Packers Injury Update: Billy Turner is a full participant on Tuesday
*Knock on wood* team is looking as healthy as it can be besides Tonyan and Elgton Jenkins which were never coming back this year. Maybe the healthiest it's been all year even.
Expanded playoffs means #1 really means something and it honestly should. I've never believed in having a week off = rust. That seems like serious old school superstition grounded in 0 data.
From PFF, a ranking of all 32 teams on how badly they need a different QB for 2022.
Broncos, Steelers, Panthers, Footballers and Lions are in the top (ie most desperate for a change) category.
Dolphins, Falcons, Browns, Texans, Colts, Vikings and Giants are in the "explore your options" category.
Not surprisingly, most* of the teams playing this weekend (plus the Cards, Cowboys and Ravens) are in the All Set at QB category.
* with one notable exception; can anyone guess who that might be? A hint: The last name of that team's starting QB is an anagram of "Poopolarg."
But the Niners already have a different QB, ready on deck
I see the header keeps changing. 
Looks like the Niners will get their injured players back... I mean, not counting their #1 RB, #1 CB, and half their starting defensive line, who have all been out so long that it's been forgotten they even exist.
But Nick Bosa returned to practice and is on track to be cleared for Saturday. Fred Warner was originally feared to have a high ankle sprain, but it turned out he avoided that, and has been a full practice participant this week. And Jimmy G's shoulder was fine enough for him to throw at practice this week.
A quick Divisional Round preview with my own personal rooting interests and generally uninformed football opinions:
Bengals at Titans (4:30 p.m. Sat)
Why I want the Bengals to win: I could watch Burrow throw to Chase all day
Why I want the Titans to win: Derrick Henry, baby! Is he back? Will he Beast Mode through the playoffs? That would be great.
Who should win? Doesn't matter.
Who will win? Who knows? Titans managed to lose to the Jets and the Texans (not even the Panthers managed to do that), but still won 12 games. Still not sold on Cincy's D
Niners at Packers (8:15 p.m. Sat)
Why I want the Niners to win: DEEBO BABY! Also, they have a lower chance of turning the Super Bowl into a mega-Covid-spreader event.
Why I want the Packers to win: Because they're so much fun to watch. I mean, they're a blast.
Who should win? Niners, I guess
Who will win? Packers, durr. Shanny Jr will screw something up. Matt LeFleur is not Mike McCarthy.
Weather at kickoff: Cloudy, a little breezy, 13 degrees
Rams at Bucs (3 p.m. Sun)
Why I want the Rams to win: I don't. They're jerks.
Why I want the Bucs to win: I don't. They're also jerks.
Who should win? The Bucs, I guess. I gotta root for someone, right?
Who will win? Probably the Bucs. Never ever bet against Brady.
Bills at Chiefs (6:30 p.m. Sun)
Why I want the Bills to win: They're Carolina North (Sean McDermott, half the defense, Daryl Williams). My team wins by association, which is the closest they'll get to the playoffs until Matt Rhule is finished with his seven-year rebuild.
Why I want the Chiefs to win: Mahomes Redemption Tour
Who should win? Neither. The game should be declared a tie after 5 OTs and the two teams should combine into one superteam. That's the only way to crush Brady. THE ONLY WAY, I tell you.
Who will win? Probably the Chiefs. Or maybe the Bills. I honestly have no idea.
Next big update for Packers is 4pm EST today to actually see if Zadarius and or Mercilus get activated to the 53 roster.
For all the positive trending injury news for the Packers I'm still tentative to actually seeing them on the field come Saturday.
Zadarius + Mercilus are big wildcards for me as they are both better in the run game than Rashan Gary who just overshoots. I don't expect either to start but if they get in the rotation that's a huge boost.
My rooting interests rest of the way:
BUF
TEN
CIN
KC
SF
GB
LAR
TB
Tampa Bay repeat confirmed!
Bengals at Titans could be really good. Vrabel seems like he'll be around for a long while as his defense approach is smart enough to change up depending on the opponent. The Tits being able to not blitz and still get pressure is likely a big problem for the Bungles. Thankfully, Burrow is legit and he has a bunch of legit weapons to throw to. One injury to a pass catcher though and I fear they'll be too one dimensional.
The Bungles have also feasted on a weak schedule, so they maaaaaaaay be a year early on the playoff train.
The Titans, well, no one knows what version of the offense will show up as they've been so damn injured. Trey Hendrickson has speedily cleared concussion protocols like most folks this week (funny how that happens during the playoffs) so maybe the Bengals D will show up.
I feel like the rest of the games we know what to expect and it's more a matter of who executes better.
The Titans, well, no one knows what version of the offense will show up as they've been so damn injured. Trey Hendrickson has speedily cleared concussion protocols like most folks this week (funny how that happens during the playoffs) so maybe the Bengals D will show up.
Also COVID is gone. I don't think anyone is testing positive going forward.
Let's go KC!
My prediction is that the bill for the deal with the devil the Bucs signed in 2020 to keep almost everybody 100% healthy has come due, and, as every other team is getting healthier, they're getting more injured. They lose to the Rams, everybody laughs, and Bucs fans collectively shrug and think about the ring last year and that being good enough to last for years of fandom happiness.
Bengals at Titans could be really good.
And to clarify my earlier post, all of these games have the potential to be really, really good and probably will be. Fingers crossed!
We're owed that because we got only two close games out of six last weekend. I guess the Bills game could count as the third good good simply because of who they beat and how badly they beat them (sorry Pink Stripes), but the Chiefs drowning puppies wasn't fun unless you're a Chiefs fan.
So it's apparently that one of the Hot Things Right Now is the football smarts of the former veteran journeyman QB backup; Frank Reich and Kliff Kingsbury are head coaches, Doug Pederson was and probably will be again, Kellen Moore and Leftwich are hot candidates at this point, JT O'Sullivan has his popular QB School series, and guys like Alex Van Pelt and Jordan Palmer are QB gurus. I've been joking for a while that this means Josh McCown, the Platonic archetypes of veteran journeyman QB backups logically needs to get a coaching job.
In what is not at all shocking based on established front office competence, the Texans reportedly want to hire him as head coach even though he has never coached in any regard at the pro or even college level, and, even though they're aware this looks idiotic, they're not desperately hoping somebody else will interview him so they look less stupid when they hire him.
This clearly will end well for the Texans; it seems pretty established that hiring a college coach without a pro background doesn't work very well, so skipping that whole step and going to a guy who's coaching career per Wikipedia is:
McCown previously spent time as a volunteer quarterbacks coach for the Marvin Ridge High School Mavericks of Waxhaw, North Carolina.[141][293][3][294][147][295] The team's head coach said "He just walked into my office one day and asked if he could help out."[3] In 2010, prior to signing with the Colonials, McCown began helping the Mavericks during the offseason.[296][294] After the 2010 UFL season ended, McCown spent another offseason volunteering with the Mavericks.[296][3] He then left the school upon being signed by the 49ers in August 2011 but returned once the 49ers released him in September 2011.[296][3] Several days after Marvin Ridge lost its playoff game in November 2011, McCown was signed by the Bears.[3] McCown was released by the Bears in August 2012 and immediately upon arriving home at the airport, McCown went straight to a Marvin Ridge game and joined the team while the game was in progress.[297][3] Similarly, days after Marvin Ridge lost its playoff game in November 2012, McCown was again signed by the Bears. McCown also spent time as the scout team quarterback while at Marvin Ridge, with one player saying "I don't think anybody in the country had a better scout-team quarterback."[3] McCown also cooked pancakes for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfasts on Fridays and spent time teaching gym class at Marvin Ridge.[3][298][299]McCown is assistant coach at Rusk High School in Texas where his sons play. With his 2019 return to the NFL, the Eagles allowed him to fly to Charlotte on Mondays for high school practice and game planning, and then again on Fridays for game days.[300]
GUYS HE MAY HAVE NO EXPERIENCE BUT HE KNOWS HOW TO MAKE PANCAKES.
Hmm. Easterby wants McCown? That must mean...
*quick Google search*
Some of the best moments in my life have been when I kept falling short of the mark I was trying to measure up to. It was a huge burden until I realized that’s not what I’m measured by. Because I follow Jesus, He measures me how He’s measured. He sees me as God sees Him: perfect. Knowing I don’t have to live up to a certain standard frees me to live life, and live it to the full.
But when we surrender control over to Christ, we become free from expectation and pride. The “I deserve” mindset is replaced with gratitude and peace.
— Josh McCown, New York Jets quarterback
There it is.
Well, in that case, I have their guy for the QB coach position.
I don't know. Easterby may not want anyone around that might be higher than him on the Jesus ladder.
Whereas McCown is safe because, as with all pre-TB12 Tampa QBs, we know he's guilty of gluttony:
Report: Jaguars had a “conversation” this week with Josh McCown
How long can the AFC South slap fight for "Most Incompetent Franchise In The NFL Last"?
Report: Jaguars had a “conversation” this week with Josh McCown
How long can the AFC South slap fight for "Most Incompetent Franchise In The NFL Last"?
Well, the important part is here:
Wilson then conceded that McCown simply had a “talk” with G.M. Trent Baalke and not a former interview.
Why might Baalke be "talking" to McCown (outside of the interview process, away from the other decision makers)? I would suggest it's because he's desperately looking for another pro-Baalke candidate to push for the Jags job. BOB has fallen by the wayside. Byron Leftwich has his own plans for GM. Packers OC (and former Jaguars OC) Nathaniel Hackett is supposedly "anti-Baalke". The guys that are making it to the second round of the Jags interview process aren't Schiano Men Baalke Boys.
The head coach hiring process has become an existential threat to Baalke's position in the organization. He's looking for a new Tomsula to try and push through.
Report: Jaguars had a “conversation” this week with Josh McCown
How long can the AFC South slap fight for "Most Incompetent Franchise In The NFL Last"?
I am just glad my Browns are no longer vying for that title. I'm not saying that they are competent, but they aren't that bad.
The head coach hiring process has become an existential threat to Baalke's position in the organization. He's looking for a new Tomsula to try and push through.
Hey! Now there's an idea...
*Legion* wrote:The head coach hiring process has become an existential threat to Baalke's position in the organization. He's looking for a new Tomsula to try and push through.
Hey! Now there's an idea...
Lol
David Culley took well to being scapegoat and is unemployed.
*Legion* wrote:The head coach hiring process has become an existential threat to Baalke's position in the organization. He's looking for a new Tomsula to try and push through.
Hey! Now there's an idea...
If Baalke thought he could get away with it, I don't doubt for a second that he would.
The irony is, this is one of the few head coach hirings in history where Jim Tomsula would still technically qualify as an upgrade over the previous regime.
Giants hire Joe Schoen as GM.
He's 42 yrs old, so he's basically the anti-Gettleman.
By comparison, the Panthers' OC search doesn't look too bad.
Right now the two top candidates appear to be:
* Jay Gruden, unemployed former WTF head coach and miserable human being. By all accounts, though, he has been a decent-enough OC over the years.
* Scottie Montgomery, the Colts RB coach who won nine games in three years at East Carolina and has less NFL OC experience (zero) than the guy he would be hired to replace
2022 in Charlotte is going to be something.
Schoen was director of player personnel in Miami in 2014-2016, where they drafted:
Jarvis Landry
Xavien Howard
Laremy Tunsil
DeVante Parker
Billy Turner
Bobby McCain
Kenyan Drake
Jordan Phillips
Lotta guys who played a lot of games at the NFL level.
* Jay Gruden, unemployed former WTF head coach and miserable human being. By all accounts, though, he has been a decent-enough OC over the years.
I'm sure his emails while in Washington were totally pristine...
That's not at all a time bomb waiting to go off.
Enix wrote:* Jay Gruden, unemployed former WTF head coach and miserable human being. By all accounts, though, he has been a decent-enough OC over the years.
I'm sure his emails while in Washington were totally pristine...
That's not at all a time bomb waiting to go off.
Tick, tick, tick ...
I STG this is all a diversion so Rhule can keep his BFF from high school as his OC.
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