Big Blue Huddle

@Jolly Blue Giant I am a military history and technology buff.  So, of course, I heard of the A-10; it's one of my favorite aircraft.  The engines are mounted high to protect them.  The pilot sits in a titanium armor tub for protection.  It's slow, can carry a sh1tload of ordinance, and as you said, it's got a killer 30 mm Gatling gun that can make short work of nearly anything.  It did start to show its age in terms of sensors in the various desert conflicts, but I believe that was resolved with upgrades.

Edit to add:  Much like the B-17 in WW 2, there were many stories of A-10s getting shot up and still bringing their pilots safely back to base.

For those who are curious, here are the 12 teams to have never won a Super Bowl


Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
Tennessee Titans

When I think back to my first car (a 1969 Dodge Dart), and I consider my last couple of cars, I can't help but feel how far we have come in terms of car technology.  They are safer, less polluting, better performing, more comfortable and far more refined.

Adaptive cruise control, anti-skid breaking, GPS navigation, heated seats and steering wheel, quiet as anything in the cabin, high end sound system with satellite radio or podcasts, heads-up display, blindside warnings, lane keeping, burns much less gas, more cargo room, and so on.  My teen self says I have arrived in the future and it's impressive.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on January 22, 2024, 10:06:39 AMEVs are here to stay, but they aren't the ideal solution for people who travel a lot or have long distances to work. The U.S. is a lot different from European countries that are not as big as some of our states, let alone 50 of them. I've talked to a lot of folks from Europe who are shocked at the size of this country once they get here. They just assume if they visit NYC, they can drive for an hour or two and see the Niagara Falls. They are used to driving across their entire country in less than 8 hours...not several days that is the norm for the U.S.

One of the things that stuck in my craw a few years back, was a (I'll just call him a "high level" politician) who said, "sometimes you just have to put engineers backs against the wall to make them find solutions faster". Well, that is NOT how engineering works. They are already highly motivated and extremely intelligent

EVs are still ahead of their time. They solve one problem whilst making new problems. The whole switching to a new source of energy to drive a country's economy requires transition time and extreme planning...it can't be forced. And stopping our own production of fossil fuels, and turning around and buying our fossil fuel needs from other countries does NOTHING to change the world's carbon footprint - it only makes us reliant on other countries for our energy needs, which in turn, hurts our economic strength and putting our money into other countries' economies...makes no sense!

You want to motivate engineers to find faster solutions...dangle cash at a finish line. That will work ten times faster than political hucksters (who have never engineered a thing in their lives) using legislation in a pathetic attempt to drive genius

I am mindful that when private automobiles first appeared, there were internal combustion engines, electric, and steam.  Eventually, ICE became the standard.   Plus, the technology tree has plenty of dead-end branches.  I really think that hydrogen may ultimately prove to be a more practical and better replacement than EVs unless there is a major breakthrough in battery technology.

Right now, it seems smarter to continue to buy ICE autos or as Lenn suggested a plugin hybrid.

I mean, if I owned an EV as my only car and I wanted to spend a weekend down in, say, Wildwood (a popular destination here in NJ), I would have to drive in the heat (the AC will drain some of my range) 150 miles to Wildwood from home.  I would then need to find a charger somewhere down in Wildwood (taking away precious vacation time) so that I can recharge my car for any trips down there plus charge it up near full for the trip back home.

Now compare that with an ICE auto.  I drive down and fill up the tank at some point while I am down there (taking all of 5 or 10 minutes), and that's all I have to do in terms of thinking about or caring for my vehicle.  The two experiences simply don't compare.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on January 22, 2024, 10:38:13 AMYeah...I worry he's going to keel over with a heart attack sometimes

As far as new coaches go, If I was Daboll, I'd be searching for young and up-and-coming guys who won't buckle at being yelled at or feel as if they know more than their HC. Older successful guys who are set in their ways and know the game so well they can sleep through it, can be a problem if they get rubbed the wrong way and will seldom open to any form of criticism

The challenge with young up-and-comers is to get them, you need to promote them to DC.   From Daboll's (and Schoen's) perspective that creates the risk of the defense backsliding as the new DC learns on the job.

Quote from: sooners56 on January 22, 2024, 10:30:46 AMGoff
Jackson
Allen
.

Goff is super efficient. Jackson just keeps producing. Special long throws by Allen even though his WRs dropped them.

I forgot Jackson.  He looked solid in the pocket and is a really special runner.   

Quote from: JT39 on January 22, 2024, 10:37:04 AMIf you look into the playoffs - the position that has been impressive has bee the TEs:

Kelce is Kelce
Kincaid is very good and very under utilized
Laporta is an absolute beast
Njokou - is a very godd TE for Cleveland
The Texans TEs each scored in the first week
Lively is a back up that could start on many teams in the NFL
Kittle is an All-Pro.
Jake Ferguson had 3 TDs.
Friermuth had a big game.

I may be even forgetting more. But knowing we have a guy who gets injured on a daily basis and useless backup, its very discouraging.

I wanted the Giants to draft Lively

Quote from: katkavage on January 22, 2024, 10:12:51 AMIt's pretty clear that you need an elite QB to go forward in the playoffs, with very few exceptions. All these teams have elite or very close to elite QBs.

It's also clear that just having a really good QB doesn't ensure success


https://x.com/PaulHembo/status/1749449293788811538?s=20

Plus, you have Herbert, Lawerence, and Burrow, who are not even in the playoffs (with Herbert and Lawerence not having been regulars in the playoffs).

In the end, you need a good quarterback, a good head coach (and staff), and a good organization that ensures a high level of talented players.

Quote from: T200 on January 22, 2024, 10:00:48 AMI'm not a big fan of an HC pulling double duty. Hire the right people to do their respective jobs. I know some have excelled at it but I don't think everyone can do it. I don't know where Daboll falls.

Daboll needs to find a competent DC who also has thick skin and won't take Daboll's game day rants personally. Football is emotional. Yes, I agree that there needs to be a higher level of composure, it's only detrimental to the team if his style is more negative than positive.

One other thought: even before this season, I had noticed how worked-up Daboll looked on the sidelines.  I hadn't considered that he was impacting the team; I was just worried about his health.  He looked so worked up and didn't appear to be in the best of shapes; I feared he would stroke out or have a coronary on the sidelines.  For his own wellbeing, I hope Daboll finds a way to calm down during the games.

Quote from: T200 on January 22, 2024, 10:00:48 AMI'm not a big fan of an HC pulling double duty. Hire the right people to do their respective jobs. I know some have excelled at it but I don't think everyone can do it. I don't know where Daboll falls.

Daboll needs to find a competent DC who also has thick skin and won't take Daboll's game day rants personally. Football is emotional. Yes, I agree that there needs to be a higher level of composure, it's only detrimental to the team if his style is more negative than positive.

Tim,

I thought you would find this breakdown interesting:

Quote from: T200 on January 22, 2024, 10:02:27 AMThe Elite 8 QBs all played very well, save for a bad second half for Jordan Love and a stout Ravens defense confusing Stroud.

I thought Love looked more impressive against the Cowboys.   To me, Stroud looked okay, but I didn't see much in the way of special throws or plays (in either game).

Quote from: katkavage on January 22, 2024, 09:50:29 AMGoff has been spectacular. Mahomes is the GOAT. Allen was very good. Stroud for a first year was very good. Mayfield had some nice moments. Jackson played well in the one game. I'll evaluate more after another game. Purdy was the least impressive but he lost Samuel which hurt. All would be a major major improvement on what the Giants currently have now.

I was impressed by Baker Mayfield as well.  There were a few plays where I thought he got sacked a bit too easily, but I also thought he more than offset that with some pretty special throws/plays

Former GM Randy Mueller suggested that the best thing for Daboll to do is lean into his strengths (while leaning away from his weaknesses).  Could Daboll talking over play calling and running the offense be the solution to his issues?   After all, if he is focused on the offense, he is less likely to be rubbing his other coaches the wrong way.  If he hires another experienced DC and STC, he could just focus on the offense and let the other coordinators do what they need to do.

I think there is something to work with in Daboll.  Despite his temper issues, he seems to still have strong support in the locker room.  If he can learn to dial it down on game day and lean into his high-level skills as an offensive coach, he could turn things around.

I suspect if Daboll takes over play-calling, they will let Kafka seek employment elsewhere promote Tierny to the non-play-calling OC position, and then find a QB coach to backfill

Of course, the challenge will be finding high-level DC and STC who are willing to hitch their wagon to an HC in his 3rd year who is now on the hot seat and has a reputation for not treating his coaching staff well.  That may limit NYG's options.  My fingers are crossed that NYG and Daboll can get past this issue and bring in some quality additions.

Who are your top 3 QBs you have seen in the playoffs, in order?  Why did you rank them that way?


1. ?

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3. ?

These are the sort of stories that will put a dent in EV sales


https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/dead-teslas-oak-brook