The Sports Random Thought Thread

[Stigmata]

I don't know how many times I've heard "The Browns should have kept Baker" in the last several days. As for myself well, the Lions, historically, lose games like the last one against the Bears. But they didn't. It's difficult to process lol.

There is some nuance to that statement: Baker seems to have solidified himself as a low-to-mid range starting caliber quarterback at best, so in that sense he's probably not anyone's longterm solution at the quarterback position, but, alternatively, Deshaun Watson has fallen off a cliff in terms of on-field production since he last played for the Texas, on top of having a mountain of personal baggage/character issues that ultimately become a distraction for the team -- unless he dramatically improves in the near future, the Deshaun Watson trade will easily go down as the worst trade and contract signing in NFL history. He is going to be the player they cite during contract negotiations as to why guaranteed NFL contracts aren't viable.

 

[Tomb1]

Jones showed promise in 2021. Patriots finished 10-7. Now they absolutely suck, and Jones' confidence looks shot. I think Belichick not Jones is the problem.

 

[Stigmata]

Jones showed promise in 2021. Patriots finished 10-7. Now they absolutely suck, and Jones' confidence looks shot. I think Belichick not Jones is the problem.

Both Mac Jones and Belichick are the problem: Mac Jones, while I think he can be like a serviceable, middle of the road starter at some point, is very limited in his arm strength. When Josh McDaniels was there his rookie year they schemed a lot to mask his deficiencies, but after his first year and teams had sufficient tape on him, he got pretty exposed for not being able to throw the ball more than like 30-40 yards down the field -- he has virtually no zip on the ball on his passes beyond like 15 yards. His best strength was his great decision making and poise in the pocket, and even that has been shattered by having no offensive line and being constantly pulled out of games and therefore destroying his confidence.

Belichick, however, absolutely set Mac up to fail in his 2nd year with that shitshow coaching staff of Joe Judge/Matt Patricia being like dual OCs. Not only that, Belichick is abysmal at drafting on the offensive side of the ball, and he had virtually no one of value worth throwing to throughout his tenure in New England. I still think Belichick is a fantastic coach, but there's only so great you can do coaching wise when you're talking about the NFL level and the degree of athleticism and talent present in the league. Belichick the GM is actively destroying the legacy of Belichick the Coach. I think both Mac and Bill will be shown the door at the end of the season, and rightfully so, but I'd love to see what Bill could do with like a ready made team that is probably elite coaching of way from being a legitimate contender -- My first thought on that was the Chargers, or to a lesser extent Tampa Bay.

 

[ceecee]

Both Mac Jones and Belichick are the problem: Mac Jones, while I think he can be like a serviceable, middle of the road starter at some point, is very limited in his arm strength. When Josh McDaniels was there his rookie year they schemed a lot to mask his deficiencies, but after his first year and teams had sufficient tape on him, he got pretty exposed for not being able to throw the ball more than like 30-40 yards down the field -- he has virtually no zip on the ball on his passes beyond like 15 yards. His best strength was his great decision making and poise in the pocket, and even that has been shattered by having no offensive line and being constantly pulled out of games and therefore destroying his confidence.

Belichick, however, absolutely set Mac up to fail in his 2nd year with that shitshow coaching staff of Joe Judge/Matt Patricia being like dual OCs. Not only that, Belichick is abysmal at drafting on the offensive side of the ball, and he had virtually no one of value worth throwing to throughout his tenure in New England. I still think Belichick is a fantastic coach, but there's only so great you can do coaching wise when you're talking about the NFL level and the degree of athleticism and talent present in the league. Belichick the GM is actively destroying the legacy of Belichick the Coach. I think both Mac and Bill will be shown the door at the end of the season, and rightfully so, but I'd love to see what Bill could do with like a ready made team that is probably elite coaching of way from being a legitimate contender -- My first thought on that was the Chargers, or to a lesser extent Tampa Bay.

The Patriots are hilariously bad and teams have to learn this lesson - you can't be an effective coach and GM (de facto or otherwise). Or owner and GM. Or hedge fund bro owner who should try coaching and see how bad he is at that, since he sucks as an owner.

 

[Tomb1]

Both Mac Jones and Belichick are the problem: Mac Jones, while I think he can be like a serviceable, middle of the road starter at some point, is very limited in his arm strength. When Josh McDaniels was there his rookie year they schemed a lot to mask his deficiencies, but after his first year and teams had sufficient tape on him, he got pretty exposed for not being able to throw the ball more than like 30-40 yards down the field -- he has virtually no zip on the ball on his passes beyond like 15 yards. His best strength was his great decision making and poise in the pocket, and even that has been shattered by having no offensive line and being constantly pulled out of games and therefore destroying his confidence.

Belichick, however, absolutely set Mac up to fail in his 2nd year with that shitshow coaching staff of Joe Judge/Matt Patricia being like dual OCs. Not only that, Belichick is abysmal at drafting on the offensive side of the ball, and he had virtually no one of value worth throwing to throughout his tenure in New England. I still think Belichick is a fantastic coach, but there's only so great you can do coaching wise when you're talking about the NFL level and the degree of athleticism and talent present in the league. Belichick the GM is actively destroying the legacy of Belichick the Coach. I think both Mac and Bill will be shown the door at the end of the season, and rightfully so, but I'd love to see what Bill could do with like a ready made team that is probably elite coaching of way from being a legitimate contender -- My first thought on that was the Chargers, or to a lesser extent Tampa Bay.

I think Belichick is overrated....his losing record without Brady speaks for itself. He pissed away 200 million in 2021 and has nothing to show for it...the great mastermind Belichick. 200 million in the hands of a great coach would amount to more than a 2-10 season. Even Parcells turned worse teams around with less money. If a CEO of a company did that, easy call to fire the CEO. Canning Belichick is the correct decision imo.

Mac Jones I would give a chance to with a better head coach. Jones nearly beat Brady early in 2021...Tampa Bay was a powerhouse that year. He outshined Lawrence and Fields. Lawrence was No. 1 draft pick that year. I could see how bad coaching and/or poor leadership derailed him...from 10-7 in 2021, to now 2-10, too extreme a swing for me to chalk up Jones' first season as a fluke. Brady made Belichick look like a much better head coach than Belichick really is imo...

 

[Stigmata]

The Patriots are hilariously bad and teams have to learn this lesson - you can't be an effective coach and GM (de facto or otherwise). Or owner and GM. Or hedge fund bro owner who should try coaching and see how bad he is at that, since he sucks as an owner.

99.9% of the time this is correct. The Patriots were one of the very few times where it did.....until it didn't. Belichick failed to adapt to what a post-Brady free agency landscape would look like, and thought he could still get away with skimping on paying big contracts and finding talent in the later rounds of the draft, not factoring in that having the greatest QB of all time helps cover up a lot of the holes of the whiffed draft picks -- Guy can find defensive studs at any round in the draft but absolutely terrible at finding offensive talent outside of the Tight End position.

I think Belichick is overrated....his losing record without Brady speaks for itself. He pissed away 200 million in 2021 and has nothing to show for it...the great mastermind Belichick. 200 million in the hands of a great coach would amount to more than a 2-10 season. Even Parcells turned worse teams around with less money. If a CEO of a company did that, easy call to fire the CEO. Canning Belichick is the correct decision imo.

Mac Jones I would give a chance to with a better head coach. Jones nearly beat Brady early in 2021...Tampa Bay was a powerhouse that year. He outshined Lawrence and Fields. Lawrence was No. 1 draft pick that year. I could see how bad coaching and/or poor leadership derailed him...from 10-7 in 2021, to now 2-10, too extreme a swing for me to chalk up Jones' first season as a fluke. Brady made Belichick look like a much better head coach than Belichick really is imo...

He did go 11-5 with Matt Cassell at QB when they were absolutely loaded in 2008. He won 7 games in the covid year, with a new QB who had no offseason with the team in the corpse of Cam Newton. 10-7 with Mac in his rookie year with fucking Jakobi Meyers as their top receiver -- any other coach would've won like 5 games at best with how abysmal their offensive talent has been the last several seasons. Bill the GM has absolutely screwed Bill the Coach, I'll 100% agree on that.

Belichick is a defensive mastermind -- Those first 3 Superbowls, plus the last one against the Rams, were all about the defense moreso than the offense. That Superbowl against the Rams was like a defensive masterpiece; the man shut down one of the most prolific offensives the NFL had ever seen upto that point. As much as people wanna give Brady all the credit, the guy had a top-10 defense in the league for almost the entirety of his career. Not only that, go through the rosters and look at how stacked some of those Patriots teams were, especially the 2007 team -- they were like an All-Madden fantasy roster.

Also, to say Mac Jones outshined Lawrence and Fields is a bit loaded statement -- Lawrence' rookie year was tainted with the abject failure that was Urban Meyer in the NFL, and Fields is pretty much a Bust. Mac had a good rookie year, but pretty much got exposed when both McDaniels left and teams started to get tape on him and realized he couldn't throw more than 20 feet. Mac could absolutely go to a team and recalibrate his career under the right coaching regime, but the guy is straight shellshocked out there on the field presently and is going to need to be reprogrammed to play at the NFL level if he goes to another team, and I can't see anyone bringing him on as a starter presently.

 

[Tomb1]

He did go 11-5 with Matt Cassell at QB when they were absolutely loaded in 2008. He won 7 games in the covid year, with a new QB who had no offseason with the team in the corpse of Cam Newton. 10-7 with Mac in his rookie year with fucking Jakobi Meyers as their top receiver -- any other coach would've won like 5 games at best with how abysmal their offensive talent has been the last several seasons. Bill the GM has absolutely screwed Bill the Coach, I'll 100% agree on that.

Belichick is a defensive mastermind -- Those first 3 Superbowls, plus the last one against the Rams, were all about the defense moreso than the offense. That Superbowl against the Rams was like a defensive masterpiece; the man shut down one of the most prolific offensives the NFL had ever seen upto that point. As much as people wanna give Brady all the credit, the guy had a top-10 defense in the league for almost the entirety of his career. Not only that, go through the rosters and look at how stacked some of those Patriots teams were, especially the 2007 team -- they were like an All-Madden fantasy roster.

Also, to say Mac Jones outshined Lawrence and Fields is a bit loaded statement -- Lawrence' rookie year was tainted with the abject failure that was Urban Meyer in the NFL, and Fields is pretty much a Bust. Mac had a good rookie year, but pretty much got exposed when both McDaniels left and teams started to get tape on him and realized he couldn't throw more than 20 feet. Mac could absolutely go to a team and recalibrate his career under the right coaching regime, but the guy is straight shellshocked out there on the field presently and is going to need to be reprogrammed to play at the NFL level if he goes to another team, and I can't see anyone bringing him on as a starter presently.

The bottom line is Belichick has a losing record without Brady....nobody whose been great in any sport comes out with a losing record under the gun. Under the gun means truly tested. Belichick's 200 million dollar spending spree absolutely reflected his acumen as a head coach...the head coaching position encompasses more than just calling plays.

Great head coaches are like great players....they make teams better not worse, and the ultimate test is what they do with a half-ass team. Brady, Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Barry Sanders, Belichick, have been tested. Brady took Tampa Bay to the Superbowl because Brady is Brady...he found ways to win and brought the most out of those guys. Mahomes took Chiefs to the Super Bowl without Tyreek Hill, and Tyreek Hill drastically improved the Dolphins' offensive game and makes Tua look better than he is... Barry Sanders still ran for 100 yard games regardless of how sucky his offensive line was... Belichick otoh hasn't been able to survive without Brady. Bad teams don't bring down great players/great coaches....its the opposite

As far as his "defensive genius" in past superbowls, his defense cost the Patriots a Superbowl ring against the Eagles...so hit or miss

I just googled Best Rookie Quarterback 2021. Almost every reputable source puts Mac Jones at the top. Indisputably Jones scored the highest passer rating by a Rookie Quarterback for 2021. So...he outshined Lawrence and Fields. Mac Jones is not a field general like Brady, though...he is one of those guys that requires leadership...that's where a great head coach comes in...the ability to motivate not just call plays. Belichick had the opposite effect...grinded the kid's confidence down to a stump.

 

[ceecee]

99.9% of the time this is correct. The Patriots were one of the very few times where it did.....until it didn't. Belichick failed to adapt to what a post-Brady free agency landscape would look like, and thought he could still get away with skimping on paying big contracts and finding talent in the later rounds of the draft, not factoring in that having the greatest QB of all time helps cover up a lot of the holes of the whiffed draft picks -- Guy can find defensive studs at any round in the draft but absolutely terrible at finding offensive talent outside of the Tight End position.


He did go 11-5 with Matt Cassell at QB when they were absolutely loaded in 2008. He won 7 games in the covid year, with a new QB who had no offseason with the team in the corpse of Cam Newton. 10-7 with Mac in his rookie year with fucking Jakobi Meyers as their top receiver -- any other coach would've won like 5 games at best with how abysmal their offensive talent has been the last several seasons. Bill the GM has absolutely screwed Bill the Coach, I'll 100% agree on that.

Belichick is a defensive mastermind -- Those first 3 Superbowls, plus the last one against the Rams, were all about the defense moreso than the offense. That Superbowl against the Rams was like a defensive masterpiece; the man shut down one of the most prolific offensives the NFL had ever seen upto that point. As much as people wanna give Brady all the credit, the guy had a top-10 defense in the league for almost the entirety of his career. Not only that, go through the rosters and look at how stacked some of those Patriots teams were, especially the 2007 team -- they were like an All-Madden fantasy roster.

Also, to say Mac Jones outshined Lawrence and Fields is a bit loaded statement -- Lawrence' rookie year was tainted with the abject failure that was Urban Meyer in the NFL, and Fields is pretty much a Bust. Mac had a good rookie year, but pretty much got exposed when both McDaniels left and teams started to get tape on him and realized he couldn't throw more than 20 feet. Mac could absolutely go to a team and recalibrate his career under the right coaching regime, but the guy is straight shellshocked out there on the field presently and is going to need to be reprogrammed to play at the NFL level if he goes to another team, and I can't see anyone bringing him on as a starter presently.

I don't think Bill Belichick will be fired (reactionary people insisting aside) but either retires (best idea) or goes to another team. But why would anyone allow Matt Patricia to call offensive plays? Why? He's always been a defensive coordinator/coach and his record as a head coach, well, it speaks for itself. But I can't disagree that he's done little since Brady left. However, NE and their horrible fans having to embrace the suck, is pretty satisfying for most everyone else.

 

[Tomb1]

I am looking at this Kansas City thing. It's true, refs ruin games with stupid calls...I don't even like watching football like before on account of it. Higher ups are also control freaks, fining a combined 150,000 for merely stating the obvious.

 

[Stigmata]

I am looking at this Kansas City thing. It's true, refs ruin games with stupid calls...I don't even like watching football like before on account of it. Higher ups are also control freaks, fining a combined 150,000 for merely stating the obvious.

People overreact to things so badly nowadays and perpetuate this endless media cycle of pundits talking ad nausem about the same suit. Butthurt player who lost the game makes statement -- news at 11

 

[ceecee]

People overreact to things so badly nowadays and perpetuate this endless media cycle of pundits talking ad nausem about the same suit. Butthurt player who lost the game makes statement -- news at 11

 

[Stigmata]

 

[Tomb1]

I'll bet on the Bills next week to finally beat KC post-season...Bills now got a solid running back in Cook and Allen has more time in the pocket than in previous years.

 

[Stigmata]

I'll bet on the Bills next week to finally beat KC post-season...Bills now got a solid running back in Cook and Allen has more time in the pocket than in previous years.

Do you think the Bills fire Sean McDermott if they lose the divisional to KC? Some part of me would love to see Belichick go to the Bills

 

[ceecee]

So accurate...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1749207969693368823

 

[Stigmata]

So accurate...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1749207969693368823

It's hard to not root for the Lions -- Goff was basically left for dead and sent to what was considered NFL's Siberia at the time.

I generally like Sean McVay but be tarnished his reputation quite badly during the Stafford trade, essentially saying he couldn't when with Goff because he couldn't read defenses and that he had to hold his hand and breakdown coverages before the snap, which there was definitely a bit of truth there, but seemed quite overblown and pretty much diminished his QB's contributions to what was one of the prolific offenses the NFL has ever seen that was the 2018 Rams -- that doesn't happen if Goff simply couldn't play.

 

[Stigmata]

No greater NFL postseason past time than dunking on the Cowboys.

 

[ceecee]

I'll bet on the Bills next week to finally beat KC post-season...Bills now got a solid running back in Cook and Allen has more time in the pocket than in previous years.

I hope they threw someone in the pit before the game today.

 

[ceecee]

It's hard to not root for the Lions -- Goff was basically left for dead and sent to what was considered NFL's Siberia at the time.

I generally like Sean McVay but be tarnished his reputation quite badly during the Stafford trade, essentially saying he couldn't when with Goff because he couldn't read defenses and that he had to hold his hand and breakdown coverages before the snap, which there was definitely a bit of truth there, but seemed quite overblown and pretty much diminished his QB's contributions to what was one of the prolific offenses the NFL has ever seen that was the 2018 Rams -- that doesn't happen if Goff simply couldn't play.

It's such a good story. I don't believe any of that about Goff previously, it doesn't make any sense. And the Lions defense need to work on several things. But for now we just enjoy it. Oh and if I never hear the term "playing with house money" again it won't be soon enough.

 

[Stigmata]

I'll bet on the Bills next week to finally beat KC post-season...Bills now got a solid running back in Cook and Allen has more time in the pocket than in previous years.

Live footage of the collective of Bills Mafia after the game:

I keep telling everyone never to bet against the Chiefs in the post season. Last season all the sports media pundits tried to say that the Chiefs were on the decline and the won the damn Super Bowl, lol.