#435

Painful reading this.

The example of how bad trading up is involves the Rams receiving a shed load of picks in the Griffin trade.

The just a few years later, having seen how awful that deal was for the Redskins… We sell the farm to draft Goff at #1. :weary:

#437

Totally. There’s a lot of entrenched dogmatic thinking in the NFL. This is the way we do things, this is how it’s always been done etc. It’s a league that’s incredibly bad at embracing change. Mostly because it’s run by “old white men”.

Alao the grandstanding and lack of long term planning has always astounded me. There’s a real win now mentality when really it should be win in five years. GMs rarely get the time needed to build anything meaningful and so they’re pushed into gambling on a Franchise QB.

#438

Still think there are many more variables at play than simply number of picks. The short length of the average playing career and the high chance of injuries have such a huge effect on eventual results.

#439

The way the Patriots go about their business is pretty interesting, they’ll trade away picks for players they think they’ll get a couple of years out of at a starter level. Of course they’re in the privileged position of not having had to worry about who’s playing QB for the last 17 years.

#441

I think this is the most important thing for the Patriots. For all the hoo-ha about Belichick trading down and maximising picks and this, that and the other, he doesn’t actually draft any better than anyone else. He has Tom Brady covering up a multitude of mistakes. Having him is basically 50% of the Patriots roster decisions taken care of.

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#442

Think that says more about what a gamble the whole draft process is. That’s why he’s so willing to trade away picks and “undervalue” them. Their acquisitions in those trades and through free agency are where Belichick and his staff separate themselves from the rest of the league.

Still you can compare them to other teams who have obviously generational QB talent (Rodgers, Luck, Stafford), and their struggles to compete regularly and the difference has to be in the Front Office.

#443

Not sure if you guys saw it but the NFL program was back on the BBC last night

1 Like
#449

Considering they offered him a lot of money and he turned them down, signing him to a minimum contract would be a little bit funny. Also they somehow managed to get something resembling serviceable QB play from him, so not a bad move to cover while Lynch is out injured.

#451

Amazing how Brock is back in Denver. Weird how the universe works sometimes.

Also, as an addendum to the Matthew Stafford contract chat above, this is an interesting (and very heartening for a Lions fan) article:

#452

I reckon Elway has got Osweiler back to clean the toilets, do everyone’s laundry (jockstraps only) and generally be the butt of everyone’s jokes.

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#453

You’d kind of think Elway would want to stay as far away as possible from what could have been one of the biggest contract mistakes ever and an utter embarrassment to his franchise, but maybe he’s so drunk off his own bullshit he’s happy to try and redeem it.

#454

Sometimes American sport is weird. You’ll be amazed to hear.

So the Jets are busy planning for a season of absolute failure, with a view to picking a brand new QB at number 1 in next year’s draft*, and therby ensuring** many years of comparative success in future. Of course, if they conspire to be even slightly better than completely terrible, for example finishing 5-11, maybe even 4-12, that plan just goes straight to shit. That’s a really weird line to have to tread, must be pretty stressful for management, and what do you even say to the coach? Please lose every game by as little as possible? This never happens in non-US sport.

*I believe Sam Darnold is the accepted choice. I know nothing of him, except you know when people say “nothing rhymes with orange”, and someone will for some reason always say “borange”? He makes me think of that, only with Arnold.

**No 1 draft pick QBs are a cast-iron guarantee of success of course.

#455

The thing is, it’s very difficult for a team in the season to tank, because it’s not in the interest of the players or coaches to lose. The players all want good contracts and need to individually perform well (plus they’re all uber competitive psychos anyway). That’s why the Jets have been shedding so much talent - that’s the only way to actually try and scupper yourself.

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#456

This is what makes it so fascinating to me, players and coach are almost in direct opposition to management. Civil war, if you like. As a long term Pats fan (largely failing to move on I must admit) I will be enjoying it whether they are really shit, or not quite as shit as they want to be.

#457

I finally just finished the second season of Last Chance U. I know it really goes without saying but Buddy Stephens is an utter, utter piece of shit.

#458

Looking like Zeke will play week one… or should I post this in the fantasy thread?

#459

the whole michael bennett thing (was forcibly put in handcuffs at gunpoint by police in Vegas after the mayweather fight, seemingly for no reason, after ‘hundreds’ of people were told to evacuate the area they were in after sounds that could’ve been gunshots) is making me feel sick already - so many people already crying out that there’s no evidence that it happened - TMZ release a 30 second clip of him on the ground being cuffed asking why he’s being cuffed and an officer above pointing a gun at him… just… don’t read the comments

here’s bennett’s statement on how he’s possibly going to take legal action

#460

Anyone been reading this stuff?

I follow him so there’s been a lot of people he’s RTing into my timeline.

#461

I read the comments. Why did I read the comments? Will I ever learn not to read the comments? Apparently not.

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#462

Boycott it? Fuck that