Forward Progress

I don’t want to derail your thread, Virgil, because It’s a well-thought look-ahead to the offseason. I can’t tell you just how happy I am that we have meaningful football through December and into January. After many years of concerns that late-season wins would ruin our draft position and discussions like the one you are facilitating now, it’s really nice to only want more wins as we prepare for a playoff run. Anyway, back to your constructive conversation on the 2020 offseason.

Don’t forget about Houston beating the flue-riddled Patriots. I know it’s a long-shot, but winning the division would be awesome with a home game and a bye.

I am in favor of using reviews to get the call right. In fact, I would support making everything reviewable with a coaches challenge, as long as the coaches are limited to 2 or 3 challenges per game. I don't really like the automatic reviews for TD's and turnovers, as the judicious use of challenges should be part of the coach's decision-making process. I can't stand the calls still being wrong after video review. This is what is driving people crazy. Everyone understood that the purpose of video replay was to get the important game-changing calls right. Instead, Riveron is using this as a forum to demonstrate to his officials that he has their back, no matter what. The PI reviews this season are a joke and coaches have stopped challenging, because the standard for overturn is different than every other challenge. Riveron has become the second most hated member of the NFL Corporate Structure (behind Goodell) and I look forward to him moving on from this role.

Vontae Davis Parking Lot Temper Tantrum This video of Vontae in the parking lot is not that of a man who has rationally concluded that it was time to retire. The scripted messages that came out after the fact paint a much rosier picture than it really was.

Remember the good ole days (early Sept), when our biggest problem was our punter. Ahhhh, if only we could go back there.

Back-up plan if the bar hunt doesn’t work out... Since you’re outside of the US market, you can use DAZN to access NFL Game Pass and watch the game live or recorded. Get a one-month free trial and watch it on your laptop or IPad.

Are you forgetting this guy...

You know what feels good? We have people upset because we have NFL-caliber players inactive. We used to have people upset because we had incapable players active (and starting). This is what progress looks like.

So, the only guy to pick the Broncos to upset the Chiefs (Wickersham @ ESPN) is also the only guy to pick the Dolphins to upset the Bills. I like our chances.

Bieber isn’t highly regarded in his home town. He was a brat in high school and when he first found fame he relentlessly criticized his home town. The people didn’t like being criticized and his continuation of bratty behaviour as a pop star didn’t win anyone over. It seems he may be finally growing up. I haven’t heard stories of him egging his neighbour’s house in years. He’s stopped publically bashing his home town - he and the Baldwin girl bought a house in Guelph, Ontario, so maybe Canada isn’t so bad after all.

Born and raised... but no one I know says “eh”. I think it’s more of an east coast thing.

Fun fact about Justin Bieber... My son goes to same high school that Bieber went to. They have a wall of fame to celebrate former students and teachers and Bieber is not on the wall. True story.

I guess I was accidentally obtuse. My point was that when we make it to the red zone, we finish drives better than most teams in the league, which I think is really positive. The red zone is more challenging on offenses where everything is tighter, so I am encouraged by this stat. I completely agree with you that we haven't generated the points that we should have with how well we've moved the ball this year. I feel that our offense is better than our points per game would indicate. Josh's hero ball tendancies have turned the ball over too much and resulted in 20-yard sacks when we were already in field goal range. I think Josh will make fewer of these mistakes in the second half of the season.

We can finish drives, as we are third in red zone offense and we've done quite well when the field is short. Our issue has been turnovers and sacks that push us out of field goal range. These will both improve as Josh eliminates some of the mistakes that have hurt him in three of the first five games this season.

Me too.

Am I just paying closer attention, or does Beane cycle players through the practice squad more than most?

It does feel like Ford is trending this way. It feels like he's the one guy on this team who hasn't really earned the reps he's been given. I didn't see any drop off in play when Bates came in to take his place.

This sums it up perfectly.

I find our offense rank in the top-ten interesting. We've moved the ball efficiently to pick up yards, but have turned the ball over too much and given up sacks at the edge of field goal range costing us points. Josh has been effective most of the time, but his mistakes have been costly on the scoreboard. I think he figures it out sooner rather than later.

Step 5 - Full Football Activity / Clearance Upon clearance by the team Physician for full football activity involving contact, the player must be examined by the independent Neurological Consultant (INC) assigned to his club. If the INC concurs with the team physician that the player's concussion has resolved, he may participate in his club's next practice or game. I'm not sure how Landry was cleared, based on the chart above. Without practicing, he somehow met the requirements of Football Specific Activities and Full Football Activity. I need someone smarter than me to figure this out.

The final stage of the protocol is regular practice activity, followed by an assessment. Josh will be assessed tomorrow for concussion symptoms, following today's activities. If he has no concussion symptoms, then he will be cleared to play.

Pretty confident bunch at the Titans board, with 60% predicting a Titans win by a TD or more. Only 17% think the Bills win. My opinion, since you asked... This will be a low-scoring game, with neither team posting more than 20 points. Both defenses are solid in this one. Josh plays (I think) and learns from his mistakes a week ago and protects the ball. Bills 17 Titans 13

The Patriots*... no need to finish reading the sentence.

Tuhrod did have a knack for padding his stats in garbage time, didn’t he.