1 hour ago, LeanMeanGM said:

and $15M already on top of Brooks salary. They aren't spending $30 or so million on a freakin RG

If Wentz goes down or the run game isn't productive will anyone here care about the 15 million? 

@justrelax hope you feel better and it doesn’t get really bad for you. 

everyone else i hope you all have been safe and things are getting somewhat better

If you know people in southern AZ reach out to them cause Tucson, Catalina and some other areas are being threatened by fires (some evacuated from homes), relentless pursuit by firefighters from all over. i believe there’s some ways to help if you are interested. fortunately my parents and then closer to my home didn’t have to but it was dangerously close. We are still on set alert. Luckily they have gotten the fire to about 30-40 percent contained after about nearly 2 weeks fighting it. I feel like 2020 is jumanji.

Anyway here’s some pictures of some of the crazy pictures that have been taken. 
 

 

2 hours ago, NCiggles said:

That's a good question.   I think it's a hard occupation.  It takes money to compete even in smaller elections.  So a lot of the time is spent fundraising.  I don't think that's something that even politicians enjoy. I think that a lot of good people with good ideas get tired of it.  To top it off party politics and primaries often drive off more moderate candidates.  So you end up not really able to debate issues during elections but relying on rhetoric.  Good people get jaded by the system. Then there's is a certain kind of people that get into  politics for what the believe is the opportunities that are presented.  I mean established politicians will push their underlings for seats that they know their party will win.  You get bad candidates that are there to do the bidding of their sponsor and really often don't or won't use independent judgment.  Then when a party gets into power they can often use caucusing as a way to push an agenda and squelch independent debate.  They sandbag the other side by not providing the proposed bills until the last minute.  It is a power play and not designed to encourage open debate even among members of their own party.  The leaders want and expect lock step followers.   

Good, thoughtful post. Personally, I think the idea of "a career in politics” and all that entails simply scares off the kind of the people I’d most want to vote for. 

and, even taking message boards as a microcosm of society, there really is very little currency in the middle of any opinion These days, it takes a lot of energy, time, and brain capacity to sift through all the issues to understand where any candidate really falls. And even then, will the machine let them carry that same focus from candidate to elected official?

most folks don’t have time or patience for nuance - so views are forced to live further and further out from the middle.  Which again skews the type of candidate who can break through at a volume that produces the numbers to be "electable.”

I also think there is simply too much power in party.  Especially when consolidated down to just 2 majors that are consistent (and interdependent) at every level.  

at least that’s how I view things...

 

 

29 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Yes. Seems fair. No state becomes more valuable because it is a swing state, like PA and it means the flyover states might get more attention.  The electoral college split still means a state like Wyoming voter has a bit more umph than a California voter.  That’s not pure democracy but it is closer. 

That could be done based on state law. Maine & Nebraska It has been discussed in NC as a possibility.  A winner take all  does disenfranchise voters of both parties.  

13 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

If Wentz goes down or the run game isn't productive will anyone here care about the 15 million? 

They should considering the cap situation next year and how wildly of a misuse of cap resources are used on the least important position of the O-line which is between two pro bowl/all pro players. $15 million doesn't ensure either of those two things not happening anyway.

16 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

@justrelax hope you feel better and it doesn’t get really bad for you. 

everyone else i hope you all have been safe and things are getting somewhat better

If you know people in southern AZ reach out to them cause Tucson, Catalina and some other areas are being threatened by fires (some evacuated from homes), relentless pursuit by firefighters from all over. i believe there’s some ways to help if you are interested. fortunately my parents and then closer to my home didn’t have to but it was dangerously close. We are still on set alert. Luckily they have gotten the fire to about 30-40 percent contained after about nearly 2 weeks fighting it. I feel like 2020 is jumanji.

Anyway here’s some pictures of some of the crazy pictures that have been taken. 
 

 

 

 

 

That's crazy. Can't imagine what it would feel like seeing that heading towards your home. 

8 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

That's crazy. Can't imagine what it would feel like seeing that heading towards your home. 

It was much worse at my parents house then mine. Plane flew right over their house and about a mile and a half up the mountain dropping fire retardant. Another area the fire retardant is really low on the mountain like maybe a quarter mile up from a house. It’s been insane especially with no rain whatsoever in the forecast and the winds have been ridiculous  Couldnt get fire fighters into the canyon cause of how hot and steep it was. We were truly lucky cause we were about a mile away from where people were forced to evacuate. Like that on top of the rising cases of Covid out here and hospital getting closer to capacity in AZ it’s been a crazy two weeks out here. 

57 minutes ago, Desertbirds said:

Hardly irrelevant. We still have an election forthcoming based on the previous census.

I never offered a solution for the Wyoming problem.

There is no 'problem'.

As for the relevance, we were discussing representatives in the House.  So, the current numbers are what they are, and they get updated every 10 years.  That's Constitutional, too.  You are whistling in the wind.

22 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

They should considering the cap situation next year and how wildly of a misuse of cap resources are used on the least important position of the O-line which is between two pro bowl/all pro players. $15 million doesn't ensure either of those two things not happening anyway.

Again, no one is going to care about $15 million when they can't run the ball....like when it stopped in the Saints game after Brooks went down...or when Carson gets nailed and knocked out of a game. The entire offense came to a stop and it didn't matter they had Kelce and Johnson. 

Next year Howie will figure something out. People worry too much about the cap. They were supposed to be in trouble this year and they have a ton of money left. 

6 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Again, no one is going to care about $15 million when they can't run the ball....like when it stopped in the Saints game after Brooks went down...or when Carson gets nailed and knocked otu of a game. Next year Howie will figure something out. 

It's a bad idea and everyone knows it. You don't need to trade for a franchised RG to "run the ball". Lets use some common sense.

3 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

It's a bad idea and everyone knows it. You don't need to trade for a franchised RG to "run the ball". Lets use some common sense.

Stop. Common sense says people stress about the cap every single year and Howie takes care of it. Just like they were supposed to be in trouble this year and they have a ton.

Common sense also says your theory of Kelce and Johnson making anyone between them looks good is out the window with the example of the Saints game. Again, the entire offense came to a stop and they couldn't run the ball when Brooks left. Don't treat RG like Andy did LB before the season they lost to the Bucs. Get someone good. Protect Carson. Let the offense shine. Do they need a franchise RG? No. But if one is out there I"m happy if they get him. 

9 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Stop. Common sense says people stress about the cap every single year and Howie takes care of it. Just like they were supposed to be in trouble this year and they have a ton.

Common sense also says your theory of Kelce and Johnson making anyone between them looks good is out the window with the example of the Saints game. Again, the entire offense came to a stop and they couldn't run the ball when Brooks left. Don't treat RG like Andy did LB before the season they lost to the Bucs. Get someone good. Protect Carson. Let the offense shine. 

No, common sense says you don't need to A) trade high assets and B) pay a guy top dollar. There are other FA's out there if you don't want to promote internally. You are the only one here today suggesting it's anywhere near a good idea. 

Nothing is 'thrown out the window" about playing between Kelce and Johnson. You are using 1 example of not even a full game when Wisnewski, the guy who was playing LG here the whole time, had to go in cold off the bench at RG. That doesn't apply to someone having 3 months before the first game to learn and get TC reps at RG. Common sense. 

People stress about the cap too much, yes. But next year was always the year it was going to be tight, not this year. Howie also banked off the idea the cap was guaranteed to go up which is no longer on the table. 

They wouldn't even trade for DeAndre Hopkins because of money. They aren't going to trade for Joe Thuney. Stop. This isn't Madden.

Out on the kayaks yesterday 3 swans in the distance took off from the water. They were flying away but circled around and began heading right for me. Getting closer and closer still headed right for me. Eventually came so close I thought it was literally about to attack. At the last second it turned just enough to miss my face. I had to lower my paddle because it may have hit it if I hadnt moved it. I could hear, and feel the air displaced by its massive wing span. It was pretty impressive. I wish I got pics with my phone but I was more worried about trying to figure out if this thing is really coming at me or not. 

20 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

There is no 'problem'.

As for the relevance, we were discussing representatives in the House.  So, the current numbers are what they are, and they get updated every 10 years.  That's Constitutional, too.  You are whistling in the wind.

The "Wyoming Problem” was an obvious joke.

 

6 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

No, common sense says you don't need to A) trade high assets and B) pay a guy top dollar. There are other FA's out there if you don't want to promote internally. You are the only one here today suggesting it's anywhere near a good idea. 

Nothing is 'thrown out the window" about playing between Kelce and Johnson. You are using 1 example of not even a full game when Wisnewski, the guy who was playing LG here the whole time, had to go in cold off the bench at RG. That doesn't apply to someone having 3 months before the first game to learn and get TC reps at RG. Common sense. 

People stress about the cap too much, yes. But next year was always the year it was going to be tight, not this year. Howie also banked off the idea the cap was guaranteed to go up which is no longer on the table. 

They wouldn't even trade for DeAndre Hopkins because of money. They aren't going to trade for Joe Thuney. Stop. 

Based on an article saying it would be something they'd consider. The absence of people on here backing me isn't a concern. 

You can try to twist it anyway you want. There is a reason they are 5-0 with Brooks and they aren't as good without him. You can't look at RG and just say put anyone between them and things will be fine. The offense doesn't look the same. Is their only option to trade? No, and I didn't say it was. I said who cares about the money and stand behind it. If they feel he is the best option get it down. If they want the guy from the Saints then go that way. 

Next year is always the sky is falling in TATE and Howie always makes it work. That is one of the last concerns people should be thinking about when it comes to protecting an injury prone QB and an offense that looks night and day better with an all pro in the lineup. 

They wouldn't trade for Hopkins because a draft was approaching with a ton of good WR prospects. Is it more likely they grab one off the street? Yes. But that wasn't the point of my post. The 15 million in money is irrelevant because Howie will make it work and it is a much more important position than people realize. Again, the evidence of that is how the offense looks very different without Brooks in the lineup. 

"If Wentz goes down or the run game isn't productive will anyone here care about the 15 million? "

That is what I said and stand by it. Stop twisting it into me advocating him as the best option. 

3 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Based on an article saying it would be something they'd consider. The absence of people on here backing me isn't a concern. 

You can try to twist it anyway you want. There is a reason they are 5-0 with Brooks and they aren't as good without him. You can't look at RG and just say put anyone between them and things will be fine. The offense doesn't look the same. Is their only option to trade? No, and I didn't say it was. I said who cares about the money and stand behind it. If they feel he is the best option get it down. If they want the guy from the Saints then go that way. 

Next year is always the sky is falling in TATE and Howie always makes it work. That is one of the last concerns people should be thinking about when it comes to protecting an injury prone QB and an offense that looks night and day better with an all pro in the lineup. 

They wouldn't trade for Hopkins because a draft was approaching with a ton of good WR prospects. Is it more likely they grab one off the street? Yes. But that wasn't the point of my post. The 15 million in money is irrelevant because Howie will make it work and it is a much more important position than people realize. Again, the evidence of that is how the offense looks very different without Brooks in the lineup. 

"If Wentz goes down or the run game isn't productive will anyone here care about the 15 million? "

That is what I said and stand by it. Stop twisting it into me advocating him as the best option. 

Cool. You don't need to spend 15 Million. Stop twisting it into me saying we shouldn't do anything.

1 hour ago, justrelax said:

Yes, let's talk about these changes. After the Civil War blacks could vote, own land, hold office, move about freely during Reconstruction. Once Grant was out of office, however, all that dried up. A black on the road without a documented purpose could be seized and placed in a work gang for an indefinite period. Slavery by another name. The statehouses and Congress once again became all white. Then we have Plessy vs. Ferguson, separate but equal. That was, what - 1898? Then fifty years passed. No progress. Then came WWII and hundreds of thousands of black soldiers fought and died, albeit in segregated units. Harry Truman integrated the armed forces, a very unpopular move. When  these black GIs came home to the South they were assaulted in their uniforms, often lynched. That's where the Civil Rights movement began, much as the freedom of black soldier almost a century before. If you can  fight and die for the country you can be a citizen, although for roughly 80 years during that span you could not. I'll pass over red-lining for the moment. The Civil Rights movement did great things and then came the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Breakthrough! Umm, not so much. The minority group that benefited most from that Act were white women, black men were a distant second, and black women suffered serious setbacks. Voting? Well there were literacy tests, poll taxes, and today we have poll taxes under another name in Florida and Iowa, currently being challenged by the courts. We have hundreds of thousands of enrolled voters stricken from the rolls. We have mail-in ballots being challenged on spurious nonsense by the same people and states that did it before. We have Georgia, where if the election wasn't stolen it gave every appearance of it, and by whom and for what?

I don't mean to say we haven't made progress but it's two steps forward, one-step back or, post-Reconstruction, three steps back. Today, we see the spiritual descendants of those same miscreants attempting to suborn voting rights. Is there anything more basic to citizenship than that right? It's so blatant and so obvious.

Not so many years ago, my wife and I were returning from Gettysburg and we stopped at a roadside diner. Big Confederate battle flag on the wall. My wife said to me, "if anyone asks, I'm you're secretary." I ordered a hamburger and a Coke. She ordered a Coke. I got my order. She got half a glass of warm Coke, no ice. I paid. No tip. And drove 100 mph until I was sure there was no one following. Twenty-first century PA. Ha.

Agree on the Patriot Act. An abomination. A shredding of the Constitution.

That's why I distrust gradualism. It gives the villains time and room to maneuver. And I hope I have explained a tiny bit of black rage, when the rules keep changing and the bar gets higher, and the issues that were previously dealt with are raised again, and again.

AMEN. 

Take care of yourself

14 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Cool. You don't need to spend 15 Million. Stop twisting it into me saying we shouldn't do anything.

Never said you did. The best options are going to cost around that price in FA or a trade. I don't want them to nickle and dime or rely on Pryor. Maybe he turns out fine, but if they can throw money at it to fix it and get someone who is really good vs a what if I'd prefer they throw money at it because no one will care about cap space if something happens to Carson or the offense isn't running the ball as well. 

Thinking they can just throw anyone in there between Kelce and Johnson is the difference between "maybe fine" and possibly dominate. I'd actually go with Warford on a 1 year deal if he would take it. 

Just now, Diehardfan said:

Never said you did. The best options are going to cost around that price in FA or a trade. I don't want them to nickle and dime or rely on Pryor. Maybe he turns out fine, but if they can throw money at it to fix it and get someone who is really good vs a what if I'd prefer they throw money at it because no one will care about cap space if something happens to Carson or the offense isn't running the ball as well. 

They aren't and its not even close. Warford is the top FA and is looking for $7M APY. And who knows what the Patriots want in a trade. They could demand a 1st rounder. Point always was looking to Thuney is going to be the most expensive option out there not only because of the capital you need to give up, but he comes with a franchise tag. There's only 12 guys in the entire league averaging over $10M, you can get a solid guy for half the price and not give up draft picks.

15 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

They aren't and its not even close. Warford is the top FA and is looking for $7M APY. And who knows what the Patriots want in a trade. They could demand a 1st rounder. Point always was looking to Thuney is going to be the most expensive option out there not only because of the capital you need to give up, but he comes with a franchise tag. There's only 12 guys in the entire league averaging over $10M, you can get a solid guy for half the price and not give up draft picks.

Hope you are right. The fact he is still on the market tells me he wants more than 7 million, but could be wrong. The Saints cut him cause he was going to make 13. I think we'd both be happy if they went that way and got him for that price. That 7 million could also be for multiple years and a signing bonus. If they had to pay him 9 or 10 for one year I'm fine with it. Again, they money doesn't concern me. Protecting Wentz and having a good run game does. 

After Thurney and Warford I see a few maybe they could be good options, but lot of question marks who may not be better than Pryor. 

5 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Hope you are right. I heard he wanted 12 million. The fact he is still on the market tells me he wants more than 7 million, but could be wrong. The Saints cut him cause he was going to make 13. I think we'd both be happy if they went that way and got him for that price. That 7 million could also be for multiple years and a signing bonus. If they had to pay him 9 or 10 for one year I'm fine with it. 

After Thurney and Warford I see a few maybe they could be good options, but lot of question marks who may not be better than Pryor. 

I heard the $7M from Rapoport. But i'm sure he's also looking for multiple years so don't know if he's willing to sign a one year deal, which could very well be the reason he isn't signed yet.

 

1 hour ago, HazletonEagle said:

Out on the kayaks yesterday 3 swans in the distance took off from the water. They were flying away but circled around and began heading right for me. Getting closer and closer still headed right for me. Eventually came so close I thought it was literally about to attack. At the last second it turned just enough to miss my face. I had to lower my paddle because it may have hit it if I hadnt moved it. I could hear, and feel the air displaced by its massive wing span. It was pretty impressive. I wish I got pics with my phone but I was more worried about trying to figure out if this thing is really coming at me or not. 

You should have moved the paddle back, swung forward, and smashed the sheet out of that devil bird.  They're already an invasive species in the northeast.  

6 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Brandon Brooks is going to eventually have to be labeled a WMD

Weapon of Mass Destruction?

7 minutes ago, hputenis said:

You should have moved the paddle back, swung forward, and smashed the sheet out of that devil bird.  They're already an invasive species in the northeast.  

really? didnt know. we seem to always just have 2 or 3 on our lake. and actually when the last ones died, they brought these ones in on purpose.

39 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

I heard the $7M from Rapoport. But i'm sure he's also looking for multiple years so don't know if he's willing to sign a one year deal, which could very well be the reason he isn't signed yet.

 

I hate the Saints so much but their white "Color Rush" uniforms might be the best in the NFL.