HiAndTight

Texts (emails?) are out there on the interwebs now. Not sure what to make of them. Brown seems pretty confident that she's just trying to use him to make money. He also seems like he paid too much for a Central Michigan Education. It's being investigated now and I'll withhold any opinions on the matter, but if you were ever going to accuse someone, take him to civil court....right now would be the perfect time for someone to do that with Brown. He's about as despised as any current NFL player is, even when you consider Tyreke Hill. I'd like to start taking numbers on Brown playing for the Pats this year. Still think the chances are strong, but they've taken a hit.

You lose four guys on the line who started a ton (understatement) of games and played at all-big 10 level or higher. Three who are on NFL rosters & believe playing. The group covered & was featured in Sports Illustrated even https://www.si.com/college-football/2018/08/08/wisconsin-badgers-offensive-line-red-robin-jonathan-taylor They were special. Now like every few years we need to reload. Talent is there, coaching is there, and scheme is there. They just need to grow together and gel. Van Lanen got a good amount of work I& is Jr. , Bruss (soph) made few starts as well but rest is pretty young and green. Erdmann & Moorman are seniors who haven’t been able to get on field much due to the 4 studs who left. The sophomore group has Lyles who played defense all season, Seltzner, and Beach who pretty much only got mop up duty last year. We started slower when Beau, Dietzen, Deiter also started out as well. I’m sure by mid season they will have right combo & just be steam rolling Defenses Not trying to be a contrarian, but that was a really overrated OL in my opinion. David Edwards, I kept hearing how he was going to be a future 1st rounder right after he started playing, not long after moving over from TE. One of the worst blindside tackles we've had in a while and he wasn't a very good run blocker. Dieter and Dietzen...they were talented, but just never that dominate unit. I think this group has the chance to be better. Pretty much ever Badger who was good players in the NFL in recent memory except for Costigan. It was more that Edwards seemed to get beat pretty badly at times and there just wasn't that cohesion. If felt like Dietzen was moving all over the place, Dieter never really played up to his level, Beau-whatever, the big guy from Arrowhead, he wasn't dominant. Maybe it's because I expected this OL to be just dominant when they had all Fresh and Soph's starting a couple years ago and then David Edwards came in as this highly regarded prospect and they never seemed to gel as one of these great OL's. I could be wrong. I'll be the first to admit, I watch Packers games much closer than Badgers games. I see more in person and when I do watch them on TV, I don't focus on the player like I do the Packers. Plus, the guys I know at UW constantly tell me how every player could be the best they've ever had there. And maybe I'm just using past Badger OL's to compare them against. They have dominant lines almost every year.

It also happened in the NCAA. There was an Okie St-Central Michigan game...a year when it looked like the Cowboys might actually be a playoff team. I think they went into the B12 title game with just the one loss to Central Michigan and then lost a pretty close game to Oklahoma. Anyway, with 4 seconds left at midfield up by 3, Okie State just chucked the ball. The refs gave the ball back to Central Michigan, they threw a pass...did the laterals, I don't really remember how, but they scored and won 30-27. IIRC, the refs were suspended for a couple games. They did. The Ravens did it, but apparently so to did the 49'ers. Apparently now, in that Baltimore game, if there were 11 seconds left like there was in that game and they committed multiple penalties, it's a loss of down, if it resulted in a turnover on downs, they'd reset the game clock, enforce a 15 yard penalty and in that case the Bengals would have gotten the ball with 11 seconds left and they'd have the ball at the Ravens 10 or so.

I don't think they've really got their OL figured out. They've been rotating guys in the OL. They're probably looking for their 5 best. Defense looks really good despite the quality of opponents. Michigan nearly lost to Army this past week.

No one is going back and forth. I said before the series that if they win 3 out of 4 against the Cubs they have a shot. If they win tomorrow they will have done that. If not, oh well. Tomorrow is their season as far as I'm concerned, but 2 GB with 20 to play would not be insurmountable. Yeah, Mtrebs or whatever was looking for an argument when I said they were in playoff contention when they were 4 back a week or so ago. I don't believe this is a particularly good team or one that's capable of going on a run like last year....but who saw that D-backs run coming? I'm in about the best place I think a Brewers fan can be at this point. If they don't make it, oh well. Everything went wrong. If you'd have said before the year, Knebel, Jeffress, Burnes, Wahl, Shaw, Aguilar, Peralta, Chacin.. among others would contribute nothing to this team and the one guy who was having a really good year, Woodruff, would miss the last 2 months and then said, "but we'll be within 2 games of a playoff spot on Sept 8th," it'd be hard to be upset about that.

I would also argue that he hasn't had good drafts. He's selected some very promising players, Drew Rassmusen, Corbin Burnes, Hiura, Ashby, Turang, Grisham and there are a LOT more young players. We basically had a monopoly on Venezuelan players this year. The biggest "problem" Stearns had was he turned the team around too quickly and didn't have the benefit of multiple early picks. He didn't get to pick a Bergman, Springer, Correa in the top 5 of the draft. Just about everything that could go wrong this year did...and the Brewers find themselves 2 games out on Sept. 8th.

I keep seeing this, I don't think they do that by design as much as as a result of having Wade Miley and Gio Gonzalez as your top 2 pitchers. If Woodruff and Burnes would have been as good as you could have reasonably hoped...which Woody was, but Burnes was not, then they wouldn't have to operate in that fashion. The Brewers did an amazing job with what they had last year, but that's not how you build a team. They need to put all resources into developing and acquiring good starting pitching. I think they have plenty of power arms and they've got all the arms they need to have a dominant pen in their system right now for the most part. You are correct, they obviously don't have the financial resources to compete for player(s). But if they believe one is good enough, they can at least try to sign him. I believe there is one pitcher in this FA pitching class worthy of a big contract from the Brewers and the risk. We'll have to see how aggressive they are in this loaded FA pitching class.

Quinn couldn't win there. Had the Falcons just gone to running the ball, trying to chew up the clock, well, then when Brady brought them back, people would have gotten on him for being too conservative and intervening with one of the better offensive coaches in football who got them out to that lead. It's like the Packers-Seahawks game. So many little things went wrong. It's 1st and 10 with 8 minutes left in the 3rd after pass down to the 23...Ryan gets sacked for a loss of 12 or whatever, Matthews gets hit with a holding call, they're out of FG range. That's on Shanahan. Just run the ball. If you don't get the 1st down, you've at least chewed up 3 minutes and it's 31-3. To me, Shanahan was more to blame for that. The Falcons OL was struggling vs the Pats and they were running the ball well early, but never really went back to it, they did not try to run the ball between the tackles. Quinn is a good Defensive coach, but not many teams are going to be able to hold up playing 100 plays without gassing. That Vikings defense looked really good. Especially on the LOS. The new 52 look gives the Vikings some really favorable matchup's with Joseph, Stephen and then Griffen and Hunter on the edge. It's not as good as the Bears, but when you bring up Barr, it puts a lot of pressure on the QB. And with a team with a new offense that's a long way from hitting their stride, you've gotta make those hot reeds and get rid of the ball as soon as possible. A 2-0 start though...if they can beat the Vikings. That gives you two wins over the two main competitors in the division and you're a quarter of the way through that brutal 1st half schedule. OL has to play well and please LeFleur, give Jenkins the start at LG over Taylor. He's clearly better than Lane Taylor..and he's more physical. Unless they're worried about him picking up stunts or blitzes...which the Vikings do a lot, he needs to be out there.

On a plane, so didn't see what Lions did. Won't get to Stafford in 4 seconds though. Just chucks it high up into the air and out of bounds and the clock is on :00 before the ball hits the ground. Probably. But it's still worth a try. If he just throws it up and they call grounding the Cardinals get an untimes down to kick the game winning FG. You just have someone run a go route. He throws it as far as he can but out of bounds and you don't get a grounding and the time runs out. But it would have been worth it.

I know they took on Moss...and that ended badly like it did everywhere else. But can't someone refresh my memory. I don't recall them taking on all these team cancers. I'm not disputing it, I'm just trying to think. They take chances on guys like Gordon for example, but he's not a cancer, he's just a guy with a addiction problem. They took risks on other guys like Peters from NeBraska and then Haynesworth. But we tried to trade for Moss(and AB for that matter) and we signed guys with serious issues(Lyrela). Also remember that while Moss was probably the key to the Patriots juggernaut, they did end up trading him 2 years later just 4 games into the season. The Pats have definitely given a lot of guys a second chance, but I'm not sure it's worked out with those players as well as the myth has gone. The thing that'll make them really dangerous is if Gordon puts together a whole season. He may actually be the more talented of the two players....as crazy as that may be. This just all seems to fantastical. Brown is a hyper competitive player and his effort and desire has never really been questioned. He wanted his release from the Steelers, they instead traded him for a 3rd and a 5th and he forced his way out with the help of Mike Mayock. I know Al Davis accused the Pats of tampering when it came to Randy Moss...not sure about that, but there certainly appears to be something suspect here.

I just think it'd be hard to justify Brown just blowing up his contract and all that guaranteed money. To destroy your reputation like that. Even if he behaves in NE, he's still going to be looked at as a cancer and more people will be licking the Pats shoes. He misbehaved his way out of 30 guaranteed and 50 million dollars in NEW money. He was set to make far more than any other WR'er when you combine the guarantees he got with Pitt and the new money he got with Oakland. I guess 1/15 with 9 guaranteed isn't a bad risk, but still...

Not quite yet... It's certainly helping that some of the teams on the schedule do not look nearly as good a couple weeks into the season. Michigan doesn't look quite so daunting, Northwestern...plus, UW usually does not start out great. Winning is one thing, but blowing out teams they should beat gives you a little more confidence. And Baun looks like a monster. So far it looks like the DL is miles ahead of last years DL and Coan looks like a much better QB than what we had last year. There are still going to be a lot of tough games...but the feeling has to be a lot more positive based on some individuals really improving or looking good to start the season.

He was running past the USF guys as well, and they certainly have no lack of speed out there.

That's amazing to me. His reason for asking for his release was he wasn't playing without his guarantees. He's due to make a lot less than if he'd have just played for the Raiders. Well...now the Pats could have the two most talented and unreliable WR'ers in the NFL in Gordon and Brown.

44-0 going into the half and Coan looks like he's hitting on those deep balls. We can pretty much official rule out the "this might be the year they don't make a bowl," talk, right?

I'd place more emphasis on the locker room and the players, but I see that point. If he plays though, it won't be for a while IMO just because I don't think NE pays him what he's going to demand. It just blows my mind that someone would blow that much money because he couldn't control himself. That's something a kid does. That's something a 22 year old does. I can forgive the feet..he was trying to take care of his body. The helmet, don't understand why you can't show up at practice, but ok, I can stretch to understand why that'd be so important. But you got fined. I get it, it was a bit petty by Mayock. He had to prove how tough he was, and listening to Steve Young talk about it, he kinda made me side with Brown on that. But after all that, screaming at the GM, throwing chairs, then requesting to be cut? I could see just about any team willing to take him. I don't see any team willing to pay him though. That'll be the sticking point until he gets desperate enough.

Could have easily gotten him one there. Selfishly, I really would like to see him back next year to break the all time record. I mean, he is still just 20 years old. But obviously it'd be better for him to just go to the league and try to get that second contract earlier. But man, he could have a Gordon like season this year or next.

They have very little cap space so unless he takes a huge discount I consider it unlikely. They could easily make it happen. With ~11 million in cap room, they could do it easily. But I don't think there's any chance that he is willing to play for what they'd be willing to pay. Do you see them wanting to count on Gordon, Brown and then D. Thomas(for very different reasons)? But he would be just about the perfect fit for the way the Pats play. He's so quick, he can run those underneath routes and he can take the top off. Again, if he's willing to play for 1 year and 8 million, you'll get teams lining up....but he's gonna want to makeup what he "lost."

That was my first thought too. Just seems like a guy the Patriots will take. I kinda hope the Packers explore bringing him in. I wouldn’t mind having Adams and Brown as our 1-2 punch. Chances of the Patriots finding a way to fit Brown under the cap = 90%. They just find a way. And he would immediately discard the diva weirdness and be a stud again. The Packers chances of even being interested in Brown, I think, are less than 1%. Doesn't fit the culture and is a "me" and drama guy, which that team outwardly tries to avoid. And I don't think Brown would push his personality aside as a Packer. I do not like this "Packer type," thing that people talk about. If he's good enough for the Pats, he's fine for the Packers. The Packers have been interested in plenty of "me guys," even when Ted was here, we've stuck with guys through drug suspensions for PED's(probably should have stuck with Pennel a bit longer). The idea that his character isn't good enough for GB, but good enough for NE is a bit annoying. And that's not directed at you, it's just a common theme I heard. FWIW, I'd be 100 pct on board with bringing him in and given our interest in trading for him, I'm guessing they'd still be interested....I'm also gonna guess that there will be a major disconnect between what he thinks his value is vs what it realistically is given everything. It's two organizations he's burned bridges with and they're not going to give him a big guaranteed deal. The Pats won't either. Now you could say in both cases, those organizations have problems and I could defend him for how they treated him in Pitt or in Oakland given that I think it's just a clown car situation there with Gruden and Mayock, but not with both. You also had Head Coaches in Tomlin and Gruden, two big time players coaches couldn't reign him in. So either Brown swallows his pride and signs for...a reasonable contract, or he doesn't play again. I don't know what's reasonable. But it's not what he was scheduled to make in Oakland. It sure as hell isn't more than... This is a guy who just asked to be released when he was set to make 28 million each of the next two years(base+guarantees). I don't think he's a bad dude and I don't think this is like paying an Albert Haynesworth type player, but Brown clearly cannot be trusted to invest big money into. My guess is he'll want something close to what Julio Jones just got...and that's silly. I'd do it if none of it was guaranteed. He's that good. I do think Mayock sabotaged that situation. Fining him when they were publicly supporting him, they knew how he'd react and then fining him again nullifying the guarantees....that's just stupid. You know who you traded for. You KNOW he's gonna react and use Social Media. So....this whole thing is just a mess and unless AB wants to play for a year at 8 million or so and then try to prove he can perform and behave, I don't think anyone should touch him and I don't think he'd entertain that for one second.

And the Bears play the Saints and Rams. This is why the Bears almost never have good back to back years. When they have to play a 1st place schedule, they struggle.

They lost Collins, Finley and Murphy...the later never actually did much, but he was probably as talented a WR'er as Thompson drafted. The thing about Collins injury, it looked like such a minor little hit to the head. Like Stewart's let just brushed it. Your post jogged my memory. I was there in person, in Charlotte, for both Murphy's and Collins' injuries. Murphy's was on a Monday night, and an all around brutal game by the Packers, who nearly came back to win at the end with a crazy Favre comeback. I remember how silent the crowd got when he got hurt. And Collins, a few years later on a Sunday afternoon in a game the Packers ended up winning. I remember like you said, it didn't look that bad. Been to a few more Packer games in Charlotte since, they never seem to go too well. Thomas Davis' cheap shot to Davante Adams a couple years ago that concussed him, and in fact, it was Davis who hit Murphy which ended his career. I actually had to go back and look. I thought it was the final pre-season game that Murphy got hurt. But you're right, it was on Davenport's fumbled KR when he dove to cover the ball that Thomas Davis and he hit helmet to helmet. I actually like Davis, but that hit on Adams was just a cheap shot and out of character for him. The play Murphy got hurt on, just random bad luck. Or maybe good luck. He had that thinning of the spine, so maybe if he takes a Finley like blow, he never walks again. Last I heard he'd started his own business and it was in real estate. One of the biggest in Texas. Still...so talented and Thompson's first draft class, Rodgers, Collins, Murphy the first 3 players picked.

I wouldn’t call the OL or Lane Taylor a weakness. Cut them some slack, it was a tough front 7. If Jenkins replaces Taylor it will probably be because the rookie earned it, not because Taylor’s play is inadequate. No, I wouldn't call it a weakness at all. But of the 5...through one game, Taylor was the weakest point. You can't allow Robertson-Harris to walk you back like he did on the 1st player of the game or a few other plays. Not when you have a player who appeared to be a better option in Jenkins on the bench. They thought enough of Jenkins to make it a competition and then basically said for the sake of continuity we're going with Taylor. Of the 5, none played bad given who they were facing, but I think Jenkins is clearly one of the 5 best and should start.

I think we just saw what $100M+ invested in your defense will get you. I don't think the Bears had any indication the packers could consistently cause pressure. The DL and Secondary are so interlinked. The Packers can now get pressure in the backfield. The secondary benefits from the reduced time for the QB to react and the better coverage/speed in the secondary makes the pressure from the line that much more damaging. Nagy should have adjusted at halftime, but maybe Trubisky needs a set gameplan or he can't adjust so they go with what they brought. Who knows, but that was a very nice performance by the D. Kenny Clark is a beast. Very encouraging game. Now if Lafluer can get through to home run Rodgers and instill some form of ball control offense instead of the "throw it 40 yards and hope" this offense might be formidable. Its becoming clear that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest impediment to getting this offense going... Exactly HOW is it "becoming clear," that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest impediment to getting this offense going?

I didn't even see that. But it's not surprising. He's so explosive. And the have the luxury to bring him along slowly enough, but so many people are already whining about him, it's gonna be like the 3 years before Rodgers started listening to people complain about him.

I really don't think they are. I think that's an average-ish offense. Their skill guys are pretty solid. QB play is going to hold them back. Their scheme and game plan was atrocious tonight as well. Well, offense is always behind defense, but Matt Nagy is one of the better offensive coaches and I think you're undervaluing Trubisky ALMOST as much as some Bears fans over-value him. He was pretty solid last year. 66 pct comp pct, he's athletic and can move...strong arm. We just had so much more speed on the 2nd level and penetration up front than we've had in the past. He made some really great throws...like that one that was called back due to OPI. That doesn't negate his play. Getting away from a couple Packer defenders, scrambling to his right, throwing it back to his right. I think our front, more Clark than anyone, but the front as a whole just made him move too much and they ruined their timing on the back end with their coverage.