I think Murray, and Jackson, too, are the hardest decisions a GM has to make. There's no way to replace the player, but there's real doubt that they can lead the team to playoff wins. A GM in that situation is facing getting fired no matter what they do.

I think you are right, they really don't have a choice.

As a Rams fan I am happy to see it. Yes, that could come back to bite my ass but...
I will say when he's on he can be great but he just doesn't hold up. I think it's a lot of money going to a guy that is going to break down. Physically almost for sure, and mentally? IDK but that playoff performance was about as bad as it gets.

Goes back to Goff and the contract my Rams gave him. Yes, he got them through, at times (with McVay in his ear), but I kept waiting for him to "get it" and do it on his own. When he got the contract I thought "good" and hoped. Never when he stepped under center was I thinking "we're ok, Goffs got this". Maybe not apples to apples but I do feel your pain.

I'm also, as a Rams fan, on board with the Niners trading JimmyG. I'm more than happy to see them move on with Lance and no Jimmy sitting there "just in case". This too could bite my ass but when we're talking QB in the NFL I think the odds are on my side. ;)

"Randall Cunningham resigns as Raiders team chaplain". Uhhh, what??

I will gladly bite your ass if this happens. :D

Does Lamar get dragged locally? Nationally I felt like it was the Ravens getting questioned. (Or people hinting this means the Ravens don't value him that highly and kinda want to move on with Huntley instead of committing the guaranteed dollars. Or at least that they see the chance of a serious injury being likely enough they don't want to commit until they absolutely have to.)

Josh Rosen drafted by Arizona in 2018 Draft headlined by Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold who are now in the same QB room in Carolina where the Browns will start the season with Rosen backing up Jacoby Brissett in place of a suspended Deshaun Watson whose signing deposed Mayfield. pic.twitter.com/P06T6QC3lF

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 21, 2022

One aspect of the game I do not understand is why former first-round quarterbacks who have failed on five other teams continually receive new backup opportunities.

I would think the quarterbacks with lesser physical skills who shine in the learn-the-playbook department and run the scout team (like Tom Brady, for example) would hang around like that. It's not like the light is suddenly coming on for Rosen while he's backing up Brissett who will run Watson's playbook.

Sombody's punctuation mark buttons were malfunctioning while writing this

Wow. John Metchie diagnosed with leukemia and likely will not play this season.

Yeah, stunning and sad to say the least.

While the specific form of the disease is different, the closest similar situation I can think of off hand is that he's roughly the same age as Roman Reigns was when he was first diagnosed. In that case, it went into remission and did not reappear for more than a decade while a strenuous athletic career prospered.

Here's to a similar managed outcome for Metchie.

Yay, every team basically has a black alt helmet now!

NFL enters media streaming marketplace with 'NFL+' service

So uh when do we get the PPV Super Bowl?

This season, 14 teams will have an alternate or throwback helmet to be paired with alternate, classic and/or color rush uniforms: pic.twitter.com/qSG8RfxxWz

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 25, 2022

Some thoughts:

1.) Pats should go back to Pat Patriot full time. Not sure why they ever got rid of a distinctive logo in exchange for something so generic.

2.) I really dig the black and white Bengals helmet.

3.) The Saints helmet is horrible. It looks like it is from one of those cheesy 1980s movies set 50 years in the future where football has been replaced by Murderball or something.

I like most of those. Not a fan of the Saints, as you mentioned, and I'm not a fan of the Cardinals or Commanders. The Bears (maybe I'm biased), the Bengals, and the Cowboys have the best IMO.

I agree, I love that old school Patriots logo.

I, also, love the original Falcons helmet.

Very happy to see both back!

The Bears would be fine if they wore it with the navy uniforms. They're going to be wearing them with orange uniforms and look like pumpkins.

Training Camps begin, which is time for one of my favorite traditions--the older star player who gives an interview on the first day of camp and talks about how he started doing some new form of yoga or some shit during the offseason and is thus in the best shape of his career.

J.J. Watt seems like a prime candidate this year. Fletcher Cox, too. Maybe Julio Jones?

Yeah that "homework clause" is a strange one-like they don't think he has the work ethic and dedication for the game despite the talent. Hopefully this isn't something that ever comes up and he puts his nose to the grindstone now that he has the money.

From what was said on tv yesterday it's not the Cardinals and what they think of Murray's work ethic\dedication. It's what Murray has said himself and I suppose 3,or is it 2, years of watching him around the team.

The reports yesterday had quotes from Murray on how he doesn't watch much film and never takes any home. Not quite accurate as the tablets they take home have film on them but.. the team can tell whether a player has used the device or not. Turning it on in another room and letting it play won't work either, IOW they can tell if the player has interacted with the device. Anyway, according to Murray he has a gift for seeing things on the field and being able to anticipate. Watching lots of film is not required.

As a Rams fan this makes me double down on being glad a division rival gave him that contract.

It probably isn't worth noting that he's only faced New England once. That was during his breakout 2020 season while the Patriots had their worst season this millennium.

Belichick's defenses revolve around making quarterbacks think they see what isn't there. Peyton Manning's constant off-field study is what made the Colts/Patriots games classics - we all know the story of Belichick going for a late-game fourth down when he probably should have punted because he didn't want the ball in Manning's hands one more time.

Murray's 2020 game against New England didn't go well. Got picked, checked down constantly. There's no denying Murray's abilities. If he worked as hard off the field, he might be worth that contract.

It's this.

From the NYT via the Guardian:

So the Cardinals signed Kyler Murray to a franchise QB deal and had to put in the contract that he has to do 4 hours of studying per week? I would be very curious as to how they are going to ensure that he is doing this studying. The article mentioned the team monitoring the device he has to study on to ensure compliance. Here is the reported wording from the contract.


Does he have to record himself studying? Do they have to record him? I have seen people talked about how this make Murray look bad and I agree. But my god Cardinals management. This is ridiculous.

I know NFL teams use a different system, but on HUDL we can see how much time the players spend looking at film and the way they do NFL film its all cut ups, so he couldn't just turn it on and let it run. Of course he could completely be doing something else and just clicking through cut ups.

It says a lot about how much trust they have in him as a leader and student of the game though. Harkins back to Jamarcus Russell answering questions about a video playbook he was given, that just happened to be on a blank DVD.

Murray has talent, but as we say. "Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard"

You guys are apparently being disrespectful to think the only quarterback we know has a film study clause in his contract who has publicly stated he doesn't watch film doesn't watch film. Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray says it's 'disrespectful' to think he doesn't prepare for games

Even assuming all this is true (no reason to think that it isn't), doesn't he get how much better he could be if he added film study to his immense natural talent and mind for the game?

He's good enough to have gotten where he is without film study. So ADD film study to that, my man!

He's full of shit and the clause was in there for a reason. Jim McMahon was one that didn't look at film much, for the same reason Murray is using, but the complexity ion the NFL is much greater now and no QB is such a savant that he can just process things on the field. Brady is arguably the best example of that now, and I know he studies plenty of film.

Brady was never called out for texting his girlfriend during halftime of a losing effort either, instead of going over adjustments for the second half. Murray is definitely a talent, but a big part of his game now is buying time in the pocket and pulling people out of coverage because he is such a threat with his legs. That is not going to always be the case as he gets banged up and ages and then he will be mediocre if he does not increase his study time.

I guess the Cardinals realized they also were being disrespectful.

Arizona Cardinals remove 'independent study' clause from quarterback Kyler Murray's contract


So Cardinals management, what should have been the intended perceptions of the addendum?

Maybe it shouldn't have been publicized, but Murray already paying dividends in the drama department.

I hope this doesn't bite them in the ass, but he still needs to prove he is a big game QB

Murray is going to get a lot of people fired before this contract is over.

Dola-

If you thought he needed this clause you should have traded him while people were overpaying for QBs.

Not a bad ranking. I might put the Raiders higher and the Broncos lower. Might also move up the Jags on the massive addition-by-subtraction move they get by dumping Urban.

Also, I do not want this as a Saints fan, but if in a vacuum you told me that a team lost its top-5 coach in the offseason and Jameis-Winston-coming-off-injury is its starting QB, then I might wonder if 22nd is actually a low enough ranking.