balfan23

OK ... that was a mouthful. I get the criticism of Ozzie in his drafting of late, but I think some of this is a bit too far. Since you made so many points, I'll try to address individually ... I assume the "only good picks since 2011" list doesn't include 2016 ... I'd only add Wagner to that list, but that is indeed a much smaller list than you'd like to see We never know exactly what transpires between teams in talks when the clock is ticking, but the story on the attempted Ramsey trade was that we tried to trade the 3rd round pick to the Cowboys, but they declined out of fear that we were lying about Ramsey and would have taken Elliot and they didn't want to risk losing him. On Kafusi - I just don't understand the venom when someone gets injured with something like a broken leg... do we really need to brand them as an instant bust. If a player wasn't an injury concern during college and this sort of thing ends up happening, how can you blame the front office for that? 24 other teams aside from the Ravens didn't think STEFON DIGGS was worth 3rd to 5th round pick either. We only noticed because the dude is from MD. The 2016 draft has been an abomination? Correa is massively disappointing and I've already covered Kafusi ... but Stanley? I mean the guy wasn't hurt once in college ... so we're supposed to see this injury coming in our crystal ball? When he did play, he played well and improved from week to week. He's finishing the season in a fashion that is showing he could be a dominant player. And Young? A 4th round CB who starts and plays well? Most 1st rounders don't see as much success in their rookie season. I think Dixon looks promising as well as Alex Lewis. And the rest ... jeez, give it a chance, you can't evaluate everyone else a bust that quickly. The question of Osemele is a tough one. We missed him badly. But to have signed him ... you can take every player we got in the off-season and say they aren't on the team. I think you need to find a couple other players that were on the team that would have had to been cut to make the payment. To think that wouldn't have hurt us in other places is naive. Many out here are not terribly pleased with Ozzie's picks over recent years but I think that 2016 has a chance to be a very good one and we need to string together a few more years of them.

Here is what we have on Defense: DL = This may have been the most solid position group on the team, despite the fact that they didn't finish the season well. Jernigan was one of the bright spots on the season and hopefully can continue to improve. We're going to need to find a way to fill the gap that will be left by Williams, because I'll be shocked if he doesn't pull down a salary that is more than we'll be willing to pay. OLB = Greatest need on the team and must be addressed in the draft, hopefully with a first rounder. However, this time we need to pick a player that will actually contribute. Correa is 2016's biggest disappointment. I know, he was only a rookie, but you need to at least be a rotational player that starts showing promise when you are picked as high as he was. Even if he surprises us all and explodes on the scene, this is still a top priority need. ILB = Thank goodness Orr, who I think is the 2nd brightest spot on this team only behind Young, is RFA. Give him his 2nd round tender and then try to get a longer term contract. Mosley is locked in for one more year. S = Weddle is locked in. Webb definitely improved, but it is an open question as to whether he's worth the $5.5M we'd get back if we let him go. CB = Thank God for Young. Jimmy is really good, but we all know what the problem is there. I still think we need to invest in youth at this position, but we need to find better depth here.

To look forward to 2017, I first want to look back to 2016. That's where the foundation is. Here is what we have on offense: QB = locked in (whether you like it or not) through 2019 RB/FB = 2 very inexpensive RB options who complement each other nicely. Dixon was a bright spot for the season and can carry over in 2017. Juice is FA ... and while he is a pro-bowler, few teams value his position, so hopefully we can keep him. OL = Wagner is priority #1 for our own FAs. The O line wasn't great, but Wagner was solid and we need to take steps to improve the line and can't take a step back. At a minimum, get better depth. If possible, look for an upgrade for Zuttah. TE = I'll not be surprised if we say "lets go young" and shed both Pitta and Watson, but wow ... do we really have faith in these youngsters? This is easily the most disappointing position group on the team. A lot invested with very little to show for it. WR = This position group is wafer thin. Wallace's productivity went off a cliff, so do we keep him or cut and save $5M? Perriman still looks lost out there. Moore hasn't shown us anything yet. Camp can catch a punt and run a jet sweep - when he's healthy. This is not an awe inspiring group. It needs to be addressed, but it won't be through the draft.

I'm afraid that could be the case. I firmly believe we will view Doom that way and given his $6M cap savings, he's a virtual guarantee to be cut. Sizzle only save $1M, so the only way he goes is if he retires. He's got one more year on the roster. Hope he can really recover from all his injuries to the extent that he can at least be effective in 2017. But OLB is the #1 offseason need by a huge margin.

I would go so far as to say Dumervil is virually guaranteed to be cut. I see no reason to believe that his production will warrant keeping him given the cap savings releasing him will bring ($6M). As you say, Z isn't inspiring anyone and at this point we don't even know if Correa is a back up option (which is very disappointing given his draft position). OLB is a draft position we must nail for 2017. CB is a clear need, but no need is more acutely felt as edge rush.

The Good: The offense woke up and did what they could to deliver the win. Too bad "the good" here was not good enough to overcome the bad and the ugly. The Bad: Zero pressure on Ben. At a time when you are looking for Suggs to play out of his mind, he was invisible. Doom was totally nonexistent for the entire season, partly due to injury but then he never got his legs under him. You can't succeed if you can't even lay a finger on Ben. The Ugly: Blowing the game - not once but twice with a 4th quarter lead. The defense not only couldn't stop the Steelers from scoring TDs, they couldn't even make them do it slowly. Hot knife through butter.

No doubt. #1 need is pass rush. IMO, it was a lack of a pass rush that ended our season on Christmas Day. I thought that we were going to be in good shape with Doom returning and having a few games to get himself back into game shape. Unfortunately, he was totally invisible vs. PIT.

The only way we part ways with Wallace is if we intend to use that cap space + a little more to make a bigger move to bring in a high priced WR. As you said, there is no way Perriman or Aiken will be our #1 next year. I know that's not our style, but we may be looking at taking that kind of bigger step to shake things up.

Well, I don't know ... the problem with that approach is that you can guarantee that a young gun comes in here and turns this unit around, he'll be gone in a year to be the HC somewhere else. There are a lot of success stories around the league with former HCs, who go back to being a coordinator and settle into that role permanently. Kubiak could have been a long term solution had his dream job not come open. He was turning down other offers for HC elsewhere. Todd Haley, Wade Phillips ... before that Dick LeBeau. If Joe is starting slow and ending the season strong, is it possible that it is this crazy lack of consistency that is causing the problem? If we can say he's finished strong this season, then would it make sense to keep the guy who only was here for a part of the season? I don't know ... I just feel like the lack of consistency is a major problem and bringing in some wunderkind to use our OC position as a stepping stone is not what we need.

I understand the sentiment. We're most certainly flawed. However, that would depend on what you consider making noise. Outside of NE, who in the AFC should anyone be afraid of? I really could see the winner of this game making it to the AFCC. Unless you live in the world where only championships matter and if you can't get that, you shouldn't bother - I think that would be a nice feather in the cap for the 2016 season.

A much more recent version of a championship Ravens team involved the acquisition of one Anquan Boldin. That was the one true attempt at getting a playmaker on the outside. All else has involved underperforming draft picks and aged WRs to fill in. I'd really like to see us take that route again. Now - who would be available - I've no idea, but if such a person could be made available, then I'd love to see us take that approach again.

Huh ... I just didn't think it would be in the Pats nature to do anything but humiliate an opponent - especially one in the division. I guess he learned his lesson when Welker went down in a meaningless game at the end of the season. Oh well, doesn't really matter now.

Well, I'll go with biggest "positive" surprise of the year ... I think there are some runners-up and I'll mention them first. Orr: He has been absolutely fantastic. His emergence helps reduce the sting of the disaster that A. Brown was. That is something that people need to look at when they blast draft busts ... they need to look at the whole picture. Honestly, Orr is playing at the level of a 2nd rounder IMO, so it sort of cancelled that mistake out. I'm not making him the top surprise, because he showed signs where it was reasonable to expect him to be productive. Pitta: I think here it is just a surprise that he's able to play at all, let alone that he's not needed to miss time. Even though he's not been consistently stellar its amazing that he has played the role of TE1 for us all season. For me the winner is Young. Only rarely do we see 1st round CBs come into the league and start. For a 4th rounder to do it - and to not only start, but actually leave you feeling confident that he can hold his own - is truly surprising. The fact that he plays at a position where we are seriously thin, only makes the surprise that much more pleasant.

Not sure why Mink bothered to cloud the picture by mentioning Texans or Titans. They don't matter. They play each other in week 17 and the loser of that game will be out via tie-breakers at 9-7. MIA and DEN are all that matter ... I think it is even a stretch to worry about these other games that ensure that NE has something to play for in week 17. When was the last time NE had nothing to play for and didn't bother to try to win? NE wins in week 17 at home vs. MIA whether the rest of the world perceives that they have nothing to play for or not. I wouldn't expect a wholesale resting of starters if they have the #1 seed locked up. That's just not how the evil genius rolls.

Yeah - it is really hard to tell what we'd want anyway. I'm really not interested in seeing MIA lose, if it works out that we win out. All that will do is put PIT in the playoffs, instead of MIA. Call me crazy, but I'd rather have MIA return to M&T in the playoffs, than have to beat the Steelers for a 3rd time this year. Of course, if we lose ... then our only chance is having MIA lose out. In that regard, I wish we played ahead of the MIA game ... that way I'd know what to root for in the MIA game.

If we attempt to "run the ball down their throats" that will be a first for the 2016 season. I've not seen any game where we've really tried to play that kind of ball. It was understandable during the period where our o line was a shambles, but now that we've had the same group on the field for a while, it would be nice to see us try. For whatever reason, the Steeler's pass D has been good vs. TEs, while overall their secondary can be exploited. While we all love to see Joe launch the ball downfield, some of our biggest gainers have been short routes to either Wallace or Perriman - where if we get them the ball in even just a little bit of space, they can flat out fly. I really do think we are going to work Wallace into this one. Not that I propose writing a game plan to fit some story line, but the fact is that often times veteran players simply take it out on their former teams in a big way, so why not? We've seen SSS do it to CAR, let Wallace do it it to PIT.

Oh well, what can you do? Those darn head coaches just don't have us fantasy owners best interest in mind when putting together their injury reports

Cool - thought I'd hit you with the news, since it last sounded as if you were rolling with Eifert. I still was willing to roll with him, had he suited up. He has been up and down, but his ups have been nice. He filled in on a couple weeks and really gave my team a lift and he ultimately ended up being a regular in my line up at the end of the season. Just glad he's pulled out instead of trying to tough it out and get nothing.

I'm sure you've seen it - but Eifert is out. Just want to make sure you know. Well, he's most certainly worthless this week, although this is better than him playing and not scoring as he did last week. At least you have the option to fill in with someone else. I was looking to use him in the flex, so it looks like it is Moncrief. I have the option of using Ware - but if I trusted him, I'd have already used him at RB. I could pick up Lockett, but at this point it is all a crap shoot. Why make a move if it is 6 of one, half dozen the other. I'm just standing pat and hoping for the best.

No, not a steelers troll, just a fan who has no real perspective on what a team that is truly garbage really looks like. In general, they look like the Browns or the Rams. They are not one sitting at 8-6 and playing for a division title. Since Ed and Ray left, they've not been as good as they were when they were here. Well, now there is a shocker. A team loses "the 2 best players to ever play the game" and sees a drop off? Someone needs to explain how that could happen. I understand - even at 8-6, that many fans (including myself) are frustrated at the team not playing consistently. But the team shows flashes of being dangerous, as they did back in 2014 (post Ed and Ray), where they squeaked into the playoff in the final week - needing help and only narrowly beating the feeble Browns. What team could that group beat in the playoffs? The answer: The Steelers in PIT and darn near took out the soon to be Super Bowl Champion Pats, if not for some desperate dig into the Pats bag of tricks. So - what team can they beat if they get to the playoffs this year? I'm not sure, but I'd like to find out (as would the fans of many other teams who are actually garbage).

Why didn't any of you tell me I was stupid for even thinking about using Mathews, just because of what he did last week to us! Not sure if he'd have really gotten me much, even if he hadn't gotten hurt, because it seemed like Sproles was getting all the carries (given he was out last week had a lot to do with Mathews performance as he was the only option). If I lose by a margin less than the difference between his score and what Ware will score, I'll be kicking myself all off season.

You've been both rewarded and burnt, because his production is very unpredictable and seems to have nothing to do with matchup. Last week, I thought ARZ would be a tough matchup and he exploded. A few weeks ago, they were at the Rams and I was all set for him to go off. The Saints scored about 50 points and he didn't get a single catch. You are compelled to put him in because you'll never forgive yourself if you have him on the bench and he does what he did in week 1 or last week.

Thanks - actually, I modified my post since you quoted it, but Lockett is available on waivers. I'm considering picking him up, but that would appear to go against conventional wisdom.

I have quite a mess to fill my last 2 slots. 2 guys I've been using in my RB2 (Ware) and Flex (Eifert) are now feeling rather suspect and I need to consider them liabilities going into the championship. My league scoring is weird ... yardage is devalued and only really counts for something if you can hit 100 yards in either rushing or receiving (no combined yards). Also, it is 1/2 PPR. Both of those items combined means that I've basically never used an RB in the flex. The other option is I could drop one of them and pick up Tyler Lockett. I drafted him and dropped him, but he seems to have woken up over the past couple weeks. Fantasy sites are discounting him despite his recent success. So ... for Flex, the only sub I have is Moncrief. He's been hurt and is pretty TD dependent when he's in. So in some ways, it feels like it is either him or Eifert in that slot. For RB, my other options over Ware are Mathews, Dion Lewis or Dixon. All the fantasy sites are ranking Ware above every one of these guys but he's been really disappointing of late. He gets plenty of carries, but doesn't do anything with them and has been getting fewer receptions of late. I'm leaning toward Mathews, given that Smallwood is out and since he did so well against us, but Sproles will be back. Lewis always has the Belichick game plan issue and Dixon saved his fantasy week with a TD, but fell back into the 2nd back role in terms of touches last week. If I'm going to use Mathews, that decision needs to be made today, given they are playing tonight.

IMO Cooks can't be sat. He's a guy that can flat out win your week (for example last week). He's definitely a little boom or bust, as has always been the case with Brees' receivers, but he's been more boom that bust. I have him and I've committed some time ago that I don't even think about him. He's in the line up, no matter the match up. So perhaps you can say that Edelman has a higher floor, but the ceiling on Cooks is through the roof.