I remember that meme for the Dolphins.  Now look at them.  Great, I jinxed them.

McDaniels already axed.

Sources: Raiders fired HC Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2023

I saw “McDumbass” trending on Twitter a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. But the Raiders are the dumbasses here. He still has four more years left they have to pay him for. 

I guess their hands are tied and they have to if they want the coach, but franchises keep handing out absurdly long contracts then end up firing the coach less than half way through. 

Still can’t believe they didn’t trade away Adams yesterday. Probably would have got a first for him? 

Looks like the Jets tried to get Adams and/or Mike Evans but it didn't work out. 

posted by justincredible

McDaniels already axed.

Sources: Raiders fired HC Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2023

Not a shocker. The closest thing to a shock is them giving a very good assistant coach who'd already sucked ass at one head coaching job such a long contract, but that can be explained away with "Raiders gonna Raider".

Annie Agar is going to have to turn her attention to the Falcons head coach as her new whipping boy now that McDaniels is gone.

posted by BR1986FB

Annie Agar is going to have to turn her attention to the Falcons head coach as her new whipping boy now that McDaniels is gone.

She’s been hammering the Falcons HC the past couple weeks….she jabs Canada a lot now too.

posted by Ironman92

She’s been hammering the Falcons HC the past couple weeks….she jabs Canada a lot now too.

Yeah, I saw that. She made a passing comment on Stefanski not running the ball on 3rd & 3 but figured she'd go a little harder at him.

Tonight’s Game

Steelers vs Titans

Steelers good: at home, prime time, going against rookie QB

Titans good: Derick Henry, looked good last week

Steelers bad: Matt Canada targeting Dionte Johnson 5x more than George Pickens, Pickett banged up and plays will be too quick, no Fitzpatrick to help with Deandre Hopkins , if Watt isn’t getting to QB, Pittsburgh loses.

Titans bad, well they just aren’t that good

Prediction: Titans keep Levis from trouble from Pittsburgh rushing attack and Levis hits a couple long balls with Minkah out. Titans D-line looks better than Steelers. Steelers offense remains at the bottom and have been outgained in every single game.

Titans 27

Steelers 16

Canada will be calling plays from the sideline. Hopefully Pickens doesn’t have anger issues.

I find the league boring as hell and really bad. The level of quarterback play is a lot of meh to bad. 

I'll watch tonight on one screen, but find myself already way more invested into Texas tech-TCU tonight. Hell, even Duke and Wake will probably be more entertaining.

The college game is way more exciting and interesting this year. Also, way more profitable....

posted by Ironman92

Tonight’s Game

Steelers vs Titans

Steelers good: at home, prime time, going against rookie QB

Titans good: Derick Henry, looked good last week

Steelers bad: Matt Canada targeting Dionte Johnson 5x more than George Pickens, Pickett banged up and plays will be too quick, no Fitzpatrick to help with Deandre Hopkins , if Watt isn’t getting to QB, Pittsburgh loses.

Titans bad, well they just aren’t that good

Prediction: Titans keep Levis from trouble from Pittsburgh rushing attack and Levis hits a couple long balls with Minkah out. Titans D-line looks better than Steelers. Steelers offense remains at the bottom and have been outgained in every single game.

Titans 27

Steelers 16

Not a chance. The league fixes it so Pittsburgh's primetime games are at home, hence the assured victory.

posted by BR1986FB

Not a chance. The league fixes it so Pittsburgh's primetime games are at home, hence the assured victory.

Yeah….sure the hell looked fixed. Titans 4 first downs on 4 Steelers penalties and had a 14 play drive and hardly did anything.

So far the Will Levis experience isn’t too hateful. The Titans may have something here. 

posted by friendfromlowry

So far the Will Levis experience isn’t too hateful. The Titans may have something here. 

Honestly he looks the part. Steelers were all over his ass early on and hasn’t seemed to phase him at all. Pittsburgh’s secondary isn’t even close.

Levis has all the throws. But NFL QB is about 10% throws and 90% mental/preparation. 

Have to see what he does after the league has tape.

Nice to have Heyward back, need Minkah back too.

I’ll give Canada a B+, some dumbness but I like him better down on sideline being a part of it and not sipping drinks the whole game. Pickett missed some throws but both backs looked ok.

Not a pretty game but watchable 

posted by Ironman92

Yeah….sure the hell looked fixed. Titans 4 first downs on 4 Steelers penalties and had a 14 play drive and hardly did anything.

Just like I said. All that matters is the end result.

posted by Laley23

Levis has all the throws. But NFL QB is about 10% throws and 90% mental/preparation. 

Have to see what he does after the league has tape.

I'd be about 10X more excited if he was our QB than Pickett.

Kenny looks to be building the foundation for career backup.  But his Q4 play has been inexplicably excellent.  Overall, though, his arm talent just seems to be well below average.

Pittsburgh has to be the worst 5-3 team of all time. Incredible they keep winning these games by getting outplayed in all 8 games. 

posted by Laley23

Pittsburgh has to be the worst 5-3 team of all time. Incredible they keep winning these games by getting outplayed in all 8 games. 

Saw a stat where they were the only team in NFL history to not outgain their opponent in yardage and have that record. Tomlin's a helluva coach regardless of what their fans say.

posted by BR1986FB

Saw a stat where they were the only team in NFL history to not outgain their opponent in yardage and have that record. Tomlin's a helluva coach regardless of what their fans say.

He's hella good at being mediocre.

Parity is the operating word in the league.  The Steelers have been fortunate to be +9 in turnovers which has helped them score and also hang around.

The way they play, and given risk aversion of the average coach, they can hang around in most games and have a 50/50 shot at winning.  

That's pretty much been their formula for years.  Until they get in the playoffs and get thumped.

Tomlin has won 3 playoff games the past 12 years.  That's not good by any measure.  But if "the standard" is just a non-losing season, then Tomlin is definitely your guy.

They also are 5-0 in 1 score games. 

Might be something to regression on everything they are doing and assume loses are about to pile up. Trying to decide if I want to pursue that thought process and bet it haha.

Some of it also may have to do with a schedule that's been loaded with average to sub-par teams so far. I'd say San Francisco (loss), Baltimore (win) and Jacksonville (loss) have been their only games in the first eight where they played a team that's noticeably above average (I mean, SF looks pretty blah now, but did start out pretty awesomely).

Going 1-2 against the tough opposition and 4-1 against the okay to bad teams puts them in the category where, despite all the stats going against them, they've at least gotten respectable results, if only because of defensive skill and how their offense magically transforms into something that looks competent in the fourth quarter more often than not. With the caveat being that "respectable" doesn't necessarily get you into the playoffs (as last year's "respectable" 9-8 showed) and it damn sure won't get you far if you make it there. And that won't change until they get A LOT better in the red zone. Seems last night, like so many games, they were able to move the ball, but hit a brick wall when they got into the red zone way too many times. Convert those opportunities and this isn't a down-to-the-last-minute nail-biter.