Surely Elway is going to come in for some stick now. That O-Line is dreadful and the Bolles pick (Over Ramczyk) is looking catastrophic at this point. Obviously we got Chubb but we passed on Quenton Nelson too all the while our line has been shite. Now they have what is considered to be an excellent Offensive line coach and it still looks terrible. Obviously the likes of Sutton and Freeman look like successes but jesus wept, the freefall from Mannings penultimate year is shocking. Am I misremembering or was the offense under Siemian even this bad?

I dont know the intricacies of the coaching circus but couldn't we have got Kyle Shanahan at the time we hired Vance Joseph?

The *Elway factor probably means top coaching talent would be wary of going to Denver.


* He can't draft a QB to save his life.
Got lucky once by nabbing Peyton Manning, but has subsequently drafted a series of busts and Free Agent has beens.

Well he didn't draft Flacco. He did the same thing with him he did Manning, large free agency signing. I was not feeling warm and fuzzy inside the day it was announced.

As far as "can't draft a QB to save his life", there's so much damn luck involved in all this. I question how much QB analysis is blind luck versus real skill. O-line however, no question, that was horrific last night.

Siemian was much more the game manager type.

Will say I thought going for 2 after the game opening TD and Chiefs penalty was the right call. Just didn't work. Defense all things considered played well first half, 7 of those points against was on the offense. It's just we somehow turned a halftime deficit that should've been 13-10 into 20-6.

Looks like Mahomes will be back in a few weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyOeGWAkASw
Colin Cowherd provides some context to the Rams trading for Jalen Ramsey (second half of this video).


I can't help but note pending Cap Hits for these players in 2020, 2021 & 2022:

Jared Goff: $36.0M, $32.5M, $30.5M
Aaron Donald: $25.0M, $27.9M, $22.3M
Todd Gurley: $17.2M, $13.2M, $14.2M
Brandin Cooks: $16.8M, $16.8, $17.8M
Jalen Ramsey: $13.7M as 5th year option, will demand a new contract as highest paid CB in the league... say $20M

That's $108.7M already spent for next year and the Salary Cap is likely to be $195M - $200M (It was $188.2M this year).
Rams will be spending more than half their Salary Cap on as few as FIVE players.
Makes it tough to fill the roster - regardless how good those five players are.
And now they don't have draft picks to bring in quality talent on cheap(er) rookie deals.

less mobile, and with a bullseye on his back (or should that be leg?)

Yeah the defence looks like it could be decent with Fangio making some unheralded guys fit the system. Johnson and Walker have done well. The defence is on a hiding to nothing though. To hold Mahomes/Moore to Field goals (when they got the ball both times in FG range) on two of the first three drives was a success. It seems a lot of people are saying Miller could be on for a trade soon too

The Jaguars game right now is a classic. Jags have 240 yards of offence vs 20 yards for the Bengals. Score is...3-0

7-3 now

Why

Wish the Raiders v Packers game was a bit lower scoring

That first Cowboys TD was vintage Tavon Austin. Literally ran a circle around an NFL defensive back.

Lamar Jackson is developing very nicely in Baltimore. Glad agent Peters was able to help with a pick 6 on Wilson. Rams now only a missed field goal from being ahead of the Seahawks in the West.

9-0 final score in San Francisco.

Am I cynical to think Disney saved their exclusive Star Wars premiere for what would be by far the least competitive football game ESPN would have on Monday night?

Pats 24-0 at half. Darnold just threw his 3rd pick early in the 3rd. He also has a lost fumble and was 6/13 for 34 yards at the half.

What's this?

Excuse me, exclusive premiere of the "final trailer" for the Star Wars movie. It played a minute or two after halftime started and they advertised it would play then.

There's a big lightsaber fight scene in the middle of a raging ocean.

Oh.

I can't wait.


Last I heard they were going back to do more re-shoots.
This is after the previous set of re-shoots.



edit: found the trailer. Sort of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB1OnSDT3Bo

Pats signed Sanu from the Falcons. Traded for 2nd round pick.
Maybe Gordon's injury is worse than they thought?

Jaysus - only a 2nd round pick?

That's likely to be somewhere between #35 and #40

When I heard 2nd round pick, I was waiting for the "and", but nothing... Only a second round pick.

As someone who has Sanu on his Fantasy Football team his performance this year has been pretty underwhelming in terms of numbers. Jones and Hooper are the two gold plated targets and I suppose they decided they could get similar figures from a draft pick or a reasonable free agent?

Will be interesting to see if BB can re-energise Sanu, BB has worked wonders in the past for a lot of other "older" skill players who had hit a plateau.

Finished with 4 INT, 1 lost fumble, 1.9 QBR.

Seemingly Atlanta still paying some of Sanu's wages as Patriots don't have the cap space and hence why it is a 2 and not a lower round.

Football Outsiders:

(DYAR = Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement)



If you're wondering, going back to 1989, it's David Klingler in 1994 playing for the Bengals vs. the Houston Oilers.

The Pats pick will be #63 or #64. You've got it the wrong way round. And that is plenty for a guy like him considering AB went for a 3rd and 5th. Good player and he'll probably win a SB but the season is gone for Atlanta and time now to tank for the draft.

Another Rutgers guy for NE.

Argree wrt QB analysis. Intangibles far more important than measurables. I would’ve thought interview, work ethic, leadership most important with things like demonstrating an ability to check down through receiving options. Having a cannon for an arm is irrelevant.

How many great qbs were first round picks? Elway, Manning P, Marino. But a lot of the greats aren’t, Marino R3, Brady R6, Favre R2, Staubach R10, Unitas R9, etc.

Last 4 seasons, his grade on PFF:

2016 80.0 (Superbowl season)
2017 77.2
2018 71.6
2019 60.2

Has been in decline, but so have the Falcons

Recent first round picks are looking quite promising:

2019: K Murray, D Jones & er, D Haskins (plus G Minshew in the 6th)
2018: B Mayfield, S Darnold, J Allen, J Rosen, L Jackson (plus M Rudolph in the 3rd & K Allen (undrafted)
2017: M Trubisky, P Mahomes, D Watson
2016: J Goff, C Wentz (plus J Brisset in the 3rd & D Prescott in the 4th)
2015: J Winston, M Mariota - both look to have crashed & burned with neither player contracted beyond this season

2015 now looks like a bust on the QB front, however the four subsequent years have produced maybe 11 starting QBs from the first round plus a handful in later rounds.


The criticism on John Elway's drafting record is the impression that he considers physical size (esp height) to be more important than other qualities - like talent.

God NFL RedZone is the best thing ever invented.

Watching too over here. Go Saints!

My friend says there's a cracking game on reddit between the Eagles and the Bills.
Not sure I believe him, may need to check.

Yeah, but you can’t consider any of them in the Favre/Montana/Staubach/Brady category, that’s where I was going - the greats, not the decent.

The Pats defence is just ridiculous 😂

The Raiders defence is fùcking painfully bad.

Yes. Yes, they are.

When you hear the words, "Raiders need a stop", it's time to bet the farm on the opposition.

So frustrating.

At least the Bears continue to suck - so that pick's looking better by the week...

I feel bad for Pineiro missing the kick.
But only because of the kicker - certainly not the Bears.

He won the kicking job in Oakland last season, then got injured just before game 1 and went on IR.
We tried another gut before winding up with Carlson, who has been brilliant.
Smart trade to get something for Pineiro rather than just release him.

Given the record for the season so far, as a Vike fan, the losses to the Bears and Packers are pretty annoying. Two losses to teams in the NFC North could be very damaging.

JJ Watt out for the year.

How is his backup?

You can't imagine how annoying the spanish narrators (dubbing over the original vice that can be overheard in the back) are. Last year my cable operator had the original audio on SAP, but this year they seem to have removed it, and it bugs the hell out of me...

Vikings are three games clear of the Lions & Bears.
And two games ahead of wild card candidates in the East and South.
And the West will eventually eat itself as the 49ers, Hawks and Rams play each other.

They're in great shape for the playoffs - unfortunately to Kirk Cousins, those games are usually shown on prime time TV