DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry

No question about it. And as the money continues growing, the optics get worse and worse.

Contracts for rookies are disproportionately filled with guarantees. Most 1st round rookies receive fully guaranteed deals. Heck, Keanu Neal's deal is fully guaranteed. That isnt a product of the agent or representation, its the product of the current rookie salary structure for 1st round players. Bosa's dispute was specifically about offset language, not guaranteed money. He received more or less the same deal everyone drafted around him received, scaled to selection. That isnt comparable to subsequent NFL contracts. Kirk Cousin's contract is unique among NFL contracts. Again, this isnt analogous to a contract signed by a WR in 2015. This line of logic appeals to the outlier. It isnt applicable anymore than saying "we can just draft a QB in the 6th round, like Brady was a 6th rounder" when discussing QB acquisition.

Its never been about "feeling sorry" for players. It's about acknowledging the unequal footing modern NFL contracts create and understanding why a given player may decide not to "live up to his contract."

They said he was lying because he was lying. Because he lies. Constantly and aggressively, knowing full well that his "base" is either willing to believe his lies or willing to look past them.

1) He most certainly didnt "blame America for the world's problems." He certainly acknowledged some of the consequences American involvement has led to. Thats called being honest. 2) "Fast n furious" lol. 3) No he didnt. 4) No he didnt. 5) People said all sorts of negative things about Obama without being called a racist. Unfortunately for many racists, they werent capable of criticizing Obama without centering their criticism around racial terms. 6) He most certainly did not "do more to divide this country along racial lines." Thats as bad a take as I've seen in forever. 7) He didnt "push for boys in girls bathrooms" in any way shape or form. 8) Again, opposing Obama's policies did not de facto make one a "racist" or "bigot" or "conspiracy theorist" or "ignorant" or "clinging to God and guns." However, many people who loudly criticized the President in vacuous ways WERE some shade of those things.

The Patriots are so good at the little edges of team-building/operations that they're able to withstand the forces of variance more than any other team in the league. Maybe more than any team in sports. We all spend a ton of time dissecting and debating our favorite teams on Twitter or message boards or with friends. But if we ever had a frank discussion of how much "Success" is dictated by high-variance events, I think the issues inherent in the way we talk about sports as a meritocracy.

You forgot randomness. The league is certainly engineered to drive parity. Whats strange is the NFL is among the "least competitive" leagues when it comes to championship parity but enough of the playoff field turns over year to year that its reasonable for like 25 fanbases to think their team can compete at the start of every year. And even then, sometimes competitive teams come from the 7 other teams.

I most definitely want the backs more involved in the passing game, and in more a featured role rather than a "dump off" opportunity.

I dont think this is necessarily true. We have a bevy of young talented players but none of them have the cachet of Julio Jones. Theres a certain power derived from his status as one of the true elites in the game. That doesnt necessarily mean we should be throwing our typical process out the window for him. But I dont think working with him here tells other players on the team that this strategy will work.

I dont even know if it was a "got hot" thing so much as a "perfect situation" thing. And lucky for him, it yielded a ring! Thats awesome! But it clearly isnt sustainable or a reliable process for securing a ring. Just as "the SB winner's leading WR was a TE w 850 yards" doesnt become the model just because it worked for one team who won on the back of their defense more than anything. The folks who value vacuum results over effective process are the folks who get worked in casinos.

He's fine. Def better than Dilfer. But thats because Dilfer was genuinely bad. Foles is a "good backup." If he's your fulltime starter, you're likely going to be in trouble. He definitely deserves credit for playing well against the Pats (which, TBF, was one of the worst defenses in the league) and even more so for playing well against the Vikings. Although the Vikings game will always be one of the biggest headscratcher performances I've ever seen, thats not his problem. But a good performance here or there doesnt erase the bulk of the record.

Somehow, the bold is true but Julio is a TD disappointment and not productive enough. And also somehow all those pieces without Julio on the field is likely to be more effective than all those pieces with Julio. Embarrassing.

Tevin Coleman doesnt have anywhere near the lateral quickness/agility to be used in an Eric Metcalf role. Good player with a lot of talent and useful skills. But he's way too north-south to be the sort of "swiss army knife" weapon Metcalf was.

lol who said Julio Jones was "the best of all time" Man, theres so much strawmanning going on with this Julio thing. Just stand on the notion that you're disappointed/upset with his current position relative to his contract. It doesnt need to be anything other than that. It certainly doesnt need to be "how can I create tiny sample data in a way to attack an elite player"

Watch. The games.