Just an open page for me to drop notes/ideas/things I'm hearing/seeing/working on or just caffeinated or lack of sleep thoughts on football items.
WED 4/2
(8:11amET)
-- Let me post an entire RotoBlurb and discuss it...one that should send shockwaves about the entire NFL scouting industry but will absolutely not do that. Instead, football people, and thus the fans, will just nod their head knowingly/approvingly at the ‘football speak’ in this blurb and just move on, happily, with their day.
The NBC blurb is about Caleb Williams, commenting on a ProFootballTalk story...
Blurb Headline: Bears head coach Ben Johnson said the team will “go back to the basics” in offseason work with QB Caleb Williams.
Blurb Commentary: Johnson in his first year as the Bears’ head coach will get the chance to work with his franchise quarterback this offseason. Williams is “very comfortable” in shotgun formation, so Johnson said they will “work to see the comfort level under center” to further open up the offense. As last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Williams struggled at times and finished 3,541 passing yards while taking a whopping 68 sacks. Now he gets to build from the ground up with an offensive-minded head coach in Ben Johnson. Bears fans will be excited to hear about head coach and franchise quarterback working closely together leading into the season.
My reaction...
Go back to the basics? How in the world did a quarterback get universally ranked #1 overall in an entire draft, with a load of QB talent available, and a year later, his draft team has to go back to the basics with him? You go #1 overall in a draft...#1 at your position, in a year with a ton of QB options, there should be no question about your abilities.
I can’t wait for the stories about how Washington needs to get back to the basics with Jayden Daniels...or Denver with Bo Nix...or Atlanta with Michael Penix...or Minnesota with J.J. McCarthy. I’ll be waiting a long time for those stories, because they won’t happen...only the absolutely universal BEST player, BEST quarterback in last year’s draft, so said 99%+ of the football community, needs to (just one year later) ‘go back to the basics’.
‘Go back to the basics’ means = basically...you suck at your job, currently. And it’s YOU, not the team or the offense or the coaches. How can this be with the universally best player in last year’s draft, hands down?
I guess it’s not like anyone could have foreseen this if they scouted his college tape thoroughly...oh wait, someone did. Why didn’t 99%+ of football people NOT see these problems with Caleb in college?
Because football scouting is ‘feelings’ and ‘agreeing with the consensus...because they must know what they’re doing’. It’s not a science that certain or several people in the NFL have down pat. We’re all being bullshitted for years...decades. The older, wise-looking guy wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope hanging around his neck in the commercial must know what they’re talking about...after all, they’re a doctor...and not a paid actor reading/acting from a script!
Very comfortable ‘in shotgun’ (the blurb says)? What NFL tape/games was this writer watching...what tape was Ben Johnson watching? No one in the NFL looked more uncomfortable as a QB in 2024 than the #1 overall pick in the draft, supported by 99%+ of the football population.
If Caleb is uncomfortable in the shotgun AND under center...what did the Bears just draft/waste a #1 overall pick on? It was sitting there waiting to be discovered on his college tape, but no one but me (and I’m sure a random few others down the football food chain) noticed it?
If Caleb cannot suddenly ‘learn’ the basics of quarterback play this year -- Bears fans will turn on him this year...Ben Johnson’s career is damaged because he is expected to magically ‘fix’ Caleb...and the GM Ryan Poles should be fired, then quickly rehired, and fired 5 minutes later to serve a double punishment/double firing for the incredibly awful blunders he made at the QB position...Justin Fields and potentially Caleb Williams are colossal blunders that caused them to not take C.J. Stroud or Jayden Daniels, among others. One mistake happens...but two MONSTER scouting mistakes/opportunities blown?!?! How do these people keep their jobs?
I’m not pointing out an NFL scouting error and making fun of it to boost myself for being on the opposite side of the bet, a bet that I am scouting-winning so far. It’s not that angle as the key takeaway here.
My fascination...my point to drive home -- THEY do not know what they are doing in scouting. There is reason after reason, example after example, year after year to not trust what the 99% consensus is seeing in any draft. Caleb wasn’t a 50/50 debate that the Bears are potentially about to ‘miss’ on...every scout/GM would’ve made the same mistake/choice. It’s that 99%+ of all the football people signed off on Caleb as wholly, obviously the #1 QB...the #1 player in the draft...and what should have been a ‘can’t miss’ thing is turning out to be an epic miss by EVERYONE in football...almost everyone.
And it’s not just a one-off event...it’s Bryce Young...it’s Marvin Harrison...and I could go on forever. When football people are all piled into one side of an argument...it’s a huge red flag, or it should be...but it’s not, it’s never...we just keep going on trusting ‘the system’.
There is no real ‘system’.
It’s a broken ‘system’.
AND I don’t want it to change. We can only make money at this (betting or FF or sports card investments) if the ‘system’ stays in place and keeps operating as-is.
And I do think there is raw material to try to work with Caleb on, and that he might be able to become ‘OK’...but ‘bust’ is on the table as well...and that was not worthy of being the #1 overall pick...and why isn’t anyone outside of knowledgeable Bears fans screaming about the core issue of the GM’s horrific mistakes in the draft at QB in the news or blurbs or whatever? Because they were all onboard with it...the mirror would be held up to them for blame as well.
Wait until you see how wrong they are gonna be on Shedeur Sanders...
-- *FFM App notification system is being updated/worked on this week, so pop-up notifications are down/hit & miss. You can see when we post something on the App still, by checking it via: See the Upper Left Menu (three lines) on App home page, click it, then click Profile, then click ‘Push notifications’ – and you’ll see all the alerts/notifications we’ve ever sent in chronological order.
-- TV Series ‘March Madness’...
(same intro) OK, here we go...my personal TV series March Madness (16 teams/shows). I’m gonna pit two of these shows against each other every day until we get down to the final one left standing that will lay claim to BEST TV SERIES I’VE EVER WATCHED!
What am I basing my ‘choices’/the winners on? Lots of things...how good the show was/how good I remember it (so recency bias is gonna play a factor, even if I don’t want it to)...the acting, the writing/dialogue...the way it was filmed...would I watch it again and enjoy it just the same or maybe even more (and on some of them I have watched episodes or the series again in recent years).
--------------------
OK, the showdown of showdowns in the Final Four: Breaking Bad vs. Better Call Saul.
Both were/are so great...so iconic. The populace prefers Breaking Bad...the critics tend to rate Better Call Saul higher.
I don’t even know how to pick between these two. Breaking Bad, for me, really kicked off an era/opened my eyes to what a great TV series could be like. For me, prior to this show, there was no ‘wow’ TV series (again, for me/my TV journey)...only iconic network sitcoms and 7,000 network police dramas (Law & Order, etc.), with HBO doing some interesting stuff seemed to be my options -- but nothing like where I was on the edge of my seat every episode for however many seasons (like 5-6 from memory in Breaking Bad) and always marveling at every episode and season thinking -- ‘how could anyone top this?’ I didn’t watch Breaking Bad until like 3-4 seasons were already done/happened...because I didn’t believe TV series could sustain my interest...I was blind to the new era hitting. It was Breaking Bad that opened my eyes. I was late to the party.
How could anyone top Breaking Bad? That was my mindset after watching it all.
...and then Better Call Saul comes along and just picks up right where Breaking Bad left off.
...and then a bunch of other great, unique TV series erupted through the door Breaking Bad kicked open...for me it was Breaking Bad that blazed the trail. Better Call Saul just kept expanding that trail.
But I’m stalling on this decision, I think...I don’t want to have to pick a winner between these two. It’s not an obvious decision.
I am going to go with my gut instinct...my current ‘feelings’ on this...and that is: While Breaking Bad was so groundbreaking and excellent, I thought Bob Odenkirk was so ‘special’ on Better Call Saul, and the season/s with ‘Jimmy’ and his brother (Michael McKean) were so incredibly well done, so compelling and clever and unique...taking the great Breaking Bad vibe to the next level -- I give the reluctant nod to Better Call Saul over the show that ‘Saul’ was only possible to be in existence, Breaking Bad. It seems like heresy to do so, but I just thought Better Call Saul was just a tad more brilliant than BB. It’s a coin flip.
Tomorrow, we have the other side of the Final Four bracket...This Is Us vs. Severance.
-- Coming up on FFM today...
*Next scouting report will publish today.
*Daily Dynasty Briefing videos will be on pause this week...trying to catch up from a week of travel. I’ll catch up to them ASAP.
*Best Ball top 600 and top 600 Dynasty updated this past Sat. 3/29. Next update will be around 4/4 +/-.
*IDP top 500 will debut in early April with the top 50+ rookies at the debut, working towards 100+ IDP rookies there as well. Getting closer to finishing but not likely to hit a March end deadline. April 2-3-4 range is the estimated debut of the IDP rankings.
*Positional NFL Draft Scouting Grades (1.0 versions) will continue to post over the next few weeks...grading on the prospects we have enough information to run the first wave of scouting model grades. Those boards will be updated daily/weekly up into the NFL Draft, and post-Draft...with more data coming in over the summer and additionally re-graded after we scout players in the preseason.
***For those into playing DFS or Best Ball style tournaments for prize money, we have Promo Code (FFM) for matching funds deposited with our friend, The Podfather and PlayerProfiler for their new tournament prize drafting App FastDraft.
Link to learn more and get the Promo Code: https://ffmetrics.com/total-football-advisor/5363-upcoming-rc-interview-video-who-what-why-ff-contest-promo-code
I think FFMers could do quite well in the unique contests they have…especially jumping on things early, ahead of the curve -- like the all-Rookie (2025 class) FF draft/lineup contest and the D-Up/all IDP Best Ball tournament play. They are trying to bring unique game play to the DFS/Best Ball draft world, I think you might enjoy.***
*TWO NOTES OF INTEREST* On the FastDraft App/prize tournaments...
1) The FFM Promo Code opportunity has now been doubled by FastDraft for a stretch of time...matching funds of +$50 when you deposit $50 when you use the promo code FFM.
2) Also, there is a free to enter contest just opened on FastDraft...it’s an abbreviated Best Ball type draft...open for a limited time.
And note... The ‘all rookies’ tournament/prize contest ‘Origins’ closes April 24th...it’s a pre-Draft contest/battle of rookie scouting skills, so a great opportunity to try and take advantage using your rookie research.
**The FREE FFM APP (notes for those who have not signed up yet...)
-- The App is NOT automatically set up to recognize your FFM site credentials (username/password).
-- Sign up for the App as if you’re brand new to FFM...it’s a separate ‘thing’/brain from the site. You can use your same exact username/password signing up for the App, to keep it easy for you to remember.
-- Enable the App notifications to get a notification sent to your device when key reports are posted, and/or (especially) in-season when we get inside info/intel from sources before anyone else and it might be news we all need to FF-act on quickly before the world finds out.
-- App tip #1 (FYI): Upper Left (three lines) on App home page, click it, then click profile, then click ‘Push notifications’ – and you’ll see all the alerts we’ve sent in chronological order. App tip #2 (FYI)...if you see things posted but you got no device notification, but you are enabled for notifications…go to your phone’s ‘Settings’>Apps>FFM App>Click the Notifications off then on…like a reboot. I don't know why this works but it does to kick the phone back into business.
TUE 4/1
(8:08amET)
*Don’t forget it’s stupid April Fool’s Day today...I hate the whole concept of it because of the lengths people used to go through to try and trick people and it would be cruel and dangerous in the name of silliness. Have your guard up. I’m not setting you up. Just warning you for anyone trying to do something or publish a report on something ridiculous. I truly hate this ‘holiday’. Those who have been with me for 2-3-5-10+ years...have I ever done anything silly/tricky on this day ever? No, I have not. I never will. Just a PSA for you headed into the workplace or if you see a strange headline story, etc., to start your day.
A lot of QB news tidbits the past few days...
-- Aaron Rodgers working out with DK Metcalf doesn’t just ‘happen’ by chance, I assume. It seems like Rodgers has been backed into a corner of ‘if he’s gonna play, on his terms, it’s gonna be for the Steelers’.
And it seems like the same old song with NFL players...they rarely leave the game ‘early’ or ‘on-time’. And why should they if someone is going to pay them millions to do something they love, and Rodgers has no kids...so why not keep playing for tens of millions of dollars? The retirement angle to the Rodgers’ 2025 story looks like it is dead. Plenty of time to retire in 1-5 years.
My guess is that the Steelers agreed to ‘let Aaron be Aaron’ and are allowing him concessions to go at his own timetable and attend things Rodgers’ wants to attend and skip things he wants to skip, etc.
Minnesota must not have acquiesced to Rodgers, maybe on multiple levels. Rodgers wanted to play for Minnesota so bad... I wonder if we’ll ever get the real story as to why the Vikings have seemingly ‘passed’ on this?
I’ve started changing our internal projections on the Steelers’ things to a heavy assumption Rodgers will be their QB for 2025...to be reflected in the next projections update later this week.
-- The Titans are still making overtures that they may not take a QB #1. But I am not buying it at all. They are taking a QB #1, Cam Ward. And then they will likely trade Will Levis on day one or day two, after they officially draft Ward...once it’s secured.
Tennessee doesn’t need to announce anything now or trade Levis ahead. There is no real Levis market anyway. The Titans just need to sit back and see if any crazy offers come in for the #1 pick...or you never know if Ward would get into an accident, etc. So, it is technically true/possible...Tennessee may not take a QB, but only if something unexpected happened with Ward.
And the NFL wants both Tennessee and Cleveland NOT to tip their hands for the TV drama...AND TEN or CLE must prepare for any curveballs the next few weeks -- imagine if Ward got into a serious accident or a serious scandal? These teams need to explore Plan Bs on the ‘what ifs’. It’s smart business. Cleveland needs a Plan B and Plan C...and so on.
-- One day, the Jets GM says Justin Fields is the starter...but that Tyrod Taylor is ‘right on his heels’. The next day, the head coach says Fields is ‘ready to break out as a top-notch quarterback’.
Aaron Glenn, not the Jets GM, is absolutely running that team...so, get ready for all-hands-on-deck to make Glenn’s words come true...which is very bullish for Fields for FF purposes. He’s a QB1 for FF out of the gates in 2025.
-- *FFM App notification system is being updated/worked on this week, so pop-up notifications are down/hit & miss. You can see when we post something on the App still, by checking it via: See the Upper Left Menu (three lines) on App home page, click it, then click Profile, then click ‘Push notifications’ – and you’ll see all the alerts/notifications we’ve ever sent in chronological order.
-- TV Series ‘March Madness’...
(same intro) OK, here we go...my personal TV series March Madness (16 teams/shows). I’m gonna pit two of these shows against each other every day until we get down to the final one left standing that will lay claim to BEST TV SERIES I’VE EVER WATCHED!
What am I basing my ‘choices’/the winners on? Lots of things...how good the show was/how good I remember it (so recency bias is gonna play a factor, even if I don’t want it to)...the acting, the writing/dialogue...the way it was filmed...would I watch it again and enjoy it just the same or maybe even more (and on some of them I have watched episodes or the series again in recent years).
--------------------
The final Elite 8 matchup...This Is Us vs. The Chosen
I guess a running theme here is a -- a large family with multiple storylines running through all the characters, as we go back and forth from the current to the past to the future and back again at any moment in these series.
The Chosen is the Christian series following the life of Jesus. Once again I say, I figured initially that this show would be not-great...more weak attempts at Christian entertainment/cinema, etc., but this series really is very good, very well done -- they did a good job, as each season was made with a bigger and bigger budget to add a ‘Breaking Bad’ type style to the presentation. And being a Christian...I am partial to the story, so it tugs at the heartstrings quite a bit. I think anyone of any religion may enjoy it, but it’s definitely partial/biased to the Christians.
This Is Us was a show I swore I would never watch. I saw commercials for it over the years...and never watched it. My wife watched it on a whim...then ended up bingeing it all (after the series had already finished/ended its run) and she swore how great it was. But I wouldn’t bite on it.
As my wife watched it for a second-time around, I randomly sat down and watched a scene...taking a break from my work...and it looked not-bad, so my wife pitched to me to consider watching it from the beginning, and she’d watch with me because it was that good...so, I relented to give it a one episode tryout the next day. And, I did...and I was hooked within like 2-5 minutes.
I’m pretty easy to tear up when watching something on TV, movie or series, that warrants it. I have shed a few tears at various The Chosen episodes...I mean, it’s my Savior...how could I not...but also blame a fine presentation on the stories from the Bible by the director, etc., but This Is Us is a constant ‘waterworks’ for me. Which is truly amazing because The Chosen...I know/knew the stories, the realities being presented and it’s still emotional...but This Is Us created fictional characters and made my eyes leak water over the characters/situations with (too) great consistency...doing so with wonderful storytelling and acting.
The Christian in me is supposed to tell you: ‘If you’re gonna watch any show, you should watch The Chosen’. But the art critic in me would say EVERYONE should watch This Is Us. Everyone would like This is Us...there’s something in it for every generation. It’s a master class of story telling and switching eras back-and-forth...to the past, to the future, back to the present...just enough of a taste of the past and future leaving you wanting more and trying to figure out how these stories are gonna collide and conclude. This Is Us is magical television, and I highly recommend it to you...especially a good one to watch for couples but is totally fine for a solo ride.
This Is Us moves on to the Final Four.
And I have the Final Four brackets set...with no idea how I’m going to judge it until I sit down to write the piece each day.
This Is Us will take on Severance.
AND
Breaking Bad will take on Better Call Saul...this is a matchup that HAS to happen. And it will, tomorrow.
-- Coming up on FFM today...
*Next scouting report will publish today.
*Daily Dynasty Briefing videos will be on pause this week...trying to catch up from a week of travel. I’ll catch up to them ASAP.
*Best Ball top 600 and top 600 Dynasty updated this past Sat. 3/29. Next update will be around 4/4 +/-.
*IDP top 500 will debut in early April with the top 50+ rookies at the debut, working towards 100+ IDP rookies there as well. Getting closer to finishing but not likely to hit a March end deadline. April 2-3-4 range is the estimated debut of the IDP rankings.
*Positional NFL Draft Scouting Grades (1.0 versions) will continue to post over the next few weeks...grading on the prospects we have enough information to run the first wave of scouting model grades. Those boards will be updated daily/weekly up into the NFL Draft, and post-Draft...with more data coming in over the summer and additionally re-graded after we scout players in the preseason.
***For those into playing DFS or Best Ball style tournaments for prize money, we have Promo Code (FFM) for matching funds deposited with our friend, The Podfather and Playerprofiler for their new tournament prize drafting App FastDraft.
Link to learn more and get the Promo Code: https://ffmetrics.com/total-football-advisor/5363-upcoming-rc-interview-video-who-what-why-ff-contest-promo-code
I think FFMers could do quite well in the unique contests they have…especially jumping on things early, ahead of the curve -- like the all-Rookie (2025 class) FF draft/lineup contest and the D-Up/all IDP Best Ball tournament play. They are trying to bring unique game play to the DFS/Best Ball draft world, I think you might enjoy.***
*TWO NOTES OF INTEREST* On the FastDraft App/prize tournaments...
1) The FFM Promo Code opportunity has now been doubled by FastDraft for a stretch of time...matching funds of +$50 when you deposit $50 when you use the promo code FFM.
2) Also, there is a free to enter contest just opened on FastDraft...it’s an abbreviated Best Ball type draft...open for a limited time.
And note... The ‘all rookies’ tournament/prize contest ‘Origins’ closes April 24th...it’s a pre-Draft contest/battle of rookie scouting skills, so a great opportunity to try and take advantage using your rookie research.
**The FREE FFM APP (notes for those who have not signed up yet...)
-- The App is NOT automatically set up to recognize your FFM site credentials (username/password).
-- Sign up for the App as if you’re brand new to FFM...it’s a separate ‘thing’/brain from the site. You can use your same exact username/password signing up for the App, to keep it easy for you to remember.
-- Enable the App notifications to get a notification sent to your device when key reports are posted, and/or (especially) in-season when we get inside info/intel from sources before anyone else and it might be news we all need to FF-act on quickly before the world finds out.
-- App tip #1 (FYI): Upper Left (three lines) on App home page, click it, then click profile, then click ‘Push notifications’ – and you’ll see all the alerts we’ve sent in chronological order. App tip #2 (FYI)...if you see things posted but you got no device notification, but you are enabled for notifications…go to your phone’s ‘Settings’>Apps>FFM App>Click the Notifications off then on…like a reboot. I don't know why this works but it does to kick the phone back into business.
MON 3/31
(7:08amET)
-- Brandon Aiyuk will get a $22M+ guarantee bonus on April 1st/TUE...or the 49ers could cut him today and cost themselves like a $35M+ CAP hit in 2025.
I think they could cut him today...or sell him off for a 3rd-round pick and eat a bunch of the salary. If not traded, and just outright cut -- when he signs wherever, SF would likely get a 3rd/4th-round compensation pick for it down the road.
Teams interested in a trade for Aiyuk can just wait to see what SF does...and if they retain Aiyuk, they can trade for him after 4/1. If he gets cut, he’s open season for bidders.
Aiyuk (coming off an ACL) may not be ready for action until halfway+ through this season, so SF isn’t losing much in 2025...whatever they do (pay or cut/take a hit) with Aiyuk, 2025 is likely a wasted season/payroll. And we see the way the 49ers are ditching players/gaining current and future payroll...so, why wouldn’t they just keep cutting away and drop Aiyuk today, take the hit in an obvious ‘lost season’?
There is a case to just pay Aiyuk his bonus because he’s gonna cost them a ton of money either way and then look to deal him at the trade deadline when he has more market value...assuming he’s back healthy then.
It’s going to be a very interesting day for the 49ers/Aiyuk. Typically, NFL teams are not bold with these types of moves...and thus admitting a massive mistake paying him last year. So, the safe bet is they just keep him/pay him roster bonus due tomorrow.
...but the 49ers have been slashing and burning their roster and payroll hard this past month, so there is an appetite for them to continue the radical roster makeover and just ditch Aiyuk like they’ve done with Deebo-Greenlaw-Ward-Hufanga-Banks-Hargrave-Moore-Floyd-Collins.
-- Speaking of WRs...Tyreek Hill is supposedly making waves again about wanting to be traded. It could be Tyreek doing his normal attention-seeking activity...or today he wants to be traded, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Tyreek got traded, but I think Miami is desperate to hold him. But, if he wanted to, Tyreek could make it a big public issue/distraction and force his way out by being too much of a distraction in the end.
If Tyreek is traded...
1) He blows up the target flow of whatever team he lands with. (example) If it’s back to KC, Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice both get their Dynasty value chopped severely.
2) Jaylen Waddle’s FF-value rises fast.
3) Tua Tagovailoa would be a MUST SELL...I don’t want much to do with him as it is, but without Tyreek...no thank you at all.
-- *FFM App notification system is being updated/worked on this week, so pop-up notifications are down/hit & miss. You can see when we post something on the App still, by checking it via: See the Upper Left Menu (three lines) on App home page, click it, then click Profile, then click ‘Push notifications’ – and you’ll see all the alerts/notifications we’ve ever sent in chronological order.
-- TV Series ‘March Madness’...
(same intro) OK, here we go...my personal TV series March Madness (16 teams/shows). I’m gonna pit two of these shows against each other every day until we get down to the final one left standing that will lay claim to BEST TV SERIES I’VE EVER WATCHED!
What am I basing my ‘choices’/the winners on? Lots of things...how good the show was/how good I remember it (so recency bias is gonna play a factor, even if I don’t want it to)...the acting, the writing/dialogue...the way it was filmed...would I watch it again and enjoy it just the same or maybe even more (and on some of them I have watched episodes or the series again in recent years).
--------------------
A powerhouse matchup here...the third of 4 matchups in the Elite 8 = Severance vs. Stranger Things.
Both I think are great, obviously...but I mean that in a way where I thought, before we started the tourney, that either of these two shows had a chance to go all the way. Stranger Things gets a bad rap for being a ‘sci fi’ type show and not a serious story -- but it’s been a very good/interesting story and that last season was one of the best seasons of TV that I’ve seen...in terms of story continuity (they built to the last season storyline for years in the making).
On the other hand, Severance is not ‘sci-fi’, per se, it’s more of a pure piece of art...and I don’t mean that like in a pretentious or highbrow way. I mean the way it is shot...acted...the dialogue...the storyline...the slow build...it’s masterful. It takes my breath away how good that show has become...and, again, I was about to throw in the towel on it after the first four episodes...but upon a second watch/retrospect -- those first 4 episodes were great too, I just couldn’t handle the art being presented in front of me at the time.
However, credit Stranger Things for not being a curveball on the first pitch...you get hooked 2 minutes in, and they never let off the gas. It’s a fastball right down the middle. But I’ve seen great sci-fi-ish stories before, like Stranger Things is. I’ve never seen anything presented like Severance.
Stranger Things is pretty much a ‘can’t miss’ watch for anyone of all ages and likes. Severance is a little more eclectic...but for those that make the journey to the final episodes of Season One, Severance is a mind-blowing ‘can’t miss’. Both shows are so good, and recency bias may be pushing this too...but I give the nod/win to Severance for not only being so good but also so unique and unlike anything else I’ve seen before.
What’s funny is, if I polled my family...Stranger Things is a thumbs up from everyone. Everyone of different tastes liked it. Severance, however, would be a split decision among the group. Stranger Things deserves credit for being so good to a mass audience, which is hard to do because shows usually ‘sell out’ garbage to a mass audience at a certain point, or right away...trading quality for a wide net ‘pop music’ quantity/appeal -- but not Stranger Things...they juggle being mass appeal but high quality.
Severance ultimately gets the win because if you told me to take a one-month sabbatical from work and that I had to watch one show during that time...I’d choose to rewatch Severance for a third time before I watched Stranger Things for a second time. If I were in the dating pool today, and on a hypothetical first date they told me they loved (or hated) Stranger Things...it wouldn’t move me either way, per se. But if they told me they loved Severance, we might be a match; they’d get a second date potentially...and if they hated Severance, I’d politely swipe right (or left, whatever...I don’t know anything about dating apps).
The Elite 8: The Chosen vs. This Is Us is the last matchup for the Final Four.
Onto the Final Four: Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, Severance
-- Coming up on FFM today...
*Next scouting report will publish today.
*Daily Dynasty Briefing videos will be on pause this week...trying to catch up from a week of travel. I’ll catch up to them ASAP.
*Best Ball top 600 and top 600 Dynasty updated this past Sat. 3/29. Next update will be around 4/4 +/-.
*IDP top 500 will debut in early April with the top 50+ rookies at the debut, working towards 100+ IDP rookies there as well. Getting closer to finishing but not likely to hit a March end deadline.
*Positional NFL Draft Scouting Grades (1.0 versions) will continue to post over the next few weeks...grading on the prospects we have enough information to run the first wave of scouting model grades. Those boards will be updated daily/weekly up into the NFL Draft, and post-Draft...with more data coming in over the summer and additionally re-graded after we scout players in the preseason.
***For those into playing DFS or Best Ball style tournaments for prize money, we have Promo Code (FFM) for matching funds deposited with our friend, The Podfather and Playerprofiler for their new tournament prize drafting App FastDraft.
Link to learn more and get the Promo Code: https://ffmetrics.com/total-football-advisor/5363-upcoming-rc-interview-video-who-what-why-ff-contest-promo-code
I think FFMers could do quite well in the unique contests they have…especially jumping on things early, ahead of the curve -- like the all-Rookie (2025 class) FF draft/lineup contest and the D-Up/all IDP Best Ball tournament play. They are trying to bring unique game play to the DFS/Best Ball draft world, I think you might enjoy.***
*TWO NOTES OF INTEREST* On the FastDraft App/prize tournaments...
1) The FFM Promo Code opportunity has now been doubled by FastDraft for a stretch of time...matching funds of +$50 when you deposit $50 when you use the promo code FFM.
2) Also, there is a free to enter contest just opened on FastDraft...it’s an abbreviated Best Ball type draft...open for a limited time.
And note... The ‘all rookies’ tournament/prize contest ‘Origins’ closes April 24th...it’s a pre-Draft contest/battle of rookie scouting skills, so a great opportunity to try and take advantage using your rookie research.
**The FREE FFM APP (notes for those who have not signed up yet...)
-- The App is NOT automatically set up to recognize your FFM site credentials (username/password).
-- Sign up for the App as if you’re brand new to FFM...it’s a separate ‘thing’/brain from the site. You can use your same exact username/password signing up for the App, to keep it easy for you to remember.
-- Enable the App notifications to get a notification sent to your device when key reports are posted, and/or (especially) in-season when we get inside info/intel from sources before anyone else and it might be news we all need to FF-act on quickly before the world finds out.
-- App tip #1 (FYI): Upper Left (three lines) on App home page, click it, then click profile, then click ‘Push notifications’ – and you’ll see all the alerts we’ve sent in chronological order. App tip #2 (FYI)...if you see things posted but you got no device notification, but you are enabled for notifications…go to your phone’s ‘Settings’>Apps>FFM App>Click the Notifications off then on…like a reboot. I don't know why this works but it does to kick the phone back into business.
