Lucky Luciano

i just don't agree with trading down very often unless the talent of the players at your draft position are repetitive for positions you are strong at. the highest quality talent with a higher potential to succeed at being more than marginally average are found in these higher rounds and trading down is limiting your ability to hit the mark. as far as the patriots go... the difference between them and 90% of the rest of the nfl is who is lining up behind center. the same can be said about the packers. if you have a franchise/HOF player at that key position he makes everyone around him offensively better. you can afford to drop down and go for quantity over quality projections with the hope one turns out the latter. it also lets you manage your cap much better (unless you are the 49ers who cheated and stole multiple superbowl wins in the 90's cheating the cap). the patriots have filled many many key spots on their team in free agency. you got top quality players willing to work at a discount for the hope of a ring. also the patriots were and are a team that will cheat to win from the top to bottom of their franchise - owners, coaches and players. you can go a long way in the nfl if you rob and steal from your peers.

this is the BIGGEST problem with the league... the rules. the rules are so vague that nearly ANY call for holding or not holding is the correct call. the same goes for pass interference and personal fouls and many other rules which can also be interpreted any way an official wishes to call them. this is totally on the league and the owners. add on top of that, as you say, the quality of the officials is extremely poor as seen by the mystery pass interference call on johnson. that was one of the absolute worst calls i have ever witnessed in over 50 years of watching professional football. just ONE reason for this fiasco is that one of the richest corporations in the U.S. is so freakin CHEAP they won't hire permanent officials and rely on temporary employees to decide critical games that effect the entire league and season. what does that say for the owners and the league? that any game can be decided upon, win or lose, by a part time employee who may or may not be qualified to do his job and they have no problem with that.

Portillo's makes a pretty good hot ital beef. in the last few years they have expanded their chain so check if there is one near your location.

There is push back on anything that does not promote the mainstream media position on the covid. mainstream media position as opposed to WHAT? conspiracy theory sites? crackpot hacks on the airwaves/net instigating skewed facts and theories? the Ministry Of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Fox News)? transmissions from deep space? According to the philosopher Harry Frankfurt, lies differ from bullsh*t in that liars must track the truth in order to conceal it, whereas bullsh*tters have no regard or sensitivity for the truth or even for what their intended audience believes, so long as this audience is convinced or carried by their rhetoric. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201909/lies-damned-lies-and-alternative-facts There is many conflicting reports from our trusted CDC ( this is not a USA health division, it is a corporation for profit listed on the NYSE)and WHO. conflicting reports?? are you really this ignorant or is there something i am missing here? do you mean... VICTORY PORTFOLIOS II SHARES US EQ INC ENHNCD VOLTLITY WDT ETF CDC which is listed on the board as 'CDC' which is a capital investment firm? https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CDC/dividends/scorecard or maybe this one if you mistook the NYSE for their canadian counterparts.... "Cadillac Ventures trades on the Canadian Venture Exchange (CVE) under the ticker symbol "CDC." Cadillac Ventures Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada. https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/CVE/CDC/ or are these FACTS about the CDC too conflicting and difficult to grasp... CDC - It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention under the FEDERAL REGISTER... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of the Public Health Service Parent Agency - Health and Human Services Department https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention You need to dig deep to find information and decide what is true and not true. this i agree with. the main determination, for me at least, is what i see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears. when possible, this backed up by actual confirmed FACTS one can cross reference. this leads one to believe with a reasonable conclusion that it is true. For example, on the CDC site, they made the statement that they mistakenly listed 43000 deaths by covid instead of by influenza . They did not change this in the total deaths listed on their site , yet admit the mistake. As soon as a new study comes out showing a better view about the covid, they quickly call it false because it doesnt follow their narrative comparing the covid to the plague instead of the common flu of which the current data is showing. So pick a side. ok let's look at the facts you so willingly wish to portray about texas. Houston Chronicle: From Sunday to Monday, Texas cases increased by 2.14 percent, or 7,153 cases, to 341,739 cases total. An additional 64 new deaths were reported; the state's death count is now at 4,055. The state's positive test rate declined from 15.03 percent to 14.67 percent. As of Monday evening, there were 10,569 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in state hospitals. There were 11,167 beds available as well as 1,004 ICU beds available - marking the first time since July 8 that the state has had more than 1,000 empty ICU beds. https://www.chron.com/houston/article/Houston-coronavirus-updates-What-you-need-to-15422694.php summary: if someone you trusted handed you a hand gun and said it was unloaded, would you put that gun to your head and pull the trigger to confirm he hadn't made a mistake? if this were a one off then i would say do whatever you want. you want to take a 16 ft. boat out onto the sea and go fishing during a hurricane that's your business. you want to swim the english channel with rocks in your pockets, go for it. but you don't have the luxury of just putting your own life in danger however foolish. you by ignoring common sense safety endanger those around you. someone you come in contact with, even if you survive, may not. if that is the case, then isn't it common sense to err on the side caution if someones life (yours, your family or even a complete strangers) 'could' be at stake? of course it is. so why am i wasting my time arguing on here with people like you? if REAL and not imagined information on this site can save the life of ANY reader, someone in their family or even a complete stranger then i feel compelled to do so.

that appears to be a bad idea at this point. so far there is no immunity to this virus according to some reports and doctors. people can catch this virus multiple times. to top this off the actual damage this virus is doing to teenagers and young people, including small children, 'can' have severe consequences in their future. it can lead into another disease for small children (can't remember which it is off hand), school age kids risk possible brain damage and so on. right now it is just an unknown what the long term consequences could be. in grown adults it could cause damage to internal organs, blood clots and so on. as we sit now this virus is rampant and unchecked. we probably need to take the financial hit and shut down again considering we squandered the initial warnings and money used to help people through this by the idiocy of most of our federal, state, and local governments and their agencies. europe has gotten this virus reasonably under control and are able to safely open up with restrictions. we are not even close. we need to leave this to the disease control professionals and doctors and stop listening to moronic politicians trying to get elected.

lol, i agree. i have been commenting on this watching the games for some time. our runners don't seem to be able to figure this out and as you said it's simple sand lot football smarts. go figure.

i agree, especially in today's nfl. even prior to the huge amount of expansion teams added to the nfl, the position of quarterback was lacking for high quality players. with that said it still is a travesty that the owners and the league have not addressed this problem. with an either or rule you have put way to much power into the hands of referee's and opened up the sport to the gambling faction and organized crime. add to this, you have less ability to judge a ref's work and hold him accountable if he is just plain bad at his job.

i agree this happens and that is one of the downfalls in any sport. that said, there were/are review boards (i believe) that would review referee's. if there were obvious mishandling of officiating they could be demoted or just plain let go. this has been the case since the beginning of the sport. but, with the rules or lack of rules on holding or pass interference they have basically made it impossible to grade a ref on these calls as the calls are legitimate either way he calls them.

this is exactly the problem with the nfl officiating. the way some rules read the refs are correct either way they make the call. this takes the win/loss out of the players hands and puts it into the refs which leads to an easy ground floor for corruption or just plain stupidity. every single play could/should be called for holding on multiple players on the offensive line. from the 80's or possibly the 90's on back there were clear cut holding parameters. now it takes a major wrestling move take down or a near jersey removal to draw the non subjective flag. the refs can flag a team at any time they choose thus dictating the flow and scoring of the game. i have seen this many times and they will usually have makeup calls or evening out of penalties later in the game for the opposing team. usually by that time the outcome of the game has been decided or at the least given one team a tremendous advantage.

in this instance, hicks and trevathan were both out for the game from the start. i believe, if i remember correctly, both smith and prince were out by the 3rd qtr. and the defense was still solid. so in my opinion the need for a soft prevent was not met especially at a point it was implemented in the game. i do agree that if not going for the int it changes the game time-wise. this emphasizes the problem with mistakes in this type of defense that is implemented too early or with a small enough score that comebacks are possible.

i have to respectfully disagree. it is not a question of being hard to watch or fun, it is a matter of winning or losing. we put ourselves in a position to lose this game by playing soft with enough time left to make it a possibility. 17 points with 9 minutes left in a game is not enough points to start going into a slow down or prevent offense or defense mode. we have not only seen this happen in the nfl but experienced it a number of times in chicago. all this does is make it easier for an opponent to get into scoring position in the least amount of time and close that point gap. any team with an even average qb then has that chance to not only gain confidence and momentum but put your defense at a disadvantage by keeping them on the field longer. a team with an elite qb/receiver is an even worse scenario. add to this fact, if you make a mistake and turn the ball over or lose an onside kick it compounds the disadvantage. the only time this soft prevent defense should even be considered is if you have an injury to a key player or you are 3+ scores ahead with less than three minutes left to play. one more point on this, if your opponent has bridged that point gap you have made it MUCH harder for your team to return to an attack mode mind set if need be. finally: i am no fan of playing soft zone defense as a standard practice. it keeps your defense on the field longer throughout a game and even worse, by doing so, keeps your OFFENSE off the field and limits your ability to score points.

my take on this: DEFENSE - we are going into a prevent defensive scheme when we have a lead of more than one score from the middle of the 4th quarter on. it is clear as day we are giving up a very soft zone very much similar to what lovie ran in his tenure. our db's are giving up more ground than the first down marker making for easy receptions that move the chains down the field quickly to put your opponent in scoring position. this makes for the type of points scored that we saw at the end of this game. a prevent defense does nothing but prevent wins. OFFENSE - in the middle to last 9 minutes of the 4th, nagi started to run an extremely conservative offense. it was supposed to eat up the clock. in my opinion it does the opposite. again, like the defense, this is a recipe for disaster in many games especially if your opponent has a proficient passing attack.

trubisky looks serviceable to me at this time. he looks like he could *possibly take a step forward as an good to good + qb in the future. it is hard to really judge his talent or improvement behind this offensive line and the amount of drops this receiving corp has displayed. 1. he has no running game. the rb's are getting hit nearly at the handoff 1-2 yards behind the line of scrimmage. no qb i know of can operate an offense with only one dimension of the game for any sustained positive results. 2. this line can't even hold the line of scrimmage on passing plays. they are getting pushed back into the pocket (where it appears he is being taught or forced to operate from) or actually pushed into the qb and the ends are coming in as a pincer move to make the tackles or hurry or disrupt the play. 3. this smacks almost as badly as cutler running for his life at the snap. he has lost confidence that this OL will protect him. that alone will cause serious growth problems and his ability to see the whole field and wait for the open receiver. 4. the consistency of this receiving corp and the amount of drops are disgustingly bad. throw in either the receivers don't know or quit on the routes or trub doesn't. this not only upsets the drive but puts the qb in a forced to throw situation, negates long gains due to YAC or just longer routes which stretches the defense. 5. penalties: it's like a merry go round of penalties. which lineman will have one or more penalties per drive. these are drive stoppers. 6. quite frankly he is injured at this time. you can see him limping during the game that says the hip problem is real. he also has the non throwing arm injury that will ultimately cause some problems with his game. 7. the play calling and coaching staff are not doing him any favors either. * trubisky has many things to fix even to become that average qb over time. it all depends on his mental capacity to read defenses and see the whole field QUICKLY as apposed to locking in on one receiver and forcing the ball in. he may never do this but with the supporting cast he has it will take longer to evaluate. he has shown pretty good accuracy on the shorter throws up to 10 yds. he has the arm strength and quickness. his biggest problem (see above also) so far is touch on anything over that mark. that HAS to be fixed if he is to succeed. is he an elite qb? at this time certainly not and probably not in his future although that 'could' change with a good supporting cast and a few more years of experience. that said, there should be a serious, honest qb competition in his future. finally, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater quite yet but keep a tight rein on him as standard practice. if it doesn't improve with better line play then cut your losses.

i think that post was sarcasm in it's finest moment.

this is an instance where statistics are misleading. 1. the difference between ryan's attack defense and tobin's read and react defense was very noticeable and not for the better. tobin inherited arguably the best defense in the history of the nfl and changed the way they ran their scheme for no apparent reason other than he just wasn't smart enough to step into ryan's shoes. the defensive line was intact with HOF quality players who were extremely aggressive off the LOS. to have them play in a 'read and react' first scheme was nearly criminal. they also lost wilbur marshal an excellent LB (thanks mikey) and replaced him i believe with r. rivera. not even a close comparison. 2. this point is also critical.... they lost discipline as a unit. the ryan headmaster/taskmaster replaced by tobin was like letting the inmates run the asylum. it was very noticeable throughout the season.

i never watched any games with him in it. just from the highlights on espn this is what i thought to myself (never having heard his quotes about payton) is that he reminded me of payton's running style. it's the balance that really made me sit up straight. after taking a hit or moving through traffic the balance he displayed was very paytonistic. whether it was too much to give up to get him remains to be seen. if he turns out fantastic it will seem like a steal.

agree. NO favio.

i have said this since preseason... this guy is a liability and one of the weakest points on our entire special teams squad. i don't care how much we owe him in guaranteed salary. CUT HIM. if you have to go for 4th down and whatever because you can't trust a field goal kicker to make extra points or reasonably long field goals that is an offensive detriment.

one other item i forgot to mention. this offseason we NEED a good kicker as a top priority. parkey (or butter) just is not reliable. the miss last night could have cost us big time. it would have put us up by 4 points if the rams had scored late.

out in the 2nd half with a foot injury. hopefully this is a minor injury. callahan is one of the most improved players this season and really anchors our defensive backfield when on the field. this guy is a keeper.

agree, trubinsky is a work in progress. i believe he only gets better with another year under his belt. what i am seeing so far: the good: this guy can throw lasers on target in the short range. great zip on the ball, great accuracy in that range, great mobility, great ability to throw on the run and put some heat on it. his mental clock is pretty dammed good. he can feel the heat coming and doesn't just stand there like some big dumb buffalo. even though i scream in outrage at every dumb INT he throws i cool back down and see this guy can be something special in our future. the bad: his worst detriment is 'touch' at this point in his career. the long and intermediate balls need to be worked on for accuracy and i believe they will come together in time once he becomes more comfortable with this offense AND his receivers. he still needs work on his receiver progressions but that too is getting better. that to me is about it. one thing does bother me. it is a good/bad thing that makes me nervous every time i see him play. i really do NOT want to see him running so much. it's great he is picking up these first downs but eventually he is going to get seriously injured if he doesn't temper this aspect of the game.

just to clear the air... i am a huge nagy fan at this time. so, did i ever say we fire fangio or nagy? the answer is no. but that does NOT give either of them a free pass for stupid or bad coaching! it needs to be stated and improvement needs to happen over time. NOBODY gets a free pass in this league from constructive criticism and if it IS replaced by total blind faith we will end up eventually in the same sinking boat we have been in forever. as far as daniels.... i don't care how many starts he has had or hasn't had. he is NOT a starting qb in the nfl any more than johnathan quinn was. at the best he is a working coach designated as a 3rd string qb who if we are relying on this guy for more than short time game filler we are done for the season anyway. he doesn't think quick enough, he has no arm, he has no feel for pressure, he has no escapabillity and most of all he is INACCURATE!! this is not some practice squad walk on unfamiliar with the nfl. this guy has been in the league for years (just like quinn). there is a very good reason why he has had only two starts before coming to chicago.

i agree with you we are ahead of expectations with this franchise and realistically it should take another two years to compete for winning a sb. but... those were bonehead calls and plays in any kind of season. fangio needs to step up on this. the soft zones even in this game were glaring but i still say two blown coverages for td's is not acceptable. nagy has exceeded expectations but that was a completely bad decision on that timeout. i still stand by my estimation of daniels. he is definitatly not starter quality. sub for a play or two? ok. nothing more. if we are going to throw that kind of mess out there i would rather see bray fail than watch daniels again. 3rd stringer for daniels or cut him.