JohnC

I don't understand your reasoning and what you are advocating for? If the most successful coach in the school's history felt that Khalil's brother deserved a scholarship he would have offered it. Why does being a brother to one of the program's best players warrant a scholarship offer? If another player is better or is better suited for the program then that player should get the scholarship. Coaches all the time make tough decisions as to who should get a scholarship and who should not. This current coach has successfully rebuilt a moribund program and for the past number of years turned what was an irrelevant and invisible program into a consistently good mid-major program. If I'm going to give anyone the benefit of the doubt it is going to be Leipold. I simply don' see what the issue is here.

There is nothing innovative or exceptional about the lessons learned from the people formerly associated with the Carolina football team. The takeaway from that Carolina experience is basic. In any large and multi-faced organization there has to be a guiding principle from top to bottom that everyone not only understands but also buys into to. The Washington example is easy to dissect. There were too many factions not only competing with one another but were expending energy sabotaging one another. The blame for this constant depleting in-fighting and intrigue was the owner who wanted a system a system in which at his whim he could act out his foolish whims. I'm impressed with what Ron Rivera has done in a relatively short period of time. He has brought an order and coherency to a chaotic and unfocused organization. The word "process" gets gratuitously thrown out a lot but in the case with McDermott/Beane in Buffalo and Rivera in Washington that word has meaning and substance.

The Haskins pick was a surprise to the coaching staff. Their former HC, Jay Gruden, had no interest in Haskins, especially as a first round pick. He considered him a project and a third round value. It was the owner and a faction of the front office that included Allen that made that ill-fated selection. Gruden on a recent podcast stated that he was surprised and upset with the Haskins selection. The manner in which that pick was made without the input of a part of the personnel department demonstrated the chaotic and tumultuous state the organization was in. When you have a mercurial and incompetent owner it's not surprising that you have a failed organization. Before Rivera agreed to take the job he required the owner to give him the authority to not only make the football decisions but be the person responsible to staff the front office. Because the owner was besieged with tawdry sexual claims against him and the organization the owner was willing to cede authority to someone else in order to take the attention off of him. The Washington Football Team's house is in order. That is the starting point. Where there was no hope there now is optimism. It starts with the top.

If Wentz is willing to be receptive to better coaching and tone done his extemporaneous game and make quicker decisions there is no reason why he shouldn't return closer to his more successful past. The Colts have a good OL and a good running game. That was exhibited when we played them in the playoffs. He needs to use those assets to his benefit. I'm not comparing Josh to Wentz but what differentiated Josh last year was the quantum leap he made in understanding the game and more quickly responding to the play. Reich is the right coach to get Wentz back on track.

One team that would be interested in him and would be willing to give up a first round pick would be Washington. It would secure the qb position with a young player with some experience and it would come with a relatively modest cost of one pick.

It appears from this story by SI that Doyle resigned form the job already. https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2021/02/13/hot-clicks-urban-meyer-chris-doyle

If you had the choice of selecting either Waddle or Davonte Smith which receiver would you take?

Saban's eclectic selection of coaches that have had no prior association with him is another demonstration of his evolving with the time. This old school coach who stressed defense, the running game and special teams has evolved his program into an offensive juggernaut. The paradox is that older this previously defensively oriented coach got the more multifaceted and bolder his offense became.

Great capsule summary on the players. I don't know if Najee Harris will be there in the first round for us but he would be a terrific value and need selection. I would also be happy with OT Leatherwood as our first selection. For those who believe that because Gotham Bill is a devoted Bama fan that his evaluations are skewed toward over-evaluating that is a wrong. His assessments of Bama players as pro prospects are usually very accurate. When the Bills drafted OT Cyrus Kouandijo in the second round in 2014 he stated that it was a bad pick. He pointed out that he had slow feet and wasn't athletic enough. He proved to be correct.

Thank you. I'm getting my knee scoped so I wouldn't put it in the category of a major surgery. The worst part of this situation is being hobbled and not being able to be active. My life and world has shrunk to being mostly in the house. It's frustrating. Compared to what others are going through I count my blessings and deal with what I have to deal with.

Sorry to belatedly to respond. I have been scrambling to get things done prior to a scheduled surgery. There are a number of things that need to get done in the Covid era that weren't required before. The point I'm making is that there still are a lot of unknowns associated with this case that are under investigation. His troubled addiction and behavior history are known. But from an article that I read today those issues related to 14 years ago and prior. Has he had more recent issues? I don't know. The authorities know what his alcohol level was but the public doesn't. The son admitted to having a couple of drinks or so but was it a factor in the accident? I don't know. Many are making assumptions about the alcohol factor in the accident when it isn't clear that it was a factor. The accident involved hitting a disabled car on a ramp. That in itself is a dangerous situation in itself. I'm not excusing the son of his responsibility in this tragedy. He will be held accountable for his actions. What I do find troubling are the comments attributing responsibility to the father or to the organization for the coach's son accident. Where I separate myself from many of the comments here is that I'm more willing to wait for more information before making assumptions about the accident, the son, the parent and the organization. This is still an active investigation.

When did he have his first DUI? @Hapless Bills Fan stated it was 13 yrs ago. Does that indicate that he regularly drives under the influence? I can't say based on that information and neither can you.

How do you know that the son routinely got behind the wheel when intoxicated? If that was the case how do you know that Andy knew about it? Why do you assume that the coaches knew he was still struggling with addiction issues? You are making a lot of assumptions without knowing all the facts of the situation. Reid's son was involved in a reckless and dangerous criminal act that has seriously injured a child. He will be held accountable for his actions. And that is how it should be. Where I disagree with your stance is that you are assuming some of the blame for the son's actions on others. And you are doing it without knowledge of the situation but simply based on your assumptions. Assumptions are not a good basis to make conclusions from. When you don't fully know what is going on it might be advisable to wait for more of the facts of the case to come out. Then you would be in a better position to make judgment.

Running a successful program breeds additional success. Another factor in the elevation of the program is the weeknight MAC games shown on national TV. I'm sure that the added exposure has helped to attract more recruits to the program. Also, playing an exciting brand of football also is enticing to the prospects.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/02/03/marty-schottenheimer-facilty-alzheimers-complications

That's my belief. His court case file would indicate the initial charges. When the case was closed with a lower plea agreement the case file would still show what the initial charges were and what the final plea/lower charges were. In the traffic court arena or at any court level there is nothing unusual for defense attorneys to get their client's charges lowered. That's how the system works. The reality is that the court has a limited capacity to hear cases. In cases where there are previous multiple driving alcohol offenses that should be a red flag for the court to be more strict and less lenient towards the accused.

You can be charged with DUI type charges but when you go to court a lower plea agreement could have been made with the prosecution. Sometimes there are minor missteps on the police side of the arrest so the prosecutor would be amenable to a deal. And sometimes the court system is so overwhelmed with cases that it is willing to agree to lower charges for some less egregious violators so more resources can be directed to the more serious cases. And as you observed sometimes who you know factors in to how you are treated for what you did. Needless to say it is not a perfect system.

(You are spot on. Everything you stated follows the protocol most jurisdictions have.) In the DC jurisdiction if as in your example you suspected the person was impaired you would make the stop an issue a ticket/s for the driving violations. That would provide you the probability for the stop and ability to check the condition of the driver. If you observed blood shot eyes, slurring of speech etc. you can then take the next step of a sobriety test such as eyes following your finger, repeat alphabet, walk a straight line etc. If he failed the sobriety test you can then request a blood alcohol test to determine the level of alcohol in his system. The driver has a right to decline but he can be arrested and have an automatic license suspension. In order to get a blood alcohol test for a declining driver a court order would have to be issued. In this case there shouldn't be any problem getting approval because of the serious injuries involved in the accident. You bring up an intriguing question about the prior suspicions of DUI being revealed in the computer check. One explanation might be that he was previously arrested for DUI charges but before going to trial a plea agreement of a lower charge was made with the court. The initial DUI charge/s before being lowered in court probably still are in the computer record. I agree with you that it would be reckless and foolish to let any person involved in an intoxication driving case to be let go. The officer would be placing himself in jeopardy by not only placing the public at risk but also exhibiting favoritism in enforcing the law. As you noted your career would be in jeopardy. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/07/us/britt-reid-crash-kansas-city/index.html

It won't be surprising if Frazier gets the job in Houston in order to resolve the conflict between Watson and the organization. This was an organization that allowed the ego of the former combustible to take a team that was coming into its own and crash it with a number of foolish and odd decisions. When factions within an organization are working at cross purposes and wasting energy for in-fighting and management intrigue that is a toxic recipe for failure.

Smith reminds me of Stephan Diggs from a stature standpoint and also an ability to get open even when he is the center of attention of the defense. They also have the ability to catch the ball even under duress with few drops.

Bama has been cranking out the receivers. What Saban has belatedly done the past few years is get good passing qbs who are more than game managers and who can maximize the talents of the scintillating receivers they have had. To his credit Saban has grown as a coach in the sense that he has been willing to bring on OCs who he hasn't had a prior association with who are creative and are a lot less conservative than he used to be on the offensive side of the ball.

It's a tribute to Saban that the players who stay even when they have an opportunity to leave a year sooner get better and improve their draft rankings. I will never begrudge a player leaving the college ranks early because of the risk of injury and loss of earning potential. That's an individual decision. But those players who stay when they could have moved on usually end up being in a better situation. Najee is an example of that.

If there was a contest between Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy or Clemson's Dabo for the most insufferable and obnoxious coach I would call it a tie.

Leipold has been the best HC in the history of the school. He is more than a good coach. He is a builder of a sustaining program. If Leipold was a little younger he already would have been snatched by a flagging big football school and showered with a contract that Buffalo couldn't close to matching. Don't be surprised if the Illinois interest was a harbinger of future offers. A school like Nebraska would be wise to consider a coach like Leipold. Leipold is not a flashy person. He's the embodiment of substance over style.