NFL Open Thread: Dr. Z R.I.P. Edition

Paul Zimmerman, the greatest NFL writer ever, has passed away. His combination of analytical and prose chops was peerless, and unlike so many writers who become famous he never went through a profit-taking hack stage; he stayed serious and sharp until he began to encounter serious health problems. Read these excellent tributes by Diana Moskovitz and Tim Rohan.

To turn from the sublime to the ridiculous, on the most obvious level it’s ridiculous for Hue Jackson to complain about not being given a real shot. And yet, he has at least half a point. I wouldn’t have retained Jackson, but I really don’t understand bringing back someone whose chief selling point was offensive gameplanning and then bringing in another steakhead to run the offense the first time you have a serious QB prospect. And if these reports were right Hue was also clearly right in his major disputes with Haley: it was dumb to keep making Hyde the feature back and try to turn Mayfield into a traditional pocket passer. So as badly as the Browns screwed this up, they were right not to turn the team over to Haley. Not that Greggggg Williams is exactly a huge improvement.

Oh, and the Bills are currently on track to have the worst offensive DVOA for the years the data has been compiled, wasting what is actually a pretty fearsome defense. And just to help them make history, we are once again getting…the NATHAN PETERMAN EXPERIENCE! And he will be backed up by…[marching band starts playing “Tusk”] Matt Barkley! Incidentally, one defense I’ve heard for the Kapernick blackballing is that he’s now too rusty. That might be relevant in certain specific cases, but doesn’t explain how the Bills have jobs for Derek Anderson (who had started 4 games since 2010) and Barkley (who has started 6 games total, producing 14 picks, since being drafted in 2013.)