NFL Open Thread

Kevin Clark is excellent on how the rest of the league let the Pats have Cam Newton for almost nothing in terms of salary, and also how Belichick and McDaniels have completely rebuilt the offense around his strengths. That seems obvious, and yet coaches get fired every year because they have a System and if the System doesn’t suit the abilities of the players so much worse for the players. And Belichick just keeps winning.

One liner of the week from Mike Tanier:

The new turf at MetLife Stadium is also a suspect in this week’s injury mystery, with 49ers players referring to it after Sunday’s game as “sticky” and “trash.” Subtle defects in a playing surface can have a major impact on elite athletes performing at peak capacity and effort, which explains why the Jets weren’t affected.

You’ve been GASED. Indeed, I believe this is the most stars a coach has ever received in the history of Fire This Asshole:

Bill O’Brien*
Mike Zimmer
Adam Gase******************************
Matt Patricia******
Vic Fangio
Zac Taylor
Doug Pederson
Bruce Arians
Joe Judge
Anthony Lynn
Dan Quinn*******

(* – potential midseason firing)

Your periodic reminder that Jim Caldwell was fired after getting a Super Bowl performance out of Joe Flacco — this gets more and more amazing in retrospect — and then going 36-28 with one of the worst organizations in the league, because the Lions preferred a guy who presided over a defense that was the league’s 31st best by DVOA and was scored on at will by a replacement-level journeyman in the Super Bowl. In fairness, Belichick’s assistants do have an unimpeachable track record.

Complaints about how officiating may have affected a regional sports franchise also acceptable.