NFL 2023: The Week 5 thread

And I think they even missed one.

the analyst from All_22 put it the best. He said that it is clear that there are two immutable and false "truths" in Harbaugh's mind:

1) field goals don't count until the last 60 seconds

2) touchdowns don't count unless it is Lamar throwing or carrying the ball.

The FG one definitely. That mess at the end of half was so dumb. Sure 4th and 2 is great most times. But when you have 11 seconds and no timeouts take the damn points.

It's like he's so in love with analytics he's forgot how to coach situational football.

Stele wrote:

The FG one definitely. That mess at the end of half was so dumb. Sure 4th and 2 is great most times. But when you have 11 seconds and no timeouts take the damn points.

It's like he's so in love with analytics he's forgot how to coach situational football.

I’m not sure it’s even good analytics to not kick there. Part of the reason going for 4th deep in plus territory works out well is because even when you fail, you have the other team pinned deep in their territory.

But at the end of the half, that field position goes up in smoke.

Once again, I would like to thank the New York Giants for letting me know early in the season that I can spend my fall Sundays paying attention to anything else. It's such a relief.

Bro, no, Daniel Jones is on the verge of putting it all together. All these games/seasons where he’s terrible are just the early rounds of a Rocky fight. You don’t want to miss his shocking turnaround!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/sSVU8UF.jpg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/GmBg4CP.jpg)

When you spend $25 million to bring in Miles Sanders but your best ball carrier is STILL VISKA, GIVE MORE BALLS TO VISKA

Sanders might be Carolina's biggest disappointment (which says a lot; there's tons of competition). I can't tell if his d!ck still hurts (he pulled it in the preseason) or if he's blind (bc he consistently runs into the backs of his blockers). Either way, he has the explosiveness of cheap fireworks left on the floor of a flooded basement.

Love threw a Jimmy G INT last quarter, so Jimmy G had to come in and notch one of his own.

Carlson > Carlson

That was a sad final 3 minutes or so, for both teams on offense and special teams

The Jets are putting Mecole Hardman on the trade block, and the Rams are doing the same for Van Jefferson.

Who needs a disappointing, underproductive WR?

*Legion* wrote:

The Jets are putting Mecole Hardman on the trade block, and the Rams are doing the same for Van Jefferson.

Who needs a disappointing, underproductive WR?

The Ravens can never have too many of those.

Too late for Van Jefferson, seems that the Falcons are going to have Ridder throw the ball in his general direction.

Edit, also looks like the Vikings are shutting Jefferson down.

Well that didn't take long: Van Jefferson traded to the Falcons for a 6th/7th pick swap.

He might actually get on the field there, with Mack Hollins currently starting opposite of Drake London.

EDIT: Iso'd.

Listen, Ridder had a good game the other day, so he's clearly completely turned it around and we can totally ignore everything else. It's like Zach Wilson, with less mom banging.

It's kinda bullsh*t that the Rams put Van Jefferson on the trade block for about 5 minutes before finding a trade partner, when I've had Van Jefferson on the dynasty league trade block since last year.

*Legion* wrote:

It's kinda bullsh*t that the Rams put Van Jefferson on the trade block for about 5 minutes before finding a trade partner, when I've had Van Jefferson on the dynasty league trade block since last year.

We are smarter than the Falcons.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Listen, Ridder had a good game the other day, so he's clearly completely turned it around and we can totally ignore everything else. It's like Zach Wilson, with less mom banging.

If Baker time is TIME TO BAKE, does that mean Ridder time is TIME TO RID?

The Vikings brought in Colt McCoy for a workout.

This might be just because Nick Mullens could be headed to injured reserve with back stiffness.

But given that the timing coincides with Justin Jefferson going on injured reserve, speculation is running high that it might be Kirk Cousins sellin' time.

My Top 5 trade spots for Kirk Cousins:

5. Washington - Snyder and Bruce Allen are gone, run it back! If they're not convinced about Sam Howell and his sack taking ways (in large part his own fault, per PFF), Rivera might see Cousins as a shot at saving his job. They're also flush with cap space in 2024, so he could be kept.

4. Tennessee - Tannehill has bottomed out. They've spent draft picks on Willis and Levis, but the Derrick Henry clock is ticking. They're only 1 game out of the AFC South lead at this point. And they have tons of money in 2024 if they liked him so much they wanted to keep him.

3. NY Jets - Zach has shown signs of life, but that's still a dangerous gamble. The reason this doesn't rank higher, though, is Qaaron, who is both under contract next year, and who thinks he's rehabbing to try and return later this year. This would have to be a rental situation only, and even that would probably risk Qaaron turning on the team. But aside from QB, they're far and away the best 2023 roster on this list.

2. Atlanta - Ridder hasn't shown that he can be the guy, and this is a very winnable division. Cousins could actually deliver passes to Pitts and London with regularity, and Atlanta would be in good position to sign Cousins to an extension.

1. New England - Belichick is so clearly done with Mac, but Zappe hasn't been a good enough alternative to let him pull the plug. And something drastic needs to happen here now, or Kraft may finally be done with BB. They also have over $100m free in 2024, so they would have no problem keeping him if he worked out.

Cousins absolutely makes Atlanta the best team in that division, and it'd lead to a long series of at best second round playoff exists so . . . not sure how to feel about that. Even with decent QB play they're clearly way behind the SF/Philly level so not sure it makes huge sense long-term in any way, and, if you're the Vikings, I'm guessing you're going to want some pretty damn solid draft compensation for that, and is Cousins going to want to go to a team that's not exactly loaded on defense and it's not like the offensive line has been fabulous. Cousins can reject any trade proposal, and he's very much become a Minnesota Guy and clearly likes it here, so I'd be shocked if he'd accept a trade anywhere that didn't almost immediately offer him a legitimate shot at a ring.

Minnesota is clearly moving on from Cousins when his contract expires at the end of the year though, so fighting a trade just because he likes Minnesota would only delay the inevitable. He's in a similar position as a receiver whose name rhymes with Spike Heavens, but with even more certainty of the team's intent to move on at the end of the year.

If Minnesota's even letting it get out via backchannel that they might be open for business, though, then I would assume they've already reached at least a preliminary understanding with Cousins on not exercising his no trade clause. Possibly Kirk has already given the team a list of "no's" for destinations.