Chuck Wagon

Schefter did a local radio spot here last week and basically laid out the lifecycle of a trade. Teams float guys for trade, eventually rumors leak out, teams publicly say they would never think about trading a guy, then offers get better and a deal gets done. I take AJ Green coming out this week and saying "I'm good with wherever I end up" way more meaningful than Zach Taylor saying they would never trade him. Looking at the timeline. We've had rumors of AJ Green being available going back to last season. This week he says he's good wherever he ends up. He returns to practice in pads and runs. Zach Taylor says they would never trade him. I understand some sentimentality for players, but if someone is dangling a 1st or even a 2nd for him, they would be crazy not to make that move.

Because people assume teams will act rationally. A 31 year old WR coming off injury in a walk year on a 0-5 team seems like a really logical guy to flip for draft picks. Well run teams would recognize that. Cincinnati is neither a rational nor well run team.

Feels like we are still at least one guy short, but yes, that helps.

I don't think Melvin Gordon is a "gamechanger" back. The Chargers seemed to have very little falloff from him to Eckler. I think he's clearly a notch or two below guys like Kamara, McCaffery, Zeke, etc.

IMO the Pats game showed our offense is missing a couple pieces more than anything. We've given JA enough and he's shown enough to get by against solid defenses, but it's a lot to ask of JA to be a "truck" vs a "trailer" against the elite of the elite D's.

That's how NFL offenses work. No one is getting to 3 or 4 reads. Plays are designed to go to one guy, if he's not open there's a safety valve or you bail out.

A WR who can consistently win 1 on 1 and dictate coverage to open more opportunities for Brown / Beasley / Knox & co. Absent that, a true game breaker at RB.

I think anyone who is as brash with rabbit ears for any bit of criticism as Baker is clearly overcompensating for something. I think Baker is hearing footsteps, but at this point it's tough to say if it's due to not preparing properly or having to overcome a nagging sense of self doubt. He's bailing out of good pockets immediately and trying to make too much happen. I believed prior to the draft and still believe to this day that if Allen were at Oklahoma with Lincoln Riley and that talent he would have been the #1 pick by a country mile and Baker at Wyoming is likely mid 1st territory.

He's not a great athlete. People were expecting a Russell Wilson like jitterbug. Baker is short, slow and has a beer belly. You can run around and make all kinds of plays in the Big 12 that are just sacks and picks in the NFL.

I enjoy how the Baker apologists say it's not his fault he threw a ball in the dirt from 8 yards away that Callaway popped up, but if it were Allen they would be saying that lack of accuracy is why he'll never make it.

I don't consider a trade for a guy like Diggs (25 years old, would be on a pretty nice contract after the trade) to be a "all in" move.

Ever since I saw the schedule, I've thought 8-3 is our magic number for a real playoff conversation. 3-2 means we need to go 4-0 against Miami / Washington / Denver (which we need to do anyway) and then split Philly / Cleveland.

Personally I think we've got the Pats shook a bit. Staffers just happening to end up in the wrong place, their D clearly going for a cheap kill shot on our QB. They feel the footsteps hot and heavy and the end of Brady's career never looked closer than yesterday.

I would have loved to have these games flipped, the bye after NE and Tennessee before. I just have a bad feeling about this game, basically as close to a must win as we’ll have this early but so much emotion was put into the NE game I have a feeling we’ll be very flat.

How about we find out in week 16?

I'd rather go for Stefon Diggs. 6 years younger than AJ, fits the timeline of our core and I think would be a killer in Daboll's offense.

Henry Ruggs with Josh's arm would be nice.

The Colts are legit good. That's why the Luck retirement stings so bad. That's a team that could win the Super Bowl. I think Brissett has shown he's good enough to keep them in the 10-11 win hunt for sure.

I thought before the season and still think that 8-3 is the magic number to have a playoff conversation.

Yes. And no team stepped in to try to beat their offer on Robinson. You'd think in a league short on tackles if a starting caliber one hits the streets someone would at least make a competitive offer. Maybe the player / agent told other teams not to bother, but that seems like bad business.

Landry is badly overrated IMO. He was in a scheme designed for him to shine in Miami, ie the same scheme that made Crowder look like a world beater week 1. He can't make any plays down the field and best case is a much more hyped, much worse version of Edelman. That offense is Odell and Chubb and that's it. They ignored the oline (they cut their LT before the season and no team stepped in to try to sway him while he was free, which says all you need to know). All flash and zero substance with huge personalities the coach won't be able to control if they don't turn it around QUICK.

Part of me feels for Browns fans. At the same time I've seen them taking shots at Josh Allen all offseason long. So it's hard to say they deserve this, but they way they pumped up this team they do. They didn't beat a single playoff team in their run to end last season, will likely start 1-6 playing most all the playoff teams they'll see, then finish the year on a 6-3 run against subpar competition and get pumped up all offseason all over again.

He's done. MAYBE a chance to come back with someone towards the end of the year if all goes right the next couple of months or next season, but I think it's a situation where no one will pay him enough to lure him and he won't want to play for cheap to earn his path back in.

Win a back and forth playoff game on the road.

This. Gamepass will give you condensed 45 minute replays of the game. I have AT&T uverse, I used to get redzone through that and it was my sunday watching, at least then you see the Bills TDs and key moments (for the most part, this past week they did a pretty poor job of showing the Bills game). I had to subscribe to slingtv to get that this year because of AT&T. If I didn't get almost every single college game through my cable package, I would have already slashed AT&T.