Sports

[teganslaw]

SPURT, that was interesting. I didn't know the Pope had an opening act. 

Tom Grossi has a short video on how the Houston Texans are preparing for the draft. Since they haven't had a first round pick in two years, it's a challenge for them. "Are there high expectations for the team this year"?  "No, there are super low expectations for teams out of Texas." 

They just had to throw shade at the Cowboys.

OT: the local falcon nest has two hatchlings. The babies are so cute, and the parents do a good job caring for them. The falcon cam is active for the months the babies grow. 

[gardenman]

Peter King has his one and only mock draft of the year up. He's hearing that Jacksonville will surprise people with the first overall pick. He's got them taking Travon Walker the DL from Georgia. I don't know, Doug Pederson is an offensive coach and a former QB. QBs past and present tend to love those big guys who get between them and those nasty defenders. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Jags go o-line. Get a big old guy to help protect Trevor Lawrence.

He's got a run on wide receivers with them going eight, nine, ten, and eleven. No QB until 20. He does have Jordan Davis going to the Eagles at 15 which is good for me. 

This is a weird draft as there's little consensus on who's the best and worse among the top twenty. There are five to ten guys you could justify going first overall and pretty much all twenty could slot in anywhere from two to twenty.

What happens with QBs will be interesting to see. Some have four guys going in the top ten picks. Some have none going in the first-round at all. Which teams "need" a QB? The Steelers (Rudolph and Trubisky), Seahawks (Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Jacob Eason), and Panthers (Sam Darnold) really, really need a QB. Do any of them make a move for Jimmy G or Baker Mayfield? 

What teams don't have any real need for a QB? The Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Bills, Patriots, Jets, Titans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, Cowboys, Eagles, Commanders, Packers, Vikings, Bears, Rams, Cardinals, and Niners seem pretty set.

The whole NFC South is a bit iffy QB-wise. Brady retired then unretired for the Bucs but had them scrambling looking for a QB until he unretired. How long will he stay unretired? If they like a kid in the draft, will they make a move and grab him to understudy under Brady for a year? The Falcons have signed Mariota, but he's largely "just a guy" these days. The Saints went with Jameis Winston again.

The Giants, Eagles, and Commanders have a QB, but I'm not sure how confident any of them are that they've got "the guy." I suspect all three will ride out this year with what they've got and hope to find a diamond in the rough later in the draft. The Lions could take a guy to challenge Goff, but they've got bigger issues than Goff.

It's a pretty safe bet that the three desperate teams (Steelers, Panthers, and Seahawks) will take a QB or trade for Mayfield/Jimmy G. They have to do something. Losing Dwayne Haskins took away any bluff the Steelers had regarding QB. Does Gardner Minshew get moved? He's a capable starter, which is something that's pretty rare in this market. Three QB desperate teams and just two vets (Mayfield/Jimmy G) readily available. Would they overpay to get Minshew?

I would expect to see some moves get made pre-draft. A few of the disgruntled wide receivers at the end of their rookie deals are likely to be moved. Mayfield and Jimmy G are likely to get moved. (Get something for them now rather than wait for a draft pick next year.) Minshew mania could be hitting the road again. It's going to be an interesting week.

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

SPURT, that was interesting. I didn't know the Pope had an opening act. 

Tom Grossi has a short video on how the Houston Texans are preparing for the draft. Since they haven't had a first round pick in two years, it's a challenge for them. "Are there high expectations for the team this year"?  "No, there are super low expectations for teams out of Texas." 

They just had to throw shade at the Cowboys.

OT: the local falcon nest has two hatchlings. The babies are so cute, and the parents do a good job caring for them. The falcon cam is active for the months the babies grow. 

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@teganslaw 

I thought that was very bizarre too about the Pope having an "opening act"....LOL.  I thought it was just part of the comedian's schtick---but researched it, and its real---

Sep 23, 2015 — On Saturday, comedian Mr. Jim Gaffigan will be the opening act at the Festival of Families, a Philadelphia event which includes an appearance by the Pope ...musical guest, Arthea Franklin...

That's absolutely HILARIOUS about "low expectations for teams out of Texas"....

🤣🤣🤣...And that comment will resonate well in Houston---they'll enjoy that dig at the Cowboys-- the majority of the folks in Houston don't like the Cowboys at all because their teams (both Oilers/Texans were/are overshadowed by the Cowboys)....thats why I had no problems when in Houston wearing my Redskin t-shirts.......Thanks for sharing this.

I'll have to check out that Falcon cam.....

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

GET YOUR POPCORN READY-----Cant wait for the draft on Thursday 😁

Which channel will you be watching---?  Looks like Ill be sticking primarily with ESPN---maybe switching to the NFL Network from time to time too---but Charles Davis can be a motor mouth--and I'll be avoiding  RGME and Rachel Bonetta....🙄

On the main ESPN broadcast, Mike Greenberg again hosts for the first two nights, joined by Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, and the remote Kiper, while Chris Mortensen will work as the broadcast’s primary reporter. Four other ESPN reporters will be embedded with teams: Jeff Darlington with the Chiefs, Kimberley A. Martin with the Jets, Sal Paolantonio with the Eagles, and Dianna Russini with the Giants. Suzy Kolber handles interviews, and Laura Rutledge covers the green room.  Adam Schfter wont be part of the draft and will be attending his son's college graduation.....

***************************************************************

The first two nights will also air on ABC, focusing on “the backstory and journey” of the draftees. Rece Davis hosts the Thursday and Friday coverage from ABC’s main set, with Sam Ponder and Jesse Palmer hosting from the secondary set. Todd McShay, Desmond Howard, and Kirk Herbstreit join Davis, with Robert Griffin III joining Ponder and Palmer. Pete Thamel also serves as a reporter on the broadcast.

On Saturday, coverage will be simulcast on ABC and ESPN. Davis will host, joined by McShay and Riddick on-site and Kiper remotely.

****************************************************************

On the NFL NETWORK Rich Eisen hosts all three days of coverage from Thursday through Saturday, with the duo of Charles Davis and Daniel Jeremiah joining him on the main set for all of the Draft’s seven rounds. During Thursday’s coverage of Round 1, Eisen, Davis, and Jeremiah are joined on NFL Network’s main set by Stanford head coach David Shaw. Joel Klatt and Kurt Warner will take up residence on a secondary set, with Ian Rapoport working as NFL Network’s insider throughout the Draft and Melissa Stark handling interviews on Thursday and Friday.

On Friday, Klatt replaces Shaw on the main set, with Chris Rose and Peter Schrager taking over on the secondary set. Schrager moves up to the main set on Saturday in place of Klatt, with Rachel Bonnetta joining as a correspondent.

The NFL Network also has a litany of reporters embedded with teams, as listed below.

• Judy Battista – New York Giants
• Kayla Burton – Pittsburgh Steelers
• Jeffri Chadiha – Kansas City Chiefs
• Bridget Condon – Carolina Panthers
• Stacey Dales – Green Bay Packers
• Mike Giardi – New York Jets
• James Palmer – Philadelphia Eagles
• Tom Pelissero – Las Vegas
• Ian Rapoport – Las Vegas
• Omar Ruiz – New Orleans Saints
• Jane Slater – Dallas Cowboys
• Jim Trotter – Houston Texans
• Sara Walsh – Jacksonville Jaguars
• Cameron Wolfe – Atlanta Falcons

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

There are some pretty solid rumors that the Eagles and Jets are talking trade with the Eagles moving up to ten. If they're going from fifteen to ten it's a 250 point swing. If they're going from 18 to ten it's a 350 point swing. That would pretty much require a second round pick or comparable player. Jalen Reagor perhaps? We'll have to see.

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@gardenman 

Moving up to 10....Just ahead of my team.....😣😫😡

It will be interesting to see what Jalen Hurts does this year.....if he falters the fan base will certainly explode.....and Minshew isnt a long term solution either...hmmmmm....could the Eagles be trading up for a QB that could sit and be groomed for the future as "their guy"......lots of intrigue........CANT WAIT FOR THIS DRAFT!!

There was a rumor our local guys talked about with the Cowboys trying to move up....Zeke could be included in some kind of trade....interesting...

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

I'll be watching ESPN, have the NFL Network on a tablet, be checking Twitter on my phone, another tablet on the Eagles' website and Bleeding Green Nation, and be going slowly insane while eating Peanut M&Ms. It should be a fun few nights/days.

Moving up to ten would be interesting. If Peter King's read on the draft is correct (and probably no one's read is correct this year) then that would move the Eagles into the run on WRs. Chris Olave? Garrett Wilson? Jameson Williams? Drake London? Treylon Burks? He has the Commanders taking Chris Olave, so that could be the Eagles' target if they move to ten and agree with Peter King.

There's chatter of the Eagles moving pick eighteen to the Chiefs for pick 29 or 30 and a second-rounder next year. I expect to see lots of movement in that first round.

Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown are posting images of them working out together. They're very good friends and the Eagles have looked into trading for several WRs this year, so we could see something happen there. The Titans insist he's not available, but teams tend to lie a lot. Could the Eagles trade up to ten then trade pick ten to the Titans for AJ? Maybe. We'll see.

I'm pretty sure the Cowboys would love to trade away Zeke's contract, but you'd have to be a crazy team to take that on. He's got an $18+ million cap hit in 2022. For a running back. Yikes! Not a good contract. Well, not good for the Cowboys. It's great for Zeke.

If the Cowboys are going to move up, it'll have to be a bundle of picks, maybe including some from next year. Their only really tradeable players are Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Dak. And Dak is likely overpaid. How do you replace any of those guys if you trade them away? If they put the "For Sale" sign up on those guys, they'd get a chance to move up pretty far, but then they'd have to replace them.

If the Cowboys make a move up, they'll have to bundle picks and they still need bodies. It looks like the Cowboys are quietly sacrificing this season to get rid of McCarthy, so I'd be surprised if they made a big move up. I could see them trading down and out of the first to get picks for next year so their new coach would have more to play with. Trade pick twenty-four this year for some team's first-round pick next year and an extra second or third this year. That might make more sense for them. They'd still get a new body for this year and an extra first for next year.

The Cowboys could end up 6-11 this year and have a top ten pick of their own. If they found the right trading partner this year to get a first-round pick in 2023 they could end up with two top ten picks in 2023. If the Lions, Texans, Giants, or Panthers wanted pick twenty-four and were willing to give up next year's first for it along with something else (2nd, 3rd, 4th) usable this year, JJ should jump at it. Those teams are likely to be drafting in the top ten next year. Sabotage McCarthy, and JJ could have two top ten picks, his preferred coach, and still enough good players to emerge pretty competitive in 2023.  

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

One local guy here mentioned he had heard that the Cowboys would consider trading Ce Ce Lamb and then getting a cheaper rookie WR....but the guy I trust said he hadnt heard that....

And as for Zeke as you said who would be stupid enough to pick up Zeke's HUGE contract and considering he hasnt been very effective, altough Jerry may spin that saying his O line isnt that good and a team with a good O-line would do well Zeke...ya know Jerry is like a used car salesman he can put a spin on anything and everything....

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

I bought some redskin (that's their true name) peanuts for my snack ....😃

Well some hopeful news for Washington---

Washington appears willing to pay McLaurin, with G.M. Martin Mayhew saying in his pre-draft press conference that Washington has had dialogue with McLaurin’s representation.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity we have with Terry to continue with us for a long time,” Mayhew said, via John Keim of ESPN.

Head coach Ron Rivera added, “Whether this is done or not in the next few days or afterward, is not going to affect what we’re thinking about the draft one way or another.”

Despite McLaurin’s presence on the roster, the Commanders could use another dynamic playmaker on offense. So even if they do draft a receiver at No. 11 overall, it doesn’t mean they’re looking to replace McLaurin. In 2021, McLaurin started all 17 games and caught 77 passes for 1,053 yards with five touchdowns. In 46 games, McLaurin has 222 receptions for 3,090 yards with 16 TDs.

SIGN HIM ALREADY and get him a buddy WR

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Redskin peanuts are yummy! I get the Happy Belly Roasted Peanuts from Amazon as a snack. You get 44 oz. for under $7. They're really good.

Resigning McLaurin is a smart move, but some of the kids want way, way too much money these days. College WRs are getting better all the time, so a lot of teams are thinking it's smarter to just replace them.

[gardenman]

It sounds like quite a few teams in the upper half of the draft are looking to bail out and get more picks rather than take a top ten to top twenty guy. That could lower the cost for the teams looking to move up. It makes sense for a team like the Giants and Falcons who need more than a handful of players to look to bail out and get more players. If they can pry multiple picks from a team like the Chiefs, it can speed up their rebuild. The Chiefs don't really "need" anyone to compete and they certainly don't have twelve roster holes. They can afford to bundle three or four of their twelve picks to move up and get a guy who has a shot at making the roster rather than draft twelve guys who will have little chance to make the roster. Those three or four guys might make the roster of a less talented team.

The "experts" now say the Panthers won't take a QB at six as they don't feel any are worthy of that high of a pick. They may be looking to move back and get a kid QB later. We've now gone from rumors of four QBs going in the top six to maybe none going until the mid-teens or later. 

Detroit will be the wild card in the QB derby. If they grab a kid QB at two, there will be a rush for the rest. If they opt to wait until the second round or pass on drafting a QB completely, the kids could fall quite a bit. 

The Eagles seem to be looking at some combination of Jameson Williams, Jordan Davis, Kyle Hamilton, Chris Olave, Trent McDuffie, Derek Stingley Jr., Treylon Burks, Tyler Linderbaum, and Devonta Wyatt. There's a decent chance one or more of them will fall to them at fifteen and eighteen.

Having two picks that close together (15 and 18) gives the Eagles some wriggle room. If there are still four receivers that they like at 15, they know one will be there at 18, so they can grab a corner, d-lineman, or other position at 15. If there's been a run at WR and only one remains, they may have to grab him at 15 to be sure they get one.

Could the Eagles move up in the draft? Sure. The Eagles have a valuable trading chip in Andre Dillard.  He's a very solid left tackle who was a first-round pick a few years ago and is now a backup behind Jordan Mailata. He'd be a starter in much of the league and if they bundled him with one of their first-round picks it might be enough to move them into the top ten. Any team that didn't get a left tackle in free agency and doesn't love the kids in the draft might start coveting a guy like Dillard.

The Texans will be a team to watch with Andre Dillard. The Eagles traded above Houston to get Dillard a few years back when Houston coveted the kid. The Texans have pick thirteen and the Eagles could bundle Dillard and pick eighteen to move up to thirteen. That would give the Eagles picks thirteen and fifteen and the Texans would get a starting left tackle and pick eighteen. Now, the Texans have changed a lot of their staff since they coveted Dillard, but he's still a valuable player that they could land at a fair price. 

I think the Jags will draft an OT first overall, but if they don't then Doug Pederson may want Dillard later in the draft. He knows Dillard and the kid's potential. 

The draft is coming fast now. Expect some more moves to take place in the time between now and then.