Unsympathetic

First UM claimed the B10 looking into UM cheating was A Witch Hunt
Then UM declared No Rules Were Broken
Then it was No Punishment Can Take Place This Year
Then it was Get Jim an Extension
Then it was Ryan Day Cheated
Then it was Ryan Day RICO
Then it was They (UM) are going to get a TRO if Jim is suspended
Then it was UM leaving the B10
Then it was War
Then it was Michigan Against The World
Then, the week of the OSU game, Jim Harbaugh accepts punishment.

The only question I have is.. who else gets fired? There has to be somebody on the O side of the ball who Stalions was working with in the same way he did with Partridge because OL knowing where pressure comes from is the most important gain from signal-stealing. RB coach Mike Hart? The OC?

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, this is the clip of UM learning they're playing Alabama instead of FSU.  Guess who they wanted to play!

Flacco's 374 passing yards were the 12th most by a Brown in any game and the most by a Brown since Baker Mayfield threw for 376 on Dec. 30, 2018.

Today's news
 

Apparently "not blocking on run plays" is now a violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy.

At least this trade won't be the worst in NFL history.

David Tepper and what he's currently finding a way to do in Carolina are almost at the level of needing the Stepien Rule in the NFL.. His trade for Bryce Young by itself is worse than the Watson trade, and that's the tip of the iceberg.

Flacco's bones haven't turned into mush -- it's his ability to quickly diagnose pressure and make the correct audible that I worry about.

And that's presnap.. He definitely doesn't have the muscle memory with Browns WR's to stay on schedule and move through his progressions after the snap.

Cut again

That'd be a no on Leonard even before you look at his contract.  Maybe, if he gets back to being the player he was before the surgeries.. today he's a liability on the field and would take a roster spot from someone who can help

Canada has been a narcissistic dumbass with no self-reflection for years, it's shocking he lasted this long.

DTR was told he'd start that last game quite seriously 2 hours before the start. He did not get any reps as starter the week before. This matters - a lot.

He'll make rookie mistakes but I think he'll be fine.

Jim Harbaugh uses hot dog water as cologne

UM cheated and got caught.  I have never in the history of ever seen a program from the top down, every rung on the ladder, victimize themselves this way when they are the ones who broke the rules.  UM is not "america's team" -- America thinks UM cheats.

Sherrone Moore, the OC, was WAY more involved in the sign stealing than Jimmy was.. When I watched that postgame interview after the PSU victory with all the crying it felt like he, Sherrone, felt bad because he knew he got Jimmy jammed up.  That was a cry of guilt.

And I have never seen a "potential all-American QB" not trusted to throw the ball.. ever.  Unless Sherrone knew something from practice -- that his QB couldn't handle the smoke of PSU's nation#1 pass rush without already knowing presnap where the pressure was coming from.

You'd think a program whose level is a half a national title every 30 years would learn to shut the fuck up.

The autistic incompetent Harbaugh and his half-eaten hot dog in a pants pocket is definitely not coaching in Cleveland.

The wild amounts of cope coming from the UM fanbase is a pure joy to watch, and i'm here for all of it.  The only gain Harbaugh achieved from his years of wild cheating was 2 wins over OSU, and that's it.  I never thought when Jimmy stood at the podium and said he'd beat OSU or die trying that he'd choose both.

Sure, ratbird connections as detailed above, but the UM cheating overshadows the legitimate coordinator coaching and talent upgrades the last few seasons.  Don't forget that NCAA suspensions will be upheld in the NFL to prevent people cheating only to take an NFL job once it's discovered.

1) Getting signs ingame is not illegal. In-person trips months/years ahead of time to video and chart signals with full knowledge and support/$reimbursement from administration is.  Yes, this is a big deal -- It's not a coincidence that the one game this season UM had trouble with [3 JJ picks] was the one team whose signals they didn't steal, Bowling Green.
2) 2 people fired from the UM staff for pedophilia.. the wrong writes itself, but we expect nothing better from Michigan Men. [One for meeting an underage girl for classy sex in a WalMart, the other for Crimes Using A University Computer. Those crimes are, of course, the underage picture variety.]
3) Grad assistants aren't on the sideline on game day, let alone standing next to and talking every play with the coordinator whose unit is on the field.  Grad assistants are in the box... unless they're Doing Something Else.  Also, good luck convincing anyone that the coordinators didn't know..... they were talking with the dude every play for the last 3 seasons.
4) Surely the fact that Conor Stalion's $500k house on a sub-50k-salary magically got paid off the first day he created an LLC with Blake Corum is purely coincidental.  A player and a coach in business together is wildly unethical. Does UM even have a compliance department, or is compliance beneath Michigan Men?

The main benefit of having signals is not the defense "knowing" offense signals. There's so many signals for offense - the play, which way the line is going to slide, the cadence [and that's just 3, there's more] you're simply not going to have the time to decode it on the sidelines, signal that in to a D player, and have that D player call something to his teammates all before the snap.  There's a play clock.  UM probably did decode O signals and were trying to do some stupid stuff on defense, but the chief idea is the offense knowing the D signal --- throw a slant into the area a LB vacated to blitz, call a combo to attack the "half" DB when they're in QQH coverage, etc.  And you don't need to call the D-beater every play --- you only need it "some" times each game to gain a substantive advantage.  And no, you can't "change signals" in a week.. practice time is so limited that there isn't time to put in all-new signals because a team would have to spend their limited time not getting ready for the next opponent.

The #1 advantage you would get on O if you knew the D signals is knowledge of where the pressure is coming from.  And, shocking twist: In the 2 games [not including PSU] since the signals advantage was removed, JJ was pressured over 2x as much as he had been in every game prior to this -- and that's from dogshit defenses that UM shouldn't have to do special things to beat.  I watched zero of the UM-PSU game, but my money says this is the #1 reason UM only called 8 passes against PSU.... because PSU is the #1 team in the country in getting pressure and JJ is a true freshman at the skill of recognizing pressure &shifting protection to match.  Obviously "the run was working" but the team sent out promotional material of JJ for Heisman.

I count the 2020 game as an OSU victory, of course. That's the one UM walked away from because they knew they couldn't even win with cheating.

The one thing that pisses me off about UM's cheating is that they took a Heisman both years from Stroud.  Stroud was leading the heisman lists before both UM games.  Fun fact: Jim Brown was the last player to win both the NFL rookie of the year and MVP.

I think sign-stealing is a negative for player development because if you're telling JJ where the pressure is coming from, you're removing his ability over time to learn how to recognize it and shift his OL himself.

UM will never be leaving the big10... they'll never be welcome in the SEC.  UM broke the code, and they take that shit much more seriously down south.  What does every SEC school do when they get caught ? "Give me my punishment, let's keep it pushin." UM tried to throw every other school under the bus instead of standing in the paint for their shit.

How Browns built 2023 D

Elliot is now #1 in run-stop% among all NFL DI at 48.8%.. What the?

he's only 29 [30 next season] and is one of if not the best route-runner in the game

gotta have somebody be the #1.. every time a team tries to have a collection of WR3's, every one turns out to stink

Baker Mayfield is Conor Stalions

Thought you wouldn't see this under-the-radar contract if it was posted any other place

Why the Steelers offense is terrible

Jackson: 21/27, 357, 3, 155.7 rating.. against the Lions, a playoff team.

To paraphrase Dgeneration X, if you still want to think Lamar isn't a good passer, I've got 2 words for you.

Unfortunate reality is that hiring Monken added the same creativity to Ravens pass game that has been there for a while with their run game.

This thread has taken a turn.

Sutterer on Watson's shoulder injury

The game plan Sunday was the same that Schwartz has used to shut down Shanahan before.

Cover 1 lurk on 3rd down -- Man outside, one safety coming downhill to the intermediate middle, outside leverage to drive on an underneath route because no fear of the deep ball.

Fun fact: Browns D is on pace to be the 3rd team ever to allow 200 YPG or less. The last was 1970 Minnesota.

And to anyone who says SF should have still won at the end with the FG..... using that logic, OSU should have beat Georgia last year.

Now Dunn to IR with a calf injury -- the same calf injury he had after the 2021 playoff win.  Not good to hear it's the same one..

At least Bitonio is back this week.  I think swing IOL is now Harris with Hudson the backup OT.

Some PFF gems.. posting here to see if any replies/thoughts to the individual performances:

Alex Wright actually played well for a change, getting the highest DL grade of 73.4 on 15 snaps.
Fields only saw one snap at LB (59.9) but graded better than either Walker or Taki who were in the mid-40's.
Mo Hurst was the second-best IDL by a pretty wide margin.
Mike Ford and Cameron Mitchell were both above a 60 when they had to step in.. Obviously you'd hate to see it but we can be confident with the CB injury standins in some game down the road. Money Mitch: the return?

@tiamat63's favorite link.. Kollmann on Browns/Ravens at 18:07

1 hour ago, Dutch Oven said:

have named the Browns as a possibly landing spot for WR Davante Adams

Davante this year is 20M off next year's cap.  I get that's just a rumor, but.. No.