unclevlad

Dunno about anyone else, but I'm not about to bet the under when Mahomes and Hill are on the field. Even if it is 54 1/2. I could see the under with Rams-Niners. Niners squished both Dallas and the Pack. Rams have some pieces and make a fair number of negative plays happen; they held Brady in check for much of that game. But then...that ending.................. So I don't trust the Rams. Not just that 4th quarter, but some other times when I caught them. I'll take the Niners, and I'd go the under on that basis. The O/U is 46; if it goes over, my feeling is, edge Rams.

From the Ripley's Believe It or Not file, as noted on Twitter... If Rodgers leaves Green Bay, then arguably the best QB in the NFC North would be Justin Fields.

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I agree with Mr. P. This has gone FAR beyond "socially acceptable" in that crowd. Unless, LL, you specifically refer to the "we'll be there Monday with guns" part; that's harder to read. Oh, BTW: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/virginia-school-board-gun-threat-face-mask-dispute/ She has been saying, oh, I misspoke, I didn't mean, you know, GUNS, guns...yeah, right. And hey, even if threatening violence isn't the norm...we have to add "yet" to that. There's just far, far too much instigation going on, so "socially acceptable" is still much too mild. It's well past that, even limiting it to the notion of using violence.

But if it goes back up...crypto is tremendously cyclical...his basis for capital gains taxes will be the higher value. So it may yet work out. Bitcoin is a great justification for a Wealth perk...as long as you go back to the early days. Did you know...the first Bitcoin transaction was a pizza purchase? 2 pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins. This was 2010.

Clock doesn't start when the ball's kicked; it starts when the receiving team touches it. Maybe it'd work; the target would be to get the ball to come down around the 10, and force the receiving team to choose among bad options...fair catch? Ball's at the 10. Farther to go than a touchback. Let it go and hope it goes into the end zone? From the 10, that's dicey. Return it? Burns clock. Might be worth considering, tho.

That's very unlikely because Brees is a near-lock to get in on the first ballot, and Payton won't be eligible until the year after. Will Payton get in? Good question. Found this: https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/most-playoff-wins-since-2005 Some of those are split...like the Colts. Some are under Dungy, some are later. But on this...if you think Payton belongs, do you include John Harbaugh? I think Tomlin will get in, as will Carroll for that incredible 5 year run. If I hadda guess...yeah, I think Payton will get in. Other than Brees, how many high-end players can you remember from the Saints? Fine, some of that is simple lack of media focus...probably quite a bit of it. But Carroll had the Legion of Boom, Lynch, and Wilson, just off the top of my head. Tomlin had Big Ben and a consistently high-ranked defense, players who had great seasons before....difficulties...like Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.

And even if you completely recover, unless you've got VERY good insurance, your share of a 2 week stay in the ICU is likely to be PAINFUL. And the stress for you, your family, your friends....while the resistance of the anti-vaxers is boggling generally, I am utterly flabbergasted when they have kids. What...a hospital trip for one of your kids doesn't *terrify* you? I will admit to being too self-centered, thus never married, never have had a kid. But even I get that much.

Horrible....... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60120367 The sick thing is, from the details? This has happened before. The concert in Cincinnati that WKRP made sure we'd never forget...a sound check by the band led the crowd to try to push through the open gates. There was another soccer match in, I believe, England that had almost the same situation, IIRC...not enough gates, too many people, access issues. Ugh. Just completely awful....

Yeah, the tactical choice in that end-game situation is interesting. Squib kick is less about trying to get the ball inside the 10, and more about trying to force the offense to run a few seconds off the clock...OR get stuck deep. The idea is to create a lose-lose situation for the receiving team. If you can force them to run off even 3 or 4 seconds while not letting them past the 30, the chance of pulling off the score is MUCH lower. One play to try to advance to, say, the Buffalo 40, then 1 shot with a second left...that's about it. My feeling here is that few coaches analyze these situations. They're rare...and highly specific. Make it, let's say, 35 seconds instead of 13, and there's little value in burning off 3-4 seconds. I think the objective is how to keep the receiving team as far away from the end zone as possible. Conversely, with less time, like 8 seconds, you might not care at all about the field position if you can run clock...so maybe try drilling the ball low at, say, the second line. Hard to handle, get a touch, get the clock moving, hopefully NOT cleanly handled. Too far for the FG, force one shot at the end zone. In other news, as was suggested by several, Sean Payton stepped down as Saints coach.

OK, so the Pepsi/Doritos ad just played again...Bettis driving the bus, Eli, Bradshaw's strapped to a chair up top. Curious to know who the other guy in the bus is. It's Victor Cruz. But finding that out, the report discussed PepsiCo's plans...FrtoLay is owned by PepsiCo. That included this: The insane part is you know they'll sell. WILDLY. It's the American public. It's football. They'll be impossible to keep on shelves. <sigh>

Rodgers won't go to a team floundering as much as Houston, Jacksonville, Detroit, etc. Huh...if Brady retires........Rodgers to the Bucs? My gut says it wouldn't work out; I think Arians and Rodgers would clash HARD...and I suspect the Bucs would be more leery than most about flakes. Thought about the Titans...but it turns out, Tannehill gets PAID in 2022. As in, $29M guaranteed. It's not guaranteed *yet* according to Sportrac, tho...that happens in late March. So that move may be plausible...but not simple. Tannehill's contract has one more year, plus an option, but it's not team-friendly at all. He gets $38+M in 2022, and $36+M in 23, and even not picking up the option carries almost $19M in dead cap space. He actually carries the 5th highest cap hit among QBs in '22, and while he's not a bad QB...he's not anything like 5th best. Lessee...scrolling down the overall standing from this year...the next one to pop up would be the Colts. Wentz...ugh. Some of the worst performances of the year, late when it really mattered. One of the most bone-headed plays of the year as well. And it turns out...releasing him would be cheap. He's only owed $15M guaranteed...by comparison, he'll collect over $28M in 22 and 23 if they keep him. Trade value...probably very low. But outright release is possible, IF they want Rodgers and think they can get him. Next up would be the Fins. Question is, do they want to bail on their young QBs, first, and would Rodgers want to play for that organization? Firing Flores....why? Last would be the Saints, to me. Makes some sense, if Hill doesn't mind going back to the specialist role. Doesn't work if Hill wants to be the #1 there. May not appeal to Rodgers if Sean Payton leaves...and he hasn't committed. He's been HC for 15 years now...second only to that grump in Boston with one team. Grump and Gramps (Andy Reid) have over 400 games; next up are Pete Carroll (278) and Tomlin, Payton, and Mike McCarthy (256-258). (The dropoff is pretty fast after that...Harbaugh 244, Gruden had 238 but he's gone, Rivera 181, Arians and Zimmer in 130's...and everyone else is under 90.) So Payton could well decide to hang it up...altho I think we'll hear that *relatively* soon if he does. Other teams that might be considered in the mix...they're not moving on from their QBs, most likely.

And it's working incredibly well. They ARE seizing power. You're thinking that the majority opinion matters. These are politicians. It hasn't done so...honestly, on either side of the aisle...for decades. Also, remember that the Republicans have a massive advantage in the Senate, because there are so many *solidly* red states. Unless this changes dramatically...and several of them are doing their best to prevent it from happening...the balance of power *cannot* shift for any extended period. Heck, with the most disastrous, divisive candidate at the top of the ballot with Trump, the best the Democrats could get was a split Senate...which hasn't done them any good to speak of, because Manchin might as well be counted, in many ways, as a Republican. Not a Trumpist, but still, a Republican, for the way his positions work. And recognize the significance that the Republicans have refused to repudiate Trump at all. They have no fear of reprisal...because there won't be any reprisal. Any call to do so was, at best, a lone voice in the wilderness...and anyone who didn't toe the line is getting punished. There are already some Republicans who weren't viewed as sufficiently loyal, who have decided not to run this year. And while Trumpists might be a minority overall, are they a minority among Republicans? Are they a minority among Republican primary participants? There is every reason to think that the House come November will be Red...and far more aligned with Trump. There is a very strong chance that Biden's last 2 years will be an exercise in futility, with Congress dead set against anything he wants to do. Stasis helps the Republicans.

He's also 38. And while, yeah, I'll concede the talent *in the past*...I don't like that he seemed to hunt 1 receiver at a time in a huge game. Secondary factor...one that a GM had better consider. Vaccine mandates. We all think Rodgers will never get vaccinated, no matter what, right? So is this going to lead to a Kyree Irving situation, where Rodgers is barred from traveling to/playing in some number of games? Djokovic was blocked from the Aussie Open; right now, the rules for the French Open are also requiring vaccination. We aren't necessarily there in the US...but...while the omicron surge shows signs of abatement, there is still a very real risk that another surge will happen. Omicron's pushed many places to tighten up their policies; another such surge could only extend that. We shall see. He's said he doesn't want to be part of a rebuild in GB, but that has 2 parts...rebuild, and GB. I can readily see he wouldn't want to be part of a rebuild, and there's no way a rebuilding team should want him. He's too old. And in a rebuild, more likely than not, he gets hammered too much. It probably won't happen....but...it's possible that Rodgers, Brady, and Big Ben all step away this year.

I really, seriously dislike signing a QB like Rodgers from a football perspective. Granted, this'd apply to Brady and Peyton, and it worked out there. As a counterpoint, tho, I don't think Denver's in nearly the same position now, as they were when they signed Manning. Bringing in Brady also brought in Gronk for the Bucs, so that was 2. Also, both Brady and Manning were free agents. With Rodgers, this may or may not be the case. The Packers could choose to cut him; doing so would save $20M in cap space. https://www.sportingnews.com/au/nfl/news/aaron-rodgers-contract-details-packers/7xsx7o00panc1xbruvtl73mhc And it was pointed out: Jordan Love's cheap rookie deal is halfway done, and they're in full Sgt. Schultz mode about him. If I have to spend draft capital? There's no way I want Rodgers for 1 year only. And that's purely from a football standpoint. I absolutely do not want his prima donna attitude, and his anti-vax rants. Yeah, I'm seeing the story, that one of the local TV sportscasters thinks Denver's the best fit, but come on. Local news sportscasters have the collective IQ of an earthworm when it comes to their local teams. Denver has a near-SB roster????? Not. Just go away. Like Rodgers. Just go away.

Awesome. I do feel bad for Allen. Hey, if Bills-Chiefs becomes Cowboys-Niners redux, I'll be happy.

My god........ EVERY game has a game changing FG as time expires. THIS TIME, I want the ball to start the OT. KC gets it...Josh Allen's *brilliant* comebacks may not pan out because there's a big chance he's not gonna get back on the field. Wow. Just......wow.

Best game of the year.

Next week...kiss of death for the Rams. Home favorites, -3.5 right now. Plus, they've shown a tremendous talent for choking. So I'm gonna go Niners. Or is that the kiss of death for them? My track record this week...the track got cratered by an artillery barrage.....

Just don't go postal...

Hmmm....if Buffalo wins, tho, the game's in Buffalo. Risk of impossible weather...higher than I'd like to consider. Discounting that? I'd prefer Buffalo too, as I'm somewhat tired of Mahomes, but yeah, it's nothing like Brady Fatigue...and doesn't hold a candle to the Packers QB getting smacked down.

Whiplash and ulcers and a bad acid trip all rolled into 1 Cooper Kupp for MVP. EDIT: and as Al pointed out...not 1 not 2 but all 3 games so far have had walk-off FGs

how did that just happen...........

Interesting. For grins, I put up the ESPN GameCast. That shows the current play. It's about 10 or so seconds AHEAD of the NBC broadcast. Which meant my stomach churned about 10 seconds earlier... This game is now fitting the pattern of the weekend. EDIT: closer to 15 seconds....

WHAT THE BLOODY BLAZES IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Miller gets a strip-sack then there's an early, long snap... This game's gonna give everyone whiplash....