Sports

[QVCkitty1]

Apologies to Steeler fans, but I'm enjoying the Browns domination. They aren't my team, but I'm not a Big Ben fan. Pile it on Cleveland  !

[sunshine45]

woooooohoooooo......won $70 for my week one picks in the fantasy league i am in for the playoffs! it really helped that i had picked ben and juju.

congrats browns fans......YOU DID IT! you all must be VERY excited.....long time coming.

[teganslaw]

@sunshine45 , congrats on winning in fantasy. The Browns-Steelers game was one of the best ones this weekend. 

I won money Saturday with my fantasy lineup, but just came short Sunday. A couple players in that lineup didn't deliver as expected. 

I want Cleveland to beat Kansas City next week. Think they can do it? I have nothing against KC, and like I Mahomes, but it needs to be Cleveland's turn.

[gardenman]

Kudos to the Browns for getting the win, but they couldn't have done it without the Steelers helping them. That was about as sloppily played a football game as possible for the Steelers.

I guess Pouncey had a bet with someone about how high and far he could snap a ball and decided to win the bet on the opening snap of the game. Ben's a tall QB, but you'd have had to stack two or three Bens atop one another to handle that snap. When the ball finally reentered Earth's atmosphere, Ben and the back were in hot pursuit and five yards ahead of the nearest Brown, then apparently each decided the other should retrieve the ball.

"You can have it."

"No, no, I insist you take it."

"I took it the last time, it's your turn."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so."

By the time they got done and went to pick up the ball, they were stunned to find the Browns celebrating a touchdown in the endzone.

Then there were the many, many times Ben forgot which team was his and threw the ball to a Browns defender. Four interceptions in a game is kind of a lot. I don't think the Chiefs will be quite as generous to the Browns next week. Kudos to the Browns, but they're going to need to play a lot better next week. 

Today is apparently decision day in Philly (well, Florida where the meeting will be taking place.) Doug Pederson will either emerge triumphant as the still head coach of the Eagles, or he'll be out, or heading out the door.

Apparently, the Lurie/Pederson meeting last Tuesday didn't end especially well with Doug not bowing before the Lurie/Roseman duo deeply enough. The two execs (Lurie/Roseman) found it hard to believe that the head coach truly wanted to pick his own staff when they both know they're far better at it than the coach.. (This is what happens when your team owner is a fantasy football guy.) 

Doug Pederson is apparently very fond of current QB coach Press Taylor and wants him to be the new OC for the team. The two execs think that's a bad idea. Neither side apparently was willing to budge last Tuesday, so they gave Doug until today to come to his senses and realize that Howie and Lurie were right and then bow before them in humble submission. Will Doug bow before them? We don't know. (Probably not is my guess.) 

At some point today we should get an indication as to what's going to happen. Doug will be back as the head coach, fired, or traded. (If traded, it may take a while to work out all of the details, so things could be in limbo for a bit.) Lots of stuff is up in the air in Philly. The biggest issue is who will be the QB? Reportedly Wentz won't be back if Doug is back. Doug reportedly wants to go forward with Hurts. (Who wasn't great as a QB, but ran well.) 

Word is the Eagles have been reaching out to potential head coaching candidates through agents in case they do fire Doug, but no formal interviews have been scheduled or done. 

As is typical of this regime, the head coach is frustrated with the execs (as were Andy Reid and Chip Kelly who both got fired) and the execs think they know better than the coach who should bow before them and be grateful he's allowed in their presence. Yeah, it's not the ideal way to run a team. The coaching this past season was God-awful. Was that on purpose to get a higher draft pick and ordered by the execs? Did Doug coach badly on purpose hoping he'd get fired and out of the situation in Philly? Did he just have a really bad year? Who knows? Not me.

So, we'll see what happens today. If Doug gets fired, we should know it. If Doug is allowed to remain, we should know it today. If Doug is getting traded, we probably won't hear anything as they try to find a trade partner and negotiate a price. Fun times in Philly.

There's a certain deja vu quality to what's happening. Andy Reid took the Eagles to the playoffs and Super Bowl. An aging roster and bad personnel decisions led to a bad year at which point the execs used it as an excuse to cast him aside. Chip Kelly took over and took the Eagles to the playoffs. More bad personnel decisions led to a bad year and Chip Kelly being tossed aside. In came Doug Pederson. He took the team to the playoffs and the Super Bowl then bad drafts, and poor personnel decisions with an aging roster led to a bad year (along with bad coaching) and now he might be gone. Oddly enough the two guys at the top of the decision-making chart never get tossed aside. Maybe that's more of the problem.

[Ladybug724]

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@gardenman wrote:

Kudos to the Browns for getting the win, but they couldn't have done it without the Steelers helping them. That was about as sloppily played a football game as possible for the Steelers.

I guess Pouncey had a bet with someone about how high and far he could snap a ball and decided to win the bet on the opening snap of the game. Ben's a tall QB, but you'd have had to stack two or three Bens atop one another to handle that snap. When the ball finally reentered Earth's atmosphere, Ben and the back were in hot pursuit and five yards ahead of the nearest Brown, then apparently each decided the other should retrieve the ball.

"You can have it."

"No, no, I insist you take it."

"I took it the last time, it's your turn."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so."

By the time they got done and went to pick up the ball, they were stunned to find the Browns celebrating a touchdown in the endzone.

Then there were the many, many times Ben forgot which team was his and threw the ball to a Browns defender. Four interceptions in a game is kind of a lot. I don't think the Chiefs will be quite as generous to the Browns next week. Kudos to the Browns, but they're going to need to play a lot better next week. 

Given the odds that were against them before the game even started, I think they played well. Remember, they only had one practice all week, they didn't have Kevin Stefanski and others due to Covid, and other players out as well who tested positive.

Sure the Steelers didn't play well, but for what the Browns are dealing with right now I think the win shows what kind of team they really are.

[gardenman]

It's interesting that three of the eight teams still left in the playoffs may have new QBs next year. The Rams, Saints, and Bucs could all be led by new QBs next season. Jared Goff isn't exactly locking down the QB job in LA. Brees is reportedly going to retire after this season. Brady might also. That's more change than you typically see with playoff teams.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Gee GARDENMAN.....reading your synopsis of the situation with Pederson and Lurie/Roseman just change the names and it could have been what happened with the Redskins and Snyder/Bruce Allen/Gruden/Shannahan eras and the power struggles.....I thought the Eagle's organization was better than that and especially Lurie was more of a hand's off owner than that..... 

It seems that the organizations that are the most successful let the football people run the show and the GM works with the coaches, and owner's job is to sign the checks and lift any trophies the team may win....

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

Well everyone here in Texas is talking about the disaster that is the Houston Texans....funny how their NBA team seems to be in the same boat too with their star, James Harden....must be something in the air in H Town.....

Anyway, most feel that DeShaun feels betrayed especially with his tweet "some things never change" they ignored his suggestions didnt even interview his candidates, and also how the Texan's ownership has a fixation and fascination with hiring ex-Patriot coaches and front office personnel.....(the disastrous Bill O'brien was with the Patriots from 2007 to 2011...and we saw how well that worked out, and as bad as he was as a coach....worse as a GM).......

A team that once had promise with JJ Watt and DeShaun now has little talent and no draft picks.....  Most media folks here feel that something will happen after DeShaun gets back from a much deserved vacation and that he will definitely be with another team.....Dolphins or Denver are said to be a couple of landing spots........

And on the Cowboy front--- Some sports guys here feel that McCarthy wont be hanging around long as the Cowboy's head coach..... rumor has it current OC, Kellen Moore will eventually become their Head Coach since Moore is "his guy" (you know how Jerry is with "his guys".) .....

Speaking of "his guys".....sports people feel that Jerry will make the mistake to overpay Dak when there's many holes the Cowboys need to fill on both defense and O line.....but of course Jerry thinks they are Super Bowl ready....the rest of the NFC East likes Jerry's plan.......😄

[Spurt]

CONGRATS to the BROWNS---despite their handicaps with the covid situation with their coaches and personnel, they persevered and got the job done!!! 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Now the WFT has to figure out if they want to resign Taylor Heinicke or not. He's likely to want a ten-fold (or more) increase in the roughly $1.3 million deal he signed this year. Other teams will be looking at him as a backup/possible starter also, so the market is apt to be a tad competitive. Judging QBs is a very high-risk business. A guy may look great for a few games (Nick Foles, Cam Newton, Ryan Fitzpatrick, etc.) then bomb when given the job full time. Is he an average or below average QB who had a couple of good games, or is he a good quarterback? 

He was so-so in college at Old Dominion. His best years were as a sophomore and junior, but he regressed a bit as a senior. (Oddly enough he was a good punter though averaging 47+ yards per punt in the fourteen times he was called upon.) He went undrafted in 2015 before signing with the Vikings. They flushed him and he ended up with the Patriots, who flushed him, then on to the Texans who flushed him, then to the Panthers, who then flushed him, Then to the Battle Hawks only to see their season come to an inglorious end. Now the WFT. 

He's one of those scary guys to invest too much in. He'll want a pay increase to stay with the WFT. Do they give it to him? He wasn't good enough to hang on with any of the previous teams that took a shot at him. What kind of a contract do you offer a guy like him? One laden with incentives? Can you count on him to be a starter? Has he improved substantially from the undrafted kid out of college, or did he just have a couple of good games and his "normal" is what he was before?

These are the kinds of guys that give GMs ulcers. You just don't know what he is. If you pay him to be the starter and put the right pieces around him, he could go 14-2 next year. Or he could go 2-14. You just don't know. It'll be fun to see what they do. If you let him wander off and someone else signs him and he becomes a star, you look like a moron. If you pay him to be a starter and he bombs, you look like a moron. It's a bad spot for a GM to find himself in. Lots of chats will go on between the GM, coaches, and scouts about the kid before they do much of anything. (Unless he's willing to sign cheaply and quickly. Then you sign him and worry about what he is later.)

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@gardenman 

And dont forget the RGIII days.....he had some good games and was anointed as the savior for the franchise....then between getting hurt and battles with Gruden he ended up as just another washed up Redskin QB......

One knock on Heinicke just like RGIII he will take risky chances to help the team and ends up getting hurt....at least it looks like he's mastered the slide...something RGIII couldnt do..... some say the WFT could go with Kyle Allen and sign Heinicke as a backup.....will be interesting to see what happens.... I think Alex Smith will retire....