NFL Draft

[switchskier]

Good win for the Bills. Josh Allen looks the real deal, he throws a very pretty ball and Diggs and Beasley got open for him all night long.

Pretty poor from my niners though. Got no pressure all night, which gave Allen so much time to work in. Sherman looks like he might be done too. Was having to give up so much at the line of scrimmage to avoid getting beat deep that there were easy completions on offer every time. On offense Mullins showed his limitations. The Bills basically dared us to throw it and we couldn't. Getting Garropalo and Kittle back will make a huge difference, but Bosa is actually the biggrst miss. Time to start planning for next season as we're not going to win out.

[Mellsblue]

Giants winning @ Seattle and WFT winning @ the Steelers......you could’ve won some serious money on that accumulator.
WFT now the favourites for the NFClEast given their remaining fixtures in comparison with the Giants, even if the Giants are up on the head to head. Regardless, who’d have thought the division standings would be in this order if asked only a few weeks a go.
Josh Allen must be running Rodgers close for MVP.
Given the injuries they’ve suffered this year, the 49ers have more than punched their weight but, yeah, time to focus on next season. Do you think they’ll keep fighting for the wins or start giving more game time to the youngsters and fringe players to assess? I say this in the knowledge that your injury problems may mean this is already happening!

[Big D]

I don't suppose Big D is watching niners-Bills tonight? Both teams able to move the ball early, but looking like a fun game. Two defensive stops at 4th and 1 though.

Huge win for Washington tonight. So pleased for my guy Alex Smith. NFC East is now looking fun for the end of the season.

Watched on game pass this morning over breakfast. The condensed games are great to watch.

Bills defence starting to round into a little form, no surprise that it has coincided with Edmunds being healthy. Was a great hit on the 4th and 1.

Allen looks great in these types of matches, still has the odd shocking game in him but his development has been pretty phenomenal really. Diggs and Beasley are two of the best route runners in the league and Davis looks a steal in the 4th round.

Pretty happy for now, big game next week, would love to up the pressure to see if we can sneak the 2nd or even 1st seed (very unlikely).

Have to think Beane is wondering how to get all our guys tied down; Milano is due a deal, Edmunds and Allen will come due eventually and Diggs may want a pay day too.

[switchskier]

Giants winning @ Seattle and WFT winning @ the Steelers......you could’ve won some serious money on that accumulator.
WFT now the favourites for the NFClEast given their remaining fixtures in comparison with the Giants, even if the Giants are up on the head to head. Regardless, who’d have thought the division standings would be in this order if asked only a few weeks a go.
Josh Allen must be running Rodgers close for MVP.
Given the injuries they’ve suffered this year, the 49ers have more than punched their weight but, yeah, time to focus on next season. Do you think they’ll keep fighting for the wins or start giving more game time to the youngsters and fringe players to assess? I say this in the knowledge that your injury problems may mean this is already happening!

It's definitely not happening yet. Shanahan, Lynch and Saleh are competitive win at all cost types. They'll be thinking that they're not out of it yet and that they might still get Jimmy and Kittle back for the playoffs where anything can happen. Part of the problem is that Shanahans so good at game planning that he can win with backups, just not all the time.

Crazy to think that we now have the same record as your Giants though given the way that the round 2 match up went.

I saw that some guy made his first ever accumulator bet this week, and raked in $24k on a $20 free bet.

[switchskier]

I don't suppose Big D is watching niners-Bills tonight? Both teams able to move the ball early, but looking like a fun game. Two defensive stops at 4th and 1 though.

Huge win for Washington tonight. So pleased for my guy Alex Smith. NFC East is now looking fun for the end of the season.

Watched on game pass this morning over breakfast. The condensed games are great to watch.

Bills defence starting to round into a little form, no surprise that it has coincided with Edmunds being healthy. Was a great hit on the 4th and 1.

Allen looks great in these types of matches, still has the odd shocking game in him but his development has been pretty phenomenal really. Diggs and Beasley are two of the best route runners in the league and Davis looks a steal in the 4th round.

Pretty happy for now, big game next week, would love to up the pressure to see if we can sneak the 2nd or even 1st seed (very unlikely).

Have to think Beane is wondering how to get all our guys tied down; Milano is due a deal, Edmunds and Allen will come due eventually and Diggs may want a pay day too.

The lack of draft picks due to the Diggs trade is going to make that harder too, especially with the cap shrinking next year. I know that theres lots of chatter that the niners will let Garoppalo walk to save something over $25m in cap room and look to draft a QB instead as we've got to pay Warner and Williams and have over 20 free agents coming up.

I like Milano better than Edmunds though if I had to choose. Think you'll get better value

[Big D]

I don't suppose Big D is watching niners-Bills tonight? Both teams able to move the ball early, but looking like a fun game. Two defensive stops at 4th and 1 though.

Huge win for Washington tonight. So pleased for my guy Alex Smith. NFC East is now looking fun for the end of the season.

Watched on game pass this morning over breakfast. The condensed games are great to watch.

Bills defence starting to round into a little form, no surprise that it has coincided with Edmunds being healthy. Was a great hit on the 4th and 1.

Allen looks great in these types of matches, still has the odd shocking game in him but his development has been pretty phenomenal really. Diggs and Beasley are two of the best route runners in the league and Davis looks a steal in the 4th round.

Pretty happy for now, big game next week, would love to up the pressure to see if we can sneak the 2nd or even 1st seed (very unlikely).

Have to think Beane is wondering how to get all our guys tied down; Milano is due a deal, Edmunds and Allen will come due eventually and Diggs may want a pay day too.

The lack of draft picks due to the Diggs trade is going to make that harder too, especially with the cap shrinking next year. I know that theres lots of chatter that the niners will let Garoppalo walk to save something over $25m in cap room and look to draft a QB instead as we've got to pay Warner and Williams and have over 20 free agents coming up.

I like Milano better than Edmunds though if I had to choose. Think you'll get better value

The Diggs trade really wasn't that bad in terms of picks, sure we lost a 1st last year but the 5th and 6th were effectively picks we picked up for guys who would have been cut and we have an additional 5th rather than a 4th last year.

Recent rumours have suggested the cap might be closer to 195m that first thought but Bills have some wiggle room as there are guys we can cut if need be to save a lot of money. Some of those guys would hurt to lose (John Brown), but others like Vernon Butler can be cut and save nearly 7m.

Edmunds, when fit has massive potential. He's been playing hurt all year and has now turned the corner again. He is still only 22, I can't imagine Beane and McDermott letting him walk. Milano is great at what he does but can't stay fit. Those negotiations will be tough.

[Mellsblue]

Giants winning @ Seattle and WFT winning @ the Steelers......you could’ve won some serious money on that accumulator.
WFT now the favourites for the NFClEast given their remaining fixtures in comparison with the Giants, even if the Giants are up on the head to head. Regardless, who’d have thought the division standings would be in this order if asked only a few weeks a go.
Josh Allen must be running Rodgers close for MVP.
Given the injuries they’ve suffered this year, the 49ers have more than punched their weight but, yeah, time to focus on next season. Do you think they’ll keep fighting for the wins or start giving more game time to the youngsters and fringe players to assess? I say this in the knowledge that your injury problems may mean this is already happening!

It's definitely not happening yet. Shanahan, Lynch and Saleh are competitive win at all cost types. They'll be thinking that they're not out of it yet and that they might still get Jimmy and Kittle back for the playoffs where anything can happen. Part of the problem is that Shanahans so good at game planning that he can win with backups, just not all the time.

Crazy to think that we now have the same record as your Giants though given the way that the round 2 match up went.

I saw that some guy made his first ever accumulator bet this week, and raked in $24k on a $20 free bet.

Yep, you gave us a kicking but that was our only blowout. That we lost to your lot by 27 points, whilst the total points difference for the other 6 loses is -28 is a pretty crazy statistic.

[Big D]

Nice weekend for Bills fans.

• Blow out the Broncos.
• Jets blow the 1st overall pick
• Steelers were truly awful last night

[switchskier]

It was just the most Jets like thing to do to blow the opportunity to pick Lawrence by actually winning a game and missing out on the number one pick because of strength of schedule. Their fans must be furious.

So it turns out that my niners are actually just bad. Four really awful turnovers meant losing to the Cowboys (urgh), who are themselves a terrible team. I reckon we're going to have an entirely new quarterback room next season, to go with an entirely new set of corners.

Bills getting hot at the right time of year, though I'd be a touch concerned that they're peaking a couple of weeks too early. Colts or Titans are built to cause you some problems.

[Mellsblue]

One of few the consolations of being a Giants fan is the form of the Jets and now they’ve screwed up the chance of getting Lawrence. Hehe.

[switchskier]

Just looking at it. The Jaguars could actually be fairly good if they get the next GM hire right. There are a few decent pieces already (pass rush, receivers, running back) and they've got four picks in the first two rounds over the next two years plus the most cap space of any team.

[switchskier]

Playoffs start tomorrow. Colts-Bills looks to be the best game to me. I can see the defensive line getting into the backfield and putting Allen under pressure. Bills receivers are apparently a bit banged up too.

However I think that Washington could sneak a surprise against Tampa. They will get to Brady at some point and I'm not convinced by the Tampa D. A lot depends on Smith's right leg.

[Big D]

Anyone see the game shown on Nickelodeon in the US? It seemed to go over well with slime etc super imposed on the screen at times, the actor that plays little Sheldon popping up with tidbits about the rules etc. It seems a really clever idea to try and get kids interested.

I wonder if rugby should consider a similar sort of idea. Anything that may get kids interested in the game is a good thing.

[Mellsblue]

I’ve seen a few clips. Including the one when the f bomb is dropped via the refs mic! Agreed that it’s a bloody good idea. It might also find a natural audience for Austin Healey’s ‘sense of humour’.

[Mellsblue]

Some big names getting HC jobs. Meyer to the Jags and Saleh to the Jets. Saleh rumoured to be bringing Mike LeFleur with him to be OC. The worst two teams just got a lot better.
49ers get one third round pick in both the ‘21 and ‘22 drafts for the Jets hiring their minority coach as HC. That rule is a new one on me.

[switchskier]

Can't understand why Saleh chose the Jets. He interviewed with everyone except the Texans. They have very few pieces, especially on the defence. They're paying Mosely a fortune and whilst he's a good player he's not the lateral linebacker that Saleh's defence demands. It's definitely a worry that he won't get the time needed to sort things out.

Intrigued to see how Meyer goes in Jacksonville. I can see why that job was attractive. They could be one to watch next season. The Chargers job looks like the best one available to me though. They could have won a lot more games if Lynn wasn't so bad atvin game management.

Looks like my 49ers are in for a major revamp of the coaching staff. Assumption seems to be that both the offensive coaches under Shanahan are off to be coordinators, one of them with Saleh.

I like the compensatory draft pick idea. Addresses the excuse that there haven't been enough minority coaches in the pipeline by providing an incentive. However it doesn't address the fact that current minority candidates are almost all on the defensive side of the ball which is definitely an issue.

[Big D]

Can't understand why Saleh chose the Jets. He interviewed with everyone except the Texans. They have very few pieces, especially on the defence. They're paying Mosely a fortune and whilst he's a good player he's not the lateral linebacker that Saleh's defence demands. It's definitely a worry that he won't get the time needed to sort things out.

Intrigued to see how Meyer goes in Jacksonville. I can see why that job was attractive. They could be one to watch next season. The Chargers job looks like the best one available to me though. They could have won a lot more games if Lynn wasn't so bad atvin game management.

Looks like my 49ers are in for a major revamp of the coaching staff. Assumption seems to be that both the offensive coaches under Shanahan are off to be coordinators, one of them with Saleh.

I like the compensatory draft pick idea. Addresses the excuse that there haven't been enough minority coaches in the pipeline by providing an incentive. However it doesn't address the fact that current minority candidates are almost all on the defensive side of the ball which is definitely an issue.

It may have been that the other sides don't want him. Chargers will almost certainly want an offensive coach. The Lions and Falcons have a lot of question marks over their rosters especially at QB.

[Mellsblue]

Yep, Jets is a tough gig; however, if they think Darnold is a franchise QB then they could trade the no2 pick for an absolute bucket load of picks and they already have a second first rd pick in the 20s. Joe Douglas is also a well thought of GM and they have plenty of cap space (I think). If he nails it there then his stock would be incredibly high.

I like the compensatory draft picks too. That said, I think there needs to be some incentive for the hiring team as it might also act as a barrier. I’ve read a number of pieces saying that Bienemy is a less attractive hire because nobody wants to give the Chiefs any more help!

[switchskier]

Can't understand why Saleh chose the Jets. He interviewed with everyone except the Texans. They have very few pieces, especially on the defence. They're paying Mosely a fortune and whilst he's a good player he's not the lateral linebacker that Saleh's defence demands. It's definitely a worry that he won't get the time needed to sort things out.

Intrigued to see how Meyer goes in Jacksonville. I can see why that job was attractive. They could be one to watch next season. The Chargers job looks like the best one available to me though. They could have won a lot more games if Lynn wasn't so bad atvin game management.

Looks like my 49ers are in for a major revamp of the coaching staff. Assumption seems to be that both the offensive coaches under Shanahan are off to be coordinators, one of them with Saleh.

I like the compensatory draft pick idea. Addresses the excuse that there haven't been enough minority coaches in the pipeline by providing an incentive. However it doesn't address the fact that current minority candidates are almost all on the defensive side of the ball which is definitely an issue.

It may have been that the other sides don't want him. Chargers will almost certainly want an offensive coach. The Lions and Falcons have a lot of question marks over their rosters especially at QB.

Yeah, but the Jets? I'd have stayed in SF than sign up for that (not really).

Saleh apparently has a 5 year contract, so I guess that they're thinking long term. I think that they'll hold onto that number 2 pick and take Fields.

Arthur Smith apparently on his way to the Falcons, where he will no longer be able to call on Derek Henry.

[Big D]

Can't understand why Saleh chose the Jets. He interviewed with everyone except the Texans. They have very few pieces, especially on the defence. They're paying Mosely a fortune and whilst he's a good player he's not the lateral linebacker that Saleh's defence demands. It's definitely a worry that he won't get the time needed to sort things out.

Intrigued to see how Meyer goes in Jacksonville. I can see why that job was attractive. They could be one to watch next season. The Chargers job looks like the best one available to me though. They could have won a lot more games if Lynn wasn't so bad atvin game management.

Looks like my 49ers are in for a major revamp of the coaching staff. Assumption seems to be that both the offensive coaches under Shanahan are off to be coordinators, one of them with Saleh.

I like the compensatory draft pick idea. Addresses the excuse that there haven't been enough minority coaches in the pipeline by providing an incentive. However it doesn't address the fact that current minority candidates are almost all on the defensive side of the ball which is definitely an issue.

It may have been that the other sides don't want him. Chargers will almost certainly want an offensive coach. The Lions and Falcons have a lot of question marks over their rosters especially at QB.

Yeah, but the Jets? I'd have stayed in SF than sign up for that (not really).

Saleh apparently has a 5 year contract, so I guess that they're thinking long term. I think that they'll hold onto that number 2 pick and take Fields.

Arthur Smith apparently on his way to the Falcons, where he will no longer be able to call on Derek Henry.

49ers get picks for that too.

[switchskier]

So Stafford is heading to LA and Goff is off to Detroit, accompanied by 2 first round picks and this year's third. It feels like a lot for the Rams to give up, but it does get them out of paying Goff's ridiculous £35m salary in 2022. On the other hand I think it would have been too much if it was the niners and Garoppolo.

It will also mean that the Rams won't pick in the first round from 2017 - 2024. Yet they keep managing to churn out decent seasons. I'm not sure how much of that is just that Arron Donald is very very good, and how much is that we overrate draft picks. The Rams should have been in salary cap purgatory without the picks and the dead money that they keep having to take on, but it never seems to catch up with them.

Regardless, niners now have the 4th best QB in the division. And Watson still wants out of Houston...

[Mellsblue]

If Stafford is worth a good starting QB, two first rd picks and a third rd pick, I dread to think what you’d need to give up to get Watson. All that said, the beat writers in NY seem more and more convinced the Jets are contemplating trading for him. They certainly have the ammo and the salary cap space but would Watson really want to move to the Jets.

[switchskier]

If Stafford is worth a good starting QB, two first rd picks and a third rd pick, I dread to think what you’d need to give up to get Watson. All that said, the beat writers in NY seem more and more convinced the Jets are contemplating trading for him. They certainly have the ammo and the salary cap space but would Watson really want to move to the Jets.

Rumours flying around that Watson wanted Saleh as head coach and part of the reason he wants out is that the Texans didnt even offer him an interview. Also New York gives Watson the profile to maximize his non salary earnings. Dolphins also being mooted, with Tua being part of the package.

A podcast that I listen to ran through the recent first round picks of the teams at the top of the draft. You have to go quite a long way down the draft order to find a team where the three most recent years worth of picks aren't worth trading for Watson. For the Jets it would be Beckton, Williams and Darnold, which I would trade for Watson in a heartbeat. Go back another two years and add Adams and Darron Lee and I'd still do it.

I'd also probably trade Aiyuk, Kinlaw, Bosa and McClinchey, though that's a harder call. Giants it's a no-brainer (Thomas/Baker/Lawrence's/Jones), though the Bills recent history is better (Diggs/Oliver/Edmunds/Allen).

[Mellsblue]

If Stafford is worth a good starting QB, two first rd picks and a third rd pick, I dread to think what you’d need to give up to get Watson. All that said, the beat writers in NY seem more and more convinced the Jets are contemplating trading for him. They certainly have the ammo and the salary cap space but would Watson really want to move to the Jets.

Rumours flying around that Watson wanted Saleh as head coach and part of the reason he wants out is that the Texans didnt even offer him an interview. Also New York gives Watson the profile to maximize his non salary earnings. Dolphins also being mooted, with Tua being part of the package.

A podcast that I listen to ran through the recent first round picks of the teams at the top of the draft. You have to go quite a long way down the draft order to find a team where the three most recent years worth of picks aren't worth trading for Watson. For the Jets it would be Beckton, Williams and Darnold, which I would trade for Watson in a heartbeat. Go back another two years and add Adams and Darron Lee and I'd still do it.

I'd also probably trade Aiyuk, Kinlaw, Bosa and McClinchey, though that's a harder call. Giants it's a no-brainer (Thomas/Baker/Lawrence's/Jones), though the Bills recent history is better (Diggs/Oliver/Edmunds/Allen).

Yep. Miami seems to be the other favoured destination and the tax there is slightly more, erm, advantageous than NY.
I get what your saying about draft picks but Joe Douglas would like to argue his three (next two) first round picks will be better than his predecessors. The later first round picks from the Adams trade might be easier to give up.

Finally, don’t sleep on sexy Dexy. He could be one hell of a player next year. I believe he graded as the top rookie IDL last year and was even better this. As for Thomas he was terrible through the first 6 games but above average to good from there on in. Supposedly, the now fired, o-line coach tried to change some fundamentals and when they let him go back to college techniques he vastly improved. He also played through a foot injury that required surgery as soon as the season ended. As for Baker, if you look up bust in the dictionary his dopey face stares straight back at you. I think it was Dan Orlovsky who said they should send Barkley, Jones and three first round picks to Houston!

[Mellsblue]

Supposedly, this dude knows his onions when it comes to the Texans: