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ironbelly

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GasLightStreet
Saints beating the Broncos was weird. I just don't understand why Hill continues to be played as QB when he mostly runs the ball.

What will they do when they're losing and he has to throw?

That will be found out against the Chiefs in two weeks (if there are still games).

Yes, the game was rather weird. It seems that Hill just can't throw properly. He was very slow and unreliable on the attempts yesterday. Don't worry about Chiefs, Saints know how to lose the game stupidly (and win unpredictably) .

But of course! If they play Winston they'll have a shot. Hill has worked with the various positions because of that alone, not for every play.

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Chris Fountain
Saints fined for celebrating nude!!

[www.espn.com]

I'm ambivalent about that. It was (is) stupid and they know better, however, it's no surprise at all that the NFL, er, the idiot in charge, continues his grind against the Saints. They were busted because a video was put out. No other teams have been busted because they obviously know how to keep they mouths shut!

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GasLightStreet

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Chris Fountain
Saints fined for celebrating nude!!

[www.espn.com]

I'm ambivalent about that. It was (is) stupid and they know better, however, it's no surprise at all that the NFL, er, the idiot in charge, continues his grind against the Saints. They were busted because a video was put out. No other teams have been busted because they obviously know how to keep they mouths shut!

That article should not have made the news with all the on goings in the Covid world. A little sarcasm on my end.

Seahawks back on top of NFC West by themselves. They just need to take care of business the next 3 weeks against the lame teams & they should be in good shape to win the division & be in the running to win the NFC. The defense has been improving weekly & the offense has become more balanced. DK Metcalf is a star. So far, no signs of turning into a diva. Hope that holds up. GO HAWKS!

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Chris Fountain

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GasLightStreet

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Chris Fountain
Saints fined for celebrating nude!!

[www.espn.com]

I'm ambivalent about that. It was (is) stupid and they know better, however, it's no surprise at all that the NFL, er, the idiot in charge, continues his grind against the Saints. They were busted because a video was put out. No other teams have been busted because they obviously know how to keep they mouths shut!

That article should not have made the news with all the on goings in the Covid world. A little sarcasm on my end.

Well, Roger Goodhell is ridiculous!

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GasLightStreet

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Chris Fountain

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GasLightStreet

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Chris Fountain
Saints fined for celebrating nude!!

[www.espn.com]

I'm ambivalent about that. It was (is) stupid and they know better, however, it's no surprise at all that the NFL, er, the idiot in charge, continues his grind against the Saints. They were busted because a video was put out. No other teams have been busted because they obviously know how to keep they mouths shut!

That article should not have made the news with all the on goings in the Covid world. A little sarcasm on my end.

Well, Roger Goodhell is ridiculous!

That's pass interference on you Gaslight Street! ><

Biggest question re: Sunday's Patriots-Chargers contest does not center around who will win the game, but whether or not Cam Newton gets pulled if he cannot improve upon last week's abysmal performance (23.6 QB Rating) vs. the Cardinals.

It's been a mighty struggle for Newton on many fronts since he returned from his COVID-19 diagnosis: an inability to adjust plays at the line of scrimmage, a tendency to not process reads in a timely manner, a hesitancy to throw the ball when it should be thrown, a reluctance to utilize his legs when the situation dictates, and a habit of throwing poor passes that either fall incomplete or are picked off.

Fair or not...given the circumstances surrounding this season...many NE fans have seen enough and don't expect Newton to be in a Patriots' uniform next year, with some calling for Jarrett Stidham to take over in order to see if he's got anything to offer the team going forward.

The fact that Newton is dealing with some type of abdominal injury that was sustained in last week's game...presumably on the Simmons hit during NE's game-winning drive...is further feeding into the conspiracy theories: that this could provide Belichick with a convenient 'excuse' to make the switch at QB without it looking like a pure and simple benching.

We shall see.

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FancyBluesMan
Biggest question re: Sunday's Patriots-Chargers contest does not center around who will win the game, but whether or not Cam Newton gets pulled if he cannot improve upon last week's abysmal performance (23.6 QB Rating) vs. the Cardinals.

It's been a mighty struggle for Newton on many fronts since he returned from his COVID-19 diagnosis: an inability to adjust plays at the line of scrimmage, a tendency to not process reads in a timely manner, a hesitancy to throw the ball when it should be thrown, a reluctance to utilize his legs when the situation dictates, and a habit of throwing poor passes that either fall incomplete or are picked off.

Fair or not...given the circumstances surrounding this season...many NE fans have seen enough and don't expect Newton to be in a Patriots' uniform next year, with some calling for Jarrett Stidham to take over in order to see if he's got anything to offer the team going forward.

The fact that Newton is dealing with some type of abdominal injury that was sustained in last week's game...presumably on the Simmons hit during NE's game-winning drive...is further feeding into the conspiracy theories: that this could provide Belichick with a convenient 'excuse' to make the switch at QB without it looking like a pure and simple benching.

We shall see.

NE got scammed. They shouldn't've signed Newton. In fact, no one should've. He was already done. He makes Phillip Rivers look good. That's pretty bad.

Hey Chris,

Funny, people were pleading with the Patriots to offer Newton a contract extension after the first two games; now, they're getting in line to drive him to the airport in anticipation of him being shipped out of town. I wouldn't say NE got scammed on the deal...Newton has done all the right things since arriving, except play well...but Belichick definitely botched things up with regards to the QB position.

We all know Brady wanted/was forced out so let's put that aside. The big mystery is whether or not Stidham deserved all the pre-season hype as "the next guy". Seems as if that was the prevailing narrative until they signed Newton, after which everything went south for Stidham, who did nothing to improve his stock when given the opportunity to do so when he took over for Newton in the 49ers' game.

So when you consider how Newton has played this season...along with Stidham's failure to impress...it becomes apparent that the QB position, once again, is going to be a major issue for NE next season. Do they look to the free agent market? Do they make a trade for a veteran? Do they move up in the draft to go after a highly-regarded prospect? Or do they bring Newton back under more 'normal' circumstances and see if he has a better grasp of the offense?

While I agree with the general tone of your observation, I find "scammed" to be a bit strong as it insinuates Newton deceived the Patriots in some way, shape, or form. Perhaps the word 'Cammed' is more apropos.

The Patriots are getting what they paid for at QB. If Newton was making $25 mil they would be getting scammed. There will be lots of options this offseason including potentially 2 QBs they traded away. Having a training camp and preseason will also help.

If the Patriots were willing to spend $25 million on the QB position, Brady may not have left. And Teddy Bridgewater might have been NE's target once he did. But at the time of Newton's signing, there was hardly any cap space available, yet Belichick franchised C Joe Thuney for $14.5 million and gave Stephon Gilmore an extra $5 million to keep him content. Not only have the Patriots screwed up on the field this year but in the front office as well.

While Newton is signed for the bargain-basement price of $1 million, he could earn another couple of million via percentage of snaps and games played incentives. However he has no chance of coming close to the $7.5 million he could earn since he won't be anywhere near attaining the statistical incentives built into his contract. Which raises this question: should he get relegated to the bench between now and Week 17, would the Patriots still give him that extra $2 million or so as a sign of good faith?

And isn't it odd that, as you allude to, there's a possibility Garoppolo or Brissett could find themselves back in NE next season?

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FancyBluesMan
Seems as if that was the prevailing narrative until they signed Newton, after which everything went south for Stidham...

I live in the south. Actually below the Deep South. It's 100% better than the North. Hell, it's 110% better, a 150% better, any percentage better. A million. The abuse of that term has got to stop. It's highly offensive. It's mind boggling how abusive people are - no one retires to the North.

When things go South that means they've improved so much they're great!

GO HAWKS!!!!!!

Well the Bears lose again, unbelievable. Detroit gets 14 points late in the 4th quarter. Trubisky fumbles the ball deep in Bears territory to give Lions the ball and the go ahead touchdown.
Then on the final drive, fairly deep in Lions territory, Alan Robinson goes out of bounds a yard short making it 4th and 1, which the Bears can't convert and end up losing the game. Now they've lost 6 in a row, first time in almost 20 years.
How will coach Nagy explain this loss, more importantly, how will he continue to be head coach?

Sorry to say New Orleans will not make it far from what I seen today ... but will not count them out. They are always substantial lately at end of games.

Saints should do something with Hill. The last part of the 4th was really disturbing. No runs, no throws, strange decisions, fumble. That was scary.

I about blew a gasket watching the 4th quarter of the Saints/Falcants. Mr Swiss Army Knife has some screws loose when he runs with the ball to the side and he still underthrows or can't lead correctly, same thing. Coach Payton likes to gamble and when it works it's great but damn, with that score too close, what a bad idea.

Even with Kamara there the play likely would've been to go to the side, which is not effective but they love to run those, or the ridiculous screen block plays that other teams do just fine. My buddy and I had a description for Reggie Bush, we called him I-10 because he was excellent at running across the field. It seems like half the plays for Kamara were I-10 plays.

I guess I'll never understand.

You won't get any predictions from me about the Saints regarding the 2021 playoffs. With Brees back there will be better decision making but it's all relative to the play calling. Hopefully this break will get him set to use his arm the way it's supposed to work.

I don't have any illusions the Saints will win the Super Bowl in 2 months. If they do, it will be amazing, of course, but I don't see it happening. The D has really stepped up but they still haven't been able to, as they say, keep the pedal floored for scoring enough to not worry, which has cost them, what, the last 3 playoff runs.

Miami is moving up fast in the AFC East

The tanking for Trevor battle is on. Jets grasp victory from the jaws of defeat and Jacksonville refused to make a last second field goal for the win.

The Giants beat the Seahawks?

How is that possible?

Cam Newton had a pretty good day at least based on the highlights on YouTube. The backup came in and from what little I saw I see why he's been talked about here.

The LAC QB looks to have a promising future... if they get that team together enough.

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GasLightStreet
The Giants beat the Seahawks?

How is that possible?

Hey, Giants are now 5-2 in their last 7 games so maybe not as huge an upset as originally thought. Maybe a team in the NFC East will finish above 500!

Wilson was sacked 5 times.

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GasLightStreet

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FancyBluesMan
Seems as if that was the prevailing narrative until they signed Newton, after which everything went south for Stidham...

I live in the south. Actually below the Deep South. It's 100% better than the North. Hell, it's 110% better, a 150% better, any percentage better. A million. The abuse of that term has got to stop. It's highly offensive. It's mind boggling how abusive people are - no one retires to the North.

When things go South that means they've improved so much they're great!

Never thought of it that way GasLight but you do make a valid point. However, since I'm originally from the North, please allow me some slack...it's all good.

Well, in response to the question raised in my pre-game post, Jarrett Stidham DID replace Cam Newton vs. the Chargers today...but with the Patriots LEADING by a score of 35-0! Did anyone honestly see this one coming?

While Newton's passing stats were once again minuscule, his 87.4 QB rating was a marked improvement over the previous week's 23.6. Only 69 yards through the air but one passing TD, a couple of rushing TDs, and NO turnovers made for an efficient...yet hardly dynamic...performance. At this point, how you win matters very little.

Special teams and defense set the tone for the Patriots as the Chargers looked completely disorganized and undisciplined on their way to the biggest margin-loss in franchise history. Today's defeat had to be absolutely brutal for those who choose to invest their time in that team (despite being a San Diego-area resident since 1983, I have never supported the Chargers in any way, shape, or form). Better times may be on the horizon, but coaching changes need to be made.

Seahawks were pathetic yesterday. Seems like Russell Wilson may be reading his own press clippings too much. Hopefully they can pull out of it for the rest of the season. It was the perfect ugly ending to an atrocious week for me. Lots of bad stuff going on in my world. I was hoping the Hawks would offer a brief respite. This holiday season wasn't looking too good to start with & has gotten worse than that. Anyway, GO HAWKS! I could use a bit of good news for a change!

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GasLightStreet

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FancyBluesMan
Seems as if that was the prevailing narrative until they signed Newton, after which everything went south for Stidham...

I live in the south. Actually below the Deep South. It's 100% better than the North. Hell, it's 110% better, a 150% better, any percentage better. A million. The abuse of that term has got to stop. It's highly offensive. It's mind boggling how abusive people are - no one retires to the North.

When things go South that means they've improved so much they're great!

I think the saying comes from 2-dimensional maps where North is "up" and South is "down"

either way....Brownies = 9-3....so, according to this map, things are going SOUTH for the Browns! Go BROWNS!!!

[i.redd.it]

of course....this is CLEVELAND....so, I suspect things will go NORTH any day now.

Giants with a stout defense and solid running game.
Won 4 in a row and their last 3 losses were by a combined 6 points.
They are now favored by a point against Arizona this weekend.

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FancyBluesMan

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GasLightStreet

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FancyBluesMan
Seems as if that was the prevailing narrative until they signed Newton, after which everything went south for Stidham...

I live in the south. Actually below the Deep South. It's 100% better than the North. Hell, it's 110% better, a 150% better, any percentage better. A million. The abuse of that term has got to stop. It's highly offensive. It's mind boggling how abusive people are - no one retires to the North.

When things go South that means they've improved so much they're great!

Never thought of it that way GasLight but you do make a valid point. However, since I'm originally from the North, please allow me some slack...it's all good.

LOL just having some fun with it! I lived in the North. Never again!

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GasLightStreet
The Giants beat the Seahawks?

How is that possible?

Miracles can happen!