dave mcbride

You could well be right about JBJ. I am just putting it out there because he did say this. Trump did fund Caputo, though. Not sure how much effect it had.

@PromoTheRobot,did you read the Bon Jovi interview where he said he never, ever planned on moving the Bills from Buffalo, and that the smear campaign against him was engineered and funded by Trump (which it actually was)? https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2020/10/24/why-jon-bon-jovi-erased-buffalo-and-the-bills-from-his-life/ and https://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-shady-scheme-to-buy-nfl-buffalo-bills

I am glad you brought this up. I was going to. Cosell spoke at length about the problems with the Bills offense about 9-10 games in, and he made an excellent point. He said that running the ball consistently with your running backs isn’t just about gaining rushing yardage, but also about getting d-linemen moving sideways in anticipation. That, he said, is what opens up play action and takes the pressure off of your QB. If you’re clearly de-emphasizing a conventional running game, d-linemen don’t have to worry much about moving laterally to effectively defend rushing plays. Instead, they can just get after the QB. You gotta know that McDermott knows this, and I can only imagine that there were some intense arguments, especially in that phase where the Bills were basically running a spread offense (one that was utterly exposed vs Jax, vs Indy, and vs TB in the first half of that game). To be sure, Daboll adapted and the Bills offense became much more multiple down the stretch. But there may well be some lingering resentment on both of their parts (e.g., McDermott may blame him for the Jax loss, which was a terribly called game on offense). I certainly don’t know for sure if that’s the root of the problem, but it could be.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/01/10/absentee-ownership-directly-contributes-to-weird-outcomes-like-the-firing-of-brian-flores/ What is your point? He took over a truly terrible team, and those were the facts on the ground that he dealt with. Please clarify, with specifics and a demonstration of knowledge of the 2019 Dolphins roster.

Barbs, I respect you as a poster, but you can do better than this.

Maybe he was concerned with the players on the team he was coaching and all of the assistants he hired and asked to move their families to Miami. Life is complicated.

The miami roster in 2019 was without question the worst in the league with regard to talent. Pretending otherwise is just bias. The fact that he went 5-11 with a 1-15 team (talent-wise) and was competitive the entire second half of the season was good coaching, and everyone in the NFL knew it. Re: your line above, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Saying he had a .500 record is so divorced from context. The expectation in 2019 was that Miami would be 1-15 AT BEST. Him going 5-11 there and being consistently competitive there over the second half of the season with that roster was remarkable. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Remember that.

Not really. Flores also has an obligation to his players and his coaching staff. If he quits, his staff gets canned too. It's not that simple.

When both of your former assistants are named Brian ...

In 2013, the Panthers defense had a ridiculous 60 sacks, which led the league, and their D was second in both yards and points allowed. McDermott is plenty happy with lots of sacks.

What are you talking about??? He was *awesome* his final season at Arkansas, which went 10-3 (ranked 12th at the end of the season) and lost the Sugar Bowl to Ohio State because of a very controversial penalty call on a blocked punt in the final minute. That year, Mallet had a 65 percent completion rate, 9.4 ypa, 32 TDs, and a 163.6 rating. He led the SEC in passing yardage, TD passes, and ypa. He was good the year before too (30 TDs/7 INTs; 9.0 ypa). Anyway, the comps are there: massive size, cannon arm, accuracy issues. I didn't say he was exactly alike, but no two players are ever exactly alike. But there were certainly some notable similarities in terms of the scouting reports.

One of the worst performances I've ever seen by a great player. It's as if the mafia had something on him and he was throwing the game. I know he didn't do that, but the number of horrible -- not bad; horrible -- plays by him was staggering.

The Pats spent a third rounder on him, which was very high given the context -- i.e., the fact that they had the GOAT playing QB in his prime and were never going to spend a first on a QB at that moment. But that wasn't your point. Your point was that BB would never have taken a player with a track and skill set like Allen. It was never about where the player was drafted. Mallet isn't exactly Allen, but he's very comparable in terms of massive size and a cannon arm.

The advanced numbers show a steady downward trend for him: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradJa00.htm. Note the missed tackle percentage (the last column).

Remember this playoff game from Peyton Manning, where he barked out such a long stream of Rube Goldberg-machine nonsense before each play that it sounded like he had logorrhea? https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200301040nyj.htm. He was absolutely pathetic vs. Herman Edwards' Jets defense and just choked.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Minnesota was playing for a long FG attempt there, not a TD. That was just gravy because the Saints' DB, who was in position, choked and whiffed on Diggs. The players were there; they just failed and Diggs made a play. I disagree with you here. Well, he lost one chance because of arguably the worst non-call in NFL history. If that call is made, he is in the SB. Don't forget that.

Yup, and I would not be surprised if Stafford throws multiple picks. He has it in him, deep.

Um ... https://bleacherreport.com/articles/685062-ryan-mallett-five-reasons-hes-new-englands-future-at-quarterback

As I said elsewhere, Mahomes' performance in from the last five seconds of the first half onward to the end was one of the most baffling performances I've ever seen by a genuinely elite player. It was like he had the yips -- just a total meltdown in all areas of his game: decision making (including internal clock management), physical movement, and accuracy. The sequence at the very end of regulation (the two sacks and the fumble) was just ridiculous. His play over that 30-plus minute stretch really wasn't any better than Nathan Peterman, and I'm not trying to be funny. Just bizarre.

Well, Michigan has the 8th ranked recruiting class for 2022, although they're a fair bit behind the leaders in terms of 5-stars (the usual crew and Texas A & M). College recruiting has come to resemble the tech industry -- with the nationalization of recruiting, a small group of 4-5 schools just suck up a hugely disproportionate share of the top talent. 8th may sound good -- and it is -- but it doesn't reveal how huge the disparity is between the top dogs and the rest.

Totally. Maybe he relies on them for interviews too frequently? Mahomes performance in from the last five seconds of the first half onward to the end was one of the most baffling performances I've ever seen by a genuinely elite player. It was like he had the yips -- just a total meltdown in all areas of his game: decision making (including internal clock management), physical movement, and accuracy. Where I fault Reed is in the first down play from the 5 yard line with less than two minutes to go. Cincy had a TO left, and they were expecting a run because they assumed KC wanted to bleed clock. That is exactly when you should be throwing the ball. Playing the clock game instead of scoring to go up by 4 at the earliest possible opportunity was terrible game management. If I'm coaching KC, I don't care if they get it with 1:50 left if I can go up by 4. (Notably, both Hardiman and Mahomes ran out of bounds on plays just before that stopped the clock too). Sure, it'd be nicer if they had less time, but by wasting a play you're now in two obvious passing-play situations, and if you fail, you can only tie it. Reid totally outsmarted himself there. Score a TD ASAP and don't waste plays in order to play clock games.

I agree with you. He has tools.

They went 12-13 in the two years before he got there. By Michigan standards, that's terrible. And the Rodriguez years were bad too. They had one good season under Hoke -- his first one -- and that's it. I know you're a Michigan hater but let's be accurate here. Harbaugh was reasonably successful there overall, and performed better than his two predecessors. Also, the "rival" has basically been one of a super trio of recruiting schools over the last decade plus (OSU/Bama/Clemson). I'd add Georgia to this mix now. They just recruit better than anyone else and they're hard to compete with.