Big Blue Huddle

Is it better? I would say yes. O line is better, D is better, we have a star receiver, and our special teams are better.

Is it as improved as it should be after three offseasons since Schoen's hiring? I would have to say no.

Quote from: AZGiantFan on Today at 03:12:06 PMHe didn't do the evaluations, pff did.  He did the math.

I'm aware of that. I was just curious who he is. I wasn't challenging the content.

Quote from: Philosophers on Today at 02:50:15 PMFlott is rail thin.  Good for DeVonta Smith but not big WR

Flott's 4.52 40 time is also a bit on the slow side by CB standards.

Quote from: Philosophers on Today at 11:10:58 AMSo true Dave.  Nova 3 and Ono.

For Brunson to struggle yet team be so competitive in a game speaks volumes abiut the team.

Here's my question now.  Are they really better with Randle?  I am not sure.

I'm not sure either Phil. As I said above, with Randle you get sometimes great play, but you pay a very big overall price for it. He's often very unreliable handling the ball and can be very poor with shot selection. When you net it all out I'm not sure if he's a net value-add, especially factoring in price. We know that other teams aren't interested in taking on his contract, so that tells you something right there. I'd also add that the Knicks were without him for a long time this year and seemed to do just fine.

Quote from: Messiah717 on Today at 10:36:14 AMOG is a tough break with how well him and the team were playing.  They can still beat Indiana but a depleted team will get horse whipped in the Conference Finals.  Good things are happening though.  Unfortunately, the injuries bit them this year.  With Randle and OG that's a team that can be in the conversation of getting to the Finals. 

I'm with you across the board.

If I'm Rose, I'm looking at ways to move on from Randle and Mitch after this season. Mitch is additive when healthy, but he has multi-month absences, and then the moment he comes back he's clutching his ankle and grimacing the first time he lands on it, and the cycle starts again. I just don't see how they can keep doing this. Plus Hartenstein is going to command a lot more money moving forward, and I don't want to lose him.

With Randle it's a combination of erratic and often sloppy play, injuries, and a sometimes toxic attitude. I understand that when he's on, he can be dominant, but you pay a big price for all of that (on top of the financial price, which is also very big).

The heart of this team is the Nova-3 and OG now, IMO, with nice contributions from a few other guys like Deuce and Hartenstein. They definitely need one more player after that, but they have the assets to make a move when the opportunity is right.

Just out of interest, who is Ian Hartitz and what NFL-relevant professional experience or credentials does he have? His X handle says he's "president of the Cordarelle Patterson Fan Club" (which I assume is a joke) and that he does a fantasy football podcast. Does he have any actual experience that separates him from just any other fan who spends some of his spare time looking at NFL stuff? If the former applies, I'll probably start following him on X.

Tough loss last night, but I thought it was a great effort. A lot of people out there thought the Knicks would get blown out last night, possibly resting players and saving themselves for game four.

Instead, they were not only in the game late, but they were leading fairly late in the game, and they managed this without OG plus all their other injuries. Basically, the Nova three led the team again, and it feels like as long as these three games are playing you always have a shot.

To be fair, I am worried about OG, because I think they may still need him to win this series, and if they were to advance, they will certainly need him to have any sort of shot of even being competitive against the Celtics (assuming the Celtics advance). I worry about OG because hamstrings are usually not a "day to day" thing, as the Knicks are publicly characterizing this injury. They tend to take a while to heal, so I worry he could be done. I hope that's not the case.

All in all though, a good effort last night despite the final result. This team has a ton of heart and grit. Hopefully they can get it done tomorrow.

Connections
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Huge!!

When Panarin took a penalty to break up a Ranger power play and turn it into 4 on 4, I texted a friend with the comment "first time I've heard Panarin's name tonight." It was as if he saw that text, resented it, and wanted to show me up. And show me up he most certainly did. What a sensational play by him to set up the Laffy goal and then obviously to also get it done in OT. Great stuff!

I want this wrapped up on Saturday so badly. Back to back sweeps would be immense. If they win in five I'm obviously fine with that but I really think they should be looking to end this this weekend. The Canes have to be totally deflated at this point.

Has anyone watched "Baby Reindeer" on Netflix?

Very creepy and disturbing, but also very good. It's also unclear how much of it is actually true (nobody seems to know for sure other than perhaps the real people involved). Very mysterious, unsettling, disturbing series.

I highly recommend it if those kinds of shows are your kind of thing. If you can't handle some off-putting scenes, stay far, far away.

Quote from: LennG on May 09, 2024, 08:22:27 PMNo offense here, but I saw this yesterday and was going to post it, but as soon as I saw the rankings, I decided (and for me, not a Daniel Jones fan) against it. It was really too much over the top.

How in the world can you rank 5 guys who never took a damn snap in the NFL ahead of even the worst QB in the league?

I get your point Lenn, but if you're doing these rankings you have to put the rookies somewhere if they're expected to be starters.

I'm not saying these rookie rankings are going to be accurate, but I'm not sure you should just automatically put them all at the dead bottom of the league if you're trying to give your forecast of where you think they'll be. I think the writer is making a speculative assessment here. He may be wrong in his assessment obviously, but just automatically ranking them at the bottom solely because they're rookies doesn't seem like the best approach to me.

No mention of Madonna anywhere?