eSJayDee

I'll concede that what TT costs relative to an elite QB is a relative bargain (& is even in line w/ other "lower echelon" starting QBS - Osweller, Fitz) . You're getting a serviceable QB for ~1/2-2/3 the cost. However, when you take into consideration what you get at a BARGAIN price, if you're lucky (Prescott, Siemian, TT last yr) I think that dramatically lessens the mkt (& appeal). He's got elite elusiveness & he's careful w/ the ball. But based on what we've seen, he's not capable of winning by throwing & he's not going to lead a potent passing attack. How many teams are willing to settle for that? We could probably re-sign EJ for ~1/3 of that & not lose much &/or we might even have more in Jones (at FAR less of a cost) if given time to develop.

Not so much a word, but I learned that since we're all so knowledgeable, we're all a bunch of "road scholars".

Why wouldn't he be? What benefit would be firing him w/ 2 games left? Dismissing him at that juncture would be inane.

I think it's (almost) time to give Taylor a lot of rope. We still have a realistic chance at making the playoffs IF we win the last 4 games. Going into the game, IMO, we've got roughly a 50% chance of beating Pitt, so you start the game off status quo. Let him be a game mgr - rely on the run game, let him make the safe throws, protect the ball & just avoid mistakes. But, when/if it's apparent that isn't working, you take the training wheels off & you let/make him "be a QB". Unless Taylor can show he can be a complete, valuable QB, he is not worth even the "modest" contract he would be due for next yr. Looking ahead to next year, he is our most likely option for a good QB. Right now he isn't that good. Once it's apparent we're out of contention, use the last few games for him to (hopefully) improve his skills as well as give us the opportunity to assess him.

One other thing to consider (besides him being a Pat* ) is that it being a 4-game suspension it means it would be his 1st. Henderson's is 10 as he was previously suspended. I think you have more grounds for appeal if you haven't previously been found guilty.

I was somewhat surprised by his speed. Yes, you saw him outrun a (big) safety, but CBs (or even other fast players) are another matter. The fact that he clocked the fastest run isn't too surprising though. Takes someone 40+ yds to reach full speed. Long passes, if you're going to score, you're usually cruising once you catch it. So there really isn't that much competition. Appearance wise, Gilleslee looks faster to me.

Yay! Game televised in Albany. Kinda surprised. This is (sadly) Jest territory. Had we won last week & they lost, I think a good case could be made to televise our game (2 playoff contenders as opposed to 2 bottom teams), but since it was the other way around, I'm pleasantly surprised.

I still don't think we've resolved whether or not is suspension is almost done. FWIW, I found a site that lists all fines. For instance, Dareus' is listed at ~$3m, ie 4 games of his salary forfeited due to suspension. Karlos' is ~$130k, presumably 4 games of minimum wage for a 2 yr player. Lawson's is blank presumably cuz he was earning much more than vet minimum, but what he ends up signing for is unknown. I'm assuming that Karlos doesn't have that sort of cash laying around and presumably hasn't already paid the fine yet ergo would be unable to meet his "obligation" until he signs w/ a new team.

Um, if he's not on a roster & collecting a paycheck, then how can he be suspended? The suspension is supposed to serve as a penalty. How can he be serving a suspension, and most specifically, sacrificing his gamecheck, if he's not on a roster & collecting said gamecheck?

Isn't it basically a case of "forward" progress? He caught the ball at the 1; established possession, then fell backward w/ his butt hitting OB in the EZ. Sort of like reaching forward for a 1st down only to pull the ball back for safe keeping - it's the forward most point that counts.

Geez, I saw a few guys w/ a "C" on their jersey. Can you imagine tracking your geneology so far back that you know you're the 100th in line w/ that name?

Surprised that Gay would be eligible for Practice Squad. Hasn't he been w/ us for portions of 2 yrs? I would've thought him being on the active roster for as many games as he was would've precluded it. Also, if you want to develop/stash a kicker, I would think that Morgan (guy we released ~1 month ago) would be a better choice. There were some reports that he was outkicking Carpenter. Seems like he'd be a prime candidate to develop. Gay, OTOH, although possessing a strong leg, has been around long enough if he hasn't adequately improved his accuracy/consistency, he likely never will.

Well, it's supposedly going to be rebroadcast at 11:00 on MSG. Fingers crossed.

WTF. I recorded the game on NFLN & all I've got is NfL Life. Do they preempt it cuz I'm in Giants (or Bills?) territory? Anyone know if I can catch a rebroadcast in Albany? TIA.

I thought one of the primary knocks on Vick, other than the whole dog abuse thing, was that he had an IQ roughly comparable to said dogs. Is that a characteristic of someone you want as a consultant?

Seems to me this does 2 things: 1) it puts less emphasis on the ability to kick deep where a good return is likely (Bye, bye Mr Gay) and 2) it encourages high, short kicks - precisely the sort that I would think would more likely leads to injury.

A quick look at nfl.com stats & the top & the top 9 kickers (if you ignore the guy that's 1-1) are over 90%. So, very roughly speaking that puts the 75th percentile at 90%. I stand by the statement that 90% is an appropriate benchmark.

Actually, I would contend that 23-27 (~85%) is mediocre at best these days. Granted, it depends on distance, but I'd say the benchmark these days is 90%. Anything less than that, & your job is in jeopardy. I'm not advocating cutting him outright w/o competition, but given that he also doesn't kickoff, they definitely need to bring in someone that can/should take his job away. I suppose there's also hope that Gay can improve his accuracy/consistency to the point where he might be a viable option for all kicking duties as well.

The DL is essentially trying to jump/anticipate the snap count - an unfair advantage. If they're right, then they've got the upper hand; if they're wrong - AND get caught, they should be penalized.

On a purely mathematical basis- If you assume we don't make it this year (which I assume the odds are greater than 98% at this juncture) and that each yr there's a 62.5% chance of NOT making the playoffs (6 of 16 AFC teams make it each yr) there's roughly a 15% chance of the streak extending another 4 yrs (625 out of 4096).

To some extent, yes. However, bear in mind that the ability to replicate a kick, and CONSISTENTLY kick a ball straight is FAR from trivial. Much like those long distance golf drivers can hit the ball ~400 yds, & they're probably good golfers (ie scratch or below) in their own right, they're not ever going to be good enough to compete on the tour. Kicking in the NFL has evolved into a VERY skilled/precise art. To be good these days, you've gotta be able to make 40 yd FGs 90%+ of the time. That's impressive & people able to do that are quite rare.

I saw it, but haven't watched a replay. Yes, he got wiped out. I can only suspect that it was deemed that the rusher was blocked into him. Then again, based on how grossly inept they were on other calls, that well may not have been the case.

This brings to mind a few questions: Can you legally possess an alligator? And if not, then why the f%$# are there laws regarding neglect of said animal?

When they announced the new red uniforms it didn't occur to me that the Jest would be wearing all green. Surprised that the NFL allowed it. (Isn't the rule that the home team gets to select dark or light jerseys then the visitors have to use the opposite?) Anyway, I'm not colorblind but I found it nasty to look at myself.

You make a valid point, and with our frequency of penalties, you think you might actually be right. However, I tend to think it's still worth the chance. There's not much difference between the 15 & 25 for field position and there is a small chance that break one either all the way, or at least yielding significantly better field position. Hopefully, the expected Utility (economic concept) of returning it when there's some chance, albeit likely small, of yielding far favorable results exceeds the minimal extra Utility you'd get from taking it at the 20 relative to say about the 17.