Sports

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

This game was too close. Colts15-Broncos 13.   Denver had more offensive drives than Indy (partly because of defensive penalties on the Colts), but the defense stepped up and stopped Denver from scoring touchdowns. Good red zone defense by Indy despite their penalties. 

Vinatieri missed a 45 yard field goal and an extra point, but connected on 51 and 55 yarders. 

Next week the Colts to to Pittsburgh, where they've had a lot of trouble in the past. With the changes in Pittsburgh, I'm not sure what to expect. 

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@teganslaw 

CONGRATS on your WIN!!!   And I loved when they showed the Colt's locker room where Vinatieri got the game ball!!!  

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

I'm not sure how much the "experts" know, but nearly everyone seems to think the Eagles will do something "fun" before the trading deadline. What the heck is "fun?" OBJ? I don't know, but they all seem to think they know something that the Eagles have in the works. It won't be a quarterback, running back, offensive lineman, or tight end. We're set at those positions. Would adding a defender be "fun?" The Browns aren't getting a lot from OBJ. The Eagles could certainly use him. We'll have to see what happens, but a lot of people seem to think they know something. AJ Green? DeAndre Hopkins? Von Miller? Could be.

I could see the Eagles sending Josh McCown to the Bears, but not the week we're playing the Bears. He'd be an upgrade for the Bears though. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Bears look into Cam Newton, Marcus Mariota, or Jameis Winston to try and improve their QB situation. It's going to be an interesting week.

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@gardenman 

CONGRATS on the Eagles win!

I wish my Redskins would do something FUN....like fire our GM!!! 

BTW local DC/MD/VA columnist Rick Snider agreed with you he said the Redskins should trade away Josh Norman, Kerrigan () and Trent Williams and get some draft picks while we can......

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Those would be the moves a smart GM would make. Williams is serious about not playing for the Redskins ever again. You should be able to get a first round pick for the guy and maybe two firsts if you use the Tunsil trade as a precedent. Norman and Kerrigan have some value around the league and neither one likely fits the long term plan in DC. This is supposed to be a very deep and very talented draft class coming up. The more picks you have, the more of that talent you can add. Freeing up roster spots lets you harvest guys from other teams practice squads now to see if/how they fit in your schemes. Is the fifty-fourth guy on the Patriots roster better than your fifty-third guy? Probably.

Rebuilding a team starts when you're no longer in the playoff picture. You start trying to find talented kids wherever you can find them and add them to the roster. You study the pending free agents and try to determine who's a good fit and at what price. You find a guy on your team with the same agent as that pending free agent and use him as a conduit to that agent, to tell him/her that you're interested in that player and the price you're willing to pay. You look at younger street free agents who are out of football for whatever reason and bring them in for a look. You should have grades on everyone who came out of college in the last five years. Look at the guys you had decent grades on, who are now out of the game and give them a look and another shot.

The Eagles had o-line issues four or five years ago and for a while had eighteen offensive linemen on the ninety-man off-season roster to find some guys to step in and play. More guys got rotated on and off that roster, but we now have one of the better o-lines in the league. There are talented guys just sitting around and more than willing and able to play in the league. The GM's job is to find them and then have a competent coaching staff train them up to get the most out of them.

Some teams have a knack for finding certain types of players. The Steelers tend to find good receivers. A wide receiver on their practice squad might be better than your third or fourth guy. Go out and grab him. Some teams are good at finding offensive linemen. Steal one of their kids to help your o-line. Some teams have a knack for finding linebackers. Steal a guy from their practice squad. This is prime roster building time for a losing team. The guys you add now you get a chance to know, learn their strengths and weaknesses, coach them up, and see what they can do. If you know a guy on your current roster isn't in your longterm plans, cut him loose and replace him with someone who might be.

[RetRN]

Great game last night, some awesome throws. 

[teganslaw]

J J Watt is one of the good guys. Although this changes things in the AFC South, I hate to see anyone with a season ending injury. 

Trouble in Denver? Joe Flacco called out his coach and OC for not being aggressive enough to win. The Broncos had 3rd down and 5 with 2 minutes to go in the game. The Broncos gave the ball to RB Lindsay, who was stopped. Then, instead of going for it, they punted the ball to the Colts, where Brissett led a drive down the field for Vinatieri's winning field goal. In the presser, Flacco suggested that the team is 2-4 because of decisions like that. 

Emmanuel Sanders said that same thing last week in similar circumstances, and was traded to SF.  Wonder if Flacco will now be benched or traded for his remarks. I wouldn't put anything past Elway. 

[gardenman]

I think Flacco may realize the Broncos are more interested in positioning themselves high in the draft to get his replacement than win games now. They definitely don't appear to be playing to win. If you're a veteran QB who went there hoping to win, it's not a good thing for you. They're flushing talent, playing conservatively, and more or less trying to lose games. The game's a lot less fun when that's going on around you.

[gardenman]

The Dolphins are still attempting to lock up that first overall pick by trading away running back Kenyan Drake to the Cards for a conditional fifth/sixth-round pick. A good pickup for the Cards at an affordable price. 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

The Dolphins are still attempting to lock up that first overall pick by trading away running back Kenyan Drake to the Cards for a conditional fifth/sixth-round pick. A good pickup for the Cards at an affordable price. 

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@gardenman 

And yet the NFL Commish sees no evidence of tanking.....🤔

[Spurt]

@teganslaw  @gardenman  @sunshine45 

There are reports that a few teams, the Colts and Ravens being named specifically, are interested in trading for Kerrigan. Both are still contending teams who are in desperate need of pass rushers, and in the NFL today, guys who consistently produce double digit sacks each season don’t exactly grow on trees. Despite his age, Kerrigan has shown he can still play at a high level in this league, producing at least 9.5 sacks each of the last five seasons with a career high of 13.5 in 2014. The last two years, his age 29 and 30 seasons, he recorded 13 sacks each year and has averaged 18 quarterback hits per season to go along with those.

Kerrigan is under contract through the 2020 season, and his cap hit is $11.75 million - essentially a bargain in today’s edge rusher market. Although he probably wouldn’t return anything higher than a second round pick, the Redskins could use that draft capital as they continue their re-build. 

@teganslaw 

Ryan grew up in Muncy, Indiana, and a return to his home state may be just what the doctor ordered for the nine year veteran.

[Greeneyedlady21]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

Patriots beat Cleveland 27-13, they're now 8-0. 300th career win for Belichick. 300 wins in 434 games.

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@Greeneyedlady21 

CONGRATS!  And do you think this will be Tom's last season??

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I don't know, I hope not. And I certainly hope he doesn't go play somewhere else. That would be far worse than retirement

[gardenman]

The Eagles traded to get Genard Avery, an edge rusher from the Browns. We traded a fourth round pick in 2021 to get him. He's an interesting guy. Played well last year, but got converted to linebacker this year and has largely been inactive this year.