The Official NFL Hot Takes Thread

[MJW]

Please respond to the previous hot take, and then post your own hot take, that can be related or totally unrelated if you wish.

I'll start, obviously:

Barry Sanders lost as many games for the Detroit Lions as he won them. His constant negative runs on 1st and 2nd down made it difficult for the Lions to sustain drives throughout games, and he was a liability in short-yardage situations because he would rarely run for safe yardage even when he could. His big runs might have resulted in gaudy stats and Sportscenter clips, but they often did not help the Lions as much as consistent drive-to-drive yardage from the run game would have.

[Sammich]

My response-

I agree totally. A running game needs to be reliable and consistent. Big plays are nice, but they cannot come at the expense of reliability. This becomes even more true with a chunk style passing attack and/or a gunslinger QB. This is also why I don't like Barkley as a prospect. I feel he will be that exact type of runner and be a liability with our passing style and QB.

My hot take-

Guard is more important than tackle. A tackle that is getting beat can be helped easily with a TE and while a RB can be used to help either it works better to help a tackle. The RB isn't in the QB's lap, and a RB usually has a better chance of actually contributing against a speedy edge rusher than they do against a massive DT. As long as your QB can consistently step up even the best edge rushers can safely be pushed outside.

This mind set was seen in New Orleans during the Evans, Grubbs, Carl Nicks years. The Saints were paying 20M per year to the guard position when most teams weren't paying their QBs 20M per year. Brees could always step up and rarely got sacked.

Guards also contribute far more to the running game than tackles. Not only are they responsible for moving the pile in the middle, but a pulling guard can be used to attack almost anywhere on the field.

[real bucs fan]

[DreadNaught]

You don't like Barkley because he reminds you of Barry Sanders? Not sure about that.. I think Barkley is going to be a better pro than he was in college. He can and has run hard when he needs to and I think he gets overly criticised because he's elusive. But at 230lbs he can drop a shoulder on 3rd-n-2 just fine. RBs like Barkley make offense easier whether he's running or a checkdown vs zone. I get argument about the value of drafting a RB high, but as a RB prospect Barkley is about as blue chip as they come imo.

I do you like the take on the Guard position. I'm all in on Nelson at 7. I'm good with signing Norwell first in FA also. Save some money cutting Sweezy in the process to offset Norwell's contract some.

Smith-Norwell-Marpet-Nelson-Dotson

[Buc2]

This thread never gained wings, so I'll use it for hot topics. In this case, what is or isn't a catch?

The following tweet was posted by Al Riveron, Senior VP of Officiating, which included 3 different controversial plays.
Sorry, it's a Twitter video so you'll have to go to the link to watch the short video here:
https://twitter.com/alriveron/status/975830694697070592

✔
@alriveron
Over the past several days, the @NFL Competition Committee has been reviewing the process of a catch. The first two elements are control and two feet down. Additional elements are also under consideration. Here are a few of the plays we are looking at.

4:25 PM - Mar 19, 2018

Here's what I think on each of the 3 plays...
1st = Catch & fumble - Had control & fumbled when he hit the ground without being touched by a defender.
2nd = Catch & TD - Had control & didn't lose ball until he had stretched the ball over the goal line.
3rd = Catch & TD - Established control before slightly bobbling as he was going out the back of the end zone (for me, this was the toughest of the 3 to call).

What about you guys? Your thoughts on those 3 plays?

[Mountaineer Buc]

This thread never gained wings, so I'll use it for hot topics. In this case, what is or isn't a catch?

The following tweet was posted by Al Riveron, Senior VP of Officiating, which included 3 different controversial plays.
Sorry, it's a Twitter video so you'll have to go to the link to watch the short video here:
https://twitter.com/alriveron/status/975830694697070592

✔
@alriveron
Over the past several days, the @NFL Competition Committee has been reviewing the process of a catch. The first two elements are control and two feet down. Additional elements are also under consideration. Here are a few of the plays we are looking at.

4:25 PM - Mar 19, 2018

Here's what I think on each of the 3 plays...
1st = Catch & fumble - Had control & fumbled when he hit the ground without being touched by a defender.
2nd = Catch & TD - Had control & didn't lose ball until he had stretched the ball over the goal line.
3rd = Catch & TD - Established control before slightly bobbling as he was going out the back of the end zone (for me, this was the toughest of the 3 to call).

What about you guys? Your thoughts on those 3 plays?

1. Catch and fumble- Had enough control of the ball to advance it
2. Catch and TD. Ball was caught and possession established outside the end zone. Ball is dead when it breaks the plane.
3. Catch and TD. Caught the ball and got two feet in. I didn't see him bobble it.

[Buc2]

This thread never gained wings, so I'll use it for hot topics. In this case, what is or isn't a catch?

The following tweet was posted by Al Riveron, Senior VP of Officiating, which included 3 different controversial plays.
Sorry, it's a Twitter video so you'll have to go to the link to watch the short video here:
https://twitter.com/alriveron/status/975830694697070592



Here's what I think on each of the 3 plays...
1st = Catch & fumble - Had control & fumbled when he hit the ground without being touched by a defender.
2nd = Catch & TD - Had control & didn't lose ball until he had stretched the ball over the goal line.
3rd = Catch & TD - Established control before slightly bobbling as he was going out the back of the end zone (for me, this was the toughest of the 3 to call).

What about you guys? Your thoughts on those 3 plays?

1. Catch and fumble- Had enough control of the ball to advance it
2. Catch and TD. Ball was caught and possession established outside the end zone. Ball is dead when it breaks the plane.
3. Catch and TD. Caught the ball and got two feet in. I didn't see him bobble it.

I detected a very slight loosening of the ball as he was working to, further secure it before running out the back. Regardless, I still saw enough control before that happened to call it a TD.

[NYBF]

1) Catch and fumble
2) TD
3) Incomplete. I don't think he has control when the 1st foot comes down. Then the 3rd step is out of bounds. You can almost make the argument he never has control at all. But to me, that ball is still loose on the first step.