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Didn't see one already up. On the slate we have:

1:00 Games

ATL@TB: Influences playoff seeding. If the Bucs win, they face the winner of the NFC East guaranteed. If they lose, they may face NO, GB, or SEA in the Wild Card Round.

DAL@NYG: Influences playoff picture. If WAS loses to PHI, the winner of this game is in the playoffs. Yes, that means the NYG can qualify for the playoffs with a 6-10 season. Personally I'm kinda rooting for that because it would be hilarious.

MIN@DET: Influences draft order. Both of these teams are bad, and both are guaranteed out of the playoffs. Not exactly a must-watch game.

PIT@CLE: Influences playoff picture, seeding. The Browns are one of 5 teams in the AFC with a 10-5 record, competing for 4 spots. One of those will be Titans / Colts, but the Browns are playing for the chance to get into the playoffs while the Steelers are resting starters.

BAL@CIN: Influences playoff picture, seeding. The Ravens are another of the 5...

Here is the last game day thread. As bad as this season has been, it is always good to go out with a victory against the Jete. Although I am not as confident in this game now that the Jete are actually trying to win.

Jeff Howe gives his thoughts - the Athletic

My comments:
I'll add Fla. QB Kyle Trask to his list of QBs to draft. 6'5", 240. Drop back pocket presence++ with decent mobility. 2020 stats - 70% completion rate, 4125 yds, 11.6 AY/A, 43 TDs and only 5 ints. BB could trade back to around 20-25 and still get Trask while adding a late 2nd or early 3rd to boot.
WRs - Marvin Jones &/or Corey Davis would be perfect, thank you.
TE - Hunter Henry for sure. He'd help immensely.
Adding a TE & 2 WRs would do wonders for the offense.
LB - Lavonte David has been productive his entire career plus he can cover a back or a TE.
Of our own FAs, I'm not certain JMac will be back, at least not as a CB; maybe at S. I'd like to keep Byrd and James White.

...

This free agent wide receiver group is extremely diverse in terms of playing styles, with a handful of true X receivers, great slot weapons, deep threats, after-the-catch specialists and so on. Whatever type of playmaker a team is looking for, they’re out there.

1/2
Here’s how the top of the class stacks up over the 2019 and 2020 regular seasons, with a few notable position ranks (min. 75 targets) included in parentheses:

Figured I would get this thread going given the 4 day turn around. Feel good about our D vs their O. Don't feel great about our O vs their D. Still very winnable but probably our toughest game left.

View: https://twitter.com/bostonsportsinf/status/1335233877158322176

The New England Patriots will attempt to get back to .500 this week when they begin a two-game stint in Los Angeles and a three-game road trip overall. After facing the Chargers on Sunday, the Patriots will stay on the West Coast to prepare for a Thursday Night Football game against the Rams. The Patriots will then play their final regular season road game at Miami in Week 15 before returning home for the final two weeks of the season.

SCOUTING THE MATCHUPS​

By Paul Perillo
When the Patriots run - Edge: Patriots
After several weeks of solid production on the ground the Patriots have been held in check by suspect defenses the last two weeks. Damien Harris remains the lead dog but for the second straight game he failed to reach the 50-yard mark, this time against a banged up Arizona front. Teams are stacking the box and forcing the Patriots to adjust, and other than a few occasional quick hitters toward the edges they have not been able to do so...

It's a bit early, but we can track movements up and down the likely fixtures week by week.

If the season ended now, this is what we'd get with the new 7 teams per conference format. Only 1st seed gets the bye. Some intriguing matchups, in the AFC I think our Buffalo pals would be a bit nervous going up against the Browns. Which is some statement to make.

With cap space but a lot of FAs, we wonder what BB has planned for 2021.
Here's an article by PFF that details which teams should fare well and which teams are looking a steep slide.
I believe this next year we'll see some expensive veteran leadership leave the team. DMac and Thuney head the list. I've also heard High and Cannon are considering retirement.

First things first, let’s see which teams will be best suited to retain their impending free agents (if they want to). We’re operating under the assumption that the 2021 salary cap will be the $175 million floor set by the NFLPA and NFL. While the two sides have discussed salary cap smoothing mechanisms to spread the cost over the next several seasons, the odds are that the final number will still be a much larger constraint on spending than it has been in at least a decade. The below chart will not exactly inspire confidence in free agents and their representatives, but hey, there’s no state income tax in Jacksonville...

Please give your reasons for your vote in a post.

Almout four years ago, I started a thread in the P&R forum named "Gravitational Waves Detected" - I don't know why I put it there, but it seemed to be well-received and generated a lot of activity.

It might have done even better if it had been placed in the main forum - there are a number of people on the board that never venture into the P&R forum, and they may have enjoyed reading through the many thoughtful posts that populated that thread, and perhaps would have contributed.

So this thread is a follow-up to that one, but with a wider scope: anything in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

I'll kick things off with this article on quintessence, a form of dark energy that may explain why the universe is expanding faster than all the current models predict.

I know this guy isn't a member of Our Team anymore, or if it's bad manners to discuss players on other teams (except for Random Football News), but our long lost QB has been playing like dog shit for the Bucs. He said he'd retire when he couldn't cut it anymore, but has said he doesn't plan to retire after this season. So whaddya think? Should he bow out now before he craps all over his legend, or is this year simply growing pains of moving to a new team/new coaches/new teammates/new playbook, etc. and he'll be back to playing great again next year? Opinions, please.

Finally an early game again!!!
This is a game the Pats' O can use to really get humming again.
The Texans are 31st in rush D; the Pats are 3rd in rushing offense. No contest there. They are 18th in pass D.
On offense they're weak running the ball (31st) which is a blessing for us, and their strength on O is passing (8th) which is also our strength on D. I'll take our pass D every time.

Opening odds: The Pats are 1.5 pt favorites - play the Pats. The Texans are 2-7 with both wins over the lowly Jax Jaguars.

When the Patriots run - Edge: Patriots
Sometimes trying to figure out the best plan of attack for a game can be challenging. Then there are matchups like this that seem to make things quite easy. The Patriots love to run the football behind their physical offensive line. Damien Harris has injected new life into the ground game and is coming off his third 100-yard game...

In the vain of "Smart TVs and Boxes/cord cutting", anyone have experience (good or bad) with any of the security products that are out there? I'll be moving into my first house, maybe by the end of the year if the builder can get their head out of their ass, and have started looking into the DYI systems that are out there.... Simplisafe, Abode, ect...

I most interested in getting something basic setup, and then being able to expand on it as I discover more needs. Good integration with Google and Philips Hue is a big plus too. I'm currently leaning towards Abode, but wanted to see if the Planet had any experience.

Thanks!

Tough one coming up Sunday night. Turnovers could be key.
Ravens are 7 point favorites.

• Game Preview: Ravens at Patriots. Series history, scouting the matchups, tale of the tape.
• Broadcast Information: Patriots vs. Ravens.
• Mike Dussault’s After Further Review: Pats perfect with game on the line.
• Patriots K Nick Folk named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
• Patriots make a series of roster transactions...

not really "threadworthy" but this is the indicator to me, BB is truly more open this year. imagine him saying this 5 years ago? nope.


Bill Belichick might have had as much success with the Jets as he has had with the Patriots. Maybe not. No one will ever know because Belichick stepped down as the Jets’ head coach the day of his introduction in 2000.

He broke the news to team officials by writing, “I resign as HC of the NYJ” on a piece of paper.

While it ranks as one of the worst days in Jets’ history, Belichick remembers it fondly.

“That was one of the not only most defining, but one of the great moments of my career,” Belichick said Tuesday in his weekly interview on sports...

Statement from Gillette Stadium Officials – November 9, 2020

Throughout the last several months, Gillette Stadium officials and the Kraft Sports + Entertainment organization have worked diligently to develop a plan to safely host fans at a reduced capacity. We have done so in collaboration with a team of infectious disease experts and the Massachusetts Reopening Advisory Board and feel confident in our plan, which complies with guidelines issued by the CDC, the National Football League and Major League Soccer.

We have recently been informed that the Governor’s Executive Order prohibiting large capacity venues from opening to the public will remain in force for the remainder of the 2020 football and soccer seasons.

We understand that the advisory board, Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito made this decision with the health and safety of the community in mind. Still, we know that this decision will be disappointing to the friends and family members of our respective...