Peter King’s Football Morning in America

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CGI_Ram

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Always enjoyed this section of Peter King’s articles. Interesting to hear his insider perspective.

Highlighted a swipe at McVay.

Link takes to the whole article. This is just the 10 things I think I think, part.

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Peter King’s Football Morning in America

1. I think if I had to guess, Joe Burrow will not throw Thursday night at the NFL Scouting Combine.

2. I think of all the things I read about the draft in the past week, this, from Paul Schwartz of the New York Post about the general manager of the Giants, was most fascinating:

Dave Gettleman has presided over seven drafts as a general manager — five with the Panthers and two with the Giants — and has never traded down. Never. He selected 28 players with the Panthers and 16 in his two drafts with the Giants (plus one more in the supplemental draft).

Think of that: A GM who has made 45 picks has never traded down to accumulate more picks from any of the 45. That is borderline negligent. Maybe not even borderline. I am incredulous about that. As I documented last week, GM John Schneider of the Seahawks used last year’s 21st overall pick and traded down six times to accumulate six picks, one of whom was wide receiver DK Metcalf, who, as it turned out, produced better value than a 21st pick in most drafts as a rookie. And four other players from the trade played for the Seahawks last season. Trying to not make too much of that, but wow. Just wow.

3. I think I don’t understand Sean McVay (per Mike Silver) spending only one night at the combine, and his coordinators not going. Seriously: You get so little out of spending 15 minutes with lots of prospects in a first meeting, and you get so little out of interacting with agents and coaches about looming free agents, that you’d rather be back in the bunker? Isn’t there enough time in the bunker already?

4. I think I really want the Steelers to sign Jameis Winston. Sit for a year, get him ready to conditionally succeed Ben Roethlisberger, and if the interceptions continue in 2021, he’s gone after one season. Risky, but the upside could be pretty great. Now, the contract would have to be one Winston would want to do; he’d likely have a chance to play sooner elsewhere if he leaves Tampa. I’m just talking about a coach-player relationship (Mike Tomlin-Winston) dynamic I’d like to see. Plus, I’d rather have Winston on the rebound than Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges or a draft pick that could be used in a wiser way.

5. I think for those who don’t quite understand why the NFL is rushing to get a labor deal with the current one not expiring till after the 2021 draft, Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal did an interesting primer to it last week. The main point is a political one, and it involves television. The NFL’s TV deal with ESPN is up after the 2021 season, and deals with CBS, FOX and NBC up after the ’22 season. NFL sources tell me the league wants to get the CBA done in the next couple of weeks, so the 2020 league year can be played under new, strife-free rules, and so the league can begin negotiating with TV networks in earnest this spring. “Some inside the league expect a ratings decline during the 2020 season after their numbers fell 8 percent during the last presidential election cycle in 2016,” Beaton wrote. He’s dead on.

6. I think I’ll take that one step further. One league power-broker tells me: “We are made for broadcast TV, but we are open to streaming. It’s the next big thing, and the tech companies want to be involved in our game. They should. We’re the only lock money-maker in sports.”

I asked this person about the effect of the 2020 election on ratings this fall. “This election is going to be political reality TV,” he said. “It’s going to be riveting entertainment, whoever you want to see elected. The ratings on the political shows, I think, will be better than they were for the last election. I think we all feel that a [CBA] deal we get a year from now will not be as good for us, or for the players. The money won’t be the same, I don’t think.”

Imagine Donald Trump debating Bernie Sanders, or whoever, three weeks before the election on Thursday night, with the polls showing them close. I’d have to think that would out-rate even a Patrick Mahomes-Lamar Jackson Thursday night starfest. (Kansas City does play Baltimore in 2020.)

7. I think there’s a good chance the next TV deal includes streaming rights by a Facebook or an Amazon. Too many league people think a limited package of games, streamed instead of sold to a tradition network or cable outfit, makes sense. The league, with a new labor deal, would have 18 more games to put on the market (16 in an extra regular-season week, two on wild-card weekend), and a streaming entity would likely pay far more to play the NFL game than, say, extra games added on to a traditional broadcaster’s plate.

8. I think if this 10-year labor deal gets done, somehow, it will procure labor peace for the NFL through the 2029 season. Imagine that. I covered the last strike, in weeks three through five of 1987, when replacement players played three games per team and the lost salary caused some stars (Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, Randy White) to start trickling back into camp against the wishes of the NFLPA. Imagine if this thing gets done. Through the end of the new deal, it would mean 42 years and 10 weeks of labor peace. In modern sports, that’d be amazing.

9. I think I’ve not heard one talk-show caller, or had one letter to my column before last week, express interest or excitement about expanding the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams. But, well, money. So here we are.

10. I think these are my other randomness... Rest of story....
 

Loyal

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I think I can hear Pete's thoughts...If you don't show up and you encourage other HC's and coaches not to come, what will journalists do? Who will we interview about our pet prospects that we're pushing??
 

OldSchool

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Funny how out of the handful of coaches all doing the same he only brings up one of them. Oh well
 

Akrasian

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And the one he brings up has new coordinators he is working with, and who will be in constant contact with the positional coaches who are there. The other way to spin it is that other HCs don't trust their position coaches.
 

bubbaramfan

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Maybe McVay and some of the other HC's are sending Combine officials a message. When you start evaluating players in helmets and pads instead of track shoes and gym shorts, and having prospects go head to head in full pads and full contact, maybe we'll come and take a look. Otherwise we think our time is better spent at home.
 

Kevin

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Maybe the NFL should ask the United States to hold their dumb elections in the summer
 

Selassie I

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Somebody let me know when Peter gets a job in the NFL that depends on his decision making abilities because he's never had one previously in his life.

Thanks
 

Merlin

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If the Pats did it he'd be all over their nuts and taking facials about it. Biased fuck.

That said I do agree there's value in actually looking a guy in the eye to judge him. So hate to say that at some level I agree with him even though I trust McVay's judgment. But then again I feel like 2019 was our best draft in a long time so maybe the Rams deserve a little benefit of the doubt.
 

Selassie I

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If the Pats did it he'd be all over their nuts and taking facials about it. Biased fuck.

That said I do agree there's value in actually looking a guy in the eye to judge him. So hate to say that at some level I agree with him even though I trust McVay's judgment. But then again I feel like 2019 was our best draft in a long time so maybe the Rams deserve a little benefit of the doubt.


Keep in mind... even though some of our coaching staff won't be there... it's not like the team won't have anyone there to take in all we can.
 

Selassie I

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I really believe that the process can be super simplified. Here's the #1 rule for a legendary drafter..




Just think about the mistakes we could have avoided in the past just focusing on this one thing.

Here's an example.... Greg "157 lbs of Ganja" Robinson.
 

Jacobarch

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Mcvay is right coaches put too much in the combine, and let's be honest the combine is just one more marketing tool for the nfl. Theres nothing at the combine you cant find watching college film and how many times have we seen teams get into trouble because they reached in the draft picking a player because hes fast or he can jump high.
All too often...
 

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Somebody let me know when Peter gets a job in the NFL that depends on his decision making abilities because he's never had one previously in his life.

Thanks
One of the the things that I think I think: Selassie needs an ass kicking! ~ Peter "Livin' the Thug Life" King
 

Ram65

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3. I think I don’t understand Sean McVay (per Mike Silver) spending only one night at the combine, and his coordinators not going. Seriously: You get so little out of spending 15 minutes with lots of prospects in a first meeting, and you get so little out of interacting with agents and coaches about looming free agents, that you’d rather be back in the bunker? Isn’t there enough time in the bunker already?


What about the other coaches on the Rams staff and maybe the head scout? Are they going to be there? At least give more complete information. New coordinators with a lot of evaluating and putting together the defense and offensive schemes seem important to me. The combine has a place in evaluating prospects but, everyone on the staff doesn't have to be there. John Harbaugh isn't going to be there.
 

Ram65

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NFL combine press conference schedule for Sean McVay, Les Snead
usatsi_12253290.jpg

Cameron DaSilva

February 21, 2020 2:00 pm ET
It hasn’t been long since Sean McVay last spoke to the media, doing so during the introductory press conference for the Rams’ new coordinators a couple weeks ago. But he’ll be taking the podium again next week, this time in front of a much larger audience.
The NFL released its schedule for coach and general manager press conferences at the combine, and both McVay and GM Les Snead are slated to speak on Tuesday.
McVay will be the first of the two to go, holding his presser at 11:45 a.m. ET at Podium 1. Snead will follow a bit later at 1 p.m. ET at the same podium. Each press conference will last no longer than 15 minutes.

Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop

https://twitter.com/sarahbarshop/status/1230899968732540930

Texans head coach/GM Bill O’Brien will speak to the media at 3:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at the combine.
View image on Twitter

10

11:59 AM - Feb 21, 2020
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McVay’s stay in Indianapolis will be brief this year. He’s only spending one night at the combine before heading back to Los Angeles to continue preparing for the season with his three new coordinators, none of whom are attending the combine.
Snead and the rest of the Rams’ scouts and assistant coaches will be doing the bulk of the talent evaluating at the combine, while McVay and his staff watch from afar back in L.A.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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I really believe that the process can be super simplified. Here's the #1 rule for a legendary drafter..




Just think about the mistakes we could have avoided in the past just focusing on this one thing.

Here's an example.... Greg "157 lbs of Ganja" Robinson.


I couldn’t agree more. No matter how good a coach one might be, they can’t coach stupid.

Another one I believe in is you can’t teach instincts. Snead falls in love with Sparq scores and neglects football acumen too often.

He’s guilty on both accounts