COB

What a great memory to put forth, loved reading it.

I think he’ll take a pay cut. There are options out there.

Journalism is an absolutely brutal business. it’s downright sad. And even worse is the way journalism has been bought and sold, commodified, and ultimately downsized for not producing enough money for the capital interests that owned the publications, broadcast outlets, etc. Journalism safeguards the nation. It is an institution, not just a business. Other institutions that safeguard the nation like the 3 branches of government, education, the military, medicine, etc, all have institutional underpinnings that (mostly) protect them from capital. At the very least they can’t be shut down or massively downsized, they aren’t measured by one metric (profitability) then treated accordingly. All those other institutions have built in societal structures that protect them. Journalism was operated on the honor system for decades. Professors or mentors taught it, instilled journalistic ethics and deified impartiality, and the industry just did its job. Once the entities grew into attractive targets for acquisition by capital interests, forget it. They imprinted a business model on newspapers, etc, that really had no business being the driving force behind decisions in journalism. Newspapers weren’t making orange juice or building widgets, they were performing an incredibly important role in a free society - keeping the people honestly informed as to what it’s government and society were doing. Well, journalism is pretty well screwed now. It has failed, destroyed by capital, and replaced by very effective misinformation campaigns and straight up liars on social media. Jay Morrison will find a new job. Sports journalism is kind of the one area that has seen expansion and growth. There are likely a lot of talented people in sports journalism that would be doing hard news if the opportunities existed.

I believe a major scandal is coming here in the next year or two. I don’t know what sport will be involved, hopefully not the NFL. Players, coaches, or officials. Someone is going to take the $$, or straight up bet on games then manipulate the outcome. Tennis is suspect.

It is being reported that a Colts player placed “hundreds” of bets on the nfl last year. He probably knew various things about injuries and old teammates on other teams, and probably took his own team to lose on the money line. Lifetime ban incoming! Question - You are journeyman X on the last year of your second deal. It’s over and you know it. What stops you from going on an nfl betting binge using all your inside knowledge? A lifetime ban is meaningless because you’re done after this year anyway.

Ha ha! Right. He’ll open the season with a few inexplicable drops, then he’ll get hurt.

Tyler Boyd is respectfully implying this next contract will be his last so will be taking the highest offer. And there is a great chance it won’t be here. Still a great attitude and work ethic.

“These come on top of the phase one portion of the offseason relegated strictly to meetings, conditioning and rehab. Phase two involves on-field work, but limited to individual and group instruction. No helmets or team-versus-team drills, strictly working on air. Any plays must be at walkthrough pace and with no live contact or working against an opposing side of the ball. OTAs include helmets, and while there’s no live contact, the intensity ratchets up significantly with 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 the centerpiece for a longer practice time. Nobody has utilized these less than the Bengals.”

Dehner has a piece in the Athletic that says Zac Taylor is utilizing off season practice and drills less than any other coach. A sample: “The praise reflects a staff leaning into sports science research with an emphasis on what type of work must be done and what makes the most sense over the long haul of the season. It also reflects a willingness to risk being an NFL outlier. The collective bargaining agreement allows 16 true practice opportunities over the course of the spring. A team can max out with 10 organized team activities, three days of mandatory minicamp and a three-day rookie minicamp.”

I don’t understand how some of these guys are able to heal so fast.

I just read the following, don’t know if I believe it: Chase is still the youngest WR on our roster, even after we signed the rookies we drafted.

Included - in the depths of our suckage I ate 4 heads of cabbage in one sitting to try to use the paranormal power of cabbage to influence Mike to spend some money for once. I’m not bragging or anything, but if you think you can eat a lot of cabbage, I’m right here.

Ok the Tribe officially sucks this year. Can’t hit at all. Go Reds.

Gold Circle, damn. Good place to get an 8 pack of tube socks.

How did we forget about Ben Brown? We all have a mental block when it comes to that last name, that’s how. (Zing! JK, I am one of Mike’s biggest supporters).

Mike Brown loves speed, but at least now his fascination with track athlete projects is limited to late round picks instead of like half the draft as in years gone by.

Great to hear about Carmen. Can you imagine if he shows up transformed, La’el Collins heals properly and his back problems go away, Orlando Brown is what he is? We could have a very good line, which means the sky is the limit.

My opinion on tight ends - the one year prove it deal thing is working. The position has evolved into a career wrecking series of car crash hits. These guys are hurt at a rate that I think exceeds any position except maybe RB. I know I’ll hear “Kelce”, and a couple others, but I look at them as outliers. They are not the norm. So we hit FA, find an experienced guy or two who is healthy, use him for a year or so. That’s how they should keep doing it. Dreaming about the next Tyler Eifert (great guy and great player) will only distract us from the reality of Tyler Eifert, dude was hurt constantly. Spending a top 3 draft pick on a tight end is like buying a Lamborghini and immediately entering it in the demolition derby at the county fair.

https://michigan.rivals.com/news/michigan-football-signee-bio-p-brad-robbins

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The transformation in this kid’s appearance is startling. He was their punter back in 2017, and the difference in appearance is noticeable.

Will they approach Mixon’s agent and ask to redo that deal? I think they should. Nothing Zac said when he supported Mixon as a part of the team makes me think they won’t ask him to redo that deal. May as well do it now, there is no chance they’re letting him play it out as is. He has two years left, two expensive years.

Good for them. 3 draft spots lower in the 90s and we get a good and experienced punter. I swear this guy punted for 6 years in college. Good strategic evaluation of the many possibilities in that pick at 92

Another very good draft. High character, team captains, proven productive football players. This formula works, hats off to Tobin and Zac. I grade it an A, and I defend that grade by pointing out we got 4 guys who will contribute significant snaps - Murphy, Turner, Battle, and Robbins. And we did that drafting from the 28 spot. Not an easy place to pick up 4 players. The other guys look like possible teams players and depth. And the way this league is, they could end up on the field as well.

You’re a rookie running back. Your new job, should you choose to accept it, stop nfl linebackers and safeties when they stunt or just blitz with numbers. They’re huge, probably geared up, and they have several steps of momentum. Drop anchor and take them on. It is a daunting task and not everyone is up to it. That’s why these coaches use the word “willing.” I hope this kid is just that special kind of person who likes contact.