mannc

Since drafting Mahomes, 17 of Chiefs 24 picks in the first four rounds have been defensive players.

Gonzalez and Gates were just big WRs and neither has any post-season accomplishments…Ditka falls so far short statistically, that it’s not really much of a comparison, despite the different eras in which they played. Gronk was probably the second most important player on probably the all-time NFL dynasty.

Not arguable. Gronk is top 2, without any question. Kelce's the only one who's got an argument and they're not really comparable in that Kelce's rarely asked to block.

Such a low bar that Kincaid might already have cleared it…

I'm shocked that the guy who just handed the Chiefs the AFCC Game with two of the most boneheaded plays in recent memory--including the most blatant taunting penalty I've ever seen--doesn't have his s**t together off the field, either...

As a HS senior, Curry was the top recruit in the country in both basketball and football, so there’s that…

What new staff?

That's an interesting perspective, but it's really just anecdotal, and where I live (on the West Coast), it's just the opposite. Here is a long but very interesting recent article on this topic from the Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2023/football-participation-decline-politics-demographics/ Basically, rates of participation in HS football are declining precipitously nationwide (about 13 percent over the past 10 years, and the decline is even steeper in younger age brackets), although in certain regions, mostly in the South, rates have held pretty steady. It's a highly complex issue that has political, racial and economic components. One thing the article makes clear is that the NFL considers these declining participation rates "an existential threat". Hence, among other things, their promotion of flag football. It's not out of the question to think that in some parts of the country, tackle football will cease to exist in its current format and that will drive major changes at the NFL level, too. And by the way, the idea that the NFL is ever going to benefit from a significant influx of foreign players is nothing more than a pipe dream. There is really nowhere else on the planet outside of North America where tackle football is more than a fringe sport and I don't see how that's ever going change, for a lot of reasons. There is certainly no noticeable increase in foreign players playing in the NFL, despite many years of the NFL promoting itself internationally.

I do hope you’re right. The NFL is as popular as it’s ever been, but I worry that the foundation on which it rests is wobbly. HS football participation numbers are falling every year and college football is committing slow suicide. This is where NFL players come from, and if these “factories” falter, it will profoundly affect the NFL game. And unlike the other three major sports, there is no real source of international players whose influx strengthens the pool of players from which the teams draw. This could eventually lead to declining popularity—and declining political influence—which would open the door to major changes in the way the game is played.

There is zero evidence that flag football “grows the game”, and of course they aren’t pushing just women’s flag football…as I said, it won’t happen overnight, but the writing is on the wall. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think so…

The owners are already doing a lot to promote flag football, and FF will continue to be pushed as an acceptable, safer alternative to tackle football. It will happen first in California, of course, where the legislature has already voted on a law to ban tackle football for kids under 12 years old. NFL players will compete in flag football in the 2026 Olympics, etc…

You’re not paying attention. The evidence is everywhere. Could take 12 years instead (right about the time that the sale of gas-powered vehicles is banned in the Western US), but it’s inevitable. Now go back to watching the flag football “Pro Bowl”.

My comment is based on more than just the recent NFL rule changes…last week, California nearly passed a law banning tackle football for kids under 12 years old…Flag Football is going to be an Olympic sport, and the NFL is heavily promoting this new “sport”…and of course the Pro Bowl nonsense. I don’t want to turn this political, but it’s where our society is heading…governments are intervening in personal choices “for our own good” more and more, and getting away with it.

Get used to it. The NFL will be a flag football league in 10 years.

I noticed the same thing.

wasn’t the TD pass to Shakir in the second Jets game a “deep middle” throw?

Yep, and she would never have been caught if she had been more intelligent about how she spent the money.

At the NFL level, it’s critical to have a HC who has credibility with the players, who the players believe knows what he’s doing, and can give them an edge. Harbaugh instantly gives the Chargers that, after three years of Staley. It was also important for this franchise to make a splash hire in a market where they are an afterthought, at best.

This is exactly the kind of draft where it’s dumb to make a major move up for a WR…there are too many good receivers available and no one knows who the best three or four will turn out to be. It’s happened time after time and people still never learn…the 2020 draft you mention is a great example, and of course 2014…

The most overrated Buffalo Bill of the last 40 years…and probably ever

Sweat turned around the Bears’ defense after the trade. He is going to be a cornerstone for them. It was a very good trade. They never could have gotten a player like Sweat in round 2 of the draft.

Agreed. The Bills were outplayed this time. We got every conceivable break (recovered three of our own fumbles, got the fumble through the endzone by Hardman, and had almost every important call by the refs go our way) and we still couldn’t get it done. The Chiefs averaged almost 8 yards per play, and we were below 5 YPP. Not good enough.

How have Bears “wasted picks”? It seems to me they’ve been highly astute in the maximization of their draft capital…although that’s not to say their actual selections have been astute. The only example I can think of is the second they gave up for Claypool a few years ago.

The Bills could not be more fortunate that the Jests are planning to run it back again with Saleh, Hackett and Rodgers...it's going to make this past Jests' season look like a picnic at the beach. Truly amazing that Saleh still has a job.

Since when did Miami become a "WR needy team"? I can't think of a team less likely to draft a WR in round 1.