The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[HTTR]

Man, Quinn watched film on that Dobbs 50 yard TD scramble, saw Will Harris bolt the complete opposite direction towards the Stadium exit, and decided that was enough to send him to the Shadow Realm.

Godspeed, Wrong Angle Will.

I would have to think he did more than that to get cut. But really, that was a shitty signing to begin with. Another cheap/old guy that sucked or got hurt… Or in this case both. There were younger better players available for a few million more, money that we never ended up spending anyway. Hopefully I don’t have to keep complaining about this for much longer going forward.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I guess my question is, why would you search for reasons to give them the benefit of the doubt? As in, why would you assume they’re making the right choice, whether that’s to sit tight or add someone, or whatever. They haven’t earned that, right?

Sometimes they’re quietly cooking something up, sometimes their in-house plan pays off, and sometimes they’re just behind the 8-ball and eventually land on seeing the same problem everyone else has already been talking about after their initial stubborn plan didn’t work.

It’s hard to tell which is the case in the moment, but your whole vibe seems to imply that you trust them to get it right or at least to have an actionable plan, even if we aren’t aware of it. And I guess I have to ask…why?

I'm HOPING they get it right, because I want the team to win. I'm going to hope they get it right forever. I am not one to assume failure any more than I assume success. I wait until something fails in order to determine it was a failure, but as a fan, I look at every move and try to find a way it makes sense. I look at it from the viewpoint as it's coming from a decision maker who believes it's the best option, and they're not doing it to lose, they're doing it to win.

As of now, we don't know if letting go of Biadasz and going with Allegretti was a failure. It's not trending in a direction that gives us the warm and fuzzies, but the outcome has not happened yet. It very well may blow up in their face, and i've openly said that it doesn't make sense to me, so I'm not wearing blinders... just letting things fail before i call them a failure.

I also enjoy the conversation, so when there is an overwhelming push in one direction, i tend to look at it and ask 'what if....' or 'could THIS be what they're doin?' Especially when it's overwhelmingly a push in a negative direction, because I want to have fun watching my team... I just don't want to be mad at everything they do... it takes the enjoyment away from the experience.

These guys are professionals. Professionals that are trying to do things that we've only got about 10% of the information about. The things that go into decisions that we have very little actual context to, so while I may not agree with a move, or lack thereof... i also understand that it may not have been as easy as 'they're choosing not to do.....'

 

[Simeon]

I can't recall another player like JGJ who has been so undeniably bad that even the reporters are openly asking why the guy is still practicing with the starters.

Dieter at center?

 

[Conn]

I'm HOPING they get it right, because I want the team to win. I'm going to hope they get it right forever. I am not one to assume failure any more than I assume success. I wait until something fails in order to determine it was a failure, but as a fan, I look at every move and try to find a way it makes sense. I look at it from the viewpoint as it's coming from a decision maker who believes it's the best option, and they're not doing it to lose, they're doing it to win.

As of now, we don't know if letting go of Biadasz and going with Allegretti was a failure. It's not trending in a direction that gives us the warm and fuzzies, but the outcome has not happened yet. It very well may blow up in their face, and i've openly said that it doesn't make sense to me, so I'm not wearing blinders... just letting things fail before i call them a failure.

I also enjoy the conversation, so when there is an overwhelming push in one direction, i tend to look at it and ask 'what if....' or 'could THIS be what they're doin?' Especially when it's overwhelmingly a push in a negative direction, because I want to have fun watching my team... I just don't want to be mad at everything they do... it takes the enjoyment away from the experience.

These guys are professionals. Professionals that are trying to do things that we've only got about 10% of the information about. The things that go into decisions that we have very little actual context to, so while I may not agree with a move, or lack thereof... i also understand that it may not have been as easy as 'they're choosing not to do.....'

This is a fair response, and I appreciate the thoughtful answer.

I think I fundamentally disagree with the idea of being reluctant to criticize (or praise) a process before the outcome is known. I think bad plans can succeed and good plans can fail, and identifying which is which before the outcome is part of the fun for me as a fan. I like to root for good processes, believing that more often than not, good results follow good processes. I dream of rooting for a team that on the whole has unimpeachable processes, because then I can’t get upset with the results, even when bad things happen.

I get more upset when bad results follow obviously bad processes, because it’s like shooting yourself in the foot and damages the hope I have for the season before it ever begins. I don’t like relying on miracles and low percentage chance outcomes and unlikely winning streaks to enjoy the season. Bad luck, injuries, bad reffing, bad outcomes…none of it actually bothers me that much when the decision-making that led to it was sound, because that’s life and you can’t control beyond what you can control. I tend to veer towards rooting for how our franchise tries to control those variables ahead of time, that’s where the majority of my energy goes as a fan.

But I also understand that’s a preference (and maybe a weird one), and we all share a rooting interest for the team while differing in HOW we do the actual rooting. That’s probably why most of my posting about the team is focused around how and why we make the decisions we do, rather than just about the outcomes.

This exchange I think helped me understand myself as a fan a little better, so thanks for that.

 

[Primus Porcus]

This is a fair response, and I appreciate the thoughtful answer.

I think I fundamentally disagree with the idea of being reluctant to criticize (or praise) a process before the outcome is known. I think bad plans can succeed and good plans can fail, and identifying which is which before the outcome is part of the fun for me as a fan. I like to root for good processes, believing that more often than not, good results follow good processes. I dream of rooting for a team that on the whole has unimpeachable processes, because then I can’t get upset with the results, even when bad things happen.

I get more upset when bad results follow obviously bad processes, because it’s like shooting yourself in the foot and damages the hope I have for the season before it ever begins. I don’t like relying on miracles and low percentage chance outcomes and unlikely winning streaks to enjoy the season. Bad luck, injuries, bad reffing, bad outcomes…none of it actually bothers me that much when the decision-making that led to it was sound, because that’s life and you can’t control beyond what you can control. I tend to veer towards rooting for how our franchise tries to control those variables ahead of time, that’s where the majority of my energy goes as a fan.

But I also understand that’s a preference (and maybe a weird one), and we all share a rooting interest for the team while differing in HOW we do the actual rooting. That’s probably why most of my posting about the team is focused around how and why we make the decisions we do, rather than just about the outcomes.

This exchange I think helped me understand myself as a fan a little better, so thanks for that.

I'll never tell anyone how to fan. If we all looked at things the same way, and agreed on everything, well it would render what we do around her as pretty useless. We could start a thread and we'd have 30 pages of every member simply responding with the word 'yep' til another topic came up that we could all agree upon.

I do agree largely with you on the process, and I guess that's part of my 'hope'.... that I'm not part of that process, so I can't be totally 'sure' of anything within what's actually happening.

 

[RedWolf]

Yep

🤣

 

[Riggotoni]

Bring back Shar Pourdanesh....