DeeSpencer

I think it will be the white O linemen (not to make this a race thing they just happen to be white!) that will hurt Kelly. They had an amazing running game and he got rid of the 2 guards in Mathis and Herremans who powered a lot of that run game. And now they are spending money on expensive running backs who can't make any running yards because the line isn't blocking for them. And then the QB can't complete deep passes (partly because he's not great) because he's worried about getting sacked. You can't have everything in the NFL and be under the salary cap but I'd rather have a good O line and average running backs with 1 or 2 receiving weapons than a bad o line and whatever backs or receivers you want. Then you at least get a running game and from there you can help your defense.

As for the Bears. Well, it's a dumpster fire. I hope they keep pouring petrol on and ride out a lowly season to the number 1 pick. Tanking baby! It might work in the NFL if you're LUCK-y. The defense just can't make a play. No sacks. Dreadful secondary. Confused LB's. They aren't as bad as last year yet but they aren't much better and things probably won't improve for the rest of the year unless the D line which actually has some level of talent can make some plays. Cutler is spending most of the time being highly efficient and capable before throwing the costly pick. No bears fan will be disappointed if he's out, even if he gets unfairly blamed for every thing he just makes the killer mistakes all too consistently.

It's the American equivalent of liking Collingwood but I was very high on the Cowboys this year. For some reason I've gone from loathing Jerry Jones, Garrett and Romo to respecting the way they back each other. Will always be a fan of Marinelli's defense. So now I'm a bit sad that their season might be in big trouble. I wouldn't give up on the Eagles yet. Bradford's missed so much time it's going to take him a while to get to whatever his best might be (even if that's rubbish). The one thing I haven't liked with the Eagles is the way Chip has weakened what was a great O Line 2 years ago. I get him letting skill position players go and changing up the defense but if you have a great O Line and play hurry up running offense then why would you wreck that by not paying guys? Good to see the Bucs, Browns and Raiders (costing me the tip) bounce back with wins. 3 young QB's with interesting futures.

I see him only as depth as a forward. Might have more of an AFL future as a key defender but his lack of physicality worries me. Rookie or PSD level talent from what I've seen.

But they already can't play Ryder and Lobbe in the same side. Adding Dixon to that mix gives them 3 x 200cm+ talls. And reportedly they won't trade away Lobbe. In hindsight if they knew Dixon was available 12 months later they should've avoided Ryder.

Arizona Baltimore Edit: Late change at 1am. Going for Atlanta for the 3rd tip.

He's a lot of what we need and had 3 consistent injury free years. But I thought he was a little down on his best this year. He'd be great, but I'm not sure I'd go super hard in a trade for him. If you pay top dollar for a trade in you need top results. To get Hartlett I think we'd have to give up nearly a kings ransom. Surely Port would rather squeeze out a lesser player than one of their best 5-10.

He should go on season 2 of the recruit

His lack of progress this year has frustrated me. Freo seem reluctant to pinch hit him in the ruck and/or play him Pav and 2nd ruck. He'd probably still be part of their future alongside McCarthy. Michael Apeness is a 201cm ruck/forward who I'd be keen on of the Freo back ups.

If we have to give out 4 year deals to attract mediocre players then I'd rather we kept Toumpas, Watts, Garland and Howe. There's no point having a bunch of 2nd or 3rd picks if you can't deal them for anyone and the draft isn't good.

Surely we are. All it costs is a rookie pick to replace them if you're looking to do it cheaply. You have to pay the guy if he stays, so is just the extra cost of a rookie. I don't what the specifics of the rules are but that's what I'd be doing and if that's all it costs financially we can afford it.

Was just reading a bit of Port discussion about him. A fair few Port fans seem to favour the other tall forward they've delisted in Mitch Harvey. Similar build. Similar concerns over lack of athleticism. I'd consider both for a rookie spot.

Presumably Viney, the coaches and recruiting staff evaluate players. Mahoney helps grade the finances. 400k isn't excessive. The AFL player earns 340 and in 4 years time 400k with be basement rates. But someone has to be responsible for the 4 year deal and whatever we trade (likely overs) and they better realise they are putting their balls on the line.

So I watched his highlights. His TAC grand final highlights (in a game featuring Prestia, Wallace, Libba, Mega-head on his side and Parker, Casboult for Dandy). And the cut of his 2013 Essendon made for their B+F Pro's: Burst speed and cat like agility Solid left foot Seems to cover the ground Can leap at the ball and mark when out in space Cons: Bad decisions under pressure Kicking goes astray under heat Tentative in some contests I do think there's a role for him as part of the midfield mix, especially as he brings a burst of speed that some of our mids don't. But if we expect him to help our ball movement at all then we are kidding ourselves. He can win a bit of the ball, tag a speedy opponent and cover some ground. It's going to take drafting or some different trades to find more skilled players to move the footy.

If we are going to pay him so much maybe we can walk him in to the PSD. Would Carl/Bris/GC/Ess/StKilda give out the 4 year 1.6 mil deal for him? 3rd round pick or lets find out.

I like him as a player, but I don't love him. Probably wouldn't give up our 2nd round pick for him and our 3rd rounder wouldn't get the deal done. If we trade Howe, Watts or let go Garland then we might have more to work with. I think half forward/midfield depth can go from a weakness to a strength pretty quickly with a few guys having good preseasons. I don't feel that way with wing, half back, ruck/ruck forward spots.

He's a wingman, but not in a sophisticated team, he's best chance is actually in the role he played for the Dogs most of this year in a helter skelter team. But they're clearly trying to move him on. It's still a position of huge weakness for us but I think we'd rather keep playing the extra inside mid and being a bit slow/uncreative than wasting time with Grant.

In the middle of the season when he played 8 straight games including a few good ones he was in the 22 and we probably had less than 8 injuries at that stage so he was in the top 30. His efforts in the VFL in the back end of the year were not great but at the same time he had a couple of concussions and the flu that went around. I don't see the need to rank players so much. I doubt he'll get delisted like most of the above and I think with a full run at it he'll be too good for VFL and pushing regularly for a senior spot (not that that means much, most of the names above were dominating VFL). Given that Stretch is the only player I'd call a natural wingman on our list I'd say Toumpas would always be close to a game.

There's some stuff in here about NFL QB Sam Bradford's time with Knowles. http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/16/chip-kelly-philadelphia-eagles-nfl-monday-morning-quarterback In short, I hope Petracca likes playing badminton!

1/2 Bancroft and Burns 3 - Smith 4 - Khawaja 5 - Voges 6 - M Marsh 7 - Nevill 8 - O'Keefe 9 - Starc 10 - Siddle 11 - Lyon

AUSTRALIA SQUAD FOR QANTAS TOUR OF BANGLADESH Steve Smith ©, Adam Voges (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Patrick Cummins, Andrew Fekete, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc Interesting squad. 10 thoughts: 1. Nathan Lyon stiff not to be VC 2. Just the one keeper, selectors seem confident in Nevill 3. Usman is back 4. Shaun Marsh never dies 5. Johnson rightfully rested 6. Maxwell and O'Keffe are both interesting players, batting allrounder, bowling allrounder 7. Bancroft and Burns the first youngsters to get a chance 8. Not sure what to make of Cummins, I really think he needs to play first class cricket before his next test cap 9. Shocked that Fekete gets the nod over Sandhu 10. No Agar, shame, still think he has a future as a test spinner, just in the long term not short

I can understand clock management mistakes from some players but they are inexcusable for coaches and for starting QB's on 20 mil a year. Didn't matter if they ran or passed, all Eli had to do was take a sack instead of throwing it away. I guess that's easier if you run the ball and takes out the problem. But feeding in 2 plays and allowing Eli to run the correct one based on the coverage and seeing if he gets an open receiver makes some sense to me. I have no idea how much they can communicate via the QB headsets but the coach really had to say 'if there's no one open then take the sack' and Eli had to know that anyway.

Add Mason Shaw to the list http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/player-profile/mason-shaw Out of contract with Port and had a bad 2nd year due to injury after kicking a good amount of goals in his first. Reminds me a bit of Tippett. 197cm might be a little short to ruck but close enough.

He's always looked slow and mechanical at AFL level. Like Jamar of late (who still largely dominated the VFL). I don't know how much better than Spencer he would be. So I wouldn't be in a hurry to find out. I'd rather draft and develop a guy who has the athleticism for AFL.

Forgot all about tipping! Damn. Would've certainly gone GB and liked Miami and Carolina as well. Oh well. Everyones an expert in hindsight. Better start remembering for next week. Watching the highlights now, Bears did enough to show they might at least be a physical football team this year. Definite rebuild on the cards needing to draft most of a new secondary and eventually make the big call on a QB. But hopefully in the mean time we win some games. That or finish dead last and get the first pick. The same old story shaping up in the AFC I think. NE, Denver, Ravens.... Steelers don't write off San Diego. Teams with the best QB's. The Colts still way too reliant on Luck but also still in the weakest division unless....Mariota can keep having 4 touch down games. Bucs fans wouldn't be happy right now. Fix that leaky run defense and the Packers will be favourites for the NFC but I feel it's probably more wide open than the AFC if Seattle's struggles, particularly with the O Line continue. Although if your O Line is your weakness the Rams aren't a fair guide.