NFL (since 2016)

[crystal falace]

"Free agency started last night and was pretty crazy some huge money being spent. Osweiler getting £18m a year for the Texans, leaving the Broncos without a QB, Giants have spent a fortune on good but not great players, Oliver Vernon has more guaranteed money than JJ Watt. lots more deals but cant be bothered to list them all."

[zebthecat]

Bell would make a useful addition for a fair few teams especially with the attrition rate of running backs.

[southbankbornnbred]

"TM - I'm all for the owners' association investigating the Jets. Even if an investigation didn't turn up any dodgy practices (I don't think they are corrupt - just grossly incompetent), it might at least light a fire under the Johnsons and either force them to improve/learn and/or sell up and get out. It would be a brave move, but the idea of an investigation into a team owned by Trump's ambassador to the UK would certainly focus some minds! The serious point is that the Johnsons are just content to be owners and nothing more. They will let the franchise drift indefinitely and enjoy the kudos of being a major sports franchise owner (and no doubt become even richer on the back of it: the Jets generally make a decent amount of money). Crowder has been one of our few successes in recent years. He's a really decent receiver. Herndon is, like Bell, criminally under-used by TIG. All good players are. I keep hearing people say - even now - what a 'great' offensive mind Gase is. Where's the evidence for that?! He has been an abysmal failure at the Jets and the Dolphins. Particularly on the offensive side of the ball. His only ""success"" offensively is when he had the happy accident of being a coach at Denver when they had Peyton Manning - one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Manning would have made Rich Kotite look good. Gase is not an offensive mind of any description, let alone a ""great"" one. He's a fucking bog-eyed fraud."

[Takashi Miike]

"SB, because I play a lot of fantasy now on sites like fanduel, I take more interest than ever in skill players and while bell & crowder were out, it was criminal the way he never got someone like herndon more involved. when those first two mentioned were fit, only crowder seemed to get involved in the game planning with bell, just a spare part. I love frank gore but gase bringing him to the club & playing him is symptomatic of his lack of idea. frank was done a year ago, and now he's alienated the best running back. who cares if he has an attitude problem if he can get touchdowns? I'm sure the nfl owners association was set up to stop mis-management of franchises, and it's overdue your lot were investigated"

[southbankbornnbred]

"TM - they genuinely don't have a clue what they are doing. The Johnson family just think it's a good thing that they own a major - and wealthy (we generate vast sums in commercial revenues) - sports franchise. They didn't really care whether that franchise was the Jets in the NFL or the Celtics or the Penguins. The franchise is a desk-toy for them. And because of that, they don't have the first idea about how to appoint good NFL staff. So they have never once appointed a competent GM (I'll exclude Douglas from that for the time being, as he only came in last year). And because they have never appointed a competent GM, the franchise has rarely appointed decent coaching staff. The Johnson family have owned the franchise since the early 2000s - and it has been 20 years of absolute failure. They are as bad as West Ham's owners and need to go as soon as possible. As with West Ham, the failure in New York starts from the very top down because it sets the culture of the place."

[southbankbornnbred]

"What a fucking embarrassing franchise. Basically sold our inspirational captain (best safety in the league) over the summer because he'd had enough of the shit, have completely tanked the season again and have now released our 'star' running-back after failing to find a trade partner for him. If I were Lawrence and ended up being the #1 draft pick next year, it pains me to say that I'd be tempted to ""do an Elway/Manning"" and refuse to join the Jets. Any decent young QB would be well-advised to give the Jets a wide berth until the owners and head coach fuck off. I think the NFL should stage an intervention at the Jets!"

[Takashi Miike]

"SB, do the jets owner know nothing about football? it's hard to work out why they'd purposely stick by a coach who doesn't have a fucking clue how to use the talent at his disposal, and now seems to be pushing the talent out the door if they don't kiss his arse. it's disgusting stuff, and can't end well"

[southbankbornnbred]

"It's expensive and embarrassing. Shows we couldn't even use one of the best running backs in the league. He has been criminally under-used by TIG (The Idiot Gase). It also shows that we are tanking this season on purpose - yet again. We must have done that more than any other franchise. Which is also embarrassing, because it means we have never built anything - despite all these planned tanks to get high picks. We just waste the picks and continue to utter shite. Ho hum - will always be the case under these horrific owners. They should fuck off tomorrow - and take their baby oil with them! Bell is only 28, has no current injuries and is fresh. He could be a very good pick-up for somebody. His attitude can be a problem, as everybody knows, but he is very talented."

[zebthecat]

I imagine that was expensive.

[crystal falace]

Jets have released lev Bell

[crystal falace]

"Yeah the commentators mentioned it right before he was lining up the game winning field goal, nothing like a commentator's curse"

[ironsofcanada]

"Doing a little more reading this afternoon, I learned the greatest thing about this morning's game - the Chargers' kicker (he of the missed extra point and potential game-winning field goal) actually trademarked the nickname ""Money Badger"". Gotta love the NFL."

[ironsofcanada]

"I guess we will see at the end of the season. But when you erase the deficits he did the last two weeks - missing a player way more important anyone the Chargers or Lions were without ( not to mention having interior line health issues - which is super important for a small quarterback) I think the reality argues against him being done. That said Taysom Hill getting some snaps (and seeing Lattimore get that stop) was great, some confidence-building there. Playing badly for a lot of it and winning is always a decent sign if you are me and survived some of the paper-bag 'Aints days."

[crystal falace]

"That one throw to cook aside, brees' arm is shot he cant throw it more than 15 yards with any sort of consistency. He did ok against a chargers defence missing alot of top players but his arm is gone and there's only so much his experience can make up for that"

[ironsofcanada]

"Crystal 4:24 To paraphrase Mark Twain: The reports of Brees' demise are understandable but greatly exaggerated. After finally getting through that game now at lunch, I see many more problems in the defence, specifically the secondary, as compared to him and the offence. Bring back Thomas and he is working well with some other receivers (Sanders last night, though the long ball to Cook was key) and you have an offence that can chew up deficits as we have seen. The pressure up front on defence (Jordan, Hendrickson, U of M product Onyemata and Shuffling Sheldon Rankins -if healthy) is great but it comes all the time and when the secondary is so soft it opens up huge plays every once in a while. Most of that seems mental and coverage. Lattimore thinks he can cover anyone one on one even if they have 3-4 inches on him. And Jenkins whose was supposed to be the leader/talker back there seems to be doing his talking elsewhere lately. The Jackrabbit should help but that is where the problem is, in my opinion."

[El Scorchio]

"I think the Jets will end up with the #1 pick, maybe fighting with Atlanta, so you will probably have that dilemma."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Yeah, Ehrlinger looks talented, too, you're right. It's shaping up as a decent draft class - and not just for QBs. Which is why, if I were the Jets, there's a lot to mull over. Darnold has talent. While he's not ripping up any trees, that's primarily due to us having both the worst head coach and roster in the league. He has no weapons to aim for and poor protection on a line we've invested in heavily. I'm convinced Darnold would thrive under a good offensive coach (either HC or OC). I'm not talking Brady/Brees-style thriving - but he's certainly got all the talent to be a long-term NFL starter. My temptation, if the Jets are serious about properly rebuilding after this season, would be to give up Lawrence or Fields for several high picks - and to build a franchise with proper weapons around Darnold. But who knows? Lawrence, Fields, Ehlinger: they all look very good right now."

[Takashi Miike]

"it's not just those two, Sam Ehlinger's a great prospect who i'd love at our place. skins fans were under the impression that leaks and shit stirring had ended with the departure of Bruce Allen, but it's still happening. the yank version of Sullivan is the reason and nothing ever gets better until the cսnt sells the franchise"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Gase will be long gone by the time Lawrence arrives. If Lawrence arrives. Fields looks a very good QB, too, and there is a school of thought which says they should stick with Darnold and actually try to build a proper team around him under a new head coach (shock horror!). Personally, I'd be tempted to tank the season, finish with the #1 pick, keep Darbnold and then pursue a Cowboys-Vikes ""Walker"" trade for Lawrence/Fields, that would set us up for years. But that relies on three things; The owners being competent. A new head coach being competent. The Jets being competent. None of those things will happen!"

[Takashi Miike]

"poor lawrence. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy having to work with that clown gase, he's a true destroyer of talent and I watched one of those for five years with gruden"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Not sure what the Jets will do with the rest of the season. We're 0-5 for the third time in our history (the previous occasions, we finished 4-12 and 1-15: so this will be very bad this season). If we keep Gase and tank on purpose (keeping Gase amounts to tanking anyway), which is what some fans want in order to get the #1 pick, then it leaves us with a dilemma. Everybody assumes that the #1 pick will be Lawrence or Fields: both very good young QBs. But we already have a good young QB in Darnold. Believe it or not, the kid is very talented - he just has no weapons around him at the Jets and another piss-poor set of coaches and execs. So if you're the Jets in that situation, what do you do? Naturally, if you keep Gase for the rest of the season then you sack him immediately afterwards and, in theory, you make sure that you are first in the queue for the best available head coach. But do you take Lawrence or Fields, move Darnold on, and start all over again? I guess much of it will depend on the idiot owners and new GM (who may, or may not, turn out to be OK: Douglas can't be held responsible for what has happened for the past ten years) and whichever head coach they appoint. The franchise needs root-and-branch reform yet, ironically, we're well-set at QB - unlike many other shite sides."

[lab]

Good game to watch last night .

[crystal falace]

"And on the other end of the scale drew brees is completely done. Going to lose his TD record to Brady soon, might even lose his position to Jameis tonight!"

[crystal falace]

Justin herbert is a star!

[zebthecat]

Hermit Road 12:31 Tue Oct 13 Bet Jamie Gillan could do it given that is what he was.

[Hermit Road]

Lee Trundle 11:56 Mon Oct 12 Still looks like a gimme though that a club standard fly half would make 99 times out of 100.