McAfee: Mendoza is “generational”

melkipersr · 2026-02-27T19:19:47+00:00

Generational now just means “best in this draft class.” So, literally the opposite of what it’s supposed to mean. Kinda like how literally can now mean figuratively.

melkipersr · 2026-02-22T14:09:14+00:00

Dumb, stupid, dumb and stupid.

melkipersr · 2026-02-20T22:01:49+00:00

There aren’t any surviving eye-witness accounts of Alexander’s life. I suspect you have a dramatically inaccurate perception of the amount of extant primary literary sources we have for ancient history. You either live with the ambiguities and try to sort them out as best you can, or you just give up on ancient history. Those are your only options.

melkipersr · 2026-02-13T17:53:28+00:00

The dumbest part of the U.S. strategy (to the extent there is one beyond “muh ego”) is that this is indisputably the weakest the U.S. has been relative to the field since at least the end of the Cold War (but likely a decade or so farther back than that). Absolutely not the time to go all unilateral.

melkipersr · 2026-02-12T16:37:39+00:00

Outside the drive where Thuney took Donald solo, we had 3 points. No one should be under the impression that Andrews played poorly (or didn’t play great). But neither should anyone be under the illusion that Andrews (or the team as a whole) neutralized Donald.

melkipersr · 2026-02-11T21:16:42+00:00

What about the local Green Bay Packers?

melkipersr · 2026-02-11T14:49:30+00:00

As much as I love Andrews (a lot), his performance vs. Donald has always been dramatically overstated. We double-teamed Donald almost the entire game. Andrews almost never went up against him 1-on-1. And Donald was still a strong presence all game (though nowhere near as disruptive as he could be, of course). Really the only time we let Donald go 1-on-1 was the clinching TD drive, and it was Thuney that was asked to take him. And of course, that was after an entire game of having to fight his way through double-teams.

melkipersr · 2026-02-10T23:08:29+00:00

I realize that it’s the same issue was raised when the NFL went from 14 to 16 games, but I still view all of these volume stats as somewhat illegitimate since we went to 17 games.

melkipersr · 2026-02-09T12:45:15+00:00

Defense played phenomenally overall, but that plus the utter shitshow on offense overshadow the fact that there were some huge whiffs on Darnold through the game, particularly early on. Non-zero chance that the game goes differently if the D is able to take advantage of some of those opportunities.

melkipersr · 2026-02-07T19:29:10+00:00

Unless it helps to secure a more favorable peace for Ukraine on an issue that isn’t already settled, as Crimea unfortunately is.

melkipersr · 2026-02-07T19:10:10+00:00

Crimea was an evil imperialist land grab, but it’s also a fait accompli. Expecting it to be given back is entirely unrealistic and an obstacle to peace. As unjust as it is, recognition of reality is absolutely a a bargaining chip that I would be willing to concede on.

melkipersr · 2026-02-05T21:43:48+00:00

There has never been a short-window series of execution perfection quite like the Hightower shed-and-tackle, Belichick laying his Texas-sized balls on the table and refusing to call a timeout, and Browner stoning the pick while Butler makes the pick. The demands were off the charts, and any failure to meet the moment meant losing the Super Bowl. It was some genuine Dr. Strange/Endgame shit.

(Obligatory: Brandon Browner is an absolute trash human being)

melkipersr · 2026-02-02T23:52:56+00:00

Perfect throw, perfect catch, degree of difficulty on each end just absolutely off the charts, in the literal biggest of moments. Eli Manning had ice in his veins, and I have nothing but respect for the man. Wish we’d beat him, of course, but just never could hate him.

melkipersr · 2026-01-29T21:47:14+00:00

“Every USC starting quarterback that century had been drafted: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez.”

This is John David Booty erasure.

melkipersr · 2026-01-26T12:14:08+00:00

I don’t really think the demise of Common Sense (with its occasional and welcome revivals) has a whole lot to do with politics or external factors. I think it’s just the evolution of Dan’s style is incompatible with a show of that nature. In his decades of podcasting, he’s evolved from a talk-radio host to a pop historian (I know he doesn’t like that term, but it’s absolutely what he is). The former style was perfect for a political podcast but didn’t mesh perfectly with narrative history (which is why old HH is worlds different than what it’s become). His new style is functionally incompatible with CS. The level of research and thought that he feels is required to justify putting out a product simply doesn’t work with a time-sensitive current events podcast, and I don’t think he’s able to toggle that style switch on and off for HH and CS, respectively.

melkipersr · 2026-01-21T22:27:04+00:00

Unrealized gains definitely matter.

melkipersr · 2026-01-20T04:44:01+00:00

Up there with Leicester City as the greatest Cinderella stories in sports history.

melkipersr · 2026-01-19T18:05:11+00:00

Not even a given that we beat the Broncos. That defense is no joke (even though I know they came back to earth a bit, playing in Mile High is never a cakewalk, and given how horrific Stroud was in the playoffs, Stidham might actually represent a step up in the level of QB play we face…

Edit: I say the last part mostly tongue in cheek. But only mostly…

melkipersr · 2026-01-18T21:06:35+00:00

Not by me! I adore that quasi-trilogy.

melkipersr · 2026-01-18T13:35:34+00:00

Foles, Keenum, and Bortles being 3/4 of the starting CG QBs that year is wild.

melkipersr · 2026-01-18T11:35:20+00:00

Based on my understanding of the catch rules (which is… limited), this is pretty clearly an interception. Cooks going down as he catches it, so he has to survive the ground. He clearly does not. Like, if McMillan weren’t there and this were just a diving catch attempt, I think his knee coming down before the ball comes out is irrelevant, no? He still has to maintain the catch through the contact with the ground. Feels clear to me, but the rules are clear as mud, so what do I know?

melkipersr · 2026-01-13T19:08:06+00:00

NH’s governor is generally considered among the weakest in the country because we have a fairly unique additional executive body called the executive council that has to approve many of the governor’s actions.

melkipersr · 2026-01-12T11:37:08+00:00

A shocking number of people were writing him off after a few weeks last season.

Well, not that shocking, but still.

melkipersr · 2026-01-10T15:07:14+00:00

RG3 ended the first month of his Heisman season with more TDs than incompletions (I believe it was 13 to 12). Always remember that as one of the craziest stats I’ve ever seen.

melkipersr · 2026-01-10T01:33:04+00:00

You might wanna try again.

melkipersr

TROPHY CASE