Bart2Ryan+beyond

I don't deny that. His sacks tonight were a result of a guy trying to wait for someone to get open for a fraction of a second longer instead of just throwing it in the dirt. He didn't turtle, he stayed in the pocket and took a chance a play might develop.

It's a wet dream but Ryan was one non-called face mask penalty away (the third and 22 play in the SB when they were up by 8 after the great JJ catch - pass out to the sideline to Sanu (I think) and I swear there was a facemask, but the penalty was on Matthews for holding and they're out of FG range) from being a SB Champ. And now he's an ineffective QB that you can't win with? Maybe on this team this year. Would everyone be taking him out behind the wood shed if he was in SF now - no, not even close.

I don't have the stats on hand to back it up, but prior to this year I remember seeing a stat, whether it was posted here or on TV, about how Ryan had one of the highest QB ratings when blitzed

My bad, I assumed he was

I realize MR's three years older from the 2016 season, but I watch every game and I do not see a sudden drop in physical skill. I'll accept he's missing more throws than he would complete before, but to me that is a function of an o-line that can't run the ball or pass protect for any degree of confidence. Ask yourself this? If Shanny came back next year with the exact same offensive personnel that the Falcons have now, how well would MR play? I think he would be a lot closer to the 2016 MR than the 2018 Eli.

You know that you've hit rock bottom when you're excited about your rookie kicker being the best in the league at on-side kicks. Have to admit, I LMAO when we recovered the second one, best moment of the night.....

I said to THE Wife, 'it makes no sense to go for two at this point, the only thing I can think of is that he wants to practice 2-point converts in-game'. I didn't really care because I never thought we'd recover 2 onside kicks. Then I was quite aggravated. It truly made no sense.

Along with all of the others in the last week. Scroll down a little bit for the Sanu trade: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27897346/barnwell-2019-nfl-trade-grades-tracking-every-deadline-deal Here is the story: ATL trades WR Mohamed Sanu to NE Atlanta Falcons get: 2020 second-round pick New England Patriots get: WR Mohamed Sanu Falcons grade: B+ Patriots grade: C+ There's always some trepidation in suggesting the Patriots didn't get the better end of a deal. Bill Belichick is smarter than, well, just about anyone else in the league. The Patriots are prohibitive favorites to win the Super Bowl, with ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) giving them a 36.1% chance of winning their third Lombardi trophy in four years. If they do, simply by being on the roster, Sanu is likely to play a big role along the way. The chances of him throwing for a touchdown on a trick play when the Patriots are struggling to create offense at some point during the postseason are approximately 100%. Belichick has also probably had that pass play drawn up for years. With his affinity for Rutgers products who played under Greg Schiano well-known, it's no surprise Belichick has repeatedly tried to acquire Sanu. Belichick tried to sign the 6-foot-2 wideout when he hit free agency in 2016, only for Sanu to sign with the Falcons. As Adam Schefter noted, Belichick also tried to trade for Sanu before the 2019 draft. Now, with the Falcons floundering, Belichick gets his man. Sanu should step in quickly for an offense that started Phillip Dorsett and gave the combination of Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski 54 offensive snaps during Monday night's blowout win over the Jets, although I suspect this move is more about shifting the offense as a whole than trying to create some short-term boost for the Patriots. As previously constructed, the Patriots' offense simply wasn't playing up to its usual standard. They might very well have seen how they played during the 2018 playoffs, when they relied on a heavy dosage of Sony Michel, and hoped to run a similar sort of offense again throughout 2019. It hasn't happened. The offensive line hasn't been the same without Trent Brown or David Andrews, even before Isaiah Wynn went on injured reserve. The offense sorely misses tight end Rob Gronkowski, perhaps more as a blocker than as a receiver. The same is true for fullback James Develin. Michel has plodded through a frustrating campaign. The Pats are 22nd in points per drive over the past month despite inheriting the league's fifth-best field position. They have used three or more wideouts on 62.4% of their snaps this season, which is up from 56.8% a year ago, despite the fact that they're yet to be in a situation where they need to throw to catch up. If New England's options are to run out inferior players in 21 or 22 personnel and wait for Michel to find his footing, or lean more heavily into 11 personnel and Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, well, you can understand why the Patriots would prefer the latter. Sanu gives Brady another reliable pass-catcher in and around the line of scrimmage. Take a look at Sanu's route chart from the NFL Next Gen Stats and you can see that most of what he was running in Atlanta was quick outs and dig routes behind linebackers. He was targeted just four times on passes traveling 15 or more yards downfield. Among 83 qualifying wideouts, Sanu ranks 76th in average air yards per target. Basically, the Patriots are trading for a second Julian Edelman. While Sanu gives the Patriots added depth if Edelman were to become unavailable, it's likely that Belichick will want to play both Edelman and Sanu in the slot, given that two-thirds of Sanu's targets in 2019 have come out of the slot. Playing them both in the slot means New England will use more three- and four-wideout sets. Sanu is also a sound blocker, which will help the Patriots when they do run out of smaller sets. Everything the Patriots do is about getting ready for the postseason, of course, and by the time we get to January, this offense could look very different. Wynn should be back at left tackle. First-round receiver N'Keal Harry could return from injured reserve, which would give the Patriots a bigger body on the outside to either supplement, rotate with or replace the injured Josh Gordon. At the same time, this is also a move for 2020. Sanu's deal, which was signed before wideout salaries really spiked during the 2018 offseason, pays the eight-year veteran $3.5 million in prorated base salary over the rest of 2019 before a $6.5 million base salary in 2020. That's likely to be cheaper than just about anyone the Patriots would pursue in next year's free-agent market, unless they go after a player coming off of an injury, as they did with Demaryius Thomas a year ago. The option to keep Sanu in 2020 might have led the Patriots to prefer Sanu to someone like Emmanuel Sanders, who is a free agent after the season. I can understand why the Patriots would make this deal. The Falcons, though, have to be thrilled about this return. They are 1-6 and going nowhere, with a 0.1% chance of turning things around and making it to the postseason, per FPI. A cap-strapped Atlanta team desperately needs to devote more resources to its defense after ignoring it this past offseason. With Sanu playing as the team's third wideout behind Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, the Falcons can use that $6.5 million more effectively elsewhere. It wouldn't have been shocking if they had cut Sanu after the year or dealt him for a late-round pick. Instead, the Falcons are getting a second-round pick and saving $3.5 million over the rest of the season. Even given that the Patriots pick could be the final selection of the round, turning a year and a half of Sanu into the 64th pick is good value for general manager Thomas Dimitroff & Co. If the rumors are true and the Patriots offered a second-round pick for Sanu before the draft, it's a bit of a surprise that the Patriots weren't able to drive the price down, given that they'll basically get only 75% of what they would have received before the draft. The Falcons did well to avoid sending a late-round pick in 2021 back to the Patriots as part of the deal. Patriots fans might be able to justify the deal by pointing out that New England is projected to receive two third-round compensatory picks after losing Trent Brown and Trey Flowers in free agency. Getting those picks is great, but it doesn't make New England's existing picks less valuable. Former Eagles and Browns executive Joe Banner has a nice way of putting it: "Once the house money is in your pocket, it's no longer house money." It's easy to joke that the Pats just use their second-round picks on disappointing defensive backs every year, but New England also used second-rounders on Jimmy Garoppolo, Jamie Collins and Gronkowski in years past. What Sanu's price tag also suggests is that there's an active market for wide receivers. It's going to be very tough, as an example, for someone to send a second-round pick to the Bengals for A.J. Green when the Patriots needed a second-round pick to get Sanu. The Saints, 49ers, Seahawks, Raiders and Colts could all conceivably be in the market for help at wide receiver in the weeks to come.

Thanks for taking the time to explain. I never played and I'm not an Xs and Os guy. I took those comments as guys not being 100% professional in their preparation or actions on the field. I just couldn't distinguish them from a guy not being all in versus a guy who screwed up while watching the games.

What does "not being all in" really mean at this level? To me it implies that players are not accepting of what their role/assignment is on the team, or in the scheme, or on any given play call (offensive or defensive). If you're trying and hustling, but you're just not good at your position, then you shouldn't be labeled as 'not being all-in' - you're just not very good. Can anyone on this Board point to a play where they know a player free lanced on that play and that screwed up the play for the other 10 guys on the field? Rico and Grady have mentioned, so maybe it's happening on the defense more?

I'm down with that as long as Ramsey gets benched or, you know, suffers an actual back injury and misses the rest of the Rams' march to SB glory.

I respected Ramsey because I believe he is a very good CB. I don't mind a guy speaking his mind and showing bravado or swagger, because as we all know he's going to have to back it up. Last night I was watching the NFL Network when Deion Sanders called Ramsey (video chat). Sanders asked him about the trainers in LA being able to quickly deal with his back issue. Deion was clearly being tongue-in-cheek and Ramsey was oh yeah they figured my back out quick, with a dung eating grin. Ramsey flat out quit on the Jags and his back injury was all BS. When I think of the people on this board that go to work everyday to make ends meet and this guy pulls that crap. I can't remember the last time I guy got me so riled up - I've lost all respect for him. It's blasphemy to say on this board but if the Rams play the Saints in the playoffs this year, then I hope Thomas puts up 200 yards receiving on him and the Rams get beaten like no team was beaten before!