dave mcbride

In that sort of situation -- i.e., a genuinely automatic FG in an extremely short down/distance situation -- the only thing you should be playing is the fake. Don't waste effort trying block a chip shot. It's shorter than the old extra point, and they had something like a 99.5 percent success rate the year before they moved the ball back. It shouldn't have surprised them because the only thing they should have been defending against was the fake. Don't try to block an old-school extra point. It never works.

I worry for Darnold. His new moniker could end up being "The Ghost of Butt Fumbles Future."

He caught 71.4 percent of the passes thrown his way during his time in Atlanta (and 79 percent this year). He's also big, durable, and coachable.

They still have 12 picks! Draft picks are overrated anyway, as the Pats have shown year after year after year.

It sure is.

He also loves guys who catch the balls thrown their way. Sanu's catch percentage the last four seasons with Atlanta is 71.4 percent, and he's at 78.6 percent this year. This is a very good addition to the Pats receiving corps.

Patriots are now down to only 12 picks next year! - 1st round (own)- 3rd round (own)- 3rd round (projected compensatory pick: Trey Flowers)- 3rd round (projected compensatory pick: Trent Brown)- 4th round (via Chicago Bears)- 6th round (via Houston Texans: Keion Crossen trade)- 6th round (via Denver Broncos: Duke Dawson trade)- 6th round (projected compensatory pick: Malcom Brown)- 6th round (projected compensatory pick: Cordarrelle Patterson)- 7th round (via Seattle Seahawks)- 7th round (via Falcons)- 7th round (via Philadelphia Eagles)

Either that or there's a data-informed change going on with regard to valuation of draft picks versus players with a history of production.

If you go to the Jets boards, you’ll see those types of threads.

Save your worries for Tua next season.

Dude, you are fighting an inconsequential sideshow battle while ignoring the real issue. I said things like that about Brady in 2013.

I can.

Just why? Why aren't you rooting for a debilitating-but-not-crippling stress fracture for Brady? What the hell is wrong with people enjoying their longtime captors practicing late-game sadism against a likely 4-12 team?

You’re really enjoying watching the Pats administer a beatdown to an inferior opponent? Christ. That is the Very definition of Stockholm Syndrome.

Agreed!

Both qbs have looked like complete crap against the pats.

Annoying stat of the year: after tonight, the 3 qbs in the league drafted by the pats will be 17-2 (brady, garrapolo, anD brissett).

A-.

I'm talking about production from the QB position. As I mentioned earlier, there is no bigger believer in team passer rating as a predictive stat than me, but at the same time when faced with a unicorn like Jackson (who, barring injury, is on pace to rush for 1,316 yards), you have to adjust your perspective to account for rare production that doesn't roll up into the passer rating formula.

In that game in which he had a rating of 84.9, he had 19 rushes for 152 yards and the Baltimore offense had over 500 yards.

This play really annoyed me. On the previous play, Knox had that really bad drop, and Allen threw it to him again right away the next play because, you know, gotta pick your guy up and let him know that you believe in him. Noble thoughts, I guess, but he was locked in on Knox to a fault and missed this easy first down pass to Brown. Knox was blanketed on the play.

There is some good stuff here about the increase in trades this season: https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/10/21/rams-trade-jalen-ramsey-fmia-nfl-peter-king/ The Rams are not alone in bulking up on trades. Cleveland, Baltimore, Oakland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (!) are dipping their toes in the pool more than they used to, or more than their predecessors. This could be an outlier season regarding trades, but I doubt it. With eight days to go before the trading deadline, see how times have changed in 10 years: 2009: 39 trades in the calendar year, involving 50 players. Seven traded players were Pro Bowlers at least once. 2019: 54 trades (with eight days left in the period), involving 69 players. Thirteen have been to at least one Pro Bowl. That’s a snapshot, not a long-term study. But it just feels like trading has picked up, and though the Rams may be at the head of the pack, they’re not alone. One GM told me over the weekend when I relayed those trading stats: “I bet that numbers ends up at 65.” “I’ve been thinking about it,” said Hall of Fame GM Bill Polian, “and I want to withhold final judgment, but there are a few factors. Miami’s getting rid of players. The Rams are aggressive. And I think for players with leverage, they see this as being the NBA. I’ll go where I want to go. Ramsey, Antonio Brown—trade me, and the hell with the consequences. But there’s also a little bit of the old [Dodgers GM] Branch Rickey in some of the newer GMs. Rickey said, ‘The only title you can win is the title you can win this year.’ “ Polian then made a fascinating point: He said he didn’t want to be a “curbstone psychologist.” But he said, “I think this generation of GMs might be a little more transactional. It used to be not many GMs thought about taking risks. They were from a generation where their parents might have grown up in the Depression, or remembered the Depression. Life was hard enough without taking risks. Today, the idea that you can make these decisions and change your team quickly is inculcated in this generation. I’m not sure of that, but it seems to be true.” I love that theory. I think it is dead-on. Why wait to fix a problem when you might get fired after two years? When I told Demoff and Snead, they were fascinated. “Bill makes a great point about our league now, and your trade data backs up the fact it’s not just us. Bill Belichick is great at it too. When they have a hole, he doesn’t wait. He attacks. He trades. He takes chances too.” Demoff pounced next: “The NBA is coming to the NFL. This [the Ramsey trade] is a similar case to those NBA deals. “Prior team-building formulas, where you basically had guys for their careers, is pretty much over,” he said. “Think of the guys who’ve moved in the past year. Khalil Mack. Marcus Peters. Jalen Ramsey. Jarvis Landry. Laremy Tunsil—” “Odell!” Snead interjected. “Beckham too—forgot him,” Demoff said. “But I think there’s one other important factor here. Today, it’s easier to find ways to measure performance. There’s a rise of analytics, there’s better technology, better and more accurate data. What we’ve found is you can find undervalued players easier than before. So I think football people are getting better at synthesizing data to find players.”

Wow, it didn't take long for this thread to go Godwin!! (@GG and @Kelly the Dog)