Random Thoughts

[7DnBrnc53]

On 11/7/2023 at 9:38 AM, AnAngryAmerican said:

after spending 2011-12 in KC under ... Scott Pioli. 

Scott Pioli: The Mr. Paranoid of the NFL at the time with all of his tactics, like blackening the windows to the practice field.

[AKRNA]

15 hours ago, 7DnBrnc53 said:

Scott Pioli: The Mr. Paranoid of the NFL at the time with all of his tactics, like blackening the windows to the practice field.

The most paranoid people I've ever met all have one thing in common. They're afraid other people will act like they themselves do, thats what they're really afraid of.

Edited November 9, 2023 by AKRNA

[big_palooka]

On 11/7/2023 at 10:38 AM, AnAngryAmerican said:

What Glazer reported - and people were even saying 'how could this be true?' - I knew the second I heard it, it was true. That's McDaniels - you do not, under any circumstances, ever, criticize the Patriot Way around him (or anyone from that organization or with ties to it). He didn't go to the Raiders to resurrect the Raider way, he went there to duplicate the Patriot Way, just as he did here in Denver when he removed the pictures of John Elway, Rod Smith, TD, Randy Gradishar, etc., from Dove Valley and replaced them with pictures of players he brough in, the great Laurence Maroney, Jarvis Green and Kyle Orton, among others. 

We all know the stories of the divided locker room, the Jekyll-and-Hyde calm in public, chaotic in private, the scandals, the cheating. When Mike Nolan, then a well-regarded DC, left after one season the writing was on the wall. For long a time, even when he was hired by the Raiders, I heard people still repeating the debunked "the only mistake in Denver was they gave him too much power and he wasn't ready." No, that wasn't the problem, his personality, his lack of people skills, his inability to adapt, to listen to outside input, his need to surround himself with yes-men, were the problem. People said he was too young when we hired him; I think it was Lomax who made the point when we hired him he was 32 yes, but he was a married man with kids who had risen to the pinnacle of his profession, how much more growing up can someone do at that point in their life? 

Here's the thing, Josh is his own worst enemy. It's a trait common among almost every single football person who spent any measurable time in New England - they have been brainwashed (I don't know what other term to use) to the point that they can only operate within the very specific confines of that system and only with other people who have worked in the confines of that system. It's not just Mac either; Detroit pre-Campbell is a case in point - they hire Bob Quinn as GM, he hires Patricia at HC, Patricia brings as many NE assistants as he can with, they fill out the FO with NE guys, they sign every single Patriot player who becomes a free agent as they can and it all goes to hell. Jon Robinson hired Mike Vrabel in Tennessee. Scott Pioli hired Romeo Crennel in KC.

I have been watching Houston closely. They went all Patriot Way too in hiring Nick Caserio as GM. Yet, Caserio has broken the mold - he hired a HC in DeMeco Ryans from the Shanahan tree. I do wonder if Carolina bailed out Caserio, however, because they opted for Alabama prospect Bryce Young, who has been middling even for a rookie, forcing Caserio to take Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, who has been incredible. Caserio then used his next pick, #3 overall, to take an Alabama prospect in Anderson. I would love to know who was #1 on Houston's board between Stroud and Young, I would wager my 401k on it being Young. It's also interesting to note Caserio himself was hired by .... you guessed it, Jack Easterby, the EVP of Football Ops who, of course, spent 2013-18 in New England after spending 2011-12 in KC under ... Scott Pioli. 

This is the part you really don't grasp until you've lived it as a fan. He always came off calm and collected in press conferences and interviews. Said all the right things and sounded put together. It's the stories that come from inside the building that are shocking. 

He had me fooled based on his outward projections. He sounded like a coach, said the things you want to hear early on. The crack started to form however as time went on. How did owners and GMs not see through him is my question. Because people were in his corner when they hired him. 

[Broncofan]

On 11/7/2023 at 10:38 AM, AnAngryAmerican said:

People said he was too young when we hired him; I think it was Lomax who made the point when we hired him he was 32 yes, but he was a married man with kids who had risen to the pinnacle of his profession, how much more growing up can someone do at that point in their life? 

 

I wasn't around here then, but @lomaxgrUK called it dead on.    If how he handled the firing now is any indication, McD's still a me-first guy even at home.

Let's be clear:

1.   The news didn't break until 1 AM that night - so there was no risk he needed to get ahead of the public news cycle.

2.  His salary is fully guaranteed for the life of the contract.  He's not suddenly in financial hardship because of this decision.   So there's nothing really life-altering that can't wait a few hours, or even until the next morning before the kids watch TV, etc.

So who the **** pulls their kids early from trick or treating to tell them news that can wait until later?    Sorry, that article is a clear water-carrying piece for McD by Howe (they go back from the NE days, Howe was one of the inside beat reporters very plugged-in in the McD days, now we can see why).   It also fails miserably when you understand the context.

Halloween trick-or-treating is about the kids.   Go and have 1 to 10 drinks in a thermos if you need to get through the night like any self-respecting dad lol.  That night's about the kids.   McD chose to make it about him.   That's basically Josh McDaniels.

The best response in the thread was here:

 

So yeah, even the home life attempted-sympathy story doesn't paint McD in any better light.   

Edited November 9, 2023 by Broncofan

[AnAngryAmerican]

I don't know much about his personal life, but he had young children while he was our HC (2009-10), unless he and his wife have had more kids since, how old are they now? If they were say, 5 in 2009, 14 years ago, they're 19 now. I don't know many 19 year olds that go trick-or-treating. That's another reason why I think that story from Howe is bunk. 

[Broncofan]

5 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

I don't know much about his personal life, but he had young children while he was our HC (2009-10), unless he and his wife have had more kids since, how old are they now? If they were say, 5 in 2009, 14 years ago, they're 19 now. I don't know many 19 year olds that go trick-or-treating. That's another reason why I think that story from Howe is bunk. 

Apparently he's got 4 kids, and the oldest is 16.  So it's probably true some of them were trick-or-treating.   

TBH, that doesn't make it any better for McD if the story is 100% accurate.   It only underlines how me-first McD is. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Broncofan

[lomaxgrUK]

To be fair, I understand why man Raider fans ignored the comments from Bronco fans. It's fair to say many of us have a significant amount of distaste towards Josh, so our opinions are quite biased.

But, that doesn't make our opinions invalid, which is the bit a lot of Raider fans ignored. 

He's just a ****. No point going any further than that. A bratty **** who has been absolutely carried his entire career by a HOF QB.

Unforgivable of Mark Davis to give him a 6 year contract.

Edited November 10, 2023 by lomaxgrUK

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

https://defector.com/the-problem-was-always-josh-mcdaniels
 

It’s 14 years later but a little vindication. I remember I was flying into New Orleans in…09? And sat next to Nate who was trying out for the Saints after being cut by Josh. He told me all of these stories. When I relayed it to this (well the old) board, the likes of jerseysfinest painted me as a liar.
 

Anyways a good read, but nothing new to those of you who have been a part of this board for that long😏

[AnAngryAmerican]

2 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

https://defector.com/the-problem-was-always-josh-mcdaniels
 

It’s 14 years later but a little vindication. I remember I was flying into New Orleans in…09? And sat next to Nate who was trying out for the Saints after being cut by Josh. He told me all of these stories. When I relayed it to this (well the old) board, the likes of jerseysfinest painted me as a liar.
 

Anyways a good read, but nothing new to those of you who have been a part of this board for that long😏

Nate is a terrific writer.

[jolly red giant]

On 11/9/2023 at 4:04 PM, AnAngryAmerican said:

I don't know much about his personal life, but he had young children while he was our HC (2009-10), unless he and his wife have had more kids since, how old are they now? If they were say, 5 in 2009, 14 years ago, they're 19 now. I don't know many 19 year olds that go trick-or-treating. That's another reason why I think that story from Howe is bunk. 

His eldest son Jack is a WR at John Carroll University - he does appear to have a couple of kids in the maybe 8-12 age-range so the story could be true

[Broncofan]

 

 

In case ppl haven't been following - it's pretty much the same SOP for Hackett as OC there.   Except they've got a killer D, so they've eked out some impressive and improbable W's.  But nope, Hackett hasn't really shown any growth (yes Zach Wilson is a big part of the problem, but the predictability, lack of  adaptability in-game, and complete lack of imagination - didn't think of throwing to Breece Hall until the 4th Q...lol).    The O hasn’t scored a TD in over 30 drives now. 

Still a really nice guy by all accounts, but another guy who rode the coattails of a great QB (and in JAX, a legendary D that overcame his issues - and why they blew a 10-pt lead late in the AFCG vs. TB12 & BB, D couldn't hold up to the 3-and-outs he had there).   A-Rod is the only reason he got the NYJ OC job after the disaster last year....don't know if he'll survive to A-Rod's return.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Broncofan

[lomaxgrUK]

 

 

I've not seen this for years. Hilarious.

Fun fact - South Park is why I support Colorado based teams

[The Helicopter]

On 11/10/2023 at 12:41 PM, AnAngryAmerican said:

Nate is a terrific writer.

This is gold, and makes me detest the decision to part with Mike that much more.

I also wasn't aware of Nate's current situation. I need to follow this guy.

[Broncofan]

The Deshaun Watson 2023 season certainly does make you think karma is real.   Holy **** CLE org in managing that shoulder injury (unless there was one play where his shoulder popped out, that glenoid fracture is far more associated with existing shoulder instability - which means the RC injury was far worse than seen on MRI - which is actually recognized, MRI isn't nearly so good for shoulders as it is for knees/elbows/etc.).  

Watson could be fine eventually, but there's a real chance the Browns did more damage to the RC by having Watson play through the injury.  It won't be Andrew Luck bad (that was 2+ years), but think Cam Newton pre & post-injury.    He could be OK, or he could be a far more limited thrower than before.   He certainly looked like it pretty much all season.    And of course, CLE has the fully guaranteed contract, and back-loaded to boot to reduce his suspension $ lost last year to 1M. 

Sometimes karma can be a real b****.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Broncofan

[AnAngryAmerican]

3 hours ago, Broncofan said:

The Deshaun Watson 2023 season certainly does make you think karma is real.   Holy **** CLE org in managing that shoulder injury (unless there was one play where his shoulder popped out, that glenoid fracture is far more associated with existing shoulder instability - which means the RC injury was far worse than seen on MRI - which is actually recognized, MRI isn't nearly so good for shoulders as it is for knees/elbows/etc.).  

Watson could be fine eventually, but there's a real chance the Browns did more damage to the RC by having Watson play through the injury.  It won't be Andrew Luck bad (that was 2+ years), but think Cam Newton pre & post-injury.    He could be OK, or he could be a far more limited thrower than before.   He certainly looked like it pretty much all season.    And of course, CLE has the fully guaranteed contract, and back-loaded to boot to reduce his suspension $ lost last year to 1M. 

Sometimes karma can be a real b****.

Agreed. Alongside New England and Las Vegas, Cleveland is my most hated organization in the league.