Mr. Scot

The power to make money? Sure. Nobody denies Tepper has that. But remember him telling us that the first, second and third things he cared about were all "winning"? Yeah...I've yet to see any evidence that he has the power - or the knowledge of how - to do that which he claims is most important. So I suppose if his actual goal is just to make money, then yes he's a winner. If, however, he genuinely meant that part about wanting to build a great football team? Not so much.

He has the job title. That doesn't guarantee he has the skills.

Igo... Yeah, I do.

Ugh! That was a horrible pass.

Hoping for them to at least look more alive when they play Washington.

I mean it could just be a lax atmosphere but damn if almost everybody didn't look unmotivated as hell out there. (CJ Henderson being an exception) I've seen previous Fan Fest practices look way more crisp than that.

Didn't think a two minute drill run in a practice situation could depress me, but damn...

Oops...

Three or four, from what they said.

Yeah, winced a little when I saw that Occurs to me that some things may be a little bit different because Fiyyerer was just settling into his job last year.

It's one of many. Polian was a notorious hothead. Jerry Richardson was said to have frequently had to calm him down during meetings. It was one of the reasons they didn't always work well together. Richardson's calm demeanor and Polian's hair trigger temper often put them at odds. Pretty sure Polian ended up with an assault charge sometime late in his tenure with the Colts.

Ryan Izzo and Nate Becker... DE Jacob Tuioti-Mariner goes on IR and rookie CB Devin Jones is waived-injured.

I'd also like to know when he interviewed Caldwell. Someone else mentioned it in another thread, which prompted me to read this article. Not much in the way of detail though.

I get that, but I also can't forget that last year five teams who were so bad they fired their coaches (including the Falcons) still beat us.

There's an argument to be made, but Gettleman was more successful and for longer. I'd add that Polian's the only one known to have thrown a chair at an agent

If I recall correctly, McAdoo was interviewed for quarterback coach after Brady had already been named the OC.

Sorry, but Marty was awful. I know people make the claim that he handed Gettleman his Super Bowl team. That's false, given there was a three-year gap and a lot of tinkering before that successful season. But what makes it even worse is that team was handed back to Marty with guys like Christian McCaffrey, Taylor Moton and others added in. He proceeded to run it into the ground, and in short order. You might be able to make a claim that Marty is better than Capers or Seifert, but not anybody else. As far as Polian, what hurts him is that he was only here for a very short stint. He built a team for quick success, then left it behind before it came apart.

Yeah...Marty might be in the conversation for the worst, but he sure as hell isn't up there for the best. When you're in charge of fifteen seasons and only get three winners out of them (with two of those coming right after a solid draft by George Seifert) and throw in the team pretty steadily got worse under your leadership, you've got no claim to any kind of accolades.

My Cliff Clavin Jeopardy answer would be "What are things that David Tepper hasn't accomplished?" If you want to go $25,000 Pyramid there are plenty more things that could be added to the list, starting with "Being a successful NFL team owner". Hell, at this point Tepper can't even claim to be the richest owner in the league anymore. He's now a distant second or third behind Rob Walton. More than one poster has used the "Rmperor's New Clothes" metaphor when it comes to Tepper. To tell the truth, it's pretty accurate.

Meanwhile...

I don't know that I'd call the Browns a likely win. The run game was their strength last year and our major weakness. Not sure that's changed much. Against the Giants, Brian Daboll vs Phil Snow isn't a coaching matchup I feel good about. We've yet to sweep the Falcons under Rhule. Not sure I'd expect this to be the year. Beating the Steelers doesn't really feel all that likely to me either, especially not late in the season. The Lions probably would have beaten us last year, maybe this year too.

Who would you vote for then?

From The Athletic... Panthers coach Matt Rhule: On Year 3, Baker Mayfield, family, Charlotte and making changes Excerpts: Much has been made about your college success in Year 3. Are there things that are transferrable to the NFL in Year 3 or is it apples and oranges? Everything’s different. I always think as a team, when you’re ready to win, you win. When the mental meets the physical. When the mentality and mindset of everyone, when everyone’s on the same page and they get it, but you also have the right roster. I won in college because I had really good players. And those players took their lumps. And then at some point they were like, we’re done taking our lumps. Whether that’s Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, that’s the part of it. Have you seen evidence that this team has reached that point? They definitely want to win. They work. Now it’s a matter of teaching ourselves as a team and them teaching each other the finer points of let’s not beat ourselves... We’ve gained such valuable experience to the roster to go along with this strong foundation of this is what it takes to win. Did the Baylor-Oklahoma game (where Mayfield trash-talked Baylor players before an Oklahoma win) piss you off in the moment? Oh, yeah, in the moment...But there’s certain guys in life, you hate ‘em when they’re on someone else’s team. But you love ‘em when they’re on yours. Did that taint your view of him for a while? Did you have to call (former Oklahoma coach) Lincoln Riley and say, I’m not sure how I feel about this guy? That didn’t really affect me too much because I was like, you know what, to the victor belongs the spoils. When you’re undefeated, you get to do what you want. One thing I’ve learned is when we go to get a free agent or someone from the outside, I love talking to someone who’s coached them. I like getting that unbiased view. What was the most memorable thing you were told about Baker? Lincoln was like: “Matt, I know you. He fits the way you want to play. He’s your kind of guy. He’s gonna be a leader and a tough guy.” That was important to me. Any time you bring someone into a competition, they have to be someone that loves competition. If you bring in someone to battle for a spot and they’re entitled and they don’t like to compete, then it’s gonna be a negative for the team. But the biggest compliment I can give both guys right now is they’ve enjoyed the competition. Who are some guys that aren’t being talked about right now that should be? I think Ian Thomas is one of the most undervalued guys on the team because he does all the stuff that allows other people to be highly successful. Not many guys can run routes like he can and still block and pass protect at the level he can. I think the combination of backs behind Christian McCaffrey. D’Onta Foreman, Chuba Hubbard. And really one of the guys who’s had the best camps is Spencer Brown. That group gives us a depth we haven’t had. The addition of Cory Littleton, he’s going to give us such flexibility. And then Myles (Hartsfield) is a guy that can play safety, play corner. He’s a 220-pound nickel. You don’t have very many of those in the NFL, that can run as well as anyone. I really think (Marquis) Haynes is ready to have a good year. When they told us he was healthy the other day, that was a huge thing for the team. You look at the amount of pressure he’s gotten in the limited snaps he’s gotten, he can rush the passer. As his role gets amplified this year, I’m expecting him to do great things. Ron Rivera said to do it over again, he would have had a former head coach on his first staff, just to help with all the things he didn’t know he didn’t know. Now you have these guys. But would you have done that differently? I tried to do it. I just never found the right guy. It’s kind of funny. I interviewed Ben (McAdoo). At the time I didn’t think it was right. Sometimes it’s like divine purpose. I think he came at the right time and the right moment. A couple guys that I wanted to get, they were like, “Hey, Matt, I’m gonna retire,” or stay in retirement. I think more than anything, they can give you advice. But it’s also that they have perspective of what you’re going through. If you look at Steve (Wilks) or Ben or even Coach P (Paul Pasqualoni), they understand the different things that come with this job besides just on the practice field, etc. I’ve tried to get Jim Caldwell to come work for me a couple times. His son actually played for my father in ninth-grade football (in State College, Pa.). There’s this perception that you’re going to end up back in college at some point. Is that enticing at all? I would say, No. 1, we’ve done way too much work here to not be there to enjoy the fruits of it. Scott (Fitterer) has done a great job. Our staff’s done a great job. Our players have done a great job. I want us to start that climb of becoming a team that can compete for championships. I feel like we’ve reestablished a foundation of really good players. Teams go in cycles. The cycle came to an end. We’ve weathered the storm and I feel like we’re in the process now of trying to start that ascent of winning at a high level. I have no desire to leave and do that...We have set up shop here. We want to be here as long as we possibly can. When people have been as supportive as they have during the tough times, that makes times when you do have success all the greater. That’s one thing I’ve really learned the last two years. You might not like everything that’s happening, but here are the great people. Here are the bright spots. Here are the people that treat your kids well. So I feel a tremendous obligation to bring a winner to Bank of America Stadium.

Been pondering that. Used to do the NFL Game pass but haven't for a few years.