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  • in reply to: MAGA Analysis from Greenwald substack #131010
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    I think it’s important to pin down the lies they think they recognize. What exactly do they think they’ve been told that isn’t true? Are they the same lies we see? .

    =================

    Its a duopoly, right? Two corporate-capitalist parties.

    The Rightwingers see the Lies from the Duplicats (CNN, MSNBC, NPR etc)

    Do you think only half of the duopoly is doing the lying?

    w
    v

    And yet as we know there is a difference between the right-wing version and the moderate/liberal/centrist version of the 2 pro corporate parties. It’s not a negligible difference (though of course from a left perspective the the centrist/liberal media leaves too much out).

    So righties often see lies where in fact the “liberal” ie. centrist media is actually decently reliable. And they don’t see lies where the right wing political establishment and media ARE lying.

    I just don’t see righties as having cracked the code of liberal/centrist discourse and seen through it all in ways that are sympatico with a leftist critique of the same discourse.

    Race came up and it’s crucial. (Right discourse at its core is a tacit white supremecist discourse, not always openly bigoted but deeply deluded about race and blind to its own supremicist tendencies). But it’s not just race. Look at economics. How many disaffected, unhappy, suffering righties see through “trickle down theory”? Any? Ever? Anywhere?

    Covid discussions have highlighted this. Other places I’ve been in debates about this. One of my key points was always that covid exposed the deep seated inequities in the socio-economics of the American medical establishment. (The racial and ethnic and class differences in death rates was a stark reminder of this.) Whenever I said that, with obvious righites, I might as well have been speaking an extraterrestial language. They didn’t even oppose it, they just flat had no idea how to discuss it. It was all “but this one goes to 11” type discussion. I got some “socialism is worse” stuff and that was about it.

    in reply to: Cam Akers torn achilles, done for the year #131001
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    in reply to: Rams tweets … 7/16 thru 7/20 #130997
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    Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
    The Rams waived WR Nsimba Webster, who was in a punt returner/ST role for them last season.

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    in reply to: Cam Akers torn achilles, done for the year #130994
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    Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
    I can confirm @TomPelissero report that Rams RB Cam Akers tore his Achilles this week and will be out for the season, according to a source with knowledge of the injury. Brutal for the second-year back, who was poised to take the lead role this year and has worked hard to do so.

    Darrell Henderson, Xavier Jones, Jake Funk and Raymond Calais currently the rostered backs. Henderson has plenty of game experience, of course, but durability has continued to be a question and he was not fully healthy this spring per McVay. Rams may need to make a move.

    I’ll add, and take this for what you will, that if Rams don’t make a move before the season opens, it quietly says a lot about their expectations for Xavier Jones. Again, taking nothing away from Henderson who is very talented – but durability is a real question right now.

    Tom Pelissero@TomPelissero
    Brutal blow for L.A., which loses its leading rusher from last season a week before camp begins.

    Peter Schrager@PSchrags
    Akers news is a blow to the Rams offense and more importantly, to the player. He is a GREAT kid.

    One note: I don’t see the Rams panicking and rushing out to sign a veteran replacement in the coming days.

    Rams Brothers@RamsBrothers
    Actually thought the RB room needed an addition prior to the Akers injury. Hard to trust 3 guys in Jones, Calais and Funk who’ve never carried the rock in an NFL game.

    Henderson’s only carried the ball more than 15 times once in his pro career. Bring someone else in!

    ***

    in reply to: Cam Akers torn achilles, done for the year #130993
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    in reply to: notes on the Rams front 7 #130985
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    Justin Hollins
    Ht: 6052 / 6′ 05″ | Wt: 248

    Hollins was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round (156th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.

    Ourlads’ Profile:

    2019 Guide: What Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services said about JUSTIN HOLLINS: Oregon 6052 248 4.48 Three year starter from Arlington, TX. Versatile player having started as a defensive end and outside linebacker. Has experience backing off as well. Fast twitch athlete with tremendous upside. With his hand on the ground is quick at the snap with a burst to bend around the corner in the pass rush. Quick with his hands to punch and work a block. Has a two way go that keeps tackles off balance. Quick inside move with a finishing burst is effective. Plays off blocks on the perimeter and sets the edge versus an outside run. When backed off shows natural instincts to locate the ball. Hand usage is solid here as well as shedding blocks on the move. Changes direction quickly with no wasted movement. Range in pursuit is what NFL teams need as he can chase across the field and make plays in space. Solid fundamental tackling ability with knee bend and explosive finish. Not often used in coverage but has natural fluidity dropping and can flip his hips in a zone reacting to route pressure. Sees the quarterback and receivers and can close a void and break on the ball. Inconsistent with the play right at him as he can get locked up and neutralized at times. Versus cutbacks on the backside sometimes has trouble getting leverage to the ball as a blocker can wash him out of the play. Has had some outstanding games and some so-so games, so consistent production can be an issue. Has the versatile tools that any NFL team can put to use as he can fit a variety of schemes. He had as good of an East-West game as we have seen from an individual. He still has upside and is a likely second day pick.

    in reply to: MAGA Analysis from Greenwald substack #130984
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    I;m not providing much in the way of analysis. Just blunt “IMO” reactions. But it really is my feeling that the desire to find some kind of underground affinity between the left and magas is not very compelling. Something similar happened before Trump’s election. I detected a bit of “how bad could he be” sentiment, and frankly I found it disturbing. My line at the time was that he is even worse than you can imagine. My point of reference is that in Maine, the governor was a pre-Trump Trump-like type (LePage). He was freaking gawdawful and was very damaging. That’s what we get with these people.

    That’s how I see it anyway. That’s just my own little vote.

    in reply to: notes on the Rams front 7 #130983
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    Rams preview: Aaron Donald will be his dominant self, but whose turn is it to step up along the defensive line?

    Jourdan Rodrigue

    https://theathletic.com/2713000/2021/07/19/rams-preview-aaron-donald-will-be-his-dominant-self-but-whose-turn-is-it-to-step-up-along-the-defensive-line/?source=emp_shared_article

    Highlighted by a historic third Defensive Player of the Year award by defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams defensive line was among the best in the NFL in 2020, and certainly in the top three in most relevant categories.

    The Rams ranked second in sacks (53) and in sacks per game (3) but also held opponents to just 91.2 rushing yards per game (third best in the league in 2020) and only 3.8 rush yards per attempt (also third best).

    We know that teams specifically build game plans around dealing with Donald and have done so for years. In speaking with some NFL coordinators this offseason, I also learned what probably should have been obvious: It’s not enough to scheme around Donald when he’s in the game. Coaches also must account for when he’s not in the game. To keep Donald fresh (or, in the case of a rare injury such as the one in last year’s divisional-round game in Green Bay), the Rams play him for about 85 percent of the defensive snaps, and they rotate quite a bit along the front. Teams know their window for taking advantage of his absence is small, and some have specific calls (or tempo switches) for use during that time. That’s how big Donald’s effect is, on and off the field.

    We also know that Donald’s presence creates opportunities for others. He usually occupies multiple blockers (he was double-teamed about 70 percent of the time in 2020), and that means others either get one-on-one matchups or aren’t blocked at all. But as the Rams continue to shape their defensive line after losing such key players as Michael Brockers and Morgan Fox this offseason, it won’t be enough to hope to scheme Donald open or into more favorable matchups when he’s in the game. Young players must now step into larger roles and produce — not only when playing alongside Donald but also when the Rams rotate into fronts without him.

    Additions: Bobby Brown III, Earnest Brown IV, George Silvanic.

    I think Brown III could have a real shot at competing for rotational minutes, even as a rookie. The Rams believe he can “dominate the line of scrimmage” and in the pre-draft process noted his explosiveness and power, and also his versatility (he has played nose tackle, three-technique and five-technique).

    Brown IV, as described to me by a source at the time of the draft, is a great candidate for the “Fox development plan” (Fox became a versatile inside-outside rusher and posted a career sack season before departing in free agency), although the Rams hope a year of Brown’s development is not delayed by injury, because they’d like for him to contribute earlier in his career.

    Subtractions: Brockers, Fox.

    Projected starters: Donald, Sebastian Joseph-Day, A’Shawn Robinson.

    Robinson mentioned this spring that he’s leaned up quite a bit from last year and could get even leaner. He’ll play at around 300 to 305 pounds this season after shedding about 25 pounds from his playing weight in 2020. His decision to transform his body (he switched to a vegetarian-pescatarian diet in the spring and added yoga to his workout regimen, among other adjustments) points toward the Rams’ hope that he becomes a more dynamic nose tackle in the same vein as Brockers, versus the space-eater role he was asked to play in Detroit.

    Without Brockers (who, ironically enough, was the reason Robinson was signed by the Rams in the first place in the spring of 2020), Robinson needs to become a difference-maker now that he’s poised to take meaningful snaps. Without an offseason in 2020 and having missed the first half of the regular season while on the non-football injury list, he got a late start in contributing and was behind the whole time. Now on an even footing, plus feeling better than he has in a while, Robinson will get a chance to prove himself.

    Joseph-Day, in my mind, is a candidate for a breakout season because of the work he did this offseason and the fact that he’s entering his contract year. Speaking to The Athletic earlier in the spring, Joseph-Day mentioned adding to his pass-rush arsenal as well as developing identification-to-movement techniques that will better serve him when he has to switch instantly from run to pass, depending on what the quarterback does after the snap.

    Keep in mind that the Rams will feature a steady rotation along this front, so naming “starters” here, other than Donald, is pretty conceptual.

    Projected backups (in no particular order): Greg Gaines, Eric Banks, Brown III, Michael Hoecht, Jonah Williams, Brown IV, Marquise Copeland, Silvanic.

    Though Gaines is the only player here who has played relevant game snaps, head coach Sean McVay and others have praised the development of last year’s undrafted free agents, Banks, Hoecht, Williams and Copeland. Banks and Hoecht are working with Ed McGilvra, the private pass-rush coach with whom Fox and Joseph-Day also have worked during the past two offseasons.

    2021 outlook: We don’t really ever have to worry about Donald. But the Rams’ success along the defensive line in 2021 will also depend on what the guys around him are able to do with their opportunities — and the competition in camp for those opportunities will be important to watch.

    Long-term outlook: Defensive line coach Eric Henderson has drawn praise since he arrived in 2019 for his hands-on coaching style and for bringing balance to a room full of some of the biggest dudes — and biggest personalities — on the roster. Though Henderson may have coordinator or head coach aspirations in the long term, the work he has done with the defensive line (especially in developing younger players) has drawn attention in coaching circles around the league, and he is probably someone McVay will work to retain if other opportunities do come up. Henderson’s role has increased this offseason, and not just because of the added “run game coordinator” title. His input was sought by the Rams’ scouting and personnel departments during the draft, and he closely connected with Brown III in the run-up to the draft.

    in reply to: Rams tweets … 7/16 thru 7/20 #130982
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    in reply to: MAGA Analysis from Greenwald substack #130976
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    I would agree that there is a faction of confederate-flag-loving
    flat-out-neo-nazi trumpies. I dunno how big that one is though.
    I have no idea. But its definitely part of the Rightwing-pie.

    I think it’s all of them in different ways and to different degrees and it does not simply reduce to confederate flag types. I agree that it includes the “I am blind to color” types who can’t see systemic racism and actually believe they’re beyond it (and therefore see anti-racism as a problem that is really fighting nothing and must be opposed).

    In terms of blaming liberals and their “lies” for right-wing nonsense, I give them no excuses. As you say, the right lies to them too and they don’t seem to care about that, let alone notice. And of course the smear the opposition routine is so deep that anyone with any liberal policies hinting at any degree of anti-racism is going to get called a liar anyway whether it’s true or not.

    I have absolutely no sympathy for the “we’re really allied at heart” arguments regarding the right. Just none. The rightie types we’re talking about for example are thoroughly woven into police forces everywhere in the country. It’s not just innocent victims of the system who as it happens just can’t properly analyze the causes of their disaffection. They’re also part of the system itself.

    And yes, “That makes them batshit-fascist-dangerous. 70 million of em.” Agreed.

    in reply to: unofficial pre-1982 sack numbers have been updated #130972
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    Youngblood was relentless!

    The vid in that tweet is great, don’t miss it!

    in reply to: unofficial pre-1982 sack numbers have been updated #130971
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    in reply to: MAGA Analysis from Greenwald substack #130969
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    Well… I think they sort of have the Evil Twin of the right answers to some stuff. And some of their “answers” have some truth to them.

    They see that the media is unreliable. It isn’t doing its job (if it’s job is to shed light on the truth). They see that the media is Manufacturing Consent, and obfuscating what’s really going on. But they have latched onto the part of the media that is least accurate, and most full of propaganda, and are suspicious of MSNBC and CNN and WaPo and NYT (as they should be), but they have mischaracterized what is actually wrong with those media outlets. However, they plainly see that Rachel Maddow is a shill, and that MSNBC is the propaganda arm of the DNC. So they have a little bit of that right. They see that the media is untrustworthy, and that they should be highly skeptical of it. So they see that the media is a gamed system that isn’t telling them the truth. They are just completely wrong about the nature of that gamed system. It’s like they have the correct answer to a math problem, but the work is completely wrong getting to that answer…so it can’t really get credit for being right.

    They see that the establishment is working to thwart their ambitions, and destabilize their livelihoods. But they don’t accurately understand what forces are at work in that reality, what their objectives are, and how and why they do what they are doing. They think it’s a bunch of dumbass liberals trying to take the fruits of their labor and give it to various undeserving minorities out of some misplaced morality. They see clearly that the establishment is not working to help them and protect them. They’ve just completely misdiagnosed the causes.

    It’s all kind of like their Covid response. They see the coughing and fever. They are right that they’re sick.

    They just think it’s the flu.

    It’s like…even when they’re right, they’re wrong.

    That’s all too vague and over-generalized for me, Z. And they’re wrong about things like Maddow being a mere shill. A real critique is that the mainstream liberal media is okay on a certain limited spectrum or range of issues.

    Magas are racist pro-fascists and parsing what we presumably have in common with them is to me both misleading and a waste of time.

    ….

    in reply to: labor #130968
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    in reply to: MAGA Analysis from Greenwald substack #130965
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    I don’t agree with this idea that the Trump world sees the corruption and systemic problems we see and objects to them.

    I think they are racists who believe the establishment sold them out for “PC values.”

    In fact I think the entire “they see the real issues too” take on things is completely off track. They don’t see it at all.

    in reply to: Rams tweets … 7/16 thru 7/20 #130961
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    in reply to: Rams tweets … 7/16 thru 7/20 #130960
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    from NFL Head Coach Power Rankings
    With training camps right around the corner, a look at how the veteran coaches stack up, and how the rookies rate heading into Year One.

    Conor Orr

    https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/07/16/head-coach-rankings

    8. Sean McVay, Rams
    Trending: Neutral
    Staff strength: 9

    McVay’s staff is becoming a hotbed of coaching activity, though some of the more talented names, like defensive passing game coordinator Ejiro Evero, remain a well-kept secret that allows the Rams to maintain their consistency. This year could go a long way toward defining McVay as a head coach. He has proven doubters wrong at every turn. Those who said he was too young to lead a veteran locker room. Those who believed he couldn’t venture out on his own beyond the Mike Shanahan incubator. Now, we wonder if his offense can take a step with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, giving the system a less rigid, pre-programmed feel and setting the Rams up with someone who can theoretically broaden the game plan. The Rams are perpetually a Super Bowl-or-bust team, which is fine until the moment the Super Bowl begins eluding them by larger and larger distances. McVay’s team is at a crossroads; maybe the pivot toward Stafford is McVay’s version of Sean Payton acquiring Drew Brees. Maybe the Rams have ensured their spot at the front end of a very difficult division

    in reply to: Rams tweets … 7/16 thru 7/20 #130956
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    from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2021/07/18/rams-cooper-kupp-stats-chart-open-yac/

    On Kupp

    Since 2017, no receiver has gotten open more than Kupp or gained yards after the catch at a higher rate than the Rams receiver….

    Kupp has been deemed “open” on more than 50% of his targets, and he gains an average of 4-plus yards after the catch – the only receiver to eclipse both thresholds.

    in reply to: nfc west (updated 7/18) #130955
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    in reply to: nfc west (updated 7/18) #130952
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    in reply to: around the league (updated thru 7/26) #130949
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    in reply to: the “more on the police” thread #130948
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    in reply to: labor #130947
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    in reply to: Rams tweets … 7/16 thru 7/20 #130946
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    from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2021/07/17/rams-nfl-best-nicknames-history-rankings/

    Thomas Neumann of Touchdown Wire ranked the 101 best nicknames in football history, and four Rams greats made the list. Two of them were ranked in the top 10, with three total in the top 25.

    Here are the Rams players who made the cut.

    77. Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein
    25. Dick “Night Train” Lane
    9. David “Deacon” Jones
    8. Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch

    in reply to: bad & dumbass stuff #130945
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    in reply to: Just a thread for different kindsa interesting things #130944
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    in reply to: Capitol riots: aftermaths #130943
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    This Capitol Rioter Beat His Pregnant Girlfriend — and Threw Her Into a Canal –

    from https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3xm88/this-accused-capitol-rioter-beat-his-pregnant-girlfriend-and-threw-her-into-a-canal

    Samsel is not the only accused Capitol rioter with a documented history of domestic abuse. A HuffPost investigation from early February identified nine other insurrectionists who have either faced charges, jail time, or been hit with restraining orders, due to domestic violence or sexual assault.

    in reply to: Capitol riots: aftermaths #130942
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Viewing 30 posts - 15,361 through 15,390 (of 47,952 total)