It's crazy how Simmons has fallen off the map. 10 years ago he would have been the first person I wanted to read for his take on the ESPN piece.
His piece was good until he veered into his stupid ass theory about the locker room siding with Jimmy G over Brady. Simmons seems to have forgot that maybe the primary rule in any locker room mutiny is that the back up has to be performing a lot better than the starter......not if the players like the back-up more because he relates to them and is in their age bracketI'm only a few paragraphs in but it seems he actually looked in to the salary cap implications (after someone he knows "was with Kraft last weekend"). THANK YOU BILL. A week late but at least you put in some effort. And it pisses off Deadspin? That's just a bonus
The whole issue is approached in shoddy fashion anyway. Basically, a bunch s stats doesn’t automatically make it solid analysis absent a framework.He was better than so-so in the win at Buffalo. He was pretty damn good. Remember that pick came on the Gronk play and was clear illegal contact / holding / DPI, and the game's outcome was not in doubt at that point. Simply remove the pick and his passer rating is 96.3 and his TD:INT ratio improves.
70% with 8.6 YPA is excellent regardless of opponent and venue. That would have ranked #2 in the league for completion % and #1 in the league for YPA. To do it on the road, late in the season in a place like Buffalo, against a playoff team with a good defense (Buffalo ranked #9 in YPA against, and #6 in passer rating against), was an excellent performance.
Edit: they also put up 26.6 PPG in this stretch which is pretty good generally, and even better when taking into account 3 of the 5 were road games, and the two others were late December in Foxboro. Also, no Hogan for most of it, and no Gronk for Miami.
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/1/10/16870638/dion-lewis-patriots-x-factorThe uptick in Lewis’s usage coincides with the improvement in the Patriots’ run game late in the season. New England tied for the league high in rushing touchdowns over the final six weeks, a stretch in which the Patriots ranked second in rush yards (829) and third in yards per carry (4.66)
Honestly, I think you should. You can't do worse than they last 2 guys.Also, for the record, I probably wouldn't take the Indy job,
I can't see how they would do worse with me than Pagano, honestly.Honestly, I think you should. You can't do worse than they last 2 guys.
"The Colts are proud to announce tims4wins as head coach. Honestly, 4 wins with this roster, would be awesome, and it's right there in his name!!"
If Jimmy wanted the below market deal, Jimmy would have signed the below market deal. Players tell their agents what they want or they get new agents.So Willie McGinest is reporting JG was agreeable to a 4 year below market deal, but Don Yee wouldn't do it--or a team-friendly extension for TB to complement it.
He is?So Willie McGinest is reporting JG was agreeable to a 4 year below market deal, but Don Yee wouldn't do it--or a team-friendly extension for TB to complement it.
Yeah, I guess it's possible that Jimmy said something like "I kind of want to stay with the Patriots, I'm ok not making as much the next couple years" and then Yee sat him down and explained how much money he could be leaving on the table if he did that and won Jimmy over, but in the end it was Jimmy's decision.If Jimmy wanted the below market deal, Jimmy would have signed the below market deal. Players tell their agents what they want or they get new agents.
To not get hit (as much)JG calls the shots (after all, Yee is called an 'agent' for a reason), and why the hell would he want to sit another 1-4 years anyways, so I call bullshit.
I read the first bit of simmons and yawned. I laughed at magary's.Magary's red hot hatred of Simmons is a glorious thing to behold. The fact that he is more talented than Simmons and nowhere near as popular makes it even better.
Were Simmons to address Magary (which would never happen because Sprtsguy33 doesn't answer letters... or criticism) he would likely quote his favorite show that he never wanted to watch - The Wire:
"You want it to be one way, but it's the other way..."
Lighten up Francis.Please stop calling it Minny. Nobody calls it fucking Minny. Or Minnie. Or Minni. Or Mini. Or Minne.
If you’re referring to the whole metro, and you’re into the whole brevity thing, say “the TC”. Or MSP. If just Minneapolis; MPLS. If just St. Paul; SP.
But here’s the thing: it’s the Minnesota Vikings. So saying Minny is like saying “Boss” when referencing the Patriots. It doesn’t even make sense. An acceptable abbreviation is simply “Minn”. Or MIN. Or if you want to be all cutesy and like to say things like “chowda”, you can say ‘Sota.
Thank you.
As soon as folks stop calling the White Mountains the 'Whites'Please stop calling it Minny. Nobody calls it fucking Minny. Or Minnie. Or Minni. Or Mini. Or Minne.
If you’re referring to the whole metro, and you’re into the whole brevity thing, say “the TC”. Or MSP. If just Minneapolis; MPLS. If just St. Paul; SP.
But here’s the thing: it’s the Minnesota Vikings. So saying Minny is like saying “Boss” when referencing the Patriots. It doesn’t even make sense. An acceptable abbreviation is simply “Minn”. Or MIN. Or if you want to be all cutesy and like to say things like “chowda”, you can say ‘Sota.
Thank you.
They're both awful, but few people outside the area have any clue what “the TC” means, whereas pretty much everyone understands what “Minny” refers to—even out in Frisco.Please stop calling it Minny. Nobody calls it fucking Minny. Or Minnie. Or Minni. Or Mini. Or Minne.
If you’re referring to the whole metro, and you’re into the whole brevity thing, say “the TC”.
You mean, San Fran?I was surprised when N'England traded Jimmy G. to Frisco.
Could be worseAs soon as folks stop calling the White Mountains the 'Whites'
Second worst to that being San Fran, but a distant second.I was surprised when N'england traded Jimmy G. to Frisco.
To be fair, the Patriots are kinda boss.Please stop calling it Minny. Nobody calls it fucking Minny. Or Minnie. Or Minni. Or Mini. Or Minne.
If you’re referring to the whole metro, and you’re into the whole brevity thing, say “the TC”. Or MSP. If just Minneapolis; MPLS. If just St. Paul; SP.
But here’s the thing: it’s the Minnesota Vikings. So saying Minny is like saying “Boss” when referencing the Patriots. It doesn’t even make sense. An acceptable abbreviation is simply “Minn”. Or MIN. Or if you want to be all cutesy and like to say things like “chowda”, you can say ‘Sota.
Thank you.
It's like the Ted Williams or Babe Ruth of cities. Nobody ever made a nickname for Ted Lepcio, or my hometown in NH.The Frisco joke, 3 times in a minute!
Edit: Make it 4!
They were both brutal reads really. I don’t read much from Magary, so this didn’t exactly endear me to reading anything more from him in the future.Magary’s piece had as much spittle as humor, but Simmons deserved every bit of it for writing one of his all-time worst. Praising Halberstram—or any journalist—for not using quotes is like praising Blake Bortles for not throwing TDs.
He is an asshole with a fan club. Illuminati all.They were both brutal reads really. I don’t read much from Magary, so this didn’t exactly endear me to reading anything more from him in the future.
Van Halen. They demanded no brown M&Ms. But they also were divas, just not about that.Halberstam is the GOAT though. I’ve never read many sports books so I’m now systematically working my way through SoSH recommendations and The Breaks of the Game clearly stands out even among an excellent lot.
I think opening with Halberstam is a bit like that metal band that used to demand a bowl of green m&m’s before concerts. It wast because they were divas, it was a way to quickly find out which venues actually followed the contract and which ones were screw ups.
In any case after hours of reading articles and sports talk radio it seems pretty clear that are only two data points - JG trade, and Guerrero lost access. Everything else is spin or (motivated) hearsay. You can’t create a meaningful theory out of that.
Funny I’ve never heard anyone call the Green Mts. The “Greens”.As soon as folks stop calling the White Mountains the 'Whites'
This guy gets it. Geographic Pet peeves, ahoy!I’m just checking in from here in Pitt... which is a university, not a city.
Usually, it's just "the mountains they named that shitty coffee after"Funny I’ve never heard anyone call the Green Mts. The “Greens”.
It looks perfectly normal to me. What am I missing? Kraft not getting a butt slap like Eric Lee?In the video the Patriots just released, anyone else see the moment that Belichick greeted Kraft in the locker room post game? Awkward in comparison to the way nearly EVERY other interaction looked in the video. Sort of looked like Belichick meeting Rex Ryan at midfield post game and wanting to get the hell out of there. Sort of surprised they left that clip in the video.
I guess the interaction is what one makes of it...It looks perfectly normal to me. What am I missing? Kraft not getting a butt slap like Eric Lee?
Watched it this morning -- looked normal. Watched it again -- still looks normal.It looks perfectly normal to me. What am I missing? Kraft not getting a butt slap like Eric Lee?
I don't see anything unusual.In the video the Patriots just released, anyone else see the moment that Belichick greeted Kraft in the locker room post game? Awkward in comparison to the way nearly EVERY other interaction looked in the video. Sort of looked like Belichick meeting Rex Ryan at midfield post game and wanting to get the hell out of there. Sort of surprised they left that clip in the video.
I dont know that I am making anything. Maybe there is nothing there. The tone just looked different from the rest of the video. It was a "matter of fact" moment in an otherwise highly celebratory video. The way Kraft greeted every other person he approached, and Belichick too, just seemed different from how they greeted each other.I don't see anything different than how BB usually greets non-players.
This was a locker room celebration and BB is always very quick to ensure the players are getting the credit. My guess is Kraft and BB met/meet today and talk more about the win. I think you are making something out of nothing based on that BS Wickersham "report".