Alphadawg7

I am kind of in the same camp as you on your opinion of what happened. Although I have a couple of other layers to it. I suspect AB may not have been as forth coming about his ankle pain in order to keep them from holding him out longer because he wanted to hit his bonuses. I definitely don't buy AB's attempt of painting it like they made him play hurt, I am sure he was a willing taker of the injections. So I think he probably aggravated it some more in the Jets game, and with the game not going well already, he decided to then go into self preservation and not risk missing the next weeks game for another shot at his bonuses. Arians I am sure was pissed given he had no reason to believe AB had any significant ankle issue at that point, and the rest is history. If I was a betting man, I would say there is some truth from AB's camp (about there being some knowledge prior to the game of ankle discomfort) but that it was also likely downplayed by AB up to that point because he was more focused on maximizing his chances at his bonuses over being fully recovered. I of course have no more info than anyone else, just my personal theory

Yeah thats a good point, and I am sure that played a part in that, everyone has to follow the proper processes. My original point is more about I think if this whole ankle-gate wasn't happening right now, I think they probably wait until their post season was done to officially release him just to block the possibility, albeit admittedly slim chance, that another potential playoff foe could sign him. I mean thats at least what I would have done if I was the GM. I just love seeing the Bucs and Brady dealing with turmoil though heading into the post season hehehe. And if a lot of what AB claims checks out, its gonna be an ongoing distraction for the Bucs throughout the playoffs. Fingers crossed haha

I don't follow him that closely anymore, so not really aware or familiar with those other incidents to be honest. For me, I just appreciate when a player calls out reporters in general, who have less and less accountability in sports reporting and get to hind behind alleged "sources" all the time. Media always looking to manufacture stories for clicks with these athletes. So its less about Baker I suppose and more of me not being a fan of the lack of accountability in sports reporting with things like this, so I generally enjoy when someone isn't afraid to call them out in those cases.

I like that he’s back, he still has potential which is what you want on your PS. But he isn’t sniffing the field without injuries. Daboll finally seems to get Devin is our best RB and needs to touch the ball more. Only took him until the second half of the Bucs game for the light bulb to go off in Dabolls stubborn mind finally.

One thing I have always respected about Baker is he tells you like it is and doesn’t pull punches. Applaud him for calling out the medias flimsy stories all the time

A lot of games too

Yeah I agree on that, it’s definitely a fair criticism of Hebert and I have no issue putting Burrow at 3 instead even though I would personally narrowly go Herbert at 3 just more because he has some ability with his legs too. Tee Higgins has really blossomed this year for sure, and I also think he is a #1 WR too even though I think Chase is the better of the two. But it’s not a wide gap by any means and Higgins would be the best WR on a lot of teams in the league right now himself. I liked Higgins in the draft when so many here were knocking him. If memory serves me, I believe you liked him too. I was comfortable if the Bills would have taken him in the first with their pick had they made that pick. I was also high on Justin Jefferson too despite a lot of people not wanting him. JJ was my target at 22, Higgins was my second choice. I was not high on Ruggs and didn’t get why so many were. But I did expect Juedy, Lamb and Ruggs to all be gone before our pick too. Of course, I loved the Diggs trade both then and now still, and would still make the trade for Diggs as I fully believe his experience along with his talent played a big role in Allens ascension. And his contract is still a tremendous value. But had we not made the trade, I was good landing either of those guys that draft.

Actually, I agree with you on that as that’s my one criticism of Burrow this season. I have watched a lot of Bengals this year as I had Chase on a couple fantasy teams and have 3 TVs In my living room to watch football haha. He throws a lot of prayer balls where Chase has made a lot of insane plays. Reminds me of Culpepper to Moss days in some cases. I am definitely not comparing him to Culpepper, I certainly think Burrows future is a lot brighter and he is better than what Culpepper was. But that’s why for me I think Burrow falls outside those other 3 guys currently because he makes less wow throws and has more wow plays by his receivers. But it’s a small criticism, he obviously has had a big breakout season and has still been overall impressive. I agree with @GunnerBillthat he is more of that classic pocket passer compared to the more overall athletic 3 in Mahomes, Allen, and Herbert who have an extra layer of danger to the defense because they can make plays with their legs too…and Allen obviously being the one who can be considered an elite runner to go with the arm talent.

Lets be real here. They are only releasing him now because he needs ankle surgery. Had he been healthy, they would not have released him to insure he couldn’t sign with a potential playoff foe. Otherwise they would have released him when they said they did, not 5 days later.

Yeah agree with that. In this make believe scenario too, Burrow has the rookie contract still for 2 more years which if we are being truly true to the factors of this scenario would give him an added value over Allen. My only small knock on Burrow is his tendency to throw prayer balls, and he throws a lot of them. When Chase makes the plays, their offense explodes, when they aren’t completed, the offense struggles. While he’s quite impressive still, I think for me I want to see more great throws versus great plays his receivers make on toss up balls. But that is nit picking, he’s still very impressive and clearly IMHO ahead of guys like Murray and Lamar in the young QB conversations and not far behind Allen and Hebert.

Fair point, however I have a counter point simply because this convo is fun haha. I would think if a team is starting from scratch and making their first roster addition in the first 4 picks, it’s pretty hard to take someone like Rodgers and almost impossible to take Brady over those young studs given you have no idea yet what the rest of your roster is going to look like to know if you can go all in on a SB push over those first couple seasons. So I don’t think Brady even goes in the early rounds given he has maybe one season in him left, and their signs this second half of the season that he might finally hit the cliff this next year. Rodgers has likely another 2-3 elite play left in him you can probably bank on. So he would be a guy that would still go round 1, but I doubt he would go before those 4 who can potentially set your team up with an elite QB for the next decade.

Yeah, I agree, he certainly would be taken in top 3 by some GM’s. I just think right now there are more GMs that would take Allen and Hebert top 3 than Burrow. I think if you watch tape on all 3, the other two just make more throws and plays that few can make and both are more of a running threat. Burrow is closing the gap for sure, and big post season would further close that gap. But I think it’s pretty clear, these four of this next generations Brady, Manning, Brees, and Rodgers right now. They will be tough to knock from the top 4 assuming they all continue their current trajectories.

Huh? You don’t think Allens contract is justified? Allen has been in the MVP conversation the entire season. Crapped the bed against Falcons? You mean the game we won by double digits and Allens use of his legs were a major contributor to that as well? I don’t get the statement either of saying he’s done nothing other than reaching the AFCCG. Well that was just last season, we are still playing this season, so he hasn’t had a chance to do more yet, we haven’t reached that point in the season yet. But he’s also finished 2nd in MVP voting, 2 straight divisional titles (likely as we should smash the Jets), 3 straight playoff births, and back to back MVP candidate seasons with over 40 TDs each. Not to mention all his other accolades, NFL records, and Bills team records. And none of that includes what he brings to the table in terms of leadership, competence drive, and physical attributes that can’t be coached. 40+ TD seasons suddenly aren’t elite in your eyes? He will be elite whether we win the SB this year or not. If the league was to wipe all the teams rosters clean and draft all over again this offseason, Allen is a lock to be drafted in the top 3 which would be Mahomes 1, then Allen and Herbert would be some combo of 2 and 3 depending on the GM drafting. Burrow would likely go fourth, although he can close that gap with a strong postseason.

Why do people continuously ONLY state passing production when discussing running QBs? You know that’s short sighted and skewed to just try and confirm your negative opinion of him. Lamar’s ground game is 100% part of what you get with him, ignoring it or disregarding that production is a completely inaccurate way to evaluate his value to his team. To say Huntley is flat out better at this stage like you did in the post before that seems extreme and not based on known facts yet. Personally, I don’t think Lamar is going anywhere and will get a long term deal to stay in Baltimore. Mayfield is not so clear and somethings gonna likely change there between Baker, HC, or GM. I have a suspicion that not all 3 will be back next year the way it is now, seems like something is gonna give.

Niners/Bills Chris Berman thing is a big part of my story in how I became a huge Buffalo Bills fan being born and raised in CA, so that does add to the fun factor for me if by some crazy chance it was a Niners vs Bills SB.

First choice Niners vs Bills. My fiance is a die hard Niners fan, so this would be fun for me. Second choice Bucs vs Bills. I would love nothing more than to take our first Lombardi trophy from Brady. After that, pretty much anyone other than the Packers.

We absolutely could win it this year. We have the ability to do it...if we can get out of our own way. Things we need to continue to be better about: OL stops killing drives with dumb holding penalties or false starts. Defense stops giving away free first downs on 3rd down stops with dumb penalties. Daboll improves his pay calling in the Redzone. We continue to keep Devin regularly involved as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield and Daboll doesn't rediscover his allergy to running the ball. Our receivers stop dropping so many passes. Even in our latest wins, we had a lot of points left on the field including 3 dropped sure TD's in the last 2 games alone by Diggs, Sanders, and Knox. Those are the 5 main keys to the success of our team every week this year. None of the teams we lost to are the better team IMHO, we beat ourselves for the most part. Additionally, there were a couple of them the refs screwed us like the Bucs game. But end of the day, games were only close enough for the refs to impact them because of things on the list above we did to shoot ourselves in the foot. Our toughest opponent each week is ourselves. If they can minimize the issues above, we can and will beat any team in the league this year.

Count me in the crowd that wonders if the return of Henry hurts the Titans more than helps them. No denying the insane talent Henry is, but I can't help but wonder just how much he can give them when he first gets back. Long layoffs from injury, its not uncommon for a player to need a couple games before he regains his form. Their other RB's have been running pretty well, and switching back to a heavy dose of Henry coming off a long break and injury could slow the offense down a bit. And they are already struggling to consistently throw the ball. Then again, Herny is an athletic freak, so maybe he will hit the field like he never left. But just can't help but wonder if there will be some rust that works against them.

I agree with Aristorcrat here. If you really dissect the Bills Colts first half, almost all the damage was done thanks to self inflicting wounds we committed against ourselves. First drive...is what it is, good drive by Colts to open game 7-0. But the ensuing Bills drive, we moved the ball with ease into scoring territory on our opening drive. Then on 3rd and 3, there was a called run to Allen who was winding the outside for a big gain with blockers in front of him until the play got blown dead on a false start. Now 3rd and 8, holding call making it now 3rd and 18 and no longer in field goal position. Josh tries to get the first down and our WR was CLEARLY held for PI allowing another defender to get back to the ball instead for an easy pick. For me, it was clear pass interference that prevented our receiver from making a play on the ball or at the very least prevent the interception. Doesn't matter though, we were in 3rd and 18 instead of having a first down in the Redzone because of our own dumb penalties...not once, but twice in back to back plays. Not going to write a synapsis of everything in the first half, but we would go on to hold the Colts on 3rd down (and I believe multiple times) and then give them a free first down to extend drives on dumb penalties that allowed them to gain more points versus getting off the field and the offense back on the field. Additionally, McKenzie gave them a free 7 points on him tripping on his own and fumbling on his own, untouched. And then there were the multiple dropped passes on 3rd downs that killed drives too and left points on the field. And of course, more dumb offensive penalties that killed drives. Colts didn't beat us...we beat ourselves. Had we not had so many compounding mistakes, come half time, could have been us with a lead or at least a close game. Then we open the second half with ending our opening drive with of course another dropped easy pass for the first down (If memory serves me it was Knox again). Additional notes: We were missing Edmunds and Star, with Star being a really important figure for the matchup of a good interior rushing team. Love him or hate him, there is no denying our run defense is better with Star on the field. We have beaten this Colts team in the playoffs already. Honestly, I think the Rivers led Colts team was the more dangerous offense to face than this one, and we beat them already when we didnt spend the whole game hurting ourselves. We can, and will, do it again if we meet in the playoffs as long as we don't give away points or give them free points on stupid mental errors.

Bengals are a confusing team. One week they look like they are among the AFC Elite. Then next week they struggle against bad or mediocre teams. I mean they have losses to the Bears, Jets, Browns, as well as some other teams they should have beat. They also barely beat the Jags, Broncos, etc. They are more Jeckyl and Hyde than we have been this year. Then they go out and play a game like they did against the Chiefs. Jamar Chase had averaged less than 50 yards a game for like 5 weeks then explodes into prime Randy Moss against the Chiefs. Had him on my fantasy team...his previous 5 weeks he totaled 55 fantasy points over 5 games. In week 17 (when I was already eliminated thanks a lot to his poor performances in prior weeks) he totaled 53 points that week alone. They are a hard team to read, Chase can look uncoverable at times, then in other games seem to be easily taken out of the game. But they have a lot of weapons on offense, so if they get hot they will be a tough out.

Doesn't make any sense though...he refused to go into the game more than once. How can they be freezing him out if they are trying to get him in the game and he won't enter? I am sure that is going to be AB's story when it comes out, to try and blame them and make them look underhanded. But end of the day, I promise you Arian's, the other coaches, and the players on the field don't give 2 craps about how much a guy does or doesn't make. They are out there to win games, and if the Bucs truly were concerned about paying AB bonuses, they could have just added a game or two to his suspension for his faked VAX card incident as additional team punishment. This dude quit on his team and the coaches, there is no spinning that.

Comment of the week award goes to you sir

I will say this...you definitely need to consider injury history, and someone like Barkley qualifies as a guy to be concerned about. But, that being said, does not always mean they will still have injury issues moving forward. Great players like Stafford, Fred Taylor, Frank Gore were all one thought of as injury prone early in their careers. But all of them went on to shake the injury bug at some point. In the end, its a violent game, sometimes you just get a few bad luck breaks, doesn't always mean you are prone to future injuries. So I personally would not write off a guy like Barkley if there was a way to get him here for an affordable price.

So 2 WR's mean its a great roster? Sorry, I just dont get that logic. Lions had Staffford and Calvin and some other good weapons...didnt matter, and Calvin is arguably top 3 all time. Texans had Watson, Hopkins and Fuller...didnt matter. I mean I could make a list 100 teams long without breaking a sweat who had some very good offensive players but were overall a mediocre roster or worse. And neither Locket or Metcalf are any where as close to as good as those receivers I just mentioned. So, yeah, Seattle is barely a mediocre roster. Their defense stinks, and so does their OL. The only reason its even considered mediocre is because of Wilson, Metcalf and Locket. Take any one of those 3 off that team and falls to the bottom of the league.

Yeah that’s a fair point and I agree that if a team that’s got a SB contender roster ready trades for him, then maybe he can get them over the hump still. Just not sure one of those teams can pony up the best offer for him. Does he have a no trade clause? I forgot it he has any power of where he goes. Lesser teams are going to have better draft pick packages to offer. I can see someone like the Giants making a big push for him. Watson is still gonna be available too, which could influence the market for him if he gets past his off field stuff this summer.