Fear The Chorizo

Packers are probably still going to wind up covering the spread, but at least we've all had 1.5 quarters to vent.

Bears playing keepaway offense to chew clock... Thats a terrible pi call there...guy was falling down

Bakhtiari really needs to get back on the field...oline is a liability with Jenkins gone

Seriously, just put nobody on special teams return units and they would do better

It's early...Bears still can't score TD's

Yeah, kind of wish they just went for it on 4th and 2 from the 7

I don't want either of them fired. Yeah that may actually be a reason to blow the game from a Packer fan standpoint - keep them around as long as possible

Vikes probably going to win this game....but they are once again doing an awful lot to keep people tuned in and get the steelers back into it.

I only tuned in for the expected Viking meltdown. Meh, back to my Entourage marathon… Might want to check back in about 15 minutes from now just to make sure you don't miss something special in terms of a meltdown.... Edit 5 minutes later - although that 2 pt conversion debacle probably makes it too big a hill to climb now

Which is just fine - still 5 more regular season games left. Goal should frankly be to have him ready to play for the playoffs, hopefully with 1 or 2 weeks of regular season game action to make sure he's full go. Hoping Bakh and Z. Smith are back on the field a bit sooner than that... News on Cobb is disappointing, but also kind of should be expected given the fact he never could seem to stay healthy for a full season when he was younger, too - hope he's able to return by the end of this year, but actually not very optimistic about it.

This would be so, so huge. Douglas and Stokes (and at times King) have performed very well during most of his absence, but man would it be nice having Jaire shutting down WR1s and then dropping the other CBs on the roster down a peg on the depth chart to improve coverage units in general.

No, the Vikings won... I feel like this is some sort of fake news litmus test....29 points when the clock ticks down to zero is more than 27, right?

I think it was a stupid call. Get stopped, lose the game automatically. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Lions did indeed get stopped but still wound up winning the game, yes? I don't see the point of creating an absolute hypothetical out of thin air when the first part of the premise actually occurred, then the actual game outcome was exactly the opposite of automatically losing. Since the Vikings had all 3 timeouts and the Lions only had 2 at the time (they did burn one before that 4th down call, I think), from a clock management standpoint it was the perfect call to guarantee the Lions at least one extra possession - had they converted, the next series of downs likely would've forced Minnesota to start burning timeouts and one more 1st down likely seals the win for Detroit. Worst case they punt it away closer to the 2 minute warning and the Vikings have a long field to get into FG range with about 2 minutes left - still very attainable for Detroit to lose in that situation with a FG at the end of regulation, btw. They failed to convert and it gave the Vikings possession with 4 mins left in the red zone - The Vikings managed to run 6 plays before scoring a TD, but that left 2 minutes on the clock for the Lions to have one more shot. And they scored with that shot - Even a terrible team can drive the ball down the field and score a TD in an end of game situation if given 2 minutes to do so. Time left on the clock and game situation actually pointed to it being more advantageous for the Lions to go for it in that spot and not punt. I think the playcall on 4th and short was atrocious, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the decision to go for it.

I saw those last two alignments and instantly thought the lions should throw to the flat and have a head of steam towards the goal line...Vikings had 8 in coverage and almost all of them lined up inside the end zone, lol

Yep, the Vikings will be the most dangerous team come playoff time....the most dangerous team not in the playoffs, that is!

I think it's much more of a crapshoot, simply because I don't think there is a truly great team this year. I look at the body of work between Alabama and Georgia, and outside of the SEC title game they really haven't won a game against a quality opponent aside from Bama over Ole miss when they were playing without their best WR and lost some other key players early that game. I thing UGA's defense got exposed more by playing a good offense moreso than it just being Alabama being greater offensively than a great defense. Michigan actually has by far the best resume and should be rated #1 headed into the CFP. I'd actually really hope Bama and UGA are #2 and #3 and have to play each other for a shot at the title.

You could say the exact same thing about the SEC, just reverse the directions.

Kinda looks like that marquee week one win against a meh Clemson win set them up to be an undeserving #1 team, doesn't it? They've looked really good playing a charmin SEC east schedule....guessing they still wind up in the CFP, but probably will be at the expense of a more deserving Irish team at this point.

Binelas, IMO, has basically no shot at playing 3B defensively in the majors, so change that to 1B/DH - while that has been a position of weakness in the Brewers' organization, it's also a spot that TONS of options are routinely available each offseason to be acquired on the cheap at the MLB level without needing a pipeline of power hitting 1B prospects in the minor leagues. And until the NL makes things official and actually has a DH there's not a good reason to stockpile thumpers in the system who can only play 1B defensively. It's obvious DS doesn't put a premium on having a stud everyday 1B on the roster with both drafting and free agency/trades - particularly compared to having a roster full of players with positional versatility that could all play 1B in a pinch if they are hitting well and need to stick in the lineup. For the 1B discussion at the MLB level in 2022 and beyond along with the hope to improve production against LHP, a guy who's going to get another extended shot as a platoon mate for Tellez is Hiura provided he doesn't get traded later this offseason.

We are now back to having no 3B prospects. That sucks. I don't think Binelas sticks at 3rd, so we probably didn't have any to begin with. If his power production as a 21 yr old developed collegiate hitter against AZ league instructionals and low A pitching translates to higher minor leagues that eventually warrants a shot at the majors, he's a 1B - which also reduces his value ceiling.

Renfroe is a weak side platoon bat that we had to trade two decent prospects for because Stearns made an atrocious signing the year before. Yay! IMO you couldn't be more wrong. Renfroe is a guy who will be their everyday RF and could hit 30+ bombs, drive in 90+ runs and have an OPS in the 800's. Plus the Brewers lose JBJ's contract and only two low /mid-level prospects. If Renfroe does that I think this trade could turn out to be one of Stearn's best. Well, the poster you are directly responding to did also hate the Yelich trade the moment it was made (wayyyyy before the 2019 injury and followup mega extension that now currently makes Yelich an anchor on this organization if he doesn't rebound) - so at least they are consistent...

Yep. Three different teams in the last three years believed they were better off without him. That says something there. Chaim Bloom said Binelas has power that is “special”. I get it, they’re a small market club and they owed Bradley a pile of dough and payroll constraints were the primary driver here. But I don’t think this deal makes them significantly better in the short run if at all, nor does it make them better in the long run. What else is Bloom supposed to say after sending a MLB player away in a deal that hit 31 HR for the Red Sox last season and brought back JBJ at the MLB level? Binelas also struck out in 1/4 of his plate appearances against instructional league and low A competition - surely he can hit a ball far, but his bat hasn't really been tested at the professional level yet.

Offensively they basically just picked up a 2021 clone of Avi Garcia for two more seasons at less than $10M annually, in exchange for the worst offensive position player from 2021 (JBJ) that was slated for $9.5M in 2022 and a pair of untested prospects that might wind up as MLBers in a few years or might wind up doing nothing. Binelas appears to be the prospect with the highest ceiling based on his 2021, but keep in mind he was a 21 yr old collegiate bat that basically played a month's-worth of games at low-A....if he didn't mash that would be a huge problem for a 3rd round pick. Hamilton is a middle infielder that probably isn't going to surpass prospects like Turang, Black, Zamora, or Garcia - and the Brewers already have Adames, Wong, and Urias as MLB options for the foreseeable future at 2B/SS (admittedly Urias could also play alot of 3B next season) The Brewers sucked against LHP, and Renfroe hits LHP well. Why do people not like this move?

With the current labor/service time issues being the primary drivers of this lockout, with no real discussion pertaining to increased revenue sharing across the league that I can tell that would actually narrow the gap between huge and small markets, the end result won't benefit the Brewers and teams in their same boat no matter how long and contentious the lockout is. I've seen nothing regarding a push by the owners - particularly from huge markets - to share more leaguewide revenue from local TV/medial market sources that would truly balance out the financial playing field and allow for the uniform escalation in player salaries across all markets that frankly the players probably deserve with how quickly some national TV revenue streams have jumped across MLB. At the end of this lockout, there still will be an enormous disparity in revenue generated by a team like the Dodgers playing in LA vs a team like the Rays or Brewers or A's. Until that disparity shrinks by fundamentally changing the financial structure of MLB, there will continue to be the have's an have not's.

Well, that's just representative of the "above board" $$ paid to government employees - politicians' main incomes are most certainly not applicable in that regard. I do think it's outrageous for university systems to cry poor and beg for additional tax revenue at federal/state/local levels when such huge portions of their budgets go towards paying the salaries of people who have nothing to do with higher education along with financing/maintaining all the facilities those extracurricular programs need to have in place in order to be functional - not to mention all the bell and whistle facilities added to campuses to try and attract students. I get that in the case of major college football/basketball programs their revenue streams likely generate plenty of funds to pay the inflated coaches salaries (and oftentimes remaining contract amounts of their last 1-2 coaches that were fired), along with their facilities....but those athletic programs should in no way be linked financially to the university they are part of. My point is, Brian Kelly shouldn't be deemed an employee of the state of Louisiana because he coaches football at LSU - he should be an employee of LSU Football, Inc., its own private entity. Would that make all the athletes unpaid interns? You know what? With the exception of paying their room and board and giving them an option to pursue a degree if they wish at the university that owns the property the football program would rent for their facilities, why not? Unpaid internships often are incredibly valued by the brightest and most talented aspiring professionals in a host of other career paths - major college athletics is no different in that regard.