Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Lightning Round - 031418

Stuff happens:

  • From what I can tell, Rex Tillerson and Donald Trump weren't on the same page for much of Tillerson's tenure as Secretary of State, so giving him the pipe makes sense. Mike Pompeo seems like a sharp enough guy and he's certainly better than, say, John Kerry or Hillary Clinton. Another round of confirmation hearings gives Chuck Schumer a chance to posture, too, so it's a win-win for everybody.
  • I can't think of any Packers fan who isn't sad to see Jordy Nelson leave. He gave the Packers a decade of fine play at the wide receiver position and by all accounts was a mensch. It's a tough business, though, and wide receivers who can't run well don't generally deserve 8-figure salaries. I also know finding quality wide receivers is significantly easier than finding talent at other positions, including tight end, so picking up Jimmy Graham makes sense. I also think getting Muhammad Wilkerson for the defensive line on a "prove it" deal is a smart move. If he's motivated, he'll be a monster. If he's not, you get rid of him.
  • As for the locals, I am still not sold on Kirk Cousins, but he's apparently coming to town. He throws a nice ball and he's been pretty durable throughout his career, but are you convinced he's a significant upgrade over the guy who led the Purple last season, Case Keenum? Last season the Vikings had the 3rd best quarterback in the division before Aaron Rodgers was injured. When Cousins takes the reins, they still will. Ask yourself, Vikings fans -- would you really take Cousins over Matt Stafford? And if Mitch Trubisky develops for the Bears, Cousins might be the worst quarterback in the division. We'll see if he's good enough to take the Vikings to the promised land. I wouldn't count on it. 
  • By the way, the Bears are coming on. Watch and see.
  • Most of the political stories we see are bread and circus events. Other stories are more important. Like this one. Click that link.

5 comments:

Brad Carlson said...

Ask yourself, Vikings fans -- would you really take Cousins over Matt Stafford?

It's basically a push.

Here are the per season avg. stats over the past 3 years:

Stafford: 4,345 yds passing, 28 TDs, 11 INTs, 66.1% completion pct. and a 96.5 QB rating.

Cousins: 4,392 yds. passing, 27 TDs, 12 INTs, 67.0% completion pct. and a 97.5 QB rating.

Right now I give the slight edge to Cousins only because he currently has a better supporting cast. But is that worth making him the highest paid QB in the NFL? I'm skeptical, but I'm absolutely willing to let this play out.

Bike Bubba said...

Friend of mine was a classmate of Pompeo at USMA, and the things he heard there was that Pompeo--1st in his class, just like General Lee--was one of few who could get to bed by 9pm there. He's very enthusiastic about Pompeo for these reasons.

3john2 said...

I think Stafford has become a better overall QB since Calvin Johnson retired. He owes, of course, a great deal of his current huge contract to having been able to chuck it deep to Megatron. I'll go along with Brad; I consider Cousins and Stafford to both be "pretty decent".

Being the highest paid QB isn't something I consider a meaningful statistic. It's a matter of timing and market more than talent. In this era, the latest guy to sign will nearly always get the "title". Cousins has certainly done more to get his huge contract than Garrapolo did.

Gino said...

yes, the Bears are coming on... I am optimistic.

Bike Bubba said...

I think they've been predicting that the elderly demographics would arrive at that point for a while, no? I for one am glad to have a number of daughters training in the art of the CNA for that reason--maybe we can band together as a family and avoid disaster as Medicare and Medicaid collapse about that same time, eh?