Sports

[gardenman]

I have my Echos set up to give me weather warnings, and  there are so many that come in that you get a bit numb to them. Pretty much every day or two there's something. Air quality, flooding, storms, wind, pollen, you name it. There should be some sort of "This time we really mean it!" alert for bigger things. You can't panic at every warning or you'd go insane, but there are so many warnings that you start to just ignore them.

[gardenman]

Back to football and away from tragedy. I think we're now just nine Sundays away from football on Sundays again! Yes! It'll be here before you know it! Vacations are starting to wind down for the guys who took vacations, and everyone's getting back to town and starting to prep for training camp.

Eagles safety Reed Blankenship and safeties coach Joe Kasper both got married yesterday. The headline had me thinking they married each other, which I felt was a bold choice, but no. Each married a long-time girlfriend and just happened to get married on the same day. That could be handy. They can remind each other of their anniversaries.

Saquon Barkley was recently seen in a video working out, and he looks fit and ready to go. It'll be interesting to see how teams try to attack the Eagles on defense. Will they try the KC approach of stopping Barkley at all costs and end up giving up 40 points to the passing game? Or do they worry more about AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and hope they can hold Barkley in check? The Chiefs went into the Super Bowl determined not to let Barkley beat them, and he didn't. Everyone else did.

This Eagles offense should be a tough one for defenses to handle. There's no good answer to what they can do. Stop Saquon and you leave the receivers free. Stop the receivers, and Barkley can gash you. Somehow manage to contain both the receivers and Barkley, and there goes Hurts dashing down the field. Spy Hurts and Barkley? Then you lose pass defenders.

Some sort of a hybrid defense might make sense. A mush rush with one or two defensive linemen (linebackers pretending to be defensive linemen?) abandoning the rush and looking to see what Barkley and Hurts will do. You sacrifice pass rush, but could contain both of those guys from making big plays while not sacrificing any depth defenders. Give each of the two dropback linemen half the field to protect. Pray if it's a running play, that they can fend off the offensive lineman coming at them? Two defensive linemen, five DBs, and four LBs? You'd need the right players, and since the Eagles are the only team you'd use that formation for, it would require some interesting roster moves. Activating a few spare linebackers off the practice squad for the game?

Two attacking defensive linemen, four floating linebackers, and five DBs might be the best overall solution. The problem is the lack of a pass rush. Two attacking defensive linemen against five offensive linemen won't get a lot of pressure on the QB. And you're conceding four or five yards per run, so if the offense is patient, they can just mosey on down the field. Still, it should limit the big homerun plays.

Defensive coordinators have now had a full offseason to watch Barkley and the Eagles and to come up with a plan. It'll be fun to see what they try. I think a 2, 4, 5 defense might be the best overall option. Not perfect by any means, but it should limit the big plays.

[Spurt]

@gardenman @PARedbird 

Yep, I can't wait for football, why I bet that Nick was so bored at that Phillies game that he probably started diagramming some new twists in his game plans....ya gotta find a way to stay awake during baseball games......  ⚾

🏈Getting back to football, looking over the roster, Adam Peters has certainly revamped Washington's CB room......Mikey Sainristill was a good addition last season, Washington added Jonathan Jones from the Patriots who has good inside/outside versatility. Now Mikey can move back to his natural position in the slot, Peters drafted Trey Amos, the stud corner out of Ole Miss, in the second round. Most draft pundits saw that as a steal, as Amos was regarded as a first round talent. He possesses the length and athleticism that Quinn likes in his corners. Peters also signed two highly sought after FAs in Fentrell Cypress and Car’lin Viggers. The Washington defense will be multi-disciplinary in its approach and coverages.....Peters has corrected a lot of roster mistakes Ron Rivera made.....The team has come a long way from Forbes and St. Juste. Some fans are still angry Rivera chose Emmanuel Forbes over Christian Gonzalez , but hey without that bad move maybe Washington wouldn't have gotten Jayden Daniels....so things seemed to work themselves out in other ways.

PAREDBIRD, with all the rain, and the horrendous humidity along with it my allergies are acting up so I've just been staying home and taking it easy....catching up on my reading and some other things. Still a 40% Chance of rain today, we should be drying out by Wednesday....☂️

A friend called to see if I wanted to go with her and another friend to see the new Jurrasic Park movie....I declined, Afterall once you've seen the dinosaurs chomp on a few people you've grasped the plot....lol.  Even scarier than some parts of those movies is the fact that they say in 5 yrs scientists will be able to recreate dinosaurs as robots!!!!! Now THAT'S REAL SCARY !!!! 🦖

[teganslaw]

SI has dubbed Colts TE Tyler Warren "One of the NFL's most explosive rookies." A lot is riding on him and Shane Steichen has praised his production so far. Hopefully, this will continue throughout training camp and beyond. 

I don't know much about him, but I like the name Fentrell Cypress. 

[gardenman]

Cowboys' Kavontae Turpin has managed to himself arrested. Marijuana possession and firearm possession. Probably won't hurt him with the Cowboys, but the league office might hand out a suspension.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:
Cowboys' Kavontae Turpin has managed to himself arrested. Marijuana possession and firearm possession. Probably won't hurt him with the Cowboys, but the league office might hand out a suspension.

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@gardenman 

Jerry loves those "bad boys" ......Lol

[Spurt]

@teganslaw 

Hey TEGAN do ya know anything about this guy?

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have completed a trade with the Indiana Pacers. San Antonio has acquired a 2030 second round pick and cash considerations in exchange for the draft rights to Kameron Jones, the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft.

[Spurt]

QUESTIONS, WHAT ARE YOUR PREDICTIONS, DO YOU SEE ANY UPSETS?

[Spurt]

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@Spurt wrote:

QUESTIONS, WHAT ARE YOUR PREDICTIONS, DO YOU SEE ANY UPSETS?

Eagles

Patriots 

Dolphins 

Washington--my sis will be upset

Bengals

Broncos 

Lions

Bills at home

Chargers

Steelers

Cardinals 

Panthers

Bucs

49ers

Rams

Bears

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[gardenman]

I'm reasonably confident the Eagles will handle the Cowboys. The Cowboys can't run or stop the run, while the Eagles can both run and pass, and stop the run and pass. Not a great matchup for Dallas.

The Raiders and Patriots will be interesting. Two younger teams on the rise. Kind of a coin flip game for me. I'll go with the home team in the Patriots.

Dolphins/Colts could be good. The Dolphins seem to have a lot of unhappy players. Tyreek Hill has wanted out. Jalen Ramsey wanted out. Eh, not the ideal sign. The Colts come down to QB play. Not the best roster in the AFC by a long shot, but good enough to win a fair number of games. I'll give a slight edge to the Colts. I just don't trust where the Dolphins are mentally. Too many players want out.

The Giants are a mess. Bad front office, bad coaching, bad roster. Other than that though... It could be a good first test for the revamped Commanders' o-line as the Giants should be able to mount a decent pass rush. The Commanders should win pretty easily. A 35-13 game wouldn't shock me.

The Bengals are very good. The Browns, eh, not so much. The Bengals have a history of getting off to slow starts and finishing strong in the back half of the season. This is a good opportunity to start fast. The Bengals in a romp.

The Titans are getting a little better. They just don't catch many breaks. They've been competing for the best free agents and just missing out the last few years. At least they're trying to get better. The Broncos are better, and playing in Denver is never fun. The Broncos should get the win.

The Lions at the Packers is a playoff preview. Both teams should be very good. The Lions have the disadvantage of all new coordinators, which can also be an advantage as the Packers won't know what they're doing. I'll give an edge to Green Bay in the first one at home and the Lions in the rematch later in the season in Detroit.

The Ravens at the Bills is a slugfest. Another playoff preview. A slight edge to the Bills as their fanbase will be fired up for the home opener.

Chiefs at the Chargers is interesting.  I don't know what to think of KC. They rolled over and played dead in the Super Bowl. They didn't look as dominant during the regular season. I think the Chargers may be the better team now. I'll take the Chargers.

The Steelers at the Jets is as much a gimme game as the Steelers will see all year. The Jets are, well, not good. Aaron Rodgers will be more than a little fired up for this one. The Jets will be the Jets. An easy win for the Steelers.

The Cards at the Saints should be a win for the Cards. The Saints will be vying for the right to draft Arch Manning. I suspect there's a quiet agreement in New Orleans to tank for Arch. It would help explain why Kellen Moore took the NO job.

The Panthers and Jags are a coin toss game. The Jags have the more talented roster, but never quite seem to show it. The Panthers, well, yeah. I guess I'd take the Jags.

Tampa at Atlanta. The Falcons may still be holding Kirk Cousins hostage, which isn't ideal for a team's headspace. (And bear in mind they've had the "For Sale" sign up on several guys most of the offseason.) The Bucs go as Baker Mayfield goes, and he should be on for a week one game. I'll take the Bucs. 

The Niners at the new Seahawks. The Seahawks flushed their best receiver and starting QB. Not something you see done a lot. Teams tend to hold onto those guys. Who will be their starting QB? Sam Darnold? Drew Lock? Rookie Jalen Milroe? (I like Milroe, but he might not be ready.) Cooper Kupp would have been a great pickup four years ago. Now? I'll take the Niners. 

The Texans and the Rams. Matthew Stafford's health is the key here. He's been playing with a bad elbow, and training camp tends to be rough on older quarterbacks. Instead of throwing one or two days a week, you're throwing five or six days a week. We don't what to expect from the Texans. They slipped last year. Will they rebound, or was that the first step in a big slide downward? I'll give a slight edge to the Rams if Stafford's healthy.

The Bears and the Vikings. The Vikings are the better team, but a bit iffier at QB. JJ McCarthy has thrown a literal handful of passes while Caleb Williams has thrown a ton. Probably too many. I think the Bears defense will fool McCarthy into an interception or two that could be the difference. I'll take the Bears.

If I was looking for a big upset, maybe the Jets over the Steelers? If the Jets defenders hated Aaron Rodgers and want him dead, they might be able to eke out the win. The Jets defense would have to play like their hair is on fire, but it could happen. Justin Fields should be motivated for the game. If I was looking for the upset, that might be it. I don't love the Jets roster, but they could conceivably eke out the win.