The Opera mobile browser lets you choose your own start page. I highly recommend it. I have their news page turned off, so I have to go looking for silly sports articles. (The Athletic usually scratches that particular itch.)
“Greensleeves” is it for me. Mark McCain actually sang it on “The Rifleman”. I only remember it because I thought he was changing the words to a Christmas song, and I asked my mom about it.
The Matrix, it turns out, is actually one enormous trans allegory, so there's another totally uncontroversial avenue for Mike to explor... okay maybe not.
Manosphere homophobes hilariously think the pill is anything other then coming out of the closet. But theres fight scenes! Violence is cool, so cant be gay! Like Sparta!
Not only did I like the Dune movies (first one more than the second), trudging across the Wildwood beach on a windy summer day while listening to a genealogy of 12th century French monarchs does not strike me as such a bad idea.
Old genealogies of European monarchs make me wish I'd had more children to pass long-forgotten names onto. And a nerdier, less socially well-adjusted wife to let me get away with that.
I always wonder why some guys become "elite" long before, or after, their achievements warrant that kind of status. Nobody is putting Tua in the same category with Lawrence and Herbert, but their careers have been pretty similar so far.
Josh, you would've been writing this about Peyton after his first 3 years. (look up his numbers) About Favre after his first 3 years. (look up his numbers)
Starting out with a wretched franchise (even separate from bringing in Urban), Trevor's last 2 years have been good ones. And you'd rather have Bryce Young??
I said maybe. And i would never have said that about Peyton, mostly because i was young and naive and believed what The Sporting News told me at the time. ;)
Lawrence has grown from “oh shit” to “fine.” Personally, i don’t see him growing much beyond that. I could be very wrong (I hope not because I want the Jags to suck). My point is, Bryce’s resume is still starting. He still has the potential to be great, which I think is not a height Trevor will reach. That potential seems far less now than it seemed this time last year, but maybe history will call 2023 a mulligan blip in his HoF career. Odds are against it, but we just don’t know. So, yes, i might me tempted to gamble on “5% chance of greatness” over “80% chance of being above average but no better,” aka another Kirk Cousins
That 5 greatest QB in history of each team schtick? That only works on those sites where you have to click on ‘next’ 4 times and you never get to 5 anyway because your damn phone keeps pushing you back to the top of page 1.
There will be more current events in the days and weeks to come. And of course when training camp hits.
The Top 5s no longer work as an Internet content model, because slideshows no longer really "game" the advertising software like they did 10 years ago. What the Top 5's allow me to do is: a) try to get attention from one team's fanbase at a time; and b) write something substantial during a time of year which, as you just read, makes me buggy.
This story happened in a lot of places and not just sports, but back in the 70s(?) an east coast sportswriter for a sizeable paper filed the following "No news Today" and signed it....maybe somebody can remember it...Gotta love the honesty,eh?
Save the NFC South until last - that will give Bryce a chance to improve enough to pass Baker and maybe knock on Kerry Collins’ door. If he is even halfway decent this year, he will easily crack the Panthers top five.
As always, i just need them to be better than the Jags, since that’s the other team I could have chosen. I suppose i would take Cam, Jake, and Kerry over Brunell, Leftwich, and Garrard. And, if pressured to choose, i might pick Bryce over Lawrence because we have an idea on who Trevor is by now, and I am not convinced he is really a difference maker. Bryce is still mostly potential. Not optimistic potential, but there is still a chance he can live up to his billing.
Most of what I am hearing is that Stidham looks OK. Remember: the beats almost exclusively saw Stidham with the 1's. QBs throwing with the 1s in May should look OK. My takeaway is that Nix-Stidham is the battle, and Payton might lean Stidham because of the politics of QB controversies: better to let the rook come off the bench as a hero than get shamed early in the year.
Tho' actually I was wondering if there was any actually legitimately newsworthy Local Beat Guy sourced information regarding any other teams' minicamps?
I should have more news roundup stuff next week. Much of what I was researching was about things like the Commanders left tackle battle, for the Almanac. Most beat reporters who know what they are doing do not make broad scouting claims during minicamps, because they are minicamps. Good beats get some quotes and features and keep track of things like "Cooper DeJean lined up in the slot often and at safety 2-3 times."
This is why I subscribe, Mike. I chuckled all the way through. Thanks for sticking with the grind.
The Opera mobile browser lets you choose your own start page. I highly recommend it. I have their news page turned off, so I have to go looking for silly sports articles. (The Athletic usually scratches that particular itch.)
Good tip. And there's always the Duck Duck Go browser for Android phones.
I’m going to be chuckling at Wonka of Arabia all day, and that was only one of a dozen bangers in this column :)
Glad you liked it! The Dune movies are not THAT bad, but long as heck and overly reverent to 75 year old source material that isn't Shakespeare.
“Greensleeves” is it for me. Mark McCain actually sang it on “The Rifleman”. I only remember it because I thought he was changing the words to a Christmas song, and I asked my mom about it.
Who puts stuff like that in a football article?
How **dare** you assume that your readers’ appetite for The Mike Tanier Saints Contract Shenanigans Bludgeoning ™️ is anything BUT limitless!
The Matrix, it turns out, is actually one enormous trans allegory, so there's another totally uncontroversial avenue for Mike to explor... okay maybe not.
Manosphere homophobes hilariously think the pill is anything other then coming out of the closet. But theres fight scenes! Violence is cool, so cant be gay! Like Sparta!
The Matrix is a trans allegory. The Matrix for Stupid People is a stupid allegory.
Not only did I like the Dune movies (first one more than the second), trudging across the Wildwood beach on a windy summer day while listening to a genealogy of 12th century French monarchs does not strike me as such a bad idea.
Old genealogies of European monarchs make me wish I'd had more children to pass long-forgotten names onto. And a nerdier, less socially well-adjusted wife to let me get away with that.
Try the Gone Medieval podcast. And pick a NJ beach that is not so wide that you could reenact the siege of Akaba.
I always wonder why some guys become "elite" long before, or after, their achievements warrant that kind of status. Nobody is putting Tua in the same category with Lawrence and Herbert, but their careers have been pretty similar so far.
I think many people would put him in the same category as Lawrence - shows flashes, not really sure if he’s a real difference maker.
Josh, you would've been writing this about Peyton after his first 3 years. (look up his numbers) About Favre after his first 3 years. (look up his numbers)
Starting out with a wretched franchise (even separate from bringing in Urban), Trevor's last 2 years have been good ones. And you'd rather have Bryce Young??
I said maybe. And i would never have said that about Peyton, mostly because i was young and naive and believed what The Sporting News told me at the time. ;)
Lawrence has grown from “oh shit” to “fine.” Personally, i don’t see him growing much beyond that. I could be very wrong (I hope not because I want the Jags to suck). My point is, Bryce’s resume is still starting. He still has the potential to be great, which I think is not a height Trevor will reach. That potential seems far less now than it seemed this time last year, but maybe history will call 2023 a mulligan blip in his HoF career. Odds are against it, but we just don’t know. So, yes, i might me tempted to gamble on “5% chance of greatness” over “80% chance of being above average but no better,” aka another Kirk Cousins
"Cobb, who is only tangentially NFL relevant at this point in his career as a packing peanut for Rodgers’ porcelain ego" -- So, so, so good.
Now this shit is why I subscribe to Tanier.
That 5 greatest QB in history of each team schtick? That only works on those sites where you have to click on ‘next’ 4 times and you never get to 5 anyway because your damn phone keeps pushing you back to the top of page 1.
There will be more current events in the days and weeks to come. And of course when training camp hits.
The Top 5s no longer work as an Internet content model, because slideshows no longer really "game" the advertising software like they did 10 years ago. What the Top 5's allow me to do is: a) try to get attention from one team's fanbase at a time; and b) write something substantial during a time of year which, as you just read, makes me buggy.
Hey, once you get the Bears' top 5 QBs out of the way, you can breathe a big sigh of relief that it's over, and the move on to the, erm.....Lions.
Craig Krenzel has a career winning record. He’ll make the Bears’ list, no question
This story happened in a lot of places and not just sports, but back in the 70s(?) an east coast sportswriter for a sizeable paper filed the following "No news Today" and signed it....maybe somebody can remember it...Gotta love the honesty,eh?
Ben could be related to James rather than Frank. Might result in Justin playing in a Fog, or it could just be Fluke
Save the NFC South until last - that will give Bryce a chance to improve enough to pass Baker and maybe knock on Kerry Collins’ door. If he is even halfway decent this year, he will easily crack the Panthers top five.
Which is not a testament to Bryce, but rather a testament to the awful quarterbacks in Carolina history.
Cam, Jake and Kerry make a decent 1-2-3 for a franchise with a short history!
As always, i just need them to be better than the Jags, since that’s the other team I could have chosen. I suppose i would take Cam, Jake, and Kerry over Brunell, Leftwich, and Garrard. And, if pressured to choose, i might pick Bryce over Lawrence because we have an idea on who Trevor is by now, and I am not convinced he is really a difference maker. Bryce is still mostly potential. Not optimistic potential, but there is still a chance he can live up to his billing.
'Denver Beat Guy says Zach looks terrible' actually is newsworthy. Was there any other Worthy Beat Buy Sourced Info, Mike?
Most of what I am hearing is that Stidham looks OK. Remember: the beats almost exclusively saw Stidham with the 1's. QBs throwing with the 1s in May should look OK. My takeaway is that Nix-Stidham is the battle, and Payton might lean Stidham because of the politics of QB controversies: better to let the rook come off the bench as a hero than get shamed early in the year.
Thanks, Mike!
Tho' actually I was wondering if there was any actually legitimately newsworthy Local Beat Guy sourced information regarding any other teams' minicamps?
I should have more news roundup stuff next week. Much of what I was researching was about things like the Commanders left tackle battle, for the Almanac. Most beat reporters who know what they are doing do not make broad scouting claims during minicamps, because they are minicamps. Good beats get some quotes and features and keep track of things like "Cooper DeJean lined up in the slot often and at safety 2-3 times."
Dang! I was hoping for more gems like 'Beat Guy says Zach still looks awful' (seriously)
Still looking forward to your news roundup next week.
making me wait until the very bitter end to see whether you think Steve Young or Joe Montana was better... ;-D
Is there really any question?
Obviously the answer is "Jeff Garcia"
I hope everyone has their John Brodie vs. Frankie Albert talking points ready.
Well, Brodie was a better golfer.
Sir - When the next post-Football Outsiders almanac is available, provide us a link?
It's coming out in mid-July. I will provide lots of links. And I wrote EIGHT chapters this year!
Cool, thanks!