First Down
Top picks Chase Young and Tua Tagovailoa are having the same discussion within their inner circles.
Despite heavy speculation that he'll declare for the 2020 NFL Draft, Chase Young says “the plan” is for him to return to Ohio State for his senior season https://t.co/mwB2lfiOZp
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 14, 2019
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa remains non-committal on whether he will declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.
When asked if the forecast was him being a top 10-15 pick, would he consider declaring?: "I think that'd be tough to pass up, but I think there's a lot more to it in that aspect."
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 5, 2019
A few things about this.
- In the case of Tua; he’s coming off major hip surgery and probably wants to prove that he can still play. Or, he can use Alabama’s facilities to rehab and get to full strength and come out next year.
- For Chase; maybe getting a degree is important to him. That’s the only logical reason one can muster for his want to stay. Sure, Ohio State is slated to be great again next year so maybe he wants to dominate one more time.
The truth is that both need to declare for the draft. Young is going top three and Tua will hear his name in the top ten. Their stock isn’t going to get any higher.
Now I’m one for education and getting as much as your heart desires but Ohio State and Alabama aren’t going anywhere. Take the money while it’s on the table and worry about the degree later. The window for professional players, especially in football, is small so the goal needs to be earning as much income as possible.
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It’s even more important for first round picks. Teams have your rights for five years before they either extend, let you walk, or franchise tag you. For Chase that means he’ll be 26 before he can sign that first major contract. Tua will be 27 before he can do the same.
With that information on the table why waste another year playing for free? It just isn’t a smart business decision.
Granted, injuries can happen any time and anyplace but there’s no need to take unnecessary snaps in games that don’t end with a paycheck.
Unless, both are trying to avoid teams that are interested in drafting them.
It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.
Last year quarterback Justin Herbert was rumored to be the apple of the New York Giants eye. Then all of a sudden…
If the @Giants are interested in QB Justin Herbert they will have to wait another year … https://t.co/rJ1qb3gj03
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) December 26, 2018
Now, this is complete speculation but let the record show that for the second straight year the player the Giants are interested in is contemplating going back to school….to play for free.
Perception is reality and this isn’t a good look for Big Blue.
The GM and coach are below average at best and the organization seems to be in dysfunction. Winning would solve all of these problems but their offensive line is weak and the defense ranks in the bottom half in most categories. Who’s signing up for that?
After watching New York waste the first two years of Saquon Barkley’s career one can’t blame Young for being hesitant.
Second Down
Back in 2017 Lions GM Bob Quinn fired Jim Caldwell after going 9-7. His quote for firing Caldwell aged like Chip Kelly’s revolutionary offense.
"9 wins is a good season, but clearly not good enough for what we want" – #Lions GM Bob Quinn.
— Justin Rose (@JRoseDet) January 12, 2017
Matt Patricia would replace Caldwell the following season. The former Patriots defensive coordinator was going to bring a “Belichick demeanor” to the team and take them over the top.
Two years later Patrica has a record of 9-20-1. For my mathematicians out there that means it took Patricia two years to win as many games as Caldwell did in one.
LOL.
So the Lions made a mistake and that’s fine, right? There’s time to fix said mistake and start new. All that needs to be done is a little housecleaning.
About that…
#Lions coach Matt Patricia is back for 2020 with some expectations. Makes sense. https://t.co/nca4c0x4uo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 17, 2019
Good luck with that.
The only memorable part of Patricia’s stint, so far, in Detroit is the time he told a reporter to sit up straight during a press conference.
Matt Patricia tells reporter to 'sit up' during press conference https://t.co/wdvpJKkmqP pic.twitter.com/CxChOM8BEw
— WEEI (@WEEI) October 31, 2018
Imagine a man who probably doesn’t know his waist size lecturing you about self respect.
Pathetic.
At least it’s just the Lions, though. They don’t have any fans, right?
Third Down
Jameis Winston is having…..and interesting season.
Jameis Winston is the 5th player in NFL history with multiple career games of 450 pass yards and 4 pass TD
He’s also now the 1st player in NFL history to throw for 450 yards in consecutive games. pic.twitter.com/fZliVKijbn
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 15, 2019
He’s also second in the league in TD passes (30) and first in interceptions (24). He’s playing just good enough for the Bucs to slap the franchise tag on him but bad enough to not commit to him long term…which means the franchise tag.
As of now the Bucs are scheduled to pick in the middle of the first round. That’s not high enough to draft your future signal caller so that puts them in a pickle. Do you give him a one year “prove it” deal or sign one of the veteran quarterbacks that’ll hit the market this offseason.
Winston, Manning, Rivers, Bortles and Dalton.
Start the tank?
Yeah, start the tank.
Fourth Down
Pick time!
Last week ya boy went 12-4 and that puts the season record at 100-56. Let’s do this dance again.
Winners are in red.
Saturday Slate
Houston @ Tampa Bay
Buffalo @ New England
Los Angeles Rams @ San Francisco
Sunday Afternoon
Pittsburgh @ New York Jets
New Orleans @ Tennessee
Carolina @ Indianapolis
Cincinnati @ Miami
Baltimore @ Cleveland
Jacksonville @ Atlanta
New York Giants @ Washington
Detroit @ Denver
Oakland @ Los Angeles Chargers
Arizona @ Seattle
Dallas @ Philadelphia
Kansas City @ Chicago
Monday Night
Green Bay @ Minnesota
Extra Points
First ballot NFL and Troll HOF.
Fitz is always fooling 😂💀 @LarryFitzgerald @AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/VY6bFACuUP
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 17, 2019
More Browns slander, please.
As a Browns fan you gotta laugh so you don’t cry 🤣 pic.twitter.com/lS7CXBJWDF
— Everything Cleveland (@everythingcle_) December 16, 2019
Who cares if this is holding, it’s still hilarious.
George Kittle. SHEESH 🥞🥞
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) December 15, 2019
I’m a firm believer in making these kids feel inferior.
These kids got BODIED pic.twitter.com/aTVhE84fJd
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 15, 2019
#MyCauseMyCleats all time great.
"Playing with my money is like playing with my emotions."
Put @stefondiggs' cleats in the cleat game Hall of Fame 😅👏 (via @MACHE275) pic.twitter.com/c2W9zpArSq
— ESPN (@espn) December 15, 2019
As always, thanks for reading.
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