MichiganCardinal

If David Blough is 2022 Ben Johnson, isn't that good enough? I think this is just agent fodder from Blough's camp and won't materialize, but I'm not "hell no" on it. There are plenty of guys worse than a well-respected up-and-coming 30-year-old. I think he is much more likely to come in as the Passing Game Coordinator under an experienced play caller. Maybe become the OC in waiting.

I think Harbaugh ultimately takes a year off. Maybe takes a do-nothing analyst gig with his brother in LA. I don't think he's done forever, but he'll want something ideal, and he'll have his pick when it happens. Maybe it's Andy Reid retiring or Sean McVay taking a gazillion dollar deal with Amazon or the Eagles firing Sirianni after he punches a fan. But I think he knows better than to be the next legacy ruined by the Raiders organization, even if they write him a blank check.

I'll admit it was a bizarre experience, seeing the stadium across the street and my buddy being like "oh no, we need to walk the opposite direction, down, around, through a tunnel, through a park, and up a ramp to get there." I'm glad I went before they move, whenever that may be, but I don't think I will be back until they move, whenever that may be.

He's been there 18 years and has finished with fewer than 8 wins one time. He would have been to the playoffs for the 7th time in 8 years this year, despite a slew of injuries, if his rookie kicker made a 44-yard field goal. He deserved autonomy over staff decisions. It takes some gall for the Ravens to fire him. I think they will regret this decision. Who will they even replace him with? Stefanski? Minter? Try to be the smartest guy in the room and grab a coordinator on no one's radar? This has all the elements of a decision that blows up in their face in three years when they haven't gone better than 8-9 and are trying to hire someone another replacement.

Only downfall is you don’t want it getting out that you’re shopping. Schwartz is the Harbaugh of DCs. He can have his pick of open jobs. Last thing you want to do is reach out to Schwartz’s agent, have the agent leak to the press that the Lions are interested, have Schwartz go to the Giants (with Harbaugh?) and then you stick with Shep, who has an implied vote of no confidence.

What would be really funny is if the Steelers part ways with Tomlin after they lose to the Texans and then Harbaugh goes to Pittsburgh.

I would expect him to follow Harbaugh if Harbaugh doesn't take time off or just call it quits. Harbaugh is 63 and has seen what staying around too long does to Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick. He may call it a career. If Harbaugh still has the itch though he will likely have his pick of jobs, but none of them really jump off the page as great opportunities. New York is probably the best with Dart, Skattebo, and the #5 pick. If he's available I would probably put Monken in my "Good Candidates" bucket.

This Harbaugh hasn't seen a college sideline in nearly 30 years. Though it would have been very funny to see the NCAA's reaction. I think it's very likely he's hired by another NFL team within two weeks. My money would be on the Giants or Falcons.

On the other side of the ball, I think Campbell declining to provide Sheppard with a vote of confidence on 97.1 was telling. I think he will ultimately be back, but I don't think it's guaranteed, if there are better options that present themselves. Most notably, I think you have to call Jim Schwartz. If Schwartz isn't retained by the new Browns coach, I would gauge his interest in a reunion. If you follow his track record, the guy is legitimately one of the best DCs in NFL history. Everywhere he goes, he makes the defense a top unit in the NFL. I think he could get Hutch to break Garrett's record. Other guys I may have some interest in are Brian Flores, Jonathan Gannon, and Todd Bowles. But I wouldn't get too risky with it, I think you can do a lot worse than bringing Sheppard back.

My OC Tier List Top Three 1. Kliff Kingsbury, Free Agent: Probably my top choice at the moment, though I think it would be polarizing and many would hate it. On the surface, his background is in college and he's failed in both Arizona and Washington. But he's a very good OC. He's why Washington went as far as they did last year, a large reason why Jayden Daniels won OROY, and it's not as if he's the reason the Commies lost this year. I see a lot of Washington fans confused why he is leaving and wondering if he was fired or just quit. That said, it's not as if there are no potential drawbacks. Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels are different quarterbacks than Jared Goff. He would need to adapt his offense to suit the type of talent Detroit has. 2. Kevin Stefanski, Free Agent: I think this is the most logical move if he doesn't get a head coaching gig. He'd be a good hire. But, it also feels like he's a very short-term solution. Either he's good and he bolts for a head coaching gig next offseason, or he's bad and he's the OC version of Matt Eberflus in Dallas, fired after one season. Naturally, anyone you hire for OC will hope to one day leave for a HC position. But ideally you could get at least a few years out of a good candidate before you go back to the drawing board. Stefanski likely won't stop being a hot candidate for open jobs unless he sucks as a coordinator. 3. Pete Carmichael Jr., Broncos Senior Offensive Assistant: This would be a little John Morton 2.0, which makes me nervous, but at least Carmichael has had tangible success as an OC, unlike Morton. If the goal is to replicate the Saints' offensive success with Drew Brees, there's no better man to do it than one of its architects. During the Saints run, Payton and Carmichael actually traded play calling back and forth, which may be something that intrigues Campbell... Now, Carmichael got worse and ultimately fired when Brees and Payton left town. But, it's not as if he had much to work with, trotting out Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, and Derek Carr while suffering from the cap hell his old bosses put him in. His last year in New Orleans they still finished 9th in scoring and 14th in offensive yards despite starting Derek Carr. When they ditched him for Kubiak, they dropped to 24th and 21st, respectively. Good Candidates 4. Mike Kafka, Giants OC and Interim Head Coach: Kafka is young and a sharp offensive mind. The Giants development of Dart and Skattebo is in no small part thanks to him. He's also not that far removed from a lot of head coaching interest, and he might get interviews this cycle. But he's also not really proven himself as a play caller like some of the above names. I do like him more than his former boss though. 5. Brian Dabboll, Free Agent: It's easy to remember why Dabboll got hired in New York for his work with the Patriots and Bills and forget that he had previously been fired by the Jets, Browns, Dolphins, and Chiefs. Is he a good OC? I think he is. But I'm not sure if he's the chicken or the egg based on the successes of Tom Brady in New England and Josh Allen in Buffalo. I won't hate this if it's the direction Campbell goes. But I won't be surprised by any which direction it goes. Less Enthusiastic 6. Marcus Brady, Chargers Passing Game Coordinator: Brady was the OC for the Colts from 2021 to 2022, where he was pretty good in 2021 with Carson Wentz and then very bad in 2022 with Matt Ryan, getting fired in November. Reich called the plays in Indy though, so fair to say he was something of a scapegoat. He probably deserves another shot, and I wouldn't hate this, but I also don't think it's super likely. He's never called plays, so it would be a weird marriage. 7. Nate Scheelhaase, Rams Passing Game Coordinator: Scheelhaase is a young, up-and-coming OC candidate who has done well this year in the McVay machine and seems likely to get his chance soon as an OC. But he's also unproven, has never called plays, and is in only his second year in the NFL after working with Matt Campbell at Iowa State for five years. I don't hate the idea of finding a young up-and-comer, but it's hard to ignore the known unknowns. Wildcards 8. Mike LaFleur/Klay Kubiak/Grant Udinski, Rams/49ers/Jaguars OC: I lump these three together because I don't think any are particularly likely, but I also wouldn't be shocked by Campbell trying to poach an OC from an organization like the Rams, 49ers, or Jaguars, where their head coach calls the plays. You don't really hear about any of these guys for head coaching gigs (maybe notwithstanding Udinski this cycle), because they are overshadowed by McVay, Shanahan, and Coen. If they don't want to be stuck in coaching purgatory, it's not crazy to think one may take a jump to a play calling role in an offense with weapons like what the Lions have to offer. Though worth noting that Mike LaFleur called plays for the Jets and was terrible (kind of a recurring theme for Jets play callers). 9. David Blough, Commanders Assistant QB Coach: Already mentioned by MTB, this would be out of left field, but I don't hate it if Campbell wants someone to mold who would likely keep the role for a few years. He's very young, but the regime obviously likes him. But, he's never called plays and Campbell would presumably retain play calling duties. I like him more to join as Passing Game Coordinator assuming Shaw leaves with Morton. If they really want youth, Kafka and Scheelhaase are both in their 30s and seem like better options. Internal 10. Scottie Montgomery/Hank Fraley/Mark Brunell: All leave something to be desired. I'd like to keep all three, but frankly if they weren't the guy last cycle, what about 9-8 has set them apart this season? In addition, this would probably come with Campbell keeping play calling, which I am not a fan of. No Thanks 11. Tanner Engstrand, Jets OC: I don't think they would be interested, but I do think he would accept if they were. It could be they didn't see the experience they wanted in an OC last year, and he's now got a year under his belt. I saw nothing out of the New York Jets offense worthy of a promotion though. 12. Eric Bienemy, Bears Running Back Coach: After everyone got up in arms about Bienemy not getting a head coach gig, he's kind of proven everyone right by failing in Washington and at UCLA (though I'm not sure what success actually would look like at the latter). I think there are worse choices out there, but there are better choices too. Ultimately I don't think he will be on the Lions list and I wouldn't at all be surprised if he ends up taking his old job back in KC this offseason.

Vegas is expecting some mostly close games. Saturday 4:30pm: Rams -10 @ Panthers Saturday 8:00pm: Packers +1.5 @ Bears Sunday 1:00pm: Bills -1.5 @ Jaguars Sunday 4:30pm: 49ers +4.5 @ Eagles Sunday 8:00pm: Chargers +3.5 @ Patriots Monday 8:00pm: Steelers +3 @ Texans I'm surprised by the Eagles/49ers spread. Philly has played five playoff teams since October and gone 2-3, scoring an average of 15 points per game. Hard to win by 5+ when you can't break 20. I also think the Panthers cover. Did people forget they beat the Rams like a month ago? Bills/Jaguars is a sneaky pick to be the game of the weekend, . Rams over Panthers, 34-31 Packers over Bears, 17-13 Bills over Jaguars, 33-30 (OT) 49ers over Eagles, 20-10 Patriots over Chargers, 31-23 Texans over Steelers, 24-9

This was as big of a victory as the final score for me, being at Soldier Field. If I had to watch those bums finally get a 4000-yard passer it would have sucked. The Bears fan I went with knew all the marks Caleb needed. He only needed 108 yards to pass Kramer's (16-game) record and it still took him into the 4th quarter.

First person I thought of was Dan Campbell's 20-something year old son. Couldn't imagine where he got that kind of money to support his dad's rival.

I'm really bummed to hear that. Pat would drive me crazy in recent years with his weird off-the-wall takes, it was like he had taken a page from Valenti's book inexplicably. But his voice was unmatched. You knew who you were listening to when you turned on the station and he was (and is) a voice of Detroit sports, in the same way Ernie, Ken Kal, and Dan Miller are. His institutional knowledge of local sports was also unparalleled. In his heyday, he could tell you the kicker's names at both Warren Mott and Waterford Mott, and which one would be more reliable from 40 yards out.

(2) Patriots over (7) Chargers (6) Bills over (3) Jaguars (5) Texans over (4) Steelers (7) Packers over (2) Bears (6) 49ers over (3) Eagles (5) Rams over (4) Panthers (6) Bills over (1) Broncos (5) Texans over (2) Patriots (1) Seahawks over (7) Packers (6) 49ers over (5) Rams (6) Bills over (5) Texans (6) 49ers over (1) Seahawks (6A) Bills over (6N) 49ers

Shoot your shot and expect the unexpected.

I expect Joseph will be back. Branch should be back by Thanksgiving. Though can’t foresee whether either be their former self. LaPorta should be back. My understanding is that it’s just a tricky situation and a dangerous injury so they’re being careful. I’m holding out hope there is a call between Decker and Ragnow where both agree to give it one more go. And then the call gets detailed in the documentary made about the 2026-2027 Detroit Lions.

Soldier Field was fine. Probably ranks last in NFL stadiums I’ve been to though, and around equal with the old Oakland Coliseum. Those fans are a weird bunch. Up in the 400s if you were just listening in without context you would think the Bears were 4-13 not 11-6. A real sorry bunch. (Not that they had much to cheer for for 45 minutes but still). Only one tool bag who tried to start beef though. Too damn cold for that.

it’s cold

Garrett set the record. I wouldn’t mind hiring both Stefanski and Schwartz

This is fair. “The sport” isn’t really one thing after all. What I want as a fan, versus what another person wants as a fan, versus what Warde Manuel wants as an administrator, versus what ESPN wants, versus what the NCAA wants, are all very different. For me, I’m an NFL fan above all. I have my alma maters that I will like to see win. But when they’re not playing, I’d much rather see Indiana, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, or Arizona State win a national championship over (yet) another Ohio State, Alabama, or Georgia.

Ultimately it's just my opinion, but I don't think a 136-team league, or even just the 68 in the power conferences, should be reduced to three or four who go to and usually win the championship every year because of a dichotomy in how the sport is designed into haves and have nots. It's a similar problem that I have with baseball with five teams combining for something like 30% of all the money paid to players (and surprise surprise, two of them meeting in the World Series each of the last two years). In the four-team playoff eight teams accounted for 83% of all the playoff teams: Alabama (8/10 years), Clemson (6/10), Ohio State (5/10), Oklahoma (4/10), Michigan (3/10), Georgia (3/10), Washington (2/10), and Notre Dame (2/10). They also accounted for all but one of the champions. But since the expansion, with a limited sample size, eight different teams have appeared. Half of them (Indiana, Miami, Ole Miss, Penn State) had never appeared in the four-team format and another two (Oregon and Texas) had only appeared once. Water will find its level and I'm sure in 10 years the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia will appear more often in the semifinals than Indiana and Ole Miss. But I do think a bit of dilution is a good thing if it means giving the "other" 60 power conference teams a puncher's chance at winning--or at least seriously competing for--a national championship.

So he’s kidnapped a foreign country’s president in order to charge him with a crime on US soil? Not exactly a precedent I might create as a felon in chief.

I’m not sure if it’s NIL, the expanded playoff, or both, but having a Final Four of Indiana, Miami, Ole Miss, and Oregon is really good for the sport.

Michigan still being #2 is silly.