MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

I was just being a smartass but as far as playing the position I don't think anyone ever played it better. Unfortunately, the injury makes him GOAT ineligible.

 

Well it's probably Tom. Even though I think 3 of his championships are tainted.

But if he only had 4 championships he's still in a group at the top and even I can give him credit for the way he has approached the game. Total commitment both physically and mentally. Made his team better and understood exactly what he needed to do at any moment to win football games. There were plenty of guys more physically gifted. None, were better from the neck up.

 

I think we're talking different things here but I'm with Willie. Both Jerry and Tom deserve credit for their longevity. It isn't luck. They made it happen with preparation. So in a list of accomplishments I think you have to include things like most touchdowns, most yards, etc.

One but... if at any point even one ingredient in Tom's TB12 becomes a banned substance he loses all credibility with me. Just like Mark McGwire.

 

Not Watt? WTF?

JK, brother!

 

Texans settle with 30 women arising from alleged misconduct of Deshaun Watson



The Texans are doing what Deshaun Watson should have done. The team is resolving all cases against it, quickly.

Via KPRC 2 in Houston, the Texans have negotiated settlement agreements with 30 women who had potential claims against the team, arising from the alleged misconduct of former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.


“I will have no further comment on the allegations or the Texans’ role, other than to say that there is a marked contrast in the way in which the Texans addressed these allegations, and the way in which Watson’s team has done so,” attorney Tony Buzbee said in a statement. “As previously reported, only one of the 30 women who made allegations against the Texans filed a formal lawsuit. That particular lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice as soon as the appropriate settlement paperwork is complete.”

This leaves four pending cases against Watson, given the recent settlement of 20 claims.

“We hope to try them all in the spring of next year,” Buzbee said regarding the four remaining claims against Watson. “In the meantime, we will continue to do the important work to prepare for such.”

The fact that the Texans settled with 30 women suggests that six more lawsuits could still be filed against Watson.

In the one lawsuit that had been filed against the Texans, it was contended the team knew or should have known about Watson’s alleged proclivities but failed to take action to stop it. Instead, the team allegedly facilitated Watson’s habit, actual or perceived or otherwise, of arranging massages through social media and trying to make them into sexual encounters.

Ordinarily, the terms of such agreements are confidential. Whether the league will allow the Texans to enter into a broad nondisclosure agreement is a different question. Mary Jo White, after investigating the Panthers following the departure of founder Jerry Richardson, recommended that the league prohibit teams from using NDAs that would limit cooperation with league investigations. The league apparently has not yet adopted that recommendation.

It also remains to be seen whether the settlements will spark an investigation of the Texans. We’ve posted that question to the league.

PFT

 

Steelers' Cam Heyward on QB competition: It starts with Mitchell Trubisky

One of the most significant battles to monitor when training camps kick off later this month is who will win the job to replace Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers signed Mitchell Trubisky this offseason, drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round, while Mason Rudolph remains on the roster.

On his new Not Just Football podcast, Steelers star defensive lineman Cam Heyward said Trubisky enters the competition in the lead for the gig.

"It starts with Mitch. Mitch, we bought him in in free agency," Heyward, per Steelers Depot. "The thing we have to remember about Mitch is he's coming from a situation where in Chicago, they didn't really give him anything. And he still made it to the playoffs. ... Everything like to say 'Mitch did this wrong, Mitch did that wrong.' Man, Mitch did a lot of things right. Hopefully we have a better team around him. And we're going to support him. Right now, he's our No. 1."

Trubisky generated a 29-21 record as a starter in four seasons in Chicago, including two playoff appearances. But he has averaged just 6.4 pass yards per attempt since 2019 (second lowest in the NFL in that span -- only Big Ben's 6.2 was lower). Trubisky spent 2021 as Josh Allen's backup in Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Pickett shined in his final season at Pitt, setting an ACC single-season record with 42 pass TDs in 2021 and a school record with 4,315 pass yards (sixth most in FBS). He also generated 1,299 deep pass yards in 2021.

The battle to see who starts Week 1 will commence when the Steelers kick off training camp practices on July 27.


"We don't know what it's going to be by the time the season kicks off," Heyward said. "There's a lot of football that's gotta take place. All we're doing in OTAs is running around in shorts. I'm excited to put on the pads and see how these guys deal with pressure in their face."

NFL.com

 

In about 7 months Steelers fans are going to be criticizing the front office for drafting Pickett. Trubisky is not going to let go of that job.

 

The Texans settled 30 lawsuits? Watson only had 24 to settle

 

Walter Payton.

Duh.

 

Yes, I saw that... Does that mean Watson has some others coming down the pipe? If so, what the hell are they waiting on? I'm sure he too can settle with them before they are filed, but I would expect it to be reported like the Texans settlements were.

 

I think you could make a better argument for his brother as TE goat.

 

If Watson is facing punishment from the NFL, shouldnt the Houston Texans be also? I dont see a difference.

 

Why?

 

Fair question. Just think that because they are settling, there is something going on. Why would the Texans settle if they were clean is the better question.

I guess I have a problem with settling something if im clean... as do a few on this site.

Seems like the whole situation is a money throw at certain individuals to attempt to satisfy or appease them. Im not admittedly privy to all the details or how these things work, but I personally think there is guilt by all parties involved... Texans, Watson and the plaintiff's. Throw in the NFL now also. This whole thing stinks to me of foul play and cover-ups. Too much smoke, too many people involved and everybody wants a piece of the pie.

 

Texans’ settlement with 30 accusers has pros and cons for Deshaun Watson
Posted by Mike Florio on July 16



On the surface, the decision of the Houston Texans to settle with one woman who had sued the team over former quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s alleged misconduct and with 29 others who had not yet sued has no impact on Watson. The claims against him — four still pending and, based on the Houston settlement, up to six who could still sue him — are not affected. At a deeper level, there are pros and cons to Houston settling.

The good news is that, if/when the cases against the Texans go to trial, Watson won’t get dragged into that litigation as a witness. He would have been potentially questioned under oath in advance of each trial (in the form of a deposition), and he undoubtedly would have been called to testify at each and every trial. Even if he had settled all of the cases pending against him by then, he would have faced tough questioning from attorney Tony Buzbee and possibly from the team’s lawyer, based on the specific defense(s) developed and asserted before a jury. The team could have tried to show that Watson did nothing wrong and, in turn, the team did nothing wrong. The team alternatively could have tried to blame it all on Watson, that he’s the one who should have been pursued for compensation for any wrongdoing.


Along those same lines, the settlement avoids what would have been a very awkward dynamic. If the cases against the Texans would have been filed directly against the team and not added to the existing cases (that’s how the first one was presented), the Texans would have potentially added Watson to the cases as a third-party defendant when formally responding to each lawsuit, arguing that Watson is responsible for any alleged harm suffered, not the team. The headline easily could have been, “Texans sue Deshaun Watson.” The settlements by the Texans avoid this procedural complication.

The bad news is that, for the four pending cases and the six potential additional ones, the settlements will help fund the ongoing litigation. Although the amount isn’t known and may never be, any amount paid to the women still suing or who will be suing Watson can be used to help pay the expenses in the four cases still pending against him. It also could embolden those who have refused settlement offers to hold even more firm in their positions, and to insist on having a public trial.

On that point, Watson and his lawyers may be entitled to learn within the confines of the pending cases the amounts paid by the Texans. The Texans and Buzbee surely would fight any such effort. Watson, through his lawyers, may argue that the information could be relevant to the remaining litigation, and thus is fair game for the discovery process. If the settlements are low, the potential argument would be that it shows the cases are weak. If the settlements are high, Watson could try to get credit dollar-for-dollar credit against any verdict entered against him. Again, the team and Buzbee would surely fight any such attempt to introduce the settlement amounts in open court.

It’s still a two-edged sword for Watson. The more the Texans pay, the more it appears that there was a reason to pay. That the Texans had known about Watson’s alleged wrongdoing and failed to stop it. That Watson had indeed engaged in wrongdoing.

Regardless, the bottom line is that the situation, which was on the verge of becoming hopelessly complicated with up to 30 fresh lawsuits against the Texans, has become streamlined. From the NFL’s perspective, that’s good news. It guarantees that, once the remaining cases against Watson end, this protracted distraction will finally be over.

 

I whole-heartedly believe the Texans made an economic decision. Period. There's no doubt in my mind that going to trial 30 times would have run up legal costs exponentially greater than simply settling out of court once.

I also suspect that the Texans (had they gone to trial) would have claimed that, in procuring sites where Watson was to receive these massage services, were simply following the protocols set in place by the NFL to isolate players, coaches, managers and administrators from Covid-19. (The majority of the 17 month timeframe surrounding these cases occurred in 2020.) Because these protocols were, in fact, mandated by the NFL, I also suspect that the NFL "strongly suggested" that the Texans settle out of court.

 

Ben Leber: Mike Zimmer didn’t like Kirk Cousins, and it showed



Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber still knows the team very well. Among other things, he works the sideline for the team’s radio broadcasts.

So with the Vikings changing coaches but not quarterbacks, Leber has some opinions about how things may go for the team, and for Kirk Cousins.


“I think he’s gonna finally thrive, really thrive, in a system and a coach that actually respects him,” Leber recently told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio. “I mean, It’s not like I’m not breaking news here that Mike Zimmer did not like Kirk Cousins. And I think that showed in the way that Kirk behaved and the way that he carried himself. The team was never given to him, or he was never allowed to earn the trust of the team, because the head coach I think just didn’t like him.”

Leber also pointed out that the problems in Minnesota over the past two years had far more to do with the defense than the offense.

“That was a top-10 offense last year, with a very green, first-time offensive coordinator [Klint Kubiak],” Leber said. “Where was their defense ranked last year? Thirty-first. The year before that, I think they were ranked 27th. So people can rail on Kirk and rail on this offense and say we can’t win with him or we can’t win with this offense. I say that’s total BS. We couldn’t win with the crap defense that we’ve had the last two years. We couldn’t stop the run, at all. Ever. And then in key moments of the games . . . we couldn’t stop any two-minute offense. So, to me, the biggest liability of this team has been defense. All this team has to do is play good team defense, finish in the mid-teens at the end of the season, and they’re playoff bound and they can make some noise.”

Yes, things like this get said about many teams that are 0-0. For the Vikings, however, it’s an interesting exercise in trying to figure out what went wrong in 2020 and 2021. Was Zimmer the problem? Was it Cousins?

Caught in the middle of a question that hovers over the 2022 Vikings is G.M. Rick Spielman. If Cousins thrives under new coach Kevin O’Connell, and if the team that Spielman built and that has been largely unchanged this offseason makes it to the postseason, Spielman will be vindicated.

While that won’t put him back in the job he held for well over a decade, it could make Spielman into one of the rare modern-day General Managers who receive a chance to build another team after their first stint comes to an inevitable conclusion.

PFT

 

Dawson Knox: There’s nothing Josh Allen can’t do



During a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, tight end Dawson Knox said that the Bills are not getting ahead of themselves when it comes to listening to predictions that they will make a run to the Super Bowl this season.

In the same interview, Knox also discussed one of the biggest reasons why so many people are so bullish about their chances this season. Quarterback Josh Allen’s play over the last two seasons has raised the Bills to contender level and Knox gushed about what his teammate is able to do on the field.


“I mean, it’s every receiver, tight end, running back, it’s everyone’s dream to play with a guy like that,” Knox said. “I mean, he can put the ball 70 yards down the field, or throw off his back foot back across himself, or make plays with his legs and extend plays. There’s nothing that guy can’t do. We’ve seen him stiff arm defensive ends to the ground. He’s jumping over linebackers, and just trucking guys. It’s insane.”

Knox said the Bills are “trying to tell him to slide more often” because of the injury risk that comes with running as a quarterback, but acknowledged it is hard to do that when Allen can make so much happen when he takes off running. If things keep playing out for Allen as they have the last couple of years, he may be running all the way to Arizona in February.

PFT

 

Report: Browns will pursue a backup to Jacoby Brissett, if Deshaun Watson is suspended for “lengthy” period



With Baker Mayfield gone and the Browns bracing for news on the fate of Deshaun Watson, they need to have a plan at quarterback for 2022, if Watson isn’t available for all or most of the year.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently reported that the Browns plan to sign a backup to Jacoby Brissett, if Watson is suspended for a “lengthy period of time.” Currently, Josh Dobbs is the third quarterback on the depth chart, behind Watson and Brissett.


This report implies that the Browns wouldn’t pursue 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, if/when Watson receives a lengthy suspension.

Frankly, that may just be posturing by Cleveland. They won’t want to pay Garoppolo his full $25 million freight, and they won’t want to give the 49ers more than what the Browns got for Mayfield — a 2024 fifth-round pick that can become a fourth-round pick. If they lose Watson for the year, the 49ers may decide to get a little greedy.

Garoppolo definitely makes sense as a one-year Band-Aid, if Watson isn’t available. The question isn’t relevant until we know whether Watson is or isn’t available.

Judge Sue L. Robinson will eventually a decision as to the potential discipline of Watson. Our guess continues to be that she issues a ruling the week of July 25.

PFT