RuntheDamnBall

Could we see some links to validate this, something I view as a straw-man argument? I think a #1 pick in all but a few unlikely scenarios would be wasted on a QB. It doesn't mean I think no competition should be brought in. It means that I and those who agree with me think it's not the best use of resources to put a winning team on the field. I also think most people here would be glad to see us take a chance on a guy who falls to the 2nd or 3rd but has upside. I'd personally like to take a flyer on Murray, who I think has pro talent but has obviously hit a giant bump in his prospects for the year. My sentiments exactly. Well put.

Whatever makes you feel good, dude.

McShay. Aaron Maybin's #1 fan.

On your last point we certainly agree. I think everyone needs reminding that this team wanted Kolb to win the job and for Manuel to perhaps earn playing time over the course of the season. That didn't play out, and furthermore EJ had injuries of the sort that make it tougher to evaluate his progress.

You can be concerned without advocating a reactionary path. EJ has to produce in year 2 and to stay healthy as well. Even his biggest fans know that.

11 TDs, 9 picks. Hey, while you're at it, build a time machine and tell Steve Young to stop getting concussions and then trade for him. He'd look dynamite in this offense. With all the high picks that everyone is ponying up for Byrd I am sure we'll have the capital to pull this off.

EJ played "half as poorly" in about 9.5 out of 16 games compared to Geno having played most of them. I think both QBs have potential in the league but have to work hard to attain it, and they have to be in the right situations. Regardless, EJ sits +3% on completions, 11 points better in QBR, and didn't throw more INTs than TDs as did Geno. EJ played better in crunch time situations more than once, and his numbers are really ruined by the TB game - an admitted low point for him. I expect a lot more with better health and a full offseason of NFL work. But you know, they were practically the same to anyone who doesn't bother to actually look at the numbers.

I just got this pitchfork all nice and polished, though.

Oh no, a blogger has an opinion that is unfavorable. One that watches a lot of game tape at that. Gracious me.

I think am not really criticizing anyone for having that initial response to the issue, especially without the knowledge that the guy has a bona fide depression diagnosis. I think it is incumbent on the league and on teams - in a league where a number of high profile guys have committed suicide - to look after their players' mental health, though. I want to stress that I'll make no explicit tie between those two phenomena - the mostly CTE related cases are not the same as depression - but if nothing else it's a workplace issue to "lose" your personnel, however it happens, and workplaces all over have mechanisms in place to deal with this. Especially in a high-stress, high-pressure performance situation like this, it has to be recognized at some point that the "toughen up" method isn't working and that there might be another, better way to reach the player -- or that he needs to leave the sport for his own mental well-being. But when everyone thinks the same way - or is afraid to admit they feel differently - it creates a toxic situation. Having strong voices in the room in the way that Schlereth articulates is a safeguard against that. Having a coach like Joe Gibbs who preaches respect and accountability is another. Which is better - having tougher teammates, or teammates you respect? I think with respect you become tougher as a unit. I think deep down the Dolphins as an organization have to be disappointed that they have basically blown a top pick at an important position. Their way of dealing with this has completely sucked, but I can imagine they would like to have this one back whether it meant drafting a different player, or better yet, figuring out the best way to get the most out of Jonathan Martin.

He looks poorly because of the "code" instilled in the locker room from the top down by coaches like Turner and designated team leaders like Incognito. Groupthink is a real phenomenon. Also, trying and failing to fit in in a scenario where millions of dollars are on the line is not unheard of, either. The kid really didn't think he had a place to turn to. I am not going to say I think he handled it in the best way but seriously, the team was communicating a message to him from the get-go by charging Incognito with the mission to "toughen him up." If you don't think that it would be tough to decide to report abuse to your superiors with that structure in place, that's fairly naïve. I understand why he walked away from it. For whomever posted what Schlereth had to say on the matter, thank you. That is what a real locker room code is about. It was by far the most elegant statement I have read on all of this business.

I think anyone who has any real experience with depression knows better than to belittle this. Again, it might be a situation that is untenable for most NFL players to deal with -- even Ricky Williams, who had some real elite play during his career, had trouble coping. The comments about "running to his parents," "ambulance-chasing parents" etc are especially troubling to me. If my kid were suffering like this - even and perhaps especially in their mid-20s which is a high-risk age for suicide - I would want to know and to help.

Yeah, there is that. He's no James Walker, or Tim Graham, but if he works hard enough he can be in their company. He needs to start trolling and mining AP wires for practically nothing a little bit harder to reach that elite company.

I don't know how anyone could be said to have a "high" likelihood of going after a second/third day pick. The players going in those rounds are projects, long-term prospects, depth role players, STers, and lottery tickets. So, basically, to say "Team X has so-and-so, and doesn't have a need for Sam" kind of ignores some critical realities of the NFL. 53 guys make a roster, and some of those guys are going to be players like Sam who probably won't be starting on day one -- or if they are, are playing situationally. I guess I understand making these evaluations based both on system and the kinds of player-sizes a team has a history of going after, but that's just educated guess -- not valuable prediction.

That last scenario would be absolutely frickin' stellar, though I'd love to see what other receiver options besides Coleman were available there.

Exactly. People act surprised that they live in a PR-driven universe all the time. Football is entertainment product. We'd do well to remember that.

Is Wood as good or valuable at OG as he is at center? I didn't think so when he was there.

No, not really. No, not really. No, not really.

I was thinking the same thing. The former, that's a certainty. The latter... 25% chance?

I think most of that is on target, though I can't see the Phins losing a pick. I also think that rather than suspension, Incognito has probably just gotten himself blackballed. I could see him ending up with the Raiders, but I think it more likely that the league will look to prevent that. If the league can sweep this whole fiasco under the rug it will. The "soft" suspension of making it impossible for Incognito to find work will do just that. Frankly, he deserves it. If all reports prior were that Incognito was a model citizen, that'd be one thing. He has a record of wearing out his welcome just about everywhere he has been. With the Bills it seems he left in a neutral position, but the fact that they didn't keep him... cheaply and with control at that... speaks volumes.

Confidence... especially in each other. EJ needs to know his receiver is going to be in the spot that the ball is being delivered to, and that he'll hold onto it. The receiver needs to know that EJ is going to find him. I hope they are spending a ton of time together this offseason, as the reports suggest. EJ also needs confidence in his health.

They want to dissect every word or phrase and when it doesn't sound like vintage Lombardi, it falls short. Our current media environment in particular enables this. I don't really care what our coach sounds like or how many times he says "obviously." Belicheck is among the most boring interviews you'll get, but he obviously has had his team in a good place for a really long time. Results. Nothing else.

I think we need more good players and I don't care if they are soft-spoken like Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice, outspoken like Richard Sherman, nasty like Eric Wood, or anything in-between. Does anyone give a damn what Aaron Rodgers' personality is? Like, it's pleasant to like guys as people, or to admire their attitude, or to be entertained by a loudmouth, but if they win they could go to the opera on the weeknights for all I care.

The line coach sounds like a horrific a--hole. People can see the Incognito / Martin faceoff the way they want to, but Incognito's true colors are shown in the way that he dealt with the Asian-American staffer. I'm not sorry for saying that that should be grounds for termination. If you want to use football and its culture as a cover for the way you act towards fellow players, I don't buy it, but fine. You all can settle it on the field. Incognito was a designated team leader treating multiple team employees like sh--. Internet tough guys may think this makes him more of a football player, but I see a guy who has been employed by multiple organizations low on the NFL food chain. I can't see SF, SEA, NE or any winning organization thinking that this kind of behavior is key to a winning identity. Belicheck certainly tells guys to suck it up and get with the program, but it ain't like this. JM has his issues and they may make him unfit for football, but I'll also back up those who say that it's easier to go with the flow than to get in the line of fire, and it seems pretty clear that's what was going on here. A workplace attorney who specializes in harrassment is an ambulance chaser? Where do you guys get this stuff? I'm not necessarily defending her line of work, but at least be accurate in your character assassinations.

That's the question and it's a good one - I guess the reason I brought that up was that I am not sure if he is more valuable to another team or the Bills. His stock is definitely the highest it's been. If Schwartz can't use him because he depends on these three-down players more (a query for which I don't have the answer) then the answer is obviously to move him providing he can fetch us something better than Kelvin Sheppard. Do we have enough information to suppose that he is more valuable to another team? Or would it just be another case of the Bills getting rid of a productive player in favor of a system for which we don't yet have the players? This is the danger.