered through this discussion how much of McD's aggressiveness in Carolina was due to the pressure/influence of his aggressive Head Coach, "Riverboat Ron"? Did he need that weekly influence of a former badass MLB in his ear encouraging him to push those limits? Can he find that again on his own with possibly his job on the line?

The best news about this mock draft is now that it has been put out into the universe as a mock draft, it will never happen like this since no one is ever correct on these. That's the best credit I can give it.

Do we get a Comp Pick for losing him to Atlanta? Asking for a friend.

Crypto showing decent resiliency through all this banking madness around the world. Dipped a bit yesterday and then bounced back big time last night. Vibranium Hands.

My man, do me a favor and read through my post above and let me know what you think about this new trend and group, and if that is really the norm.

Haha, what is that article? 🤣 "Forest Mute" 🤣

Why would you assume my tone is anything but jovial? I even gave you the smilies! Thanks, mom. I was already in the middle of a long winded post I was trying to wrap up and figured I'd leave something that minor up for discussion. You're not fun to engage with anymore. Let's not make this about us. Again. Weird.

I'm not sure why you came back to the thread just to quote and argue against a post from the 1st page of a long, developed discussion 🤣 It's already evolved well beyond what you were trying to bring back up. Weird enough, you have been part of that evolved discussion. What is you doin. edit: lol, literally the 4th post in the thread. Cmon. Get with the times. I linked you to that French Connection post YESTERDAY. I wasnt sure if they do, but was assuming to give the benefit of the doubt

(I dont mean for this post to be a direct reply to @FrenchConnection, I'm quoting the post because it had the best list, and the list that inspired these thoughts) So I was thinking a bit about this while doing the dishes just now, and had a thought pop in my head. This is a decent sized list and makes it seem like Head Coaches calling plays is a common thing that happens all the time. Here's the thing: Most (75%) of that list is the recent run on the Jay Gruden(Kyle Shanahan) tree. McVay, Taylor, O'Connell, McDaniel, and LaFleur were all part of an arms race to gobble up as much late-30 bro Offensive "Geniuses" before another team could get to them. And even though Siriani doesn't come from that tree, he fits the mold (funny enough, when Siriani was an OC of the Colts his HC called the plays too). And speaking of Siriani and the Colts, his 37 yr old OC in Philly, Shane Steichen, just got hired to be the Head Coach back in Indy, where I'm sure he will call his own plays too. Because that is the hot trend in the Offensive league. It's why, even tho the Bills' Offense struggled a bit this year, teams were quick to start sniffing around and interviewing Dorsey for a HC spot after only 1 year as OC. While we're at it, keep an eye out for names like Press Taylor (35), and Alex Tanney (35) who I'm sure will be getting looks next offseason. Most of these guys do not yet have an established track record as a good Head Coach who makes good in-game decisions, produces well-disciplined teams, and squeezes wins out of under-talented teams (like Tomlin). A number of them look successful in their short careers simply due to the benefit of having a young, hot QB in a QB-centric league. And maybe that is the new 21st Century NFL. Get a young OC, put him in charge, draft him a QB, and let him play Madden on Sundays. But we dont have one of those types. So, without the skew of the "new hotness", the list really looks more like: Reid McDaniels Belichick Dennis Allen Sean Payton Doug Pederson(?) Todd Bowles(?) I dunno. I'm not trying to make any major arguments. Just an observation, for whatever that's worth. I do wonder how many HC's were calling plays back as recently as 2018, before this run. Maybe I'll dig into that tomorrow.

Exactly. Furthermore, it was for a lower amount because it was fully guaranteed. He took less than market value, fully guaranteed. Kirk signed 3/$84M, which gave him $28M/year. At the same time most other franchise QBs were making ~$32-35M/yr. There has to be a trade off. Lamar wants to have his money and eat it too.

Squib kick or not the D should have been ready to defend 44 yards of field for 13 seconds (3 plays). Instead they had such bonehead playcalls that Kelce, Mahomes, and Hill were actually baffled we would do such a dumb thing, and even more baffled that we did it AGAIN after a time out. And to rub salt in that wound, they did it AGAIN in last year's regular season game when KC got the ball back with 16sec left in the 1st half. More soft D, giving up 30 yards in 3 plays and letting KC kick a FG as the clock expired to tie the game going into halftime. I dont think it wouldve been the right thing to do, and likely thrown the org into more chaos, but there is a discussion to be had regarding firing McD/Frazier after the 13sec debacle and promoting Dabol, just like we talk about the Falcons should have fired Quinn and promoted Shanahan after the 28-3 Super Bowl disaster. Shanahan is now a top head coach and Quinn is happy just being a DC. Interesting.

I dont think they should. If one team wants to make a huge mistake, let them. It'll just be up to the other teams to be smarter and not do the same thing. If players see the one bad move as a precedent, that's on them.

Pretty straight forward. His $$$ "demands" are shooting himself in the foot. He could and should be sitting on a $20M Signing Bonus, and ~$150 guaranteed contract already, enjoying his offseason in South Florida. But I am surprised the Atlanta Falcons haven't jumped on this yet. They have the cash, picks, and motivation.