Four Down Territory: Nuklear Radiation

First Down One story that flew under the NFL radar this week was the league's new diversity hiring policy. https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1328006490704261127 A quick recap. Teams that have minority head coaches or general managers hired away from their organization will be awarded two third-round compensatory picks. This plan has drawn a lot of ire from people of color and teams. It will hinder teams from hiring interdivisional candidates and the league didn't talk to minorities while crafting this program. It seems to be something that was thrown together to address an issue the league has always faced; giving people of color head coaching and front office positions. The biggest issue is that this looks like a modern day affirmative action program. A "reward" for teams to do something they should be doing anyway. Here's the thing about diversity and making sure your organization mirros society. Owners need to want to do it. They need to see the value of it on their own; not through a rewards program like a local grocery store. Hiring a person of color just to hire them does nothing for both parties. And, over time, teams will find ways to euro-step this policy and make a mockery out of it like the Rooney Rule. In 2003 the Rooney Rule, named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney, was put in place as a way to give ethnic-minority candiates a "seat at the table." Teams that had a head coach or senior-level operations position open had to interview someone of color before filling the position. At face value it sounds like a great idea but in reality it didn't stick long-term. After twelve years the league seemed to have been going in the right direction; 14 non-white coaches were hired. Today? Last offseason there were eight NFL teams searching for a head coach. Only one, the Dolphis, hired a person of color. Now there are only THREE non-white head coaches in a league that's 70% black. Teams are now interviewing people of color but it's clear those people don't have a legitimate shot at the position. The Raiders wanted Jon Gruden but interviewed two minority candidates that weren't identified. The Eagles "interviewed" Duece Staley in 2016 before hiring Doug Pederson. These interviews, along with many others, are just items on a checklist teams have to accomplish before hiring the person they've wanted since the beginning. It's also fair to talk about owners/GMs are hiring people they're familiar with and most of the time those people aren't minorities. Now some of you bozos love screaming; "IT SHOULDN'T BE ABOUT RACE IT'S ABOUT THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB!" Again, that's correct in theory but doesn't stick in reality. Jim Caldwell was hired by the Lions in 2014. Throughout his four seasons in Detroit his overall record was 36-28 with two playoff appearances. After a disappointing 9-7 season in 2017 the Lions fired him and GM Bob Quinn dropped this gem. nine wins is not nearly good enough for what we want. So the Lions went out and hired Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. What's his record through 2.5 years? 13-27 He's almost lost as many games as Caldwell in about half the time. This is a prime example of what minorities mean when they complain about opportunity. The amount of failure non-white coaches can have before getting canned is vastly shorter than their counterparts. Want a few more examples? Patricia's colleague Josh McDaniels left the Patriots offensive coordinator job in 2009 to take the head coaching job in Denver. After two seasons he was fired. His name was also linked to filming San Francisco's walkthrough during a trip to London. After that Josh got the offensive coordinator job in St. Louis for the 2011 season. After one season in the NFC West McDaniels returned to New England and has been there since. A little rocky but still kind of okay, right? There's more. In 2018 the Colts announced McDaniels as their head coach. After the announcement Josh withdrew his name from the position and decided to stay in New England. That's unforgivable, right? You give your word to coach a team then renege AFTER the announcement has been made? Surely that's the end of his career outside of New England. WRONG. Josh's name has been linked to head coaching gigs and he's a hot candidate for a few jobs this offseason. The most frustrating part? Caldwell took a leave of absence for health reasons last year but was still a consultant for the Dolphins. He is doing a lot better and appears to be ready to come back to the NFL. He'll probably get an offensive coordinator job but he'll never be a head coach again. Matt Patricia will be fired this offseason, get a defensive coordinator gig, have a mediocre defense for two years then will be right back in the mix for a head coaching gig. There's plenty of minority talent that's waiting to usher in a new era of professional football. The owners are just too lazy to go to the spaces those candidates exist. Second Down Drew Brees is in a lot of pain. https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1328422797102682113 This is the second time in as many years that Drew will miss significant time due to injury. He has shaken the injury-prone label years ago and it's not time to re-apply it but maybe this isn't the worst thing in the world. Brees is a first ballot HOF and one of the greatest to ever do it but there can be an argument that he's been falling off after the Rams playoff game in 2018. This might be considered a hot take but bear with me: The Saints offense has the potential to be much better with Jameis under center. I'm not saying Winston is better than Drew but I am saying that this offense will be able to do things that number nine can't. Yes, Winston's decision making is putrid at times but he has a way of making something out of absolutley nothing. He'll make some awful mistakes because that's Jameis but he'll also take this offense to another level. Even the thought of Winston stretching the field will keep defenses honest and that means more room for Thomas, Cook, and Kamara. Seriously, this man is ready to drop bombs. https://twitter.com/nick_underhill/status/1328067182643834880 Drew's injury, however, just shows how bad of an idea it was to give Taysom Hill $16 million. To think, people actually thought he was going to be "the guy" when Brees hangs it up this year. WILD, MAN...WILD Third Down For a lot of fans it's time to fire up the mock draft pack. Your team is under .500 so you've decided to fast forward to the offseason in hopes for a better future. How much hope should you have, though? Well, let's talk about it with hope meters. Your team's hope meter goes from 0-10 with ten being the best. AFC East New England Patriots (4-5): The Pats are projected to have eleven picks in the 2021 draft and right now are sitting with the 15th pick. Bill Belichick is still your coach and GM and until he puts a string of failures together there's no reason to jump ship. Hope Meter: 7 New York Jets (0-9): Winless through nine weeks but it's all part of the plan for Trevor Lawrence. That is if he decides to declare. You have a competent GM in Joe Douglas as long as Adam Gase is shown the door. It's okay to be cautiously optimistic. Hope Meter: 4.5 AFC West Denver Broncos (3-6): The Broncos always feel like they're in a loop. They have a STUD in Jerry Jeudy but Drew Lock is just meh. John Elway's biggest weakest is evaluating QB talent and that will continue to haunt the Broncos as long as he's in charge. Hope Meter: 3 Los Angeles Chargers (2-7): The Charges have a lot of talent but just can't put a complete game together. Justin Herbert seems legit and they'll have a top-five pick. What coach will be making that pick is to be determined but there's plenty to smile about for the Chargers. Hope Meter: 8 AFC North Cincinnati Bengals (2-6-1): They have the Joe brothers in Burrow and Mixon and a young receiving core. There's plenty to be excited about. The formula will be simple for them; protect Burrow no matter the price. Use that top-ten pick to draft your future left tackle. Hope Meter: 6 AFC South Houston Texans (2-7): Houston has something that most franchises would kill for; a bonafide QB. Outside of that they really don't have anything talent wise. Bill O'Brien traded their first round pick to the Dolphins this year so the only way to build a team is through free agency. The problem is they're in cap hell until 2022. Hopefully Watson can survive before things turn around but other than that there's nothing fun going on here. Hope Meter: 2 Jacksonville Jaguars (1-8): Find another sport, Jags fans. Hope Meter: 0 NFC East Philadelphia Eagles (3-5-1): The Eagles are old, in cap hell, their coach has lost his Moxy, and their franchise quarterback is regressing. The team always appears to be injured and it seems that every year a story leaks about turmoil. They've been declining for years and rock bottom appears to be around the corner. As long as Howie Roseman is in charge this team will continue to struggle. Hope Meter: 3 New York Giants (3-7): This division is so terrible that the Giants should have hope, even if it's false hope. Barkley will return next year and when he's not giving the ball to the other team Danny Dimes is good enough. Joe Judge seems to be making it work so why not be hopeful, Big Blue. Hope Meter: 5 Washington Football Team (2-7): Washington has one of the best defensive lines in the league and they're all young. The biggest question around this team is the QB. How much can they get for Haskins? Who will be his replacement? The good news is that if the team drafts a rookie the defense will carry them until he's up to speed. Dominant defensive lines can win Super Bowls; just ask the Giants and Eagles. Hope Meter: 6 Dallas Cowboys (2-7): The Cowboys need to answer the question of what to do with Dak. If they have a top five pick you can believe Jerry will explore his options under center. Lamb, Cooper, and Gallup are a great trio but Zeke is washed and the offensive line is fading. The defense needs a lot of work and Mike McCarthy might be gone before New Years. At least you have Luka, Dallas. Hope Meter: 3 NFC West San Francisco 49ers (4-6): Chalk this year up to injuries. This team has elite talent everywhere and will be contending again in 2021. They caught some bad breaks; it happens. Hope Meter: 8 NFC North Minnesota Vikings (4-5): Will always be good but greatness will always be hard with Cousins under center. Playoff contenders yearly, never Super Bowl threats. Hey, that's better than what's going on Jacksonville. Hope Meter: 6 Detroit Lions (4-5): We talked about Matt Patricia on first down. Good luck, Lions. Hope Meter: 2 NFC South Atlanta Falcons (3-6): *insert lead blowing insult here* Falcon fans won't have any hope until a new regime takes over which will happen this offseason. The first move needs to be committing to a rebuild. Get what you can for Matt Ryan and Julio Jones and get this started. Hope Meter: 4 Carolina Panthers (3-6): Matt Rhule has this team playing hard and that's a great sign for a new coach. CMC has been banged up but Teddy has been good. Some major changes are on the horizon but it should be for the best. Hope meter: 7 Fourth Down Pick time! Last week ya boy went 9-5 bringing the season record to 88-55-1 Picks are in red. Thursday Night Football Arizona @ Seattle Sunday Games Pittsburgh @ Jacksonville Detroit @ Carolina New England @ Houston Tennessee @ Baltimore Philadelphia @ Cleveland Atlanta @ New Orleans Cincinnatti @ Washington New York Jets @ Los Angeles Chargers Miami @ Denver Dallas @ Minnesota Green Bay @ Indianapolis Sunday Night Football Kansas City @ Las Vegas Monday Night Football Los Angeles Rams @ Tampa Bay Extra Points The Texans didn't receive a first round pick for this Nuk. Better yet, the Texans thought it was a good idea to trade this guy...Keep Deshaun Watson in your prayers. https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1328132645629407235 Old man knees are real. https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1328058706165166084 PhD from the Harden school of flopping. https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1328054943048151040 Comeback player of the year and there's no debate. https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1328038007249702912 A friendly reminder that the NFL is blackballing Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality and racial injustice. Don’t forget to check out GoingFor2.com for daily fantasy advice and more heat. @ me madads14 As always, thanks for reading.

Four Down Territory: Nuklear Radiation

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