MichiganCardinal

I agree. To their credit, it’s not like the Big Ten has added a school that is well outside their academic mold. But I guess how much does that matter? I think the historical component plays a large role in my mind too. As recently as 20 years ago, the Michigan-Ohio State and Michigan-Michigan State rivalries were almost ironic within departments where faculty had attended or done fellowships at both schools, or were invested in a research project that had components at both schools. That’s not the case between Michigan and UCLA, or Penn State and Oregon. Could it be the case in 20, 30, 50 years? Maybe. But I think conferences are now just synonymous with sports, and particularly football, in a way that probably isn’t good for the original role these conferences played.

I think he took a gig in the Utah athletic department or administration.

They never should have done what they did with the conferences. These aren’t even conferences in the traditional sense of the word. They’re just scheduling agreements. Back in my day *shakes fist at cloud* conferences were like-minded schools who shared academic and athletic values. Now they’re just about maximizing television revenues 9 days per year. They could have just left conferences as they were but removed all scheduling barriers in football. Let everyone be as special as Notre Dame thinks they are. We’d get to the same endpoint of schools making lots of money, a 12+ team playoff, and someone (probably Notre Dame) being upset.

Well I can see someone’s not doing his share in rowing the boat.

As of today, Vegas agrees. Chicago is +1.5 against the Packers, +3 against the 49ers, and +1.5 against the Lions. Green Bay is -1.5 against the Bears, -3 against the Ravens, and -1.5 against the Vikings. Detroit is -7 against the Steelers, -3.5 against the Vikings, and -1.5 against the Bears.

The end of his career? No one is going to take him seriously as a starting quarterback. His best hope is to win a committee battle in a QB room like the Giants and Browns had this year.

I think Dillingham is my #1 choice. He's 35, energetic, and doing more with less at a place like Arizona State where football goes to die.

Kerby Joseph needs to come out on the field on a pair of crutches and intercept Rodgers one more time.

Don't you mean off tackle? I'll be here all week.

An interesting wrinkle: if the Lions beat the Steelers and the Ravens beat the Patriots, the Week #17 game between the Ravens and Packers will mean nothing for the Ravens. Both the Ravens and Steelers would be 8-7 and no matter what, it would come down to Week #18 when they play each other.

I see college football programs in tiers. Michigan isn't a Tier 1A school where you're born on third base, but that's probably limited to Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia. Those three have the infrastructure in place where I think most warm bodies could be the head coach and go 10-2 or better. It's just a machine in need of a figure head. They should compete for a national championship in the 12-team format every single year. But I would put Michigan in the next tier, 1B. The infrastructure and money is in place where you should be very competitive every single year. 9-3 should be the floor, and it shouldn't happen in back-to-back years. And you should probably seriously compete for a national championship at least once every 3-4 years. In the modern format, this probably means qualifying for the playoff at least every other year and advancing to the semifinals every four years. I'd also put schools like Texas, USC, Notre Dame, Oregon, LSU, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma into this category. Clemson will probably eventually get here too. And then below that is Tier 2, who should have a legitimate shot at a national championship once a decade, but whose realistic ceiling year-in and year-out is probably 9-3 or 10-2. This is where I would put places like Ole Miss, Florida, Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Michigan State, Washington, and Utah. Maybe Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska too, though all three of them are weird in their own ways. Tier 3 encompasses the programs that can maybe catch lightning in a bottle, but probably don't have the institutional supports in place to sustain it over a longer term. Most of the ACC and Big 12 fits this mold, along with places like Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Illinois, and Minnesota. You get the idea, it gets worse from there. I think there are a'plenty of coaches that would gladly take a promotion from Tier 2 or Tier 3 programs to Tier 1B. Likewise, in a vacuum, Michigan is arguably a better job than say LSU or Texas A&M, who is Tier 1B but thinks they should be 1A. In the same way Washington and Utah are probably better jobs than Penn State and Miami, who are Tier 2 but think they should be 1B. But people don't exist in a vacuum. Kenny Dillingham may prefer to stay home at Tier 3 Arizona State. LSU may back up a Brinks truck to hire whoever their donors want. [Insert Candidate Here] may not love not knowing who the AD and President will be in year two, even with a Tier 1B school... And Michigan is not going to poach someone from an equal or greater-footing school (i.e., Freeman or DeBour) unless extraneous factors make it possible (i.e., folks with torches outside DeBour's house, instability in South Bend).

vs. Setting: 12/21/2025 4:25pm on CBS Site: Ford Field in Detroit, MI Weather: Climate Controlled Opening Spread: Lions -7 All-Time Series Record: Steelers lead, 17-14-2 Last Meeting: 11/14/2021, Tied 16-16 Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) Head Coach: Mike Tomlin (19th Season: 191-113-2) Projected Starting QB: Aaron Rodgers (21st Season: 161-92-1) Last Week: 28-15 W vs. Miami Dolphins (6-8) Looking Ahead to Week #17: Sunday @ Cleveland Browns (3-11) Your Detroit Lions (8-6) Head Coach: Dan Campbell (5th Season: 47-34-1) Projected Starting QB: Jared Goff (10th Season: 89-58-1) Last Game: 41-34 L @ Los Angeles Rams (11-3) Looking Ahead to Week #17: Christmas Day (Thursday) @ Minnesota Vikings (6-8) Elsewhere in the NFL Primetime: Rams @ Seahawks (TNF), Patriots @ Ravens (SNF), 49ers @ Colts (MNF) Saturday: Eagles @ Commanders (5:00pm), Packers @ Bears (8:20pm) 1:00pm: Bills @ Browns, Chargers @ Cowboys, Chiefs @ Titans, Bengals @ Dolphins, Jets @ Saints, Vikings @ Giants, Buccaneers @ Panthers 4:05/4:25pm: Jaguars @ Broncos, Falcons @ Cardinals, Raiders @ Texans

Another year, another offseason thread created too early. Other than the Vikings, who they never should have lost to, their losses have come to the Packers x2, Eagles (road), Rams (road), and Chiefs (road). I'll be damned if you can find a more difficult schedule in the NFL. And yes, you'd like to see at least a win or two against that top tier of the league, particularly in an off year by the Chiefs, but here we are. They've got the Steelers, Vikings, and Bears to go. Three teams I would not put in that top tier. And if they win out, they're very likely in the tournament. And if you're in the tournament with a team that can score 50 at the drop of a hat, anything can happen.

That would be my message to the league if I'm Dan Campbell or Rod Wood. "Our defense sucks. I know we play sticky coverage and I know we are going to get some calls against us. But it needs to go both ways. We can't afford a bad holding call that kills the drive. We can't afford a missed DPI on a play that should bust it open. Both happened Sunday, multiple times."

What Blandino was getting at was that the justification they are using for calling it a touchdown is that he did not have control of the ball at the 1 when all the screenshots show him clearly down. In essence, it is a loose ball fumble at that point. So, he can't be down. If that's the case, then he very clearly does not regain possession of the ball until he is out of bounds through the side of the end zone. Thus, the call would be a touchback. I get them not wanting to make that call. Rams fans would lose their mind. But the solution is not to just say "well **** it, let's just keep it as a bad call, touchdown."

".... Would you like an atom bomb?" You all were right. Pluribus is very good.

The reality is if they looked at this and said "we have clear evidence that this was a fumble" then it should have been a touchback, because he doesn't recover the ball again until he's out of bounds in the end zone. But that would have been too outlandish. So call stands, give the Rams six points.

With Parsons officially out, there is a real possibility that each of these outcomes is just the favorite winning. Bears over Packers Lions over Steelers Lions over Vikings Niners over Bears Ravens over Packers Would leave the North at: Bears 11-5 Lions 10-6 Packers 9-6-1 A Lions win in Soldier Field and they'll win the North, probably be the 3-seed hosting the Seahawks or Niners at 11-6. A loss and they're probably on the outside looking in at 10-7 if the Packers beat the Vikings. All that being said, we should probably root for hope the Packers win again on Saturday Night. A Green Bay win allows us to control our own destiny again for the 7-seed.

Lions go 2-0, Bears win next week and lose to the Niners, Packers lose to the Ravens, and the Lions will be playing for the division against Chicago. In a scenario where a loss likely eliminates them.

Chicago 10-4 (vs. Packers, @ 49ers, vs. Lions) Green Bay 9-4-1 (@ Bears, vs. Ravens, @ Vikings) Detroit 8-6 (vs. Steelers, @ Vikings, @ Bears)

If they miss the playoffs, and I still don't think they will, it's not a loss to the Rams that will cost them. It's the inexplicable loss to the Vikings who started the worst QB in the NFL. It's being 1-3 in the division.

Meanwhile Sean Payton thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, gives Love a chance for no reason.

LOL or that. A joke ending to a joke performance. **** out of here.

Time for two quick plays before a heave.

Go destroy the punter.