-
Posts
23,973 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by dave mcbride
-
Good stuff; thanks for posting. My big takeaway is that cutting back on, well, everything won't make the paper better. Not surprisingly, it'll make it worse. I certainly do wonder about the Pegulas' role in all of this. Say what you will about Ralph, but he regularly granted interviews to Sullivan, who was clearly a thorn in the franchise's side.
-
John: I 'm neither a Sullivan lover nor hater, but I do have a serious question for you. My relatively uninformed hunch is that the days of the paid pure opinion writer -- a writer who doesn't do much in the way of reportage to supplement the pieces s/he publishes -- are coming to an end. For scores of decades, this type of writer -- i.e., a "tribune of the people" type -- was an institution at every paper, but the changing media landscape (encompassing the mushrooming growth of sites like this) undermined their appeal. It seems to me that the "analyst" has replaced the opinion writer as the desired type, and here I'm thinking of writers like Tyler Kepner of the NYT -- folks who get behind the numbers and blend opinion with pretty sharp analysis (straight reporters are of course a different story). As a Yankees fan, I can't read the opinion piece writers in the fishwraps anymore because the analysis on sites like www.riveraveblues.com is so much better. It blends deeply informed analysis with the opining I can get from the tabs. (And the guy who started that site, Mike Axisa, was so good that he ended up getting a gig with CBS sports' online site, so he's not an "amateur" anymore.) Sullivan effectively and regularly delivered what he was hired to deliver, but I wonder if that's much desire for that anymore given the increasingly deep knowledge among fans who thirst for at least a little bit of behind-the-scenes reportage and behind-the-numbers analysis in the pieces they read. Tyler Dunne seems to be one of the new breed, which is why he's generally quite well regarded here. So do you think that sort of writer is obsolete in this day and age? I'm genuinely curious to know what you think because honestly, I don't know.
-
Witnessing a seemingly endless string of celebratory dances atop the grave of an official, professional (i.e., paid) opinion writer (Sullivan) by unofficial, amateur enthusiast opinion writers (all of us) is what we call in my line of work "overdetermined." (This is regardless of Sullivan's skills or lack thereof.)
-
Incognito's Retirement? [update: Now Released]
dave mcbride replied to Spiderweb's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I now believe you based on other things I've heard. -
MMQB: The Jets' Long Road To Sam Darnold
dave mcbride replied to Coach Tuesday's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Agree 100 percent. -
Incognito's Retirement? [update: Now Released]
dave mcbride replied to Spiderweb's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Am I missing something? I only saw one reference to a possible drunken rampage, and it was secondhand from a freaking OBD security guard. That's approaching cab-driver-for-Seifert level. The person who posted it may well be credible, but he has only 90 posts so I'm not buying - yet. KtD, who I trust, made an oblique comment hinting at ... something, but said nothing specific. -
Antonio Brown almost drafted by the Bills
dave mcbride replied to Kirby Jackson's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I realize that he was good. But he was playing behind players who finished 17th all time in sacks (Freeney) and 19th all time (Mathis). His problem was playing time, not productivity. He had six starts in 2012 (his final season) because Freeney missed two starts and Mathis missed four. That's the only reason he ever got starts. Antonio Brown would have faced no such situation in Buffalo, which I think was part of your point! -
Antonio Brown almost drafted by the Bills
dave mcbride replied to Kirby Jackson's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Hughes is a bad example because he was playing behind two borderline hall of famers in Freeney and Mathis. Both of those guys were the primary DE starters in the three years Hughes played in Indy. -
Antonio Brown almost drafted by the Bills
dave mcbride replied to Kirby Jackson's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
If the Bills really didn't draft him because he didn't pick up the phone, that is Gomer Pyle-level behavior by Nix. I find it hard to believe that this was the reason he wasn't picked. -
Interesting Josh Allen Articles
dave mcbride replied to billspro's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I think that's a little unfair. In their first playoff loss to NO he was 29-43 for 380 yards and 3 TDs / 2 INTs (97.0 rating), and the team put up 28 points. Yet the defense gave up 659 yards! And again, he was completely jobbed by the refs in Dallas. They had that game won. The final playoff loss came against Seattle, and in that season (2016) he started off extremely well, playing at an MVP level. Yet in the final 5 games of that year, he was playing with a dislocated middle finger on his throwing hand with torn ligaments in it. His numbers trailed off and he was pretty ineffective the rest of the way. But he had a legit injury that explains the outcome. Anyway, to answer your question, I'd take him in a second. He has pretty much turned a true bottom feeder (the Lions) into a solid team. Put, say, Tyrod on that team, and they're going 4-12 every year. -
Interesting Josh Allen Articles
dave mcbride replied to billspro's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I think you have to factor in that he came to an O-16 team with terrible talent; they went 2-14 his first season. In the last 7 seasons, the Lions have had 4 winning seasons and 3 losing seasons plus 3 playoff appearances. And you and I both know he should have one playoff win -- that loss to the cowboys was one of the worst reffing displays in NFL history given the stakes involved. The Lions were absolutely robbed. -
I'm not sure of your point -- although I suspect the source of your attempted joke lies in the fact that you seem to think that any non-laudatory comment about anyone with a connection to Alabama is in reality a slight against the school, the region, and the Christian Lord above himself (a trait that is -- to be frank -- pretty tiresome). Perhaps I'm being unfair. Anyway, I'm simply stating that Daboll has been involved in the soap opera-level Pats drama for literally years and years, which I find ... interesting.
-
Most interesting of all: he joined Mangini before the 2007 season, and shortly afterward (September 9, 2007 to be precise) Spygate happened. He also followed Mangini to Cleveland and served under him both years he was there. Yet the Pats took him back. Hmm. The dude's been involved in a lot of soap opera drama over the years. (He was also in NE for deflategate.)
-
Buffalo News in financial trouble
dave mcbride replied to PromoTheRobot's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
The Washington Post will survive. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/washington-post-still-plays-catch-gaining-times-n833236