Mr. Brooks

It appears the coaching staff agrees on Treadwell, and they are certainly smarter than me, but I just don't get it. I understand he's a good blocker, but the position is wide receiver, not wide blocker. Doesn't he have to show at least some ability to actually receive the ball?

Does Robinson play on the outside, or is he a slot guy? I think they really prefer Thielen in the slot, which would explain parting ways with Wright, as well as not giving Zylstra snaps.

MRI showed no damage, so I don't think it's really an "injury" in that sense. Just soreness, which every player in the league has by May 1st. Note that he never went on the DL, or missed consecutive games.

And, is it just me, or has Barr been pretty much invisible this far?

Also, I'll eat my crow on the Carlson cut. I didn't think Spielman would admit his mistake that quickly. Props to him for doing so.

I thought you said the penalty was next year? How does that affect signing Bailey?

Or release him and take the penalty.

Didn't they trade their second rounder with Hughes?

You are the second poster I've seen say he should be a #4 instead of #3. Is he going to play better just because he's listed 4th instead of third on the depth chart? He can either play the position or he can't, does it really matter if he's a 3,4,5 or 8?

If they are going to keep Treadwell around just to save a few bucks then they deserve what they get. I'd cut Treadwell before Carlson. At least Carlson's resume is short enough that you can convince yourself it's just one bad game. Treadwell has a pretty large sample size of being bad by now.

Fair on playing time. But he's only on the roster because of draft status. That was my main point regarding Spielman's stubbornness. He can't play, been crystal clear since almost day one.

Yes indeed. It's my favorite part of the board. Thanks guys.

1) I said "potentially" torpedo. If you don't think those 2 guys have the potential to torpedo the team, then I don't know what game you watched today. 2) It's not the only measure. But it's the most important. The point with the Patriots is that yes, the best talent won't guarantee a SB every year, but it will get you in position enough times to get one or two, or more. So far his teams have yet to reach that. 3) I've praised his acquisitions countless times. Including the aforementioned Diggs, and Thielen, and Hunter, and Elflein, and Rhodes, and on and on. 4) I don't give him 100% of the blame. In this very thread I gave plenty of the blame to Zimmer for putting the game in Carlson's hands when I don't think he had to. I've also defended his decision to pass on oline in the draft in favor of Hughes. Look back at the Eagles game thread. I gave all blame to Zimmer and the players, all of it. Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes are two elite players that suddenly forgot how to play football, that's not Spielman's fault. If i didn't think he's assembled a great roster, i wouldn't care about Carlson and Treadwell. The otherwise stellar roster is why I criticized him for Carlson and Treadwell. Again, see the use of the word "potentially". Those two already cost us one game in which Cousins was all world. If they can cost us one game, they can cost us any game. The test is how he responds. Regardless of what happens weeks 3-17, are you comfortable if Carlson has to hit a 40 yard FG to win an NFC Championship game? If he misses and we lose, is that just bad luck? If Treadwell turns a perfect pass into a pick 6, will that just be bad luck? I'm sorry, but Treadwell being on the field defies explanation. It's been obvious almost since day 1 that he can't play. I'm not going to stop criticizing Spielman for that, it doesn't mean I don't respect the hell out of most of his moves.

Over time, talent wins out. Unless you think Brady and Belichick just lucked into all those Super Bowls. The results are the whole point of what these guys do. And comparing some Madden like player rating on paper isn't results. I vehemently reject the idea that Spielman somehow has earned immunity from any all fair criticism, just because he's assembled good players on paper. Until those teams actually win something in the postseason, it's just preliminary. And I'm not criticizing just to criticize. In the season predictions thread, I predicted 15-1, and made bold projections for the QB and defense that Spielman has assembled. But, today highlights exactly why you can't just measure a team on paper, it doesn't work that way. It's a team game, and in some ways, you're only as good as your weakest link. Treadwell and Carlson are Spielman picks too, he gets credit when they torpedo an otherwise all-star cast that he's assembled.

It's too soon to call it the best roster in football until they actually win the one that matters.

I don't know what else to call Treadwell still being on the field when it's been so obvious for so long that he can't play.

Once bitten, twice shy. My oldest child will be 15 in March and has never seen the Gophers beat Wisconsin. Fair or not, Fleck will win me over when he beats Wisconsin, and not a moment before.

We don't. But Spielman traded up to draft this kid, which was awful decision #1, he's not bailing on him after week 2. So congrats Spielman on letting 2 stubborn draft picks potentially torpedo an otherwise well assembled roster.

Same. And GB had no answer for Cousins/Diggs/Thielen in the second half. I'd put it at better than 50/50 they score a TD if you let them try.

Doubt it. See Treadwell. Spielman will give him 3 years of chances, no matter how obvious it is that he can't play.

Why are you running the clock out and settling for a field goal? The kid clearly had no chance, none, zero. Unacceptable boneheaded decision by Zimmer.

1) Santana makes complete sense. He tried to come back, he didn't have it. His velocity was way down, and he was being hit all over the ballpark. There were no signs of improvement. Who gains by him continuing to pitch? All he'd be doing is putting more miles on his arm for no return on investment. Continuing to get hammered with diminished velocity isn't showcasing for his next team, if anything it hurts his value. He has no possible incentives that he can reach, despite your earlier suggestion of that being a motive of the club. Here are all of his incentives: 200 innings: Not even close to within reach. Cy Young: No chance. Gold Glove: Already missed too much time to be considered. All-Star: Already passed. That's all of them. Last year he put off treatment until Spring. That decision turned out awful for him. So, he decided to get a head start on treatment this year, knowing he's going to need as much time as possible to be healthy to audition for someone next Spring. I don't understand how that makes less sense to you than a conspiracy to force treatment on him as a form of punishment. 2) You seem to be correlating any disagreement with you as a stance that the FO is great and everything is going to be just fine. You certainly won't find me saying that anywhere. It doesn't have to be all in on one side or the other man. I've seen things I like, and I've seen things that I don't understand. I don't know if these guys will succeed or fail. But regardless of my opinion of the FO, or yours, when I see an accusation like the one you are making regarding Santana, I'm going to debate it. It reeks of a theory that can only be born out of a biased decision to create the most negative possible explanation for anything within the FO's reach.

Yeah. I saw an article earlier, HuffPo, I think. One of the architects from Trump tower was telling a story of Trump melting down and throwing a fit because federal law required braille on the elevator controls, and dammit Trump didn't want ugly bumps in his elavators.

I disagree with your second part. Rick Scott saying "I disagree", is gutless. Using the word disagree implies that it's an opinion, with no right or wrong answer. You don't get to agree or disagree with facts.

So you are going with #2. The Twins forced him to get a medical procedure against his will. The good news for him is that he should get many times his lifetime earnings in the lawsuit. And, I'd expect prison time for those involved as well.