zonabb

I don't understand the PED issue and the complete lack of policing with wide receiver gloves, a clear performance enhancer, both artificially increase a players "ability." These WR today make some of the most ridiculous catches and get tons of pub for it yet little is said about the flypaper they wear on their hands. About Beckham's wildy over-hyped, sticky glove enhanced, three finger (physics defying) catch, Tim Brown said this. "You have to be careful about the way you analyze that play because you don't want people calling you a hater or whatever," said Tim Brown, a Hall of Fame receiver. "But you can't make that play without those kind of gloves. It's just impossible." Quote was from this great article: http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-nfl-receiver-gloves-20150830-column.html The hypocrisy of the league is amazing. The gloves probably have NFL logos, made by NFL sponsors, and result in NFL revenue. The NFL probably sees "marketing" value in fantastic catches. If so, let all these guys juice up, focus, and have at it. Why pick what is an acceptable performance enhancer and what isn't? Come on, let's put some NFL logos on Adderal and get on with it.

That's not saying much, it's like saying a family making one dollar above the poverty line is doing better. This franchise is a mess. A fanboy owner with zero experience in sports allowing a guy who calls himself a scout to run basically the entire football operation and while still, apparently, listening to a marketer have his say on football decisions. Drain the Cap. Get rid of all the hangers on who hang around and overseen this mess. How could they do worse than getting rid of Whaley, Brandon, Overdorf and all the others. Serious question. How could it be worse? They're like a company teetering on bankruptcy that just won't file for it, instead trying to solve the problem with the same management. Lynn will be another in the line of mediocre coaches. A guy who's coaching career up until this year never amounted to anything more than basically a RB coach? As was stated in some article this morning, a legit coach wants control and that's not possible here given the GM control, so they'll settle. They're settlers.

So not wanting this guy as coach. Clean the house out, Whaley too, who I was a proponent of until yesterday. Get them all out. I couldn't be less interested in this press conference if I tried.

Another in a long line of local hacks. Sadly, in today's media, being a complete disrespectful degenerate is what apparently gets you promoted. So this young tool I've never even heard of (so I just looked up...he covers Niagara County for TWC, no wonder) tried to get a scoop by taking the lowest road to a story, showing up a coach's house. Man, I wish our local reporters covered politics with the same approach these sports reporters do with a game. Man, we'c lean this mess up in NYS right quick if anyone in the media actually did investigative reporting and held these career politicians to a level of accountability, even remotely.

No. And the fact they trust Whaley should be troublesome to all.

Nope. His own buddy Sully is the "I have the right to change my mind" champion.

+1 and if Anthony Lynn is the best they do, yuck.

Antiquated organizational structure. Whaley was on the radio last week saying "I'm in charge of the 53, Rex the 46." Now we're hearing that Rex's desire to play Tyrod this week was the last straw. So again, get a president of football operations to oversee both GM and coach because Pegulas have zero clue.

Letting Whaley lead the search is troublesome. Guy is an admitted scout junkie and I suggest limited in his skills and experience to properly select a coach. Again, hire a president of football ops to oversee the personnel staff and coaching staff. The idea you continue to have two "departments" overseen by an billionaire sports fan is just laughable. A hands on experienced owner who's been around the sport for life is capable of managing these staffs, Pegulas are not. And Whaley shouldn't have any power over the coach if he's in charge of personnel. Sorry, just bad organizational structure. Coach and GM should be equal partners with a president to report to.

Second verse, same as the first. Another hire down the drain to make this team and especially the owner look like the same buffoons we had prior. Hire a damn president of football ops and develop a plan and then implement the plan. Constantly chasing coaches is a joke and proven for 17 years to amount to a steaming pile of dung. So after two drafts for a 3-4 defense that stockpiled defensive players, now what. Just so many problems with always reshuffling the deck.

Absolute garbage on TT. He hand picks stats that make Tyrod appear better than he actually is and/or better than Carr, when clearly he is not even close. He failed to mention Carr has a 96.7 rating this year compared to TT's 89.7. Or that Carr's rating is up this year and TT's is down. Or that Carr's YPG is up over last year and TT's is down, and Carr's is obviously higher. Or that Carr's completion percentage is higher and up from last year and TT"s is down and lower. Or that Carr has a better TD-INT ratio and more yards. Or that the supposedly gifted running QB has 42 sacks to Carr's 16, a sad indictment of his inability to read defense and get rid of the ball quickly, not an indictment of the OL. Or that Carr's Or that their rating head-to-head a few weeks ago was Carr 97.3 - TT 55.8. Most importantly, Carr was 5-3 against teams with a winning record and 7-0 against teams with a losing record. TT was 1-7 against teams with a winning record and 6-1 against losers. Both are good at beating on the weak but Carr wins more tough games than he loses, a sign of a winner. How many other ways can we say TT is a mediocre QB? So this joker picked a few useless points and tried to built a case to spend $29M (or whatever the ridiculous figure is) on him. One of the worst uses of descriptive statistics I've seen and that guy is a joke for it. Save the rating arguments for another point because it's useless here. One of the worst uses of descriptive statistics I've seen and that guy is a joke for it.

Talent is an interesting term. There seems to be this idea that physical talent is the driving force behind wins and losses. More "talent" is supposed to equal more wins. But we should be clear and careful because talent in the NFL is physical talent (speed, strength, height, etc.) and intellectual talent (intelligence, aptitude, maturity, professionalism). ON a football team, it's clear some positions require an abundance of both types of talent and others do well with more physical than intellectual talent. As I have railed against here for a long time, I hate dumb football players. Can't win with em! Every block in the back, every missed tackle, out of position, not on the field, every run out of bounds short of the sticks or when you should stay in bounds, every missed open receiver, every unnecessary personal foul, all add up to negative plays that hurt a football team. This is especially important a the QB position. Again, I have posted many times about the Wonderlic, which those who minimize intelligence immediately discount as "standardized tests that measure nothing" because they sucked at the SAT. Without spending endless effort here, go look up the reported Wonderlic scores of Super Bowl winning QBs, shockingly they all have on thing in common (except Bradshaw who I think is dyslexic or has some learning disability) and that is a score of at least 22 (for reference 20 is considered average or equal to a 100 IQ). Tyrod reportedly scored a 15. The comparison here to the Chiefs as a model to follow s good because Alex Smith reportedly scored a 40. He's a classic example of a QB with less physical talent than Tyrod but likely miles ahead intellectually. Here's the caveat in the QB argument... a 22+ doesn't guarantee you playoffs or a Super Bowl and a sub-22 doesn't mean you never make the playoffs, sometimes physically gifted QBs get to the playoffs. But... a sub-22 does not win you a Super Bowl. Maybe the guy to challenge that will be Derek Carr and his 20. One note here, many players take it twice and are coached up on the test, leaving some questions about it's validity. So often you reported scores that are high but will also find other sites where the player in question has two scores, the first and second attempt. Losman fits the Bill here, scoring a 14 the first time and miraculously a 31 the second. As much as everyone loves to hammering coaching when they lose, the reality is, this team has made countless mental mistakes this year that are not attributed to coaching. The 10 men on the field complaint this week is interesting. As Rex always does, he takes the blames to shield his players, which then is taken here and in the media as "Rex sucks." But here's the question: does Rex have a play in the defensive playbook that calls for 10 men? Or did someone miss the play call and not get on the field? The problem here is every treats every issue as black or white. Loses mean Rex sucks. Wins means players are awesome. Football is a complex system of moving parts played by sentient human beings who are prone to mistakes. Players who need the playbook dumbed down are a liability, they limited what the team can do. Nothing irks me more than "the defensive playbook is to complex" argument. Huh, worked well in Baltimore with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. And this brings me to the one single issue I think is under-discussed and that is leadership. It really dawned on me when the I watched the pre-game last week before the Bucs played. Winston had that team on the sidelines in a huddle getting fired up and ready to play. Lewis and Reed did that as well. Players were held accountable by them, they didn't want to let those guys and their teammates down. Who are the vocal and visible leaders on this team? Who is getting his ass chewed when he comes to the sideline after a stupid play or being propped up after a good one?Can anyone recall Tyrod this season walking the bench, rallying the troops? Maybe part of the problem now is that they look to Rex for that, which I think is a mistake. They need a leader, badly, and have for a very long time. I tend to take a more intellectual rather than "brawn" approach to football and I think a good leader would do wonders. Think about the bad coworkers or bosses you worked with and your desire to do well for them, because that's what football takes, a desire to do well for the greater good. Now if you have been lucky enough to have a great leader for a boss, think about how you worked harder and better because of leadership. I've experience both, I actually enjoyed working under great leadership, Leaders can't be manufactured, they have to be proven, respected, and good. They have to be accountable to their teams. On defense, who is that guy? Not Dareus. Not Gilmore. Not Hughes. No Kyle (classic lead by example guy, which I hate). In order, I think the problems this year were: Talent/injuries - they go together. Your bench players are bench players for a reason, they're not as good as your starters. When you lose starters, "talent" drops off in almost all cases on all teams. The safety position is a mess. Same with the WRs. Under-performance - some players regressed this year, especially the CBs. I think the DL under-performed. QB play. Self-explanatory. Every high-pressure game, TT stepped on his own feet. He can't lead a team from behind for a win. At some point around the Seattle game someone said he was 1-13 in games when he trailed by 4 or more. Yes, some loses are not his fault, but when in a position to make plays and win a game, he just can't. Coaching - Does Rex make mistakes, hell yeah. If you want the NFL, they all do more often than people want to believe. Even the great BB. If you expect a new coach to be error free, Doug Marrone, Dick Jauron, Mike Mularkey, and Gregg Wiliams will see you now. They all do it. Give me the lower ranked of two players with more brains, every time. Give me guys who hate to lose, just can't stand it (doesn't seem to rankle a lot of players) and you've got building blocks. So that's my diatribe for the morning. Off to work and to be productive.

Feelings are bad right? A sign of weakness? Something a "man" can't have. Very neanderthal and typical of the "torches and pitchfork" crowd here who's answer to everything is "fire someone" and "quit being a liberal p_ssy." Very enlightened. I preferred to work for people I respected. Respect is a feeling and an emotion. Do you think Kyle Williams would respect a "leader" who walked out on the team for a $3M payout rather than stayed in the fray, battled with and lead his players, and showed the new owner that his arrogant, self-inflated ego was worth some wins? And if the idea isn't idiotic enough on its own lack of merit, it sure is from a reality perspective. Do think the GM and owners would even consider this guy, who let me remind you was never hired as a coach again?

Maybe, just maybe, the issue I have raised over and over is true.... too many dumb football players does not a winning team make. Lack of emotional and intellectual intelligence inside a gifted body doesn't always work. This constant refrain that it's Rex's fault for 10 men on the field is useless absent any indication that he made it happen. Maybe, just maybe, these guys on the sidelines aren't paying attention to calls and the game. Go ahead, fire Rex, that's what everyone wants. But he doesn't run out of bounds short of first down markers, miss fields goals, miss tackles, miss assignments (every safety not named AW), choke in any game that matters (TT), get stupid personal fouls, and all the other problems that cost this team wins. How about the players get some accountability. This board is like parents who blame teachers for their kids stupidity. It's a system of parts, each with a role and responsibility that helps achieve a outcome. When many of the parts are clearly problematic, merely changing one part will not fix it. If it did, where's the proof in the last 17 years. I keep saying it but hire a highly-qualified President of Football Ops who gives the actual ultimatum to Whaley and Rex that they get one year. Let him observe the entire football operation and make the changes he sees fit. The Pegulas are not capable of anything related to football-related (or hockey for that matter) decisions. As long as they're hearing it from Rex and Whaley, forger it. You're just swapping out parts for the same parts.

The ticket sales formula: time + free agency + draft + fandom = ticket sales. where time = the temporal distance from the end of last season until the next one, where time heals wounds and the spring brings optimism. free agency = the acquisition of free agents that compounds the spring time optimism draft = the acquisition of college players who compound the spring time optimism fandom = the reality that at the end of the day, tens of thousands of fans are diehards and stand by this tire fire and toast the team and city.

Love the constant slam against continuity but in favor..... continuity. Firing and trying to get a QB has been continuous for 17 seasons. That's the definition of continuity. They continue to have 2-3 year plans instead of staying the course. Fire whoever the hell you want, it will not matter ever who the coach of this team is so long as they have a mediocre QB. The over-under on wins for the Pats with any coach this team has had in the last 17 years is probably 11. Funny all the coaches fired and year all their starting QBs are where exactly? Oh not in the league anymore or career backups? Thought so. Keep banging the "Fire Rex" drum if that makes you feel better but you'll be banging the Fire "Fill in the Blank" two years from now unless that coach somehow is handed a franchise QB, not a guy who can't from because or crumble like a cupcake in a meaningful game. And of course the response is "fire Whaley" then right? I missed it, are the Bills the only team without a franchise QB because they just seem to be the only team with a GM(s) who can't find one as they just fall out of the sky in buckets? QB is the most important position in pro sports and also the one with the lowest supply of legit quality. The logical step is that the owners hire an outsider to come in as the President of Football Operations that oversees Whaley and Ryan. Let that trusted person over see Rex's third season and get to make the call next year and bring in his own coach and GM if he sees fit. The fact this team is owned by a family with zero experience in pro football and doesn't have someone over seeing the entire football operation is rather stunning.

Stayed away for what, 5 days, due to the moronic threads and posts and come back to this. So sorry I did. Jesus.

Amen. Tell me who the QB is, the coach won't matter. Yes Rex makes mistakes but all coaches do, but it's amplified when you lose. Success shields coaches from in game blunders and bad players, losing amplifies the mistakes. Keep Rex, the new boss will be the same as the old boss. All these coaches who get fired got hired as the right man for the job because they were on winning teams, both coaches and coordinators. They end up on teams without a QB and suddenly they suck. Pretty logical the connection between being good and winning and sucking and getting fired - a QB. So keep Rex and let him Try with a different QB. Otherwise, theyre just repeating 17 years of history that the evidence suggests is more on QB play than coaching.

Patriots. Best QB of all time as dominant as ever. Thing of beauty.

Lance Leipold on line 1, wants to talk about the challenge in jumping up in competition and the missteps in assuming one can coach at all levels.

Why wouldn't people want a generationally, culturally disconnected 70 year old man in a position of power? What could go wrong?

Can look at it through two lenses: when you suck and are a small market team, you get the leavings, putting less people in the seats and less money in the owbers' pocket. Or the league was doing them a favor putting them in position to have home games in a tough environment for a playoff push. As a STH, I like the late games for the former, it just never works out.

I'll renew, stupidly because that's what I do. If you think 20,000 less season tickets will be sold if Rex and Tyrod stay you're under-appreciating this fan base. Actually I'd bet in the 50s somewhere in any case. People are more logical than you give them credit for because they know the QB is all that matters, we've proven that no matter the coach, the QB he's tied to breaks him.

Don't care who the coach is, only the QB.

Who cares what the media says, seriously? Watch games, find facts, draw your own conclusions. This constant need to have your "beliefs" validated or invalidated by people who no more knowledge than the average football is pathetic. The day i wake up and say to myself, "Jeez, I better see what Vic Carucci says so I can make up my mind" is the day I hope someone drags me behind the woodshed and puts me out of my delusional misery.