They said that about the Bronco D and Maye burned them for 65 yds on 10 carries, 1 score, with 6 of those rushes for 1st dn yardage. Maye can also pass as good as Darnold, which makes him a double danger. If Maye's shoulder is okay & not a problem, I think the Hawk's D will have a hard time containing him.
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If the Patriots are going to win, Maye's legs are going to be one of the key reasons why.
In Atlanta I had forgot about Easton Stick. Outside of one terrible game against the Raiders when on the Chargers, he has actually been a serviceable backup for sure.
I agree someone is going to give something up for Mac Jones, and they should. He was at his best this last year, and also seemed much more mature, very capable and deserves a shot.
If he doesn't go to the Vikings, are they really going to roll the dice with JJ McCarthy? He's been between okay in streaks, and downright terrible. This is the guy Jim Harbaugh said was the best QB in that draft, and had the best pro day he had ever seen.
As to Jim Schwartz, what the hell were the Browns thinking? He would just happily support them hiring Monken and stay on in support? My guess is the Browns, being the Browns, weren't even thinking at all, period. Browns will have to release him from his contract in some buyout, and another team will take him as their DC for sure. A couple cryptic notes from Browns defensive players imply the will miss him. One said if Schwartz could get out on the field and play (at 59), he would! That's how much passion he has.
In Atlanta I had forgot about Easton Stick. Outside of one terrible game against the Raiders when on the Chargers, he has actually been a serviceable backup for sure.
I agree someone is going to give something up for Mac Jones, and they should. He was at his best this last year, and also seemed much more mature, very capable and deserves a shot.
If he doesn't go to the Vikings, are they really going to roll the dice with JJ McCarthy? He's been between okay in streaks, and downright terrible. This is the guy Jim Harbaugh said was the best QB in that draft, and had the best pro day he had ever seen.
As to Jim Schwartz, what the hell were the Browns thinking? He would just happily support them hiring Monken and stay on in support? My guess is the Browns, being the Browns, weren't even thinking at all, period. Browns will have to release him from his contract in some buyout, and another team will take him as their DC for sure. A couple cryptic notes from Browns defensive players imply the will miss him. One said if Schwartz could get out on the field and play (at 59), he would! That's how much passion he has.
Hopefully he'll be at this best. On the other hand, they could be met with the reception the Bronc's received the last time they played the Seahawks in a SB.
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/1qsokuw/highlight_kam_chancellor_huge_hit_on_demaryius/
That was followed by great coverage of every other receiver in their lineup that wanted to catch a pass. Seattle's D isn't quite the Legion of Boom on hitting but McCaffrey could tell folks how he felt after the last game.
They limited Purdy well in the two games with the Hawks and he was scrambling efficiently before that and is also very fast over 10 yards. They probably paid a lot of attention to the Rams game as that is one offense that has no trouble putting up points against Seattle it seems. They also have an effective run game and good blocking. Of course not every offense has a Stafford and Nacua as well.
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View: https://x.com/NFLonFOX/status/2017364994657243422
Like the GOAT, Flacco is getting better with age.
Like the GOAT, Flacco is getting better with age.
They have to stick with McCarthy...no brainer. Were you aware of his significant improvement winning the last 4 games of the season? His stats were impressive: 64% Comp, 7 TDs (5 passes & 2 rushes), only 3 turnovers & a passer rating of 100.
His best game was that win over Dallas in week #16 with 3 scores (2 passes/1 rushing) & a passer rating of 108. Check out the highlights of that game. His accuracy & ball placement looked much improved, better reads, more command of the offense, etc. And of course, you can see his elite velocity with some of the lasers he threw. And he's fast & mobile effectively running the ball.
I can't imagine O'Connell not building off of those 4 wins to end the season. There has to be optimism among the coaching staff with that 4-0 season finish and his overall improvement. Also keep in mind, McCarthy just turned 23 & needs time to mature. O'Connell has to make it work with McCarthy. Like with Penix Jr, the future of the Vikings becoming a winning franchise again hinges on the development of McCarthy as their franchise guy. McCarthy has all the talent in the world; good size, elite arm strength, mobility & athleticism, etc. (as much talent as any of the other guys in his draft class, IMO). O'Connell just has get it done - he can ill afford to have another Zach Wilson in the league.
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I noticed that in one of the Seahawks losses to the Buccaneers last Oct, Mayfield torched them for 379 yds, 2 scores & 134 Rtg. And Staffy has had good success throwing the ball against them. Is the Hawk's secondary a little vulnerable to good passing QBs? Could Maye have some success in throwing against them?
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It looks like the Raiders are about to snag Klint Kubiak as their next HC. This is the one guy they apparently wanted. But right now articles say things like "Raiders expected to...." or "predicted to..." which isn't the same as a guy has signed anything. This happened some 5 years ago when Josh McDaniels was expected to sign on as the Colts HC, and changed his mind before the pen was even in his hand.
Still, if so this will be a big coup for the Raiders in their rebuild. Who he hires as offensive line coach, and who they can grab in FA and the draft to help the o line, may be big. They also have gaps on defense, need a new DC, also no elite WR, a bunch of young receivers and Bowers. But there is a foundation there to build on once they get Mendoza.
Still, if so this will be a big coup for the Raiders in their rebuild. Who he hires as offensive line coach, and who they can grab in FA and the draft to help the o line, may be big. They also have gaps on defense, need a new DC, also no elite WR, a bunch of young receivers and Bowers. But there is a foundation there to build on once they get Mendoza.
The problems exposed in that game turned the season around for the defense. It happened also when Bucs and Mayfield were red hot, when Hawks All-pro corner Witherspoon and starting FS Love were out, and before Emmanwori evolved into his current role. The Hawks defense may be vulnerable—but you need to look at the Rams games to reveal how, not that Oct game.
Seahawks were also obviously distracted (and Darnold blundered away the winning drive) against the Bucs that day because they were looking forward to watching the Mariners 1st home playoff series in 20 years, with that Sunday’s ALDS game starting immediately after—and just across the street—from the Bucs game.
🤪 Kidding, of course, but it was quite a day to be at the stadiums.
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Kubiak would be a great thing for Raiders and even better for playbook to be developed with offensive thinker head coach, offensive staff and brand new talented quarterback all at the same time. Mendoza is a match made in heaven for fan base and a team that needs some easy stuff.. Gotta say in my opinion Raiders have been swimming upstream since they signed JaMarcus Russell and Derek Carr was better but never brilliant, moves like Geno Smith made me shake my head also..His resume and contract didn't match in my opinion.
There's some speculation the Jets want to trade up for thee #1 OA pick. The Jets are loaded with draft picks! They have 5 -1st rd & 3 -2nd rd picks over the 2026 & 2027 drafts. If they're willing to give up all those picks to move up just one spot, it would be foolish for the Raiders to not consider:
Daniel Jeremiah says New York Jets will try to trade up to No. 1 to draft Fernando Mendoza | Sporting News
Daniel Jeremiah says the New York Jets will try to trade up to the No. 1 pick for Fernando Mendoza, citing his size, toughness and big-moment production.
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Foolish? Let's think this through.
The Raiders haven't had an elite QB since Rich Gannon (Carr was never elite). A quarter century ago now. They trade Mendoza away, because that's what this would be, for picks the next few years in the 5-15 range of the first round, what do they get? Another year of Aiden O'Connell at QB? Maybe they trade for Mac Jones? Malick Willis? Zach Wilson? Hope one of these guys has it. And if not, what if the Jets win some games, this leaves the Raiders out of a top draft pick the next two years to get a rookie QB they can build upon. So they end up with Mac Jones playing better than Geno or Minshew. They go 7-10 next year, as the Jets go 6-11. They have top drafted linebackers, and lineman, and a top WR, and Jones plays well, but the next year they go 10-7, just missing the playoffs. The missing piece? A QB. They look to all the other teams, how so many of them do well with QBs taken in the top 5, or #1 overall. Then, despite not having much around him, Mendoza performs well for the Jets, and the Raiders are left to wonder, "what if...?" as the whole "Trent Dilfer won a SB!" thinking doesn't work anymore, Jones is cut, and the Raiders scramble yet again trying to find their QB for the future.
One may look at what the Bears did fleecing the Panthers. But I'll argue there is every indication Mendoza will be a better QB than tiny Bryce Young (who has been at least decent, they did get to the playoffs), as he's built like an NFL quarterback.
I'm not saying there's zero chance the Raiders give up Mendoza. But it would be astronomically slim at this point. Maybe if the Jets were willing to give up all five of those 1st and 2nd round picks. Maybe.
The Raiders haven't had an elite QB since Rich Gannon (Carr was never elite). A quarter century ago now. They trade Mendoza away, because that's what this would be, for picks the next few years in the 5-15 range of the first round, what do they get? Another year of Aiden O'Connell at QB? Maybe they trade for Mac Jones? Malick Willis? Zach Wilson? Hope one of these guys has it. And if not, what if the Jets win some games, this leaves the Raiders out of a top draft pick the next two years to get a rookie QB they can build upon. So they end up with Mac Jones playing better than Geno or Minshew. They go 7-10 next year, as the Jets go 6-11. They have top drafted linebackers, and lineman, and a top WR, and Jones plays well, but the next year they go 10-7, just missing the playoffs. The missing piece? A QB. They look to all the other teams, how so many of them do well with QBs taken in the top 5, or #1 overall. Then, despite not having much around him, Mendoza performs well for the Jets, and the Raiders are left to wonder, "what if...?" as the whole "Trent Dilfer won a SB!" thinking doesn't work anymore, Jones is cut, and the Raiders scramble yet again trying to find their QB for the future.
One may look at what the Bears did fleecing the Panthers. But I'll argue there is every indication Mendoza will be a better QB than tiny Bryce Young (who has been at least decent, they did get to the playoffs), as he's built like an NFL quarterback.
I'm not saying there's zero chance the Raiders give up Mendoza. But it would be astronomically slim at this point. Maybe if the Jets were willing to give up all five of those 1st and 2nd round picks. Maybe.
It seems they can have vulnerability if there is a weak rush at the line. October was an organizational time and even the secondary wasn't settled as Sciatic noted above.
Fast forward to later games and they did give up yards to serious passers but were hard in the Red Zone. It will depend on Pat's O-line and how Seattle cuts down pocket time combined with coverage. They managed with Stafford and Purdy when it counted. I haven't seen enough of the Pats to know, honestly.
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The NFL proved Brian Flores right with latest head coach hiring cycle
Story byPrince J. Grimes, For The Win
Tue 3 February 2026 at 3:13 am AEDT·
3 min read
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After suing the NFL and three of its teams for racial discrimination in their hiring practices, Brian Flores explained why he did it in an interview with CBS Mornings exactly four years ago today, saying “we’re either going to keep it the way it is or we’re going to go in another direction and actually make some real change where we’re actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, etcetera.”
On Sunday, after the final two of 10 head coach openings were reportedly filled, it appears those decision-makers are fine keeping it the way it is. None of those vacancies went to Black coaches.
Flores, who alleged at the time that the New York Giants interviewed him only to satisfy the Rooney Rule, knew then what should be abundantly clear to anyone paying attention now: the Rooney Rule is not the problem... but it's also not the solution. How can it be when it's not capable of changing the minds and hearts of men?
The real problem is systemic. It's the people in positions of power, who repeatedly pass on Black candidates for their white counterparts. Which is how you get a situation where a league with a majority of Black players only has three Black coaches (DeMeco Ryans, Aaron Glenn and Todd Bowles) without a sign of things improving. In fact, they seem to be getting worse. There were seven Black coaches in 2018, the year before Flores arrived in Miami.
It's why the Bills willingly interviewing Philip Rivers was such a slap in the face. Nobody had to force them to bring in someone whose coaching experience is limited to high school and who had been away from the league five years. Meanwhile, qualified Black candidates only get interviews so teams can check a box before hiring who they really want.
The Rooney Rule has only existed for teams to make a mockery of it. You can't change people who don't want to change, and the people running NFL teams won't want to change until they realize how much their success is limited by not hiring from a more diverse pool of candidates. If they haven't realized it yet, it's hard to expect they will anytime soon.
They could leverage Mendoza down the road but why? Bird in the hand. Raiders need some infrastructure and an elite quarterback and supporting cast can all be achieved by exercising logical draft pick. If it ends up being reality Raiders getting coaches and quarterback in one action would be awesome.
I find your science fiction prediction that winning and the Jets will ever be said in same sentence funny. Woody Johnson thinking is a cautionary tale.. Look at what he thought was a building block from the quarterback experience.. Jets quarterback selections are a lesson in shame.. With some real lasting nightmares like Farve taking pictures of his junk and the tattoo of Dirty Sanchez..Wilson and Geno Smith were just disappointing..
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Of course, an argument can be made that as long as anyone named Johnson owns the Jets (as in, the next 50 years), the team is destined to finish with no more than about 5 wins, you might be right! And you left out Darnold's time served there also.
Raiders also have around $100m to spend in FA this off season, and something akin to $270m next season with zero dead money, so there's plenty of tools to build beyond the draft.
Raiders also have around $100m to spend in FA this off season, and something akin to $270m next season with zero dead money, so there's plenty of tools to build beyond the draft.
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I could write a long post on this.The NFL proved Brian Flores right with latest head coach hiring cycle
Story by
Prince J. Grimes, For The Win
Tue 3 February 2026 at 3:13 am AEDT·
3 min read
Add Yahoo Sports on Google
After suing the NFL and three of its teams for racial discrimination in their hiring practices, Brian Flores explained why he did it in an interview with CBS Mornings exactly four years ago today, saying “we’re either going to keep it the way it is or we’re going to go in another direction and actually make some real change where we’re actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, etcetera.”
On Sunday, after the final two of 10 head coach openings were reportedly filled, it appears those decision-makers are fine keeping it the way it is. None of those vacancies went to Black coaches.
Flores, who alleged at the time that the New York Giants interviewed him only to satisfy the Rooney Rule, knew then what should be abundantly clear to anyone paying attention now: the Rooney Rule is not the problem... but it's also not the solution. How can it be when it's not capable of changing the minds and hearts of men?
The real problem is systemic. It's the people in positions of power, who repeatedly pass on Black candidates for their white counterparts. Which is how you get a situation where a league with a majority of Black players only has three Black coaches (DeMeco Ryans, Aaron Glenn and Todd Bowles) without a sign of things improving. In fact, they seem to be getting worse. There were seven Black coaches in 2018, the year before Flores arrived in Miami.
It's why the Bills willingly interviewing Philip Rivers was such a slap in the face. Nobody had to force them to bring in someone whose coaching experience is limited to high school and who had been away from the league five years. Meanwhile, qualified Black candidates only get interviews so teams can check a box before hiring who they really want.
The Rooney Rule has only existed for teams to make a mockery of it. You can't change people who don't want to change, and the people running NFL teams won't want to change until they realize how much their success is limited by not hiring from a more diverse pool of candidates. If they haven't realized it yet, it's hard to expect they will anytime soon.
There is truth to this. Most teams are owned by good 'ol boys club of rich, white, old men. The fact that the Rooneys (and Al Davis, Mark too) hired minorities years ago, and pushed for this rule, is great and all, but it only goes so far when stuff like Philip Rivers (or Jeff Saturday) getting automatic interviews/hires. But Flores also removed himself from being considered for the Raiders HC position after just an exploratory call, for whatever the reason. If he says he knew he wouldn't get the job, he may be right. But it's pretty unlikely with the Raiders it was because of his skin color.
There are counter arguments to all this:
First, the Rooney rule is now rules, plural. They are more robust than ever before, teams must interview at least two minority coaches in person, at least once each. A video interview doesn't cut it. The rule now also applies to coordinators. So it is moving in the right direction. Flores (and others) will likely say not fast enough, or broad enough, and they may may have a valid argument, but there has been progress.
The hiring (and interviewing) of minority coaches is also cyclical. Some years better than other. The NFL will argue it's better than it was 5, 10, 20 years ago, and they would be right. But that doesn't make this year look good, and people like Flores have a right to point this year out.
Next, the article (Flores?) said "black" and that is true. But Robert Saleh was hired by the Titans. He's Lebanese-American, and a Muslim, and doesn't shy away from this or pretend to be "white". This certainly qualifies as a minority hire. Also, Mike McDaniel is biracial, and he fights against labels of any sort, won't refer to his race at all, period. But despite being somewhat pale , he also has been a known supporter of African American heritage and related causes, if quietly so. I think if he pushed it, he could have gotten a HC job, likely the Cardinals, maybe the Raiders. But he withdrew and signed on as the Chargers OC. My guess is as much as anything to take a year or two off, as he will certainly get a HC offer next year, or the year after, and likely have a choice of teams to coach.
This last point cannot be lost. I lived in Oakland years ago. I was a minority white kid living in a poor area. No one bothered me, and while I was never really racist at my core, I learned a lot there, learned to see things in a different way, and be color blind. My ex was about 1/6th black, you could kind of tell. In some pasty white racist areas, she got called things. Before her I dated a girl who was 1/2 black, and identified herself as being black. What she had to deal with, even in "progressive" areas, even what may seem simple people trying to figure out what she identified as, was at best annoying or insensitive, at worst bordering on bias and bigotry. Like McDaniel, she hated labels. I can't say, "I get it, man". Being white I won't ever truly get it. A friend of my ex, who was dark-skinned African American black once said to me, "you don't really get black culture. But you're not a racist." I took that as a compliment. As she was right.
So it's really easy for some white person (me, an NFL owner, the league of white executives) to make comments and posts like this. But we are far from any sort of arbiter, or final expert authority on this issue, and never will be.
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