Dr. T is an alien
Patti Mayonnaise
Knows when to hold them, knows when to fold them
I've been found out!
Posts: 31,306
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Post by Dr. T is an alien on Jan 4, 2021 13:09:28 GMT -5
You play to keep the other team honest. You donβt lay down and let a team take a playoff spot just to get a better draft pick. Shitty division or not, Phillyβs management has zero integrity left. You risk the NFL investigating you, finding you ordered your head coach to put the backup in to βsee what heβs gotβ, see that you tanked for a pick and either take that pick away or drop you heavily in the picks. The NFL moved this game to prime time because it would decide a division and Philly had every chance to win it but laid down for the world to see. Honestly though, why wouldn't they put the backup in this game to see what he can do? Backup QB is a very important position but one that does not get much in the way of practical experience to see if you got a decent one. So much can ride on having a decent one (it's why they get paid so well) and no situation is a better testing ground than a game that you don't care about the outcome but the opponent sure as hell does. This isn't putting him out against the scrubs in a preseason game. This is letting him face a team fighting for a playoff spot. If he can even sort of perform well, then you know that you have a decent one. Honestly, it is EXACTLY what the Steelers did yesterday, but for the whole game instead of just a quarter. Mason Rudolph demonstrated to the Steelers yesterday that even if he might not be the future of the franchise he certainly can be that reliable hand when needed. He may not be a franchise QB, but he demonstrated yesterday that he can, in fact, play NFL quality football, something he did not always do last year. He was one non-PI call away from tying the game yesterday and possibly keeping the Browns from making the playoffs. I mean, it also wasn't his best pass of the day either but in any other game it would not have mattered as they would have gotten a second shot at that 2-pt conversion, but the point is he did drive them down the field like an actual NFL quality QB should be able to do, and in crunch time no less. Now the Steelers know that they don't have to draft a QB unless an actual franchise QB drops to their draft position, which is unlikely.
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BRV
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants him some Taco Flavored Kisses.
Posts: 16,769
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Post by BRV on Jan 4, 2021 14:00:16 GMT -5
I honestly wonder if what Doug Pederson and the Eagles did last night will push the NFL toward a lottery system for the NFL Draft. There are ways to "tank" in a wink-wink sort of way, which is what the Jets and Jaguars did this season - assembling the lousiest possible rosters and running them out every Sunday for the world to see - and then there are the more blatant varieties, which we saw on display in Philadelphia last night.
But if the NFL punishes the Eagles for their actions, it sets a potentially dangerous precedent among all non-contending teams in the final weeks of the season. For instance, as a Patriots fan I've been calling for Jarrett Stidham to get playing time over Cam Newton for the past month or so, basically to see if Stidham could be the quarterback of the future of the Patriots or if the team would need to invest significant draft capital in a quarterback this spring. But in the eyes of the other 31 teams, would Bill Belichick playing Stidham over Newton look any different than Pederson inserting Nate Sudfeld into the game for Jalen Hurts, especially if he did so against an opponent in the playoffs?
It also kind of reminded me of Week 17 of the 2002 regular season. At 1 p.m., the Patriots beat the Dolphins to move to 9-7. But they needed the Packers in the 4 p.m. window to beat the 8-7 Jets to win the division. The Packers, at 12-4 and already having wrapped up the NFC North, played essentially a pre-season game and then brought in the backups and got shellacked 42-17, eliminating the Patriots from the playoffs. Again, it would set a dangerous precedent for the NFL to start penalizing individual teams for the in-game personnel decisions they make.
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lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 6,626
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Post by lucas_lee on Jan 4, 2021 14:09:26 GMT -5
I think everyone's issue with the decision unlike Pitts and KC is they didn't put in Sudfield from the get go. They were super competitive and were winning at one point. So why remove him? It boggles the mind. If they had Sudfield from snap 1 this would be a non issue.
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Dr. T is an alien
Patti Mayonnaise
Knows when to hold them, knows when to fold them
I've been found out!
Posts: 31,306
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Post by Dr. T is an alien on Jan 4, 2021 16:27:09 GMT -5
I think everyone's issue with the decision unlike Pitts and KC is they didn't put in Sudfield from the get go. They were super competitive and were winning at one point. So why remove him? It boggles the mind. If they had Sudfield from snap 1 this would be a non issue. Well, Hurt also needed extra reps in a playoff-type scenario since it's not like he played all season either. Playing Carson Wentz most of the season probably necessitated it. I probably would have split them by halves, to be honest.
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lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 6,626
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Post by lucas_lee on Jan 4, 2021 16:48:59 GMT -5
I think everyone's issue with the decision unlike Pitts and KC is they didn't put in Sudfield from the get go. They were super competitive and were winning at one point. So why remove him? It boggles the mind. If they had Sudfield from snap 1 this would be a non issue. Well, Hurt also needed extra reps in a playoff-type scenario since it's not like he played all season either. Playing Carson Wentz most of the season probably necessitated it. I probably would have split them by halves, to be honest. Well at least you know, you need a new third string QB. Sudfield sucks
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Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
Unique and Special Snowflake, and a pants-less heathen.
Perpetually Constipated
Posts: 39,219
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Post by Push R Truth on Jan 5, 2021 11:46:23 GMT -5
Well, Hurt also needed extra reps in a playoff-type scenario since it's not like he played all season either. Playing Carson Wentz most of the season probably necessitated it. I probably would have split them by halves, to be honest. Well at least you know, you need a new third string QB. Sudfield sucks After having time to digest watching that tanking ... I feel the worst about what was done to Sudfield. This guy could have probably floated around the league for a couple years as a professional backup. I felt like we watched his career die live on TV. He got tossed to the wolves on Sunday Night.
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lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 6,626
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Post by lucas_lee on Jan 5, 2021 12:26:43 GMT -5
Well at least you know, you need a new third string QB. Sudfield sucks After having time to digest watching that tanking ... I feel the worst about what was done to Sudfield. This guy could have probably floated around the league for a couple years as a professional backup. I felt like we watched his career die live on TV. He got tossed to the wolves on Sunday Night. Yeah they let him to the wolves. Half of the O-Line was injured and he really didn't have the bug play WRs. The only Eagles player to show up on offense was their HB
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