Sports

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

I had to laugh on GMF they talked about Hopkins suspension they said the way his apology was written it kinda implied that he was shocked that "he got caught" 🤣....rather than I thought I was following all the rules and was shocked at these results...He also gave up his appeal....just something else the Cardinals didnt need to irritate their QB Murray....now Murray is going to miss a main weapon for 6 games...!!!!

GARDENMAN, do you think Las Vegas has a way to bet on how many Cowboys will get in trouble and get suspended during the year.....😄😄😄

Im with you on the Saint's outlook.....but I think the optimism is because they are in a weak Division with only the Bucs contending.....

I cannot believe the Post Draft Power Rankings on NFL.com...they have Washington ranked 26th---below the Seahawks and Panthers with an unproven QBs and a rebuild.....and the Eagles didnt fair too well either---they actually have the Cowboys ranked ABOVE the Eagles---Cowboys at unlucky #13 and Eagles at #15....SMH 🙄

[teganslaw]

The Fantasy Headliners podcast graded each team's draft. Kyle Richardson and Jake Hubman host the podcast, and they are some of my favorites; I rely on their fantasy tips during the season. 

They gave the Jets and Eagles  A+, the Lions A. Those teams were the highest rated, the others received B (Washington, B+)  or C (Colts.) Packers got a D.  This is the first time I've seen the Eagles compared to the Jets. Is that a good sign? 

Analyst Aditi Kinkhabwala is leaving NFL Network. She said that she's on to "new adventures" but didn't specify as to what they are. I always liked her and hope she does well in her new career. 

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Yeah, the power rankings seem a bit off to me. They have the Chiefs at seven? Behind the Niners who have an unproven QB? Okay, sure. The Chargers at nine? Eh, I'd have them higher. A lot higher. Maybe first even. 

I don't really mind the Eagles at 15. We're not as good as the Chiefs, Chargers, Bengals, Bills, or Rams. The Packers are probably better also despite their player losses this year (assuming Rodgers stays healthy.) Then there's a giant cluster of teams a level below that where the Eagles should lie. Fifteen is okay.

I think the Eagles have moved past the Cowboys. We've improved at every linebacker spot, on the d-line, at WR, at TE, and KR. Safety and CB2 are still possible issues, but the staff is confident that the kids we've got are ready to step up and in. We'll see.

The Cowboys are weaker at WR1 (no Amari Cooper.)  WR2 (Michael Gallup) is coming off a torn ACL. Their D-line is weaker. I kind of question where the mental part is also. Reportedly Demarcus Lawrence redid his contract to free up money to resign Randy Gregory, but then the Cowboys didn't resign Gregory. When you give up millions of dollars to keep a teammate then the team takes the money and lets the guy walk anyway, it tends to annoy guys. The whole Randy Gregory thing is something the Cowboys management will have to get settled with the players. I suspect there are more than a few guys unhappy about how that all went down. That clause they include where they can take back your money if you get suspended opened a few eyes among the Cowboy players.

A whole lot of football gets played between the ears. I'm not so sure that Cowboys' locker room has their heads in the right place right now. I'm not sure they love McCarthy and everyone seems to know he's likely a dead coach walking. JJ almost fired him last year after making the playoffs.

The Amari Cooper comment about Dak being a "black Kirk Cousins" is likely a view shared by other players who were smart enough not to say it out loud. JJ "fixed" that issue by trading Cooper at a very below-market-rate (a fifth-round pick) to the Browns. You give up your number one receiver for a fifth-round pick? I just don't think the Cowboys locker room is in a really good place mentally right now. Fixing the mental part is often harder than fixing physical issues. A really good team can have a really bad record if their heads aren't in the right place.

They'll be an interesting team to watch in 2022. I just don't see them doing well. I think JJ is setting McCarthy up to fail. I suspect the players see it that way too. I don't see the Cowboys winning ten games this year. They pretty much are guaranteed to win five games (Giants (2), Lions, Bears, Texans), but they may have a fight winning more than that. Seven and ten seems about right for the Cowboys in 2022 by my projection.

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

The Fantasy Headliners podcast graded each team's draft. Kyle Richardson and Jake Hubman host the podcast, and they are some of my favorites; I rely on their fantasy tips during the season. 

They gave the Jets and Eagles  A+, the Lions A. Those teams were the highest rated, the others received B (Washington, B+)  or C (Colts.) Packers got a D.  This is the first time I've seen the Eagles compared to the Jets. Is that a good sign? 

Analyst Aditi Kinkhabwala is leaving NFL Network. She said that she's on to "new adventures" but didn't specify as to what they are. I always liked her and hope she does well in her new career. 

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@teganslaw 

Oh no, I'll miss Aditi...she always did such an excellent job and such a pleasant personality....She has a couple of kids----so maybe she wants more family time ....I wish her ALL THE BEST!!! 

[gardenman]

Well, Ryan Tannehill has stepped into it big time by saying, "It's not my job to mentor Malik Willis." Uh, yeah, it kind of is. That's what teammates do. If you're confident in your own ability, you do everything possible to help the kid, because at some point you won't be playing due to injury, retirement, or whatnot and the kid will be forced to play. For the sake of your team and teammates, you want him as well prepared as he can be, so part of your job is to help him be ready to step in should the need arise. 

If you're on a team, it's your job to do everything possible to help your team. If the kid is better than you after your mentoring, then so be it. It's best for the team. Some other team will take you on as long as you're still among the top thirty-two in the league and if you're not, well, too bad.

Refusing to help the kid is selfish and stupid. If you're better than him, you keep the job. If you're not, it's best for the team and your teammates that you move on. 

The smart thing to do is to say, "I know I won't be playing forever, and the kid has potential. I want him as ready to play as possible should the need arise. I still think I'm better than him and I believe I'll prove that on the practice field and in games, but he needs to be ready to step in should I get injured or need to miss a game or two and I don't want him unprepared. I've learned a lot through my years in the league and if I can pass that down to him, I will. I still feel I'll be the better choice to play the position, but he needs to be ready should something happen."

Say that, and you're a team-first guy. Other players will respect you and be impressed by your confidence. "I'm better than him. He doesn't scare me. I'll prove it, but I want him ready if he's needed," is a much better feeling to leave your teammates with than "If I help him, he could take my job and I'm scared of him. Wahhhh!!!!"  

Pretty much every employee in the world is expected to train their replacement. "This is how we do things. This is what I've learned here." Every game is important. Lose one game you should have won, and you can miss the playoffs. If you get dinged and Willis has to come in and he isn't ready, it can cost you the chance to win the Super Bowl. To prevent that, you do everything possible to help the kid. 

[teganslaw]

International game schedule: Seahawks vs Bucs-Germany

49ers vs Cardinals-Mexico

London games: Vikings vs Saints; Giants vs Packers; Broncos vs Jaguars

Maybe Mike Vrabel could talk with Tannehill and explain that it isTannehill's  job to mentor the new quarterback whether he likes it or not. Or don't coaches hold players responsible anymore? 

Power rankings have the Colts #12. That sounds right, but I didn't expect them to be that high. Most analysts gave the Colts "C" draft grade, except for Louis Riddick.  

[gardenman]

The early season power rankings are a bit all over the place. There are six teams that are really good and deserve upper-tier billing in the Bills, Bucs, Rams, Chiefs, Chargers, and Bengals. Then there's a big old pool of teams that could be anywhere from seventh to twenty-seventh. Then you've got the Jets, Panthers, Falcons, Giants, and Lions anchoring the bottom. 

I'm not sure there's a lot right now to sort out the seventh-best team from the twenty-seventh-best team at this point. A lot of it is speculation. How good will the kids play? How will the QB play? How will the free agents fit in? How good are the coaches? How will injuries factor in?

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

Tannehill is being selfish and paranoid...as my mom used to say that's cutting off your nose to spite your face!!!! Hey that would even opens up possibilities for the veteran in the future if they have their eyes on possibly coaching after they retire....Or do post draft workouts for rookies etc etc.........

I agree with you 110%.....its up to the experienced people to train the new job people.....I do that very task...Hey I want them to be trained right and do a good job and make sure the company is kept profitable afterall I want that pension retirement benefit.....some day!!!! And a veteran QB should want to see his team succeed especially if the unexpected happens and he gets hurt!  There would seem to be more of a possibility of a high priced vet QB being cut if he gets injured and is out for a bit and the team tanks, they may decide to do a rebuild and cutting the vet would open up cap room....better a rookie holds his place, does decent, and keeps the team afloat until the franchise QB returns ...........

Kurt Warner even put out a tweet to the young guys, if the veteran QB wasnt going to help him, then he would and he told them to free free to contact him...that was nice of Kurt....

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

International game schedule: Seahawks vs Bucs-Germany

49ers vs Cardinals-Mexico

London games: Vikings vs Saints; Giants vs Packers; Broncos vs Jaguars

Maybe Mike Vrabel could talk with Tannehill and explain that it isTannehill's  job to mentor the new quarterback whether he likes it or not. Or don't coaches hold players responsible anymore? 

Power rankings have the Colts #12. That sounds right, but I didn't expect them to be that high. Most analysts gave the Colts "C" draft grade, except for Louis Riddick.  

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@teganslaw @gardenman 

Love those NFL breakfast games.... 😁

Germany has those American military bases so there's built in American fans....

Why in the world would they pick Seattle of all teams, the farthest away on the West Coast to play in Munich...SMH....Talk about Jet lag.........I guess they want to make sure Tom Brady and the Bucs win, picking a Seattle team in rebuild....Tom is good for the publicity, the g.o.a.t and handsome ambassador....🙄

Cardinals/49ers makes sense----

We get a lot of tourist from Mexico here and Mexico LOVES the NFL, you see lots of them wearing NFL jerseys, especially the Cowboys....Instead of London/Germany you would think that Mexico would be the first country the NFL expands too.....But perhaps Mexico doesnt want to make the financial commitment for a stadium and such....but the NFL interest is DEFINITELY there!!! And they already have mirrored Spanish language NFL game announcers/analysts and NFL shows

.....

And its a wonder the UK has any fans at all considering all the downright BORING games we've given them.....😄

[Spurt]

@teganslaw @gardenman 

Rich Eisen is STILL bringing up the Wentz thing..🙄.. Rivera once again re-confirming full confidence in Wentz as their starter---no competition in their QB room---(Taylor and Howell are backups)--Rivera AGAIN saying Washington did their homework and even had  endorsements from the Colt's TY Hilton, Jonathan Taylor and Darius Leonard on Wentz.......And Wentz's "reckless style" is not a concern either.....KNOCK IT OFF MEDIA/GET OVER THIS WENTZ HATRED OBSESSION....SHEESH!!!/SMH!!!