Filed under:The Alabama star had one of the greatest college football seasons of all time, but lacks the tools of the other top quarterback prospects in this class. Which matters more?It feels like there have been two 180-degree shifts in how NFL teams draft quarterbacks, leading right back to where we started. For years, traditional draft wisdom was to seek out big-bodied, strong-armed passers, with an emphasis on physical traits over statistical success; let’s cite 2007 no. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell as the biggest-bodied, strongest-armed prospect imaginable. Yet oftentimes those...…Filed under:The Alabama star had one of the greatest college football seasons of all time, but lacks the tools of the other top quarterback prospects in this class. Which matters more?It feels like there have been two 180-degree shifts in how NFL teams draft quarterbacks, leading right back to where we started. For years, traditional draft wisdom was to seek out big-bodied, strong-armed passers, with an emphasis on physical traits over statistical success; let’s cite 2007 no. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell as the biggest-bodied, strongest-armed prospect imaginable. Yet oftentimes those...WW…

Filed under:Alex Smith lifted Washington atop the NFC East, Matt Patricia showed it takes more than a rocket scientist to coach the Lions, and Terry McLaurin did his best DK Metcalf impressionRelatedEvery week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?In November 2018, Alex Smith and Washington sat atop the NFC East. The franchise made a trade to acquire the quarterback the previous offseason, and then immediately signed him to a $94...…Filed under:Alex Smith lifted Washington atop the NFC East, Matt Patricia showed it takes more than a rocket scientist to coach the Lions, and Terry McLaurin did his best DK Metcalf impressionRelatedEvery week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?In November 2018, Alex Smith and Washington sat atop the NFC East. The franchise made a trade to acquire the quarterback the previous offseason, and then immediately signed him to a $94...WW…

Filed under:The bad and embarrassing coach with the bad and embarrassing track record has the Jets off to another bad and embarrassing start. Who could’ve seen this coming?Adam Gase is either too dumb to realize that the Jets are tanking or too selfish to care. Thursday night’s disaster of a matchup against the Broncos made clear that even if Gase tries to win, his actions won’t matter. He’s bad enough at his job that his team might finish 0-16. He’s a lame-duck coach who will almost certainly be fired at some point this year. But after watching Gase voluntarily jeopardize the health of the...…Filed under:The bad and embarrassing coach with the bad and embarrassing track record has the Jets off to another bad and embarrassing start. Who could’ve seen this coming?Adam Gase is either too dumb to realize that the Jets are tanking or too selfish to care. Thursday night’s disaster of a matchup against the Broncos made clear that even if Gase tries to win, his actions won’t matter. He’s bad enough at his job that his team might finish 0-16. He’s a lame-duck coach who will almost certainly be fired at some point this year. But after watching Gase voluntarily jeopardize the health of the...WW…

Filed under:Why are Pats-Seahawks games always decided on the 1-yard line? Plus: Greg Zuerlein’s perfect onside kick, the trouble with punting to Patrick Mahomes, and Stefon Diggs’s offensive glow-up.RelatedEvery week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?The Patriots and Seahawks should play for a rivalry trophy, like college football teams, and that rivalry stick should be exactly 3 feet long. Because every time these two...…Filed under:Why are Pats-Seahawks games always decided on the 1-yard line? Plus: Greg Zuerlein’s perfect onside kick, the trouble with punting to Patrick Mahomes, and Stefon Diggs’s offensive glow-up.RelatedEvery week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?The Patriots and Seahawks should play for a rivalry trophy, like college football teams, and that rivalry stick should be exactly 3 feet long. Because every time these two...WW…

Filed under:Let’s break down the most baffling defensive decision of the NBA playoffsBuzzer-beaters are often defined by the players over which they’re made. Michael Jordan made Craig Ehlo and Bryon Russell famous; Kawhi Leonard eliminated the Sixers while being hounded by their two best players; I’m pretty sure every NBA star has . But Anthony Davis’s buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals is notable not because of who was guarding the Lakers big, but because somebody decided to not guard him. Nuggets center Mason Plumlee was subbed into the game specifically to defend...…Filed under:Let’s break down the most baffling defensive decision of the NBA playoffsBuzzer-beaters are often defined by the players over which they’re made. Michael Jordan made Craig Ehlo and Bryon Russell famous; Kawhi Leonard eliminated the Sixers while being hounded by their two best players; I’m pretty sure every NBA star has . But Anthony Davis’s buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals is notable not because of who was guarding the Lakers big, but because somebody decided to not guard him. Nuggets center Mason Plumlee was subbed into the game specifically to defend...WW…

Filed under:Kaepernick always deserved a job in the league. Don’t forget how its teams tried to pretend otherwise.The NFL wanted Colin Kaepernick to vanish. It didn’t want to act to get rid of him—that would anger the millions of people who believed in his fight against systemic racism and police brutality. But it also didn’t want him to be around anymore—that would anger the millions of people who felt Kaepernick’s peaceful protest of kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 was an attack on America. The league just wanted him to go away.And so it took a course of inaction. The NFL...…Filed under:Kaepernick always deserved a job in the league. Don’t forget how its teams tried to pretend otherwise.The NFL wanted Colin Kaepernick to vanish. It didn’t want to act to get rid of him—that would anger the millions of people who believed in his fight against systemic racism and police brutality. But it also didn’t want him to be around anymore—that would anger the millions of people who felt Kaepernick’s peaceful protest of kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 was an attack on America. The league just wanted him to go away.And so it took a course of inaction. The NFL...WW…

Filed under:Teams around the league have become obsessed with finding Taysom Hill types. But they don’t seem to understand what makes the Saints playmaker so valuable—or how to replicate his impact.We need to talk about what Taysom Hill is.Just about half of the NFL has been described as searching for a “” or “.” Sometimes, this label is used on players seeking a path similar to Hill’s—late-round or undrafted college quarterbacks who hope to catch on with NFL rosters by displaying positional versatility. Last year, the comparison was made for sixth-round pick and undrafted QBs and . This...…Filed under:Teams around the league have become obsessed with finding Taysom Hill types. But they don’t seem to understand what makes the Saints playmaker so valuable—or how to replicate his impact.We need to talk about what Taysom Hill is.Just about half of the NFL has been described as searching for a “” or “.” Sometimes, this label is used on players seeking a path similar to Hill’s—late-round or undrafted college quarterbacks who hope to catch on with NFL rosters by displaying positional versatility. Last year, the comparison was made for sixth-round pick and undrafted QBs and . This...WW…