UpandIn

Yeah, today was the exact type of game they win in the past by controlling the ball and at least making Illinois go the length of the field. It was hard for me to really evaluate Chryst when the OL was I guess probably average on balance, but for Wisconsin, that's a bad OL. We have very high expectations. We turn Kyle Costigan's into starters and road graters, and when we get a logan Brown, Wedig, Nelson...etc...etc..., they SHOULD become 1st round prospects. Not only has that not happened, Allen hasn't had the holes more of our backs have in the past, and when we try to pass Mertz is under siege. I could STILL see Bostad getting this OL group playing better and the Badgers going 7-0 the rest of the way...through the regular season...at which point I'd expect either another big L in the B1G Title game or a bowl game vs an ASU type team we could probably beat. It'd sure be nice to get some momentum going here.

Ooh...Meyer? I don't know if I want anything to do with that. I think best case you're looking at a pretty significant philosophic shift and then 4-5 years before he retires, hopefully during which time you can put together a run. But he is going to be VERY frustrated even looking at guys he knows he cannot get into UW. Does this come with more athletic appeals(which would have to be granted) and a much-much larger budget for the staff. I don't know...it feels like this was all kinda set up with the Mertz signing, keeping him from OSU and all that, at a time when we had Taylor and we're playing at a very high level, some exceptional recruiting classes(again, people talk about recruiting issues, but we're coming off probably the best 3 year stretch in the programs history, many of whom SHOULD be clicking right now). Mertz got people hoping for more...and when the exact opposite happened. I argued with Adambr just this morning about it. He told me Chryst was on his way out and I said I'd be shocked(he added he didn't think it'd come in season, I said I'd be shocked if it happened at all. I've tried to get in touch with a couple people I know, one on Chryst staff and another in the Athletic Department(just via text). Hoped I could just send a "whoa, pretty shocking," type of text and get a response. Nothing. Guessing they're both inundated with similar type messages and neither are people I have a close relationship with, so I didn't actually expect anything, more just hoping I could get something. Though one does come up and hunt on my land and stay at our cabin, so...what the hell, he could at least shoot me a text back(even if it's more through a 3rd party we're friendly). That should be about 70% in blue, I don't really expect anyone to be divulging anything to me...but man, hunting season could be interesting this year...and I don't hunt...if he plans on joining us again.

Well...for starters, it's hard to say the defense let Illinios drop 34 on the Badgers. Illinois possessions 1-Punt 5 plays 37 yards 2-1 yrd TD run that came off an INT at the 19 yard line. So they had a whole 19 yard drive. Also, they had them stopped on 4th and goal from the 1, but the DPI gave them a 1st down. 3-Punt 5 plays 11 yards 4-TD 6 plays 47 yards again off a Mertz INT 5-Punt 5 plays 20 yards 6-Punt 2 plays -2 yards(half) 7-TD 10 play 75 yards 8-FG 4 plays -10 yards(muffed KR) 9-TD 4 plays 70 yards big TD run 10-FG 9 plays 40 yards(off turnover on downs) 11-Punt 3 plays 8yards 12-Turnover on downs 5 plays 14 yards That's just too much for a defense to overcome. Two possessions inside the 20 on turnovers, another pick thrown at our own 36, a turnover on downs again inside our own territory. A normal Badgers OL and elite RB(we have one of those) and that's just not happening. They ARE starting construction on a 300 million dollar indoor facility, weight room, etc...all to try and "keep pace with the upper echelon teams like Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan," and a couple others were cited I don't recall. The board of Regents...which again, do not prioritize athletics like they do at OSU/Michigan, but they apparently are willing to spend some money. The Athletic Department has long been among the top 10 in revenue and not long ago was up there with Texas in terms of revenue(Texas WAS the benchmark for a while). As for how they'll recruit those skill positions, I really don't know. I feel like EVERYTHING starts with Bostad leading this OL back to it's dominance.

I'm beyond shocked. Setting aside if I thought it was the right thing to do or not, UW is VERY conservative in firing coaches. It generally takes more than a couple losses...BUT they did just invest 300M in an indoor facility to try and keep up with the other B1G schools, I suspect they know Jim Leonhard is going to be the next HC and they probably think it's better to just hit the ground running, give him this year to kinda learn on the job, and it should help them with recruiting.

Does ANY in NFL history have worse luck than Tyrod Taylor? Goes to Buffalo, becomes a Pro Bowl QB...loses his job to Nathan Peterman who throws 5 picks in a half(Taylor had at the time, the best INT pct in NFL history). Then goes to Cleveland who drafts Baker Mayfield...gets a concussion and loses his job(shocking a player wouldn't want to come out after a concussion). Then on to the Chargers who...proceed to stab him in the lung. Well...if Cleveland wasn't benching the #1 overall pick in Mayfield, the Chargers weren't putting Herbert back on the bench after his start to his career. Now he's in this no mans land, good enough to be a starter(barely) but not good enough that anyone's gonna build a game plan around you. So he goes to Houston, the worst run NFL franchise over the past couple years...and that is a LOW bar to get under with the WFT, Jets, Dolphins and...the Giants. I do kinda wish I'd watched that game. Barkley is about as exciting a player as I've seen. LOL...awesome....the man's legacy lives on!

Yeah, that's another big one. You ever play or even just walk on those turfs? I haven't been on Camp Randall in years, but it was like...rough carpet. That's all. It was hard. It's been changed since then(~2010 or somewhere around then). It was just High School, but I played a couple games on turf...and it sucked. Not just the bloody elbows(I figured out how very necessary those elbow sleeves were after a couple snaps) but in hindsight, running on it and having that type of turf has to hurt as well. I can only imagine what happens when you speed the game up about 10 fold and increase the size by about 120 per person(though TBF, our OL/DL averaged about 320?...which was nice). Anyway, I know they've all gotten better, especially in the NFL, but even in the NFL, the worst fields are considered Seattle's, Minnesota(which is being replaced). Pretty much all those old, hard turfs from what I understand. Players don't like them. Not like old Veterans field in Philly, but it's not ideal in an already violent sport.

This is what I was thinking. Also...UW is notoriously slow to fire coaches. I'm...stunned they fired Chryst. Adambr brought it up in a thread that I cant' find and said he didn't think they'd do it in season, but HE'D be shocked if Chryst was the HC next Sept. He was right...I was very wrong on this one.

One of my favorites as a kid. I like how it's not just re-creating it, but it's kinda building on it.

All of that guys shows have been great. Taylor Sheridan I think. Something like that. But Yellowstone, 1883. The next one is 1923...so, ya know, they're not the most creative in coming up with Titles, but outstanding acting. I believe that'll feature Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. He also did Bass Reaves and he has a massive 200M dollar deal to develop more shows like Yellowstone(1883 and 1923 2 of them). I think he's also doing something about the KC Mob with Stallone.

What "values" have been projected upon anyone here? Also...nobody's telling him what he SHOULD do, we're speculating on what he WILL do. Why are you so upset we're having a discussion? I find that weirder than anything. And sure...MAYBE Wahl doesn't even like playing basketball. Then...he'd probably just quit. I knew a lot of guys who felt like it was a job and quit. Generally not their 5th year when they were done with the school part of it, but...sure. If living the dream would "actually be transferring to a school that has seen the sweet 16 in the last half decade," he can do that. He could do that this year. He could have done it last year...he could do it whenever he wants. That's got absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about. What are you so upset about here? That we're speculating and talking about the benefit of using the free year he got vs starting a career in Finance? If it was taking shots at a kid like Allen for leaving school early, I must understand why this is getting you worked up, but we're talking specifically about taking a free year...something that's literally NEVER happened before in College athletics and using that rather than going into a career in Finance. There's been no debate or morality or pushing someone's views or even telling the kid what he SHOULD do. Relax.

I'm not going through each game, but just off memory, that Oregon game, how'd they "fall apart?" I remember them giving up a defensive TD to give up the lead, then came back and scored two TDs before Herbert ran for his 3rd score of the day(pretty much the only way they could score). They lost a 28-27 game to Justin Herbert's 12-2 Ducks team. Washington State...they were driving and Cundiff fumbled...late in the 4th Quarter. That's not really falling apart. I don't really know what the 10-26 record vs top 25 teams is meant to tell us. I guess there are just people who have different expectations from this program than I do. I root for 10 wins, maybe in a good year they finish top 10, an average year in the top 25 and then I know there are going to be down years when they're SO bad they're...an 8 or 9 win team. I can live with that and I don't think that's really changing no matter who the coach is. Not unless you have fundamental changes in the admission standards and the pool of talent in-state. I think maybe people elevated their expectations a little TOO high because of Mertz and he's not only failed to live up to them...but he's been worse than pretty much any QB they've had in a long time.

First of all...I'd assume it'd go without saying that when I say "nobody" was calling for the firing of Alvarez, I don't mean LITERALLY nobody was. Second...yeah, I do remember. Badgers fans were most definitely NOT calling for Barry Alvarez to be fired after 3 years of .500 football. With regard to Chryst being fired...I just don't see it. I guess we'll have to see.

Paul Chryst is ALMOST certainly not getting fired. There's a real selective memory here. We were in a Rose Bowl in 2019. Right after his 2nd and 3rd Rose Bowl, Alvarez had a 3 year run where he went 20-19 overall. Nobody wanted him fired.

It's not going to happen(or at least it's exceptionally unlikely to happen). With regard to the No-Trade, you'd think Yelich would be inclined to waive that to move back home(or close to it) in LA. His contract also isn't 150M underwater. That's saying he has almost literally zero value left. He's only got 156 left on the deal. 2.6 WAR this year...he's got some value. Not 132M over the next 6 year type value, and I don't think Adames would make up for that value, but I don't think it's THAT far fetched. They'd be getting back a SS who should project to be a 4.5-5 WAR SS the next two years...and then a 2-3 WAR from Yelich. The deferred money is ours. That's not something we're passing on to someone else, but the 132M+ Adames and the Brewers send roughly 6M a year over the next 6 years. The Dodgers aren't desperate though, so the Angels may be the better direction to look. There isn't a more desperate team in baseball. A SS like Adames would fit PERFECTLY into that lineup. Yelich would actually help them out in LF/DH. It might help them make a run next year(After also then going out and adding at least one starting pitcher as well). So Adames/Lauer/Yelich+22M(pay his salary next year) for Sam Bachman and a lower level prospect. Angels get a big upgrade at SS, a #3/4 SPer and a LFer who still has value atop the order and hitting leadoff in front of Trout(which should help Yelich). Brewers get a big arm back, though one who's not refined and almost certainly not going to help the Angels in the rotation next year. They also maintain payroll flexibility to try and add players to put a wining team on the field this year in an attempt to convince Ohtani to re-sign. They'd have probably ~120M in payroll space to go out and add someone like Verlander, deGrom, Rodon or any number of pitchers. You'd be giving up a lot to just get out from under Yelich, but...he also costs a lot. I expect none of this to happen, but I think you could swing that and then kinda reset the payroll moving forward. At that point, I'd just look to deal Burnes/Woody for the best deals available. Or, Yelich and his 22M really shouldn't cripple an MLB team and they could just suck it up and try and deal with it over the next 6 years. But if you're looking for a desperate team with not much of their team back and desperate to try and salvage the relationship with Ohtani, they'd be the best option...and if Rendon bounced back, Yelich/Trout/Ohtani/Rendon/Walsh/Adames/Ward/Regifo/Stassi Ohtani/Verlander/Rodon/Sandoval/Lauer They'd at least have a shot to compete. Gives them some type of hope.

The 2nd seems like a perfectly reasonable answer. You're going to be splitting hairs. Had Ruiz come from a different system that wasn't SO incredibly top heavy with MIFers and if they'd kept developing him at 2B...he might have a lot more value, but with Abrams and Rosario, they moved him out to LF. But it appears that...ONE comment about not finishing the season strong is again, just SO egregious, we're not going to be able to let that go. I'm sorry, with absolutely no authority to make this decision, your ranking will not be taken into consideration this time around! LOL...

Ok...and? All those things can be true. You can add the games before that, but all that happened was someone stated he had an 0-20 stretch, someone else asked when and I answered and it was the final week of the regular season. 4 of the last 6 games. So he didn't like the way he ended up he said recency bias may have somewhat affected that. It's not a referendum on some larger point, someone asked when something happened, I stated when. This has gotten off to a weird start though with the having to justify the rankings and the defensiveness. I thought he had Ruiz pretty fairly ranked. A touch higher than I would have...and maybe a bit lower than others may have him(though it does feel like a pretty solid top 7).

LOL...it just makes it a free year. All the heartbreak on that 2020 season, they get a free one back, no strings attached. You sound like you have everything planned out perfectly, but...I think you might be a little different than the normal kid. They've got no worried. That roadmap, they're at the end of it by now(or should be). So now if they want, it's basket weaving...or maybe it's Grad School, but it's another year that'd be paid for at least. Iowa just graduated a trio of 7th year Sr's who were in their mid 20s, who all had degrees. Hell, one of them was married to the director of Carver-Hawkeye...and they were the same class. Though that's a little different. Each was just on the verge of a National Title...and the team was trying to compete, but that's a whole other story.

I'm still not getting what you're saying. Especially the bolded part. Yes...of course the degree means something. It means everything if you're not going to make millions after College. If you're not an NFL prospect or you're not an NBA prospect, or...as I did, you participate in a non revenue generating sport. I don't get the "he would've gone somewhere else." But why? By your 4th year, you're basically done with your degree. You either decide to start go for your masters or you just sit back, take a nice easy schedule and you spend most of your time playing/practicing or hanging out. You're living the dream. Every year of my life would be that 5th year...and again, we didn't have 17K fans a night. The only difference as I see it is there are so many other pro-leagues he could play in or maybe he thinks the NBA is still a realistic option. Or maybe he wants to finish up at Minnesota. Otherwise, you're taking the best part of all aspects of College and squeezing it into one year doing the thing you love the most...and again, now, with NIL...he may even be making 100K or so. I don't know what it'll be exactly, but I know a lot of Wrestlers who aren't stars getting money, so I'd imagine a starter for the Badgers is getting something...on TOP of his scholarship and his food paid for, his stipends. He is living-the-DREAM.

Well...in the context of this thread, you'd be talking about buying out his 3 arbitration years and then hopefully 2 FA years. That's a fraction of the commitment you made to Yelich. You're committing 2 more years to Burnes, you're committing 9 more years to Yelich. I also wouldn't personally ridicule the contract to Yelich(in fact, you got a very team friendly deal at the time). It was the right decision at the time...it's hard to foresee a guy going from THAT level to the level he's since played at. Right, it was a calculated risk. And I still don't believe the kneecap is the cause for his decline for a litany of reasons I've mentioned in the past based on his exit velocity, FB ratio...etc... I think it was the back problems starting up again in 2021 after a bit of a fluke 2020 covid season. Moot point now,

Those lives will be waiting for them when they're 24 or 25 either way. Plus, he'll likely be making as much in NIL as he would his first year anyway. Adult life sucks. Being a College Athlete...performing in front of crowds and at a school like UW and being a Basketball player, that's a WHOLE lot of fun to swap out the start to a year in Finance.

He went 0-18 from Sept 20th-Sept 24th. He I don't know if he made an out in his last AB on the 19th or his first two on the 25th, but...he was at least 0-18.

You could make a VERY strong argument to put Ruiz 2 spots lower(in fact, I think I might). And I don't like looking at it this way. Ruiz is impressive. Those guys are more impressive. That's not low on Ruiz, that's high on the other prospects. 1-Top 10 prospects in all MiLB 2-Top ~40 prospect in MiLB 3-Top ~75 4-A elite defensive catcher who hit VERY well in HiA. 5-Basically the build a player in a video game with all the tools who's producing at the MLB level. 6-AAA pitcher who profiles as a #2/3 and more than held his own. Small sample size at AAA, but his stuff is elite. 7-An elite defensive SS who added power as the year went on and is even younger. So again, not about being "low" on Ruiz as he said, just a very good top 10. And if you were to put Black, -who may well be in AAA right now with the other studs if not for a fluke injury as he was playing REALLY well at the time of the injury or Misiorowski, a kid who's got a nasty, if inconsistent slider that he throws in the low 90s to go with a FB that touches 102...and he's 6'7 and skinny...meaning he's got some projection left as well as some development. Not that he'll add to his FB velo, but he may be able to maintain it deeper into games or just sit closer to the top end like an Alcantra or a deGrom.

1-Same 2-Not sure he needs to do that, but...he definitely needs a LONG time off. If he played any other position(other than K/P) I'd agree, but he CAN play that position without taking as many big shots moving forward. He should probably stay home for the next 6 weeks and then re-evaluate. But...he won't. He'll almost certainly be back under center for the Dolphins in the near future. 2 weeks, maybe 3. 3-Tua is culpable. He's not some babe in the woods. These players have grown up being educated about concussions. You're no longer soft for coming out of the game. They're smart. Still, this whole thing is to protect the players against themselves. They're educated...and yet they'll fight every step to try and limit concussions. The whining and mocking of those protective helmets in camp was...comical. They're trying to protect Jason Kelce from being the next Mike Webster and...he's got a problem with it. They could make helmets far more protective, but it just hasn't been worth it yet.

LOL...ok, well, that was not the first thing that came to my mind and was a bit obscure, but certainly makes more sense.

This...but also lets say Morgan Freeman(kinda the first name that popped into my head about virtuous celebrities)...but I'm sure he's done things he wouldn't want out there, but that doesn't mean we need to normalize or kinda equivocate when we DO hear about a former athlete who's acting like a character in the Soprano's. This type of corruption should land people in jail. I don't care what other people MIGHT do, this is something people have reported out very well and...there need to be repercussions. And he can't play the dumb concussed Former Football player. Not when he's specifically asking if there's anyway the media can figure out where this came from.