TBayXXXVII

Last line... how much better are they going to be? 8 wins (like the Cardinals last year [see below])? 8 wins (like the Ravens in 2021 when Andrews was TE1 with 17.7 fpg while they ran the ball 517 times)? 14 wins (like the Chiefs in 2022 who ran the ball 417 times and Kelce was TE with 18.6 fpg)? I'm not surprised by that, the Raiders stunk and were losing a LOT. This is what happens with a lot teams that stink. Split Tgt Rec Yds Y/R TD 1D Ctch% Y/Tgt 1st Qtr 25 19 236 12.4 1 9 76.0% 9.4 2nd Qtr 39 26 269 10.3 0 14 66.7% 6.9 3rd Qtr 30 22 244 11.1 2 11 73.3% 8.1 4th Qtr 59 45 445 9.9 2 27 76.3% 7.5 He was also at his least efficient in the 4th as well, because teams were giving up those shorter passes. If the offense is better, it would stand to reason that he'd likely be closer to the 12.4 y/r total for the year than the 10.7 that he was last year. To note, that was the case with Jakobi Meyers as well. This is normal though, on teams that are losing a lot. If you want to make the argument that Bowers targets are going to go down because they're going to run more, then you're going to have to assume that they're winning more games. If they're winning more games, they're likely to be more efficient and scoring more points. Look at Arizona the last 2 years. They were 4-13 in 2023 and 8-9 last year... they doubled their win total. They increased their ppg by 4 while reducing their number of plays by like 30. Last year, they ran the ball 463 times (80 more than the Raiders last year), and still managed to get Trey McBride 147 targets, 111 receptions, & 1146 TD's. Jakobi Meyers isn't the talent that Marvin Harrison is. Kyler Murray had a career year as a passer... and that wasn't even as good as what Geno Smith has been the last 3. Here's another point. Teams now think that the Raiders are going to be more run heavy, right? They know that because even we assume that, right? They're not going to dedicate more resources to stopping the run? If they do that, aren't they limiting the resources to stop the pass? If that's happening, and Bowers is the Raiders best pass catcher, isn't he the most likely beneficiary of that? Now, if the Raiders added a top end caliber WR, I'd be total agreement with you guys, but they didn't. They added 2 players that will help Bowers be better... a RB and better QB.

Of course not. He won't need 4 years to accomplish that. Don't kill my buzz!!

In 24 months, people will be saying, 'this Griffin kid is elite... remember when that Witt dude was great, I think it was 1 year? Yeah, Griffin's way better than that dude."

That wasn't my point. My point was that they were ok with just splitting up century's old rivalries without caring or even considering that they were doing it. I think they're trying to force feed rivalries, where there isn't one. There really isn't a Cubs/White Sox rivalry, a Nationals/Orioles rivalry a Brewers/Twins rivalry, a Marlins/Rays rivalry. If they re-align, I think they'll allow for oddities... like the Dallas Cowboys being in the NFC East.

Yup... and the Phillies are right behind them in games played with 21,658, but they have a losing record at 10279-11379.

They can be a more run based offense. It's also why I said that I think Bowers TD's numbers go up a lot... because I think they'll be able to score more TD's by having a more efficient offense. Remember, it's not just the running game that's improving, it's the caliber of QB play too. Here's how I think things could break in Vegas 2024: 153 targets, 112 receptions, 1194 yards (10.7 ypr), 5 TD's = 261.4 fp 2025: 110 targets, 81 receptions, 1028 yards (12.7 ypr), 12 TD's = 255.8 fp That's not a significant drop in my opinion. Even if he gets only 10 TD's, that's still 243 points. I think there's a greater chance that McBride's numbers suffer because of the increased role of Harrison and Kittles' numbers suffering assuming he's going to miss probably 2 games (safe side), and others like McCaffrey, Aiyuk, and Pearsall being healthy.

Yeah, they only care if the teams are good. @nobody will appreciate this... HOT TAKE: the most overrated rivalry in baseball is the Yankees vs Red Sox. The only reason it's popular now, is because the Red Sox occasionally matter. The Red Sox, for the most part, are an "ok" franchise, but that's it. The only reason why the Yankees/Red Sox "rivalry" is a thing, is recency bias. The Pirates and Cubs have played the most games against each other than any two other teams... 2544 which is 230 more than the Yankees and Red Sox. The Cards, Cubs, Reds, and Pirates are 4 of the top 5 teams in MLB history, in games played. The rivalry aspect of those teams isn't of any note to current day pundits because none of them were dominating for long stretches in the last 40 years.

My best friend (1), dated a girl (2), who went to high school (Notre Dame Academy in Toledo, Ohio), with Katie Holmes (3), who married Tom Cruise (4), who played in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon (5). I guess mine could be 2, but I don't count it. I met Bruce Willis in Atlantic City. Nice dude. We talked for about 45 minutes.

This guy has a similar, but slightly different take. East: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies North: Blue Jays, Tigers, Guardians, Pirates Mid-Atlantic: Orioles, Nationals, Braves, North Carolina team South: Rangers, Astros, Rays, Marlins Great Lakes: Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Twins Midwest: Royals, Cardinals, Reds, Nashville Southwest: Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Diamondbacks West: Rockies, A’s, Giants Mariners Sad that both (this guy and Bowden), have no problem breaking up the longest standing rivalry in MLB without batting an eye or even mentioning it's existence.

I thought the altercation took place outside of the bathroom. I misread it.

He is, but it's not worth debating him on.

McBride is going only 9 picks after Bowers. I don't think there's really a drop off in talent at other position there. Kittle usually misses a few games, that's why he's drafted 2 rounds later. I mean, if you want to hope that those 2 or 3 games missed by Kittle aren't in the playoffs... sure. The Raiders got a better QB who's likely to complete more passes. Their best pass catcher is Bowers. It makes sense to throw him the ball more. They upgraded (we think), their backfield. It assumes more chances to score and more drives that gain yards. The Cardinals drafted Harrison to be a game changer. He can't be that if you don't throw him the ball. Throwing him the ball more on a team that doesn't throw as much, will likely result in less targets for McBride. Kittle misses multiple games a year, generally. He's not getting younger. Bowers has the best chance of the 3 to really make gains in the TD production department. They're the only one that actually improved their offensive talent. Kittle got 8, if McCaffrey is healthy (which he is every other year), Jennings is still a big part of the game plan, Pearsall is healthy, and Aiyuk comes back ok, Kittle getting more than 8 is unlikely. McBride had 2 last year (Harrison 8, Wilson 4). Nothing changed over there other than the idea that Harrison will get the ball more. Not sure how that helps McBride. Bowers has a legit shot at double digit TD's... like as many as 12. Me, I'm not picking any of them. I'm waiting until many rounds later. That said, if I'm picking a TE in the first 4 rounds, I'll bet on Bowers before the other 2.

Nailed it!

Is the next MLB Superstar (Konnor Griffin), a year (or so), away from his MLB Debut? Drafted 1 year ago, at 18, now 19 and has been promoted from A- to A+ to now AA over a course of 101 games played. All while hitting over .320 with an OPS over .920 at both levels. Is it possible that in 2 consecutive years, the Pirates drafted baseballs next 2 biggest super stars? .332/.414/.524 w/59 SB's in 70 att

Ok. Listening to Siriusxm, everyone loved Egbuka, just not the situation. The uncertainty of Godwin's health had people unsure of how to handle Egbuka.

I don't think that was the issue... I think it was more of, will Godwin be healthy.

Definitely need a cap and floor. It's absurd that some teams can pay $300M without any issues while other can't pay $100M unless they lose money every year. They also need better profit sharing models. The Dodgers current local tv contract is worth $8.35BILLION dollars over 25 years, which averages out to be $334M annually. Their tv deal almost pays for their entire payroll. Yet, teams like Pittsburgh & Minnesota had their deals basically squashed because the network that bought their rights, folded. Before the new season starts, the Dodgers purse starts off with over $300M more to spend, than teams like Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Tampa, A's, and Marlins.

Good for him.

That's actually not bad. It puts teams in their region AND in their market share.

No it's not, it's based on historical data. For the most part, every presidential election, Texas is pretty consistent on who they're voting for... as is California. 2012: Mitt Romney 57% 2008: John McCain 55% 2004: George W. Bush 61% 2000: George W. Bush 59% Trump got around what Romney and McCain got, so he's not an outlier.

Sure, like I said, I'm willing to bet he doesn't even know absentee voting exists. He wants people to prove they are who they say they are. You need to do that with absentee ballots. He probably also knows that illegals drive vehicles with illegal plates at a substantially higher rate than legal citizens. My guess is that's this is his motivation on that.

Why do I believe wrong? In order to get an absentee ballot, you have to prove who you are. I'm actually willing to bet, he doesn't even know absentee ballots are a thing.

Oh, I have no doubt it's about the money. I'm just saying it's not ESPN "realizing how retarded all this woke shìt is", as you put it. I think they are full throttle on the woke sh!t.

He didn't say the quiet part out loud, he said the out loud part out loud. He, and many others, believe that Democrats pad the ballot box with those. Those 8 states I said use mail-in ballots... 6 are dark blue, 1 is purple, the other is dark red. Democrats would be substantially more impacted than Republican's.

You personally request one, which is the difference. Idiot. Like I said, there are 8 states just mail ballots out to people who are registered (on their rolls, whether they've checked them or not), whether they've been requested or not. That's, what I believe Trump is talking about.