iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Six straight games of negative EPA. Seven turnovers in three games. But the most interesting part of Drake Maye’s slump may be what happened to another young QB who hit a wall in Year 3: Ben Roethlisberger. There’s a surprisingly relevant history lesson here. www.nytimes.com/athletic/763...

nytimes.com

The Patriots have a Drake Maye problem. What’s wrong, and what’s fixable? Pick Six

190

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#rams & #packers current HCs: 169-97-1 (.634) They have also had 10 special teams coaches‼️ Both had MVP QB seasons derailed by ST blunders So I spent this offseason finding out why 👇👇👇👇👇 www.nytimes.com/athletic/757...

nytimes.com

The Rams are historic Super Bowl favorites, but have they fixed their fatal flaw? (Gift Article)

Special teams woes might have cost the Rams a Super Bowl, a plight the Packers know all too well. Sean McVay vows to fix the problem.

250

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Every year at this time I check in with #NFL executives for a preseason expectations snapshot Full story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/755... #Bears got a No. 1 vote in NFC, which runs today Tomorrow: AFC

3102

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Re-worded: Then won two MVPs and two Super Bowls shortly thereafter

050

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Interesting potential comp for recent Mahomes: 1980s Joe Montana, who was one-and-done in playoffs 3 years in a row, and beat up Then won next two MVPs and Super Bowls High bar for anyone to clear but voters feel Mahomes will be just fine

4191

Reposted by Mike Sando

The Athletic @theathletic.com · 04/08/2026

Our 2026 NFL Quarterback Tiers results are here. The panel this year consisted of 21 execs and 29 coaches overall. Each voter placed 35 veteran QBs into five tiers, from best (Tier 1) to worst (Tier 5). nyti.ms/4yYcfln

428416

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Yeah, the only way to please some fans is to have their guy at the very top Just had a 49ers fan say he can’t wait to see Purdy in Tier 3 below guys he beats routinely The truth: Purdy has never been in Tier 3

100

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

2026 QB Tiers drops Tuesday 8/4 *50 coaches/execs weigh in on the one position everyone watches See how high Caleb Williams, Drake Maye & Bo Nix climb See how Tier 1 has changed 🤔 Gonna be a fun rest of the week!

3221

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Randy works for the Saints now so no podcasts

120

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Thanks! I love hearing the perspectives and trying to provide balanced critique with insights

110

Reposted by Mike Sando

Erik J Maassen @erikjmaassen.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Love your unfiltered articles after the draft & appreciate you getting insight from scouts/GMs opinions. More interested in their thoughts after the draft when lying season is pretty much over, hopefully getting a truer sense of what they really think. Keep up the amazing work!

121

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Did #Bills make wise use of all those picks (10) after trading down? Was #Browns' draft as good as the analysts suggested? Do the #Texans care what anyone thinks? Does anyone have anything good to say about #Jaguars GM? Is it OK to feel good about #Jets? www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...

nytimes.com

Execs unfiltered on NFL Draft for every AFC team: Are things looking up for Jets, Raiders?

Is it really OK to feel good about the Jets? Meanwhile, reviews were mixed on the Bills', Jaguars' and Texans' draft classes.

080

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Today we run through all 16 NFC teams' drafts with thoughts from #NFL insiders ... including range of opinions on #Rams, #Giants, #49ers and more www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...

nytimes.com

Execs unfiltered on every NFC team's draft: Did the Rams get it right with Ty Simpson?

180

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Yeah, a really top talent who seemed to have a hard time conforming within the system as it was set up then.

1100

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

We're all free to talk about it or not talk about it fortunately

020

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Bell was gone from the Patriots after the '72 season. "I traded for Duane Thomas because I thought he was the greatest running back in football," Bell said Wednesday. "There is all sorts of finagling when you trade a player, but the league rule that has never changed is, he must pass a physical."

171

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Teammates called Thomas misunderstood. "He's one of the most honest, sensitive men I've ever met," former Redskins teammate John Wilbur said at the time. "He's just misunderstood, that's all. It's just that he's his own man."

170

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Thomas won a Super Bowl as a key Cowboys contributor in 1971, but faded away. Dallas traded him to the Chargers, but Thomas never showed up in San Diego. He sat out the 1972 season, resurfaced with George Allen's Redskins, jumped to the World League briefly and never played in the NFL again.

130

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

The trade was reversed. At least partially. Thomas went back to the Cowboys. Garrett went back to the Patriots. Hagen and Jackson stayed with the Patriots. New England recouped its 1972 first-round pick, sending second- and third-rounders to the Cowboys instead.

130

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Bell called then-commish Pete Rozelle, relaying to Rozelle that the Patriots had questions about Thomas, and that the situation was a bad look for the league. Schramm, the Cowboys' prez/GM from 1960-88, said he felt compelled from "a moral and ethical standpoint" to find a compromise

130

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Thomas practiced with the Patriots without completing a physical. He clashed on the field with coach John Mazur. Mazur sent Thomas off the field. Thomas left the team. Bell, son of former commissioner Bert Bell, knew the Patriots had a problem.

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

"You are getting criticized. Do you really want to give up two No. 1s?"

150

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Bell: "I'm not saying this happened with the Ravens, but let's say Crosby gets to Baltimore. He is still recovering from the injury. And then somebody comes in to you and says, like they did to me, 'Are you sure you want to make this deal?'"

280

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Much about the NFL has changed, but then as now, teams have the right to put newly acquired players through physical exams before signing off on an acquisition. The process is typically a formality, but in rare cases, the physical exam can provide one last offramp for teams having second thoughts

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Bell: "I had heard rumors, but you don't know til you get him there. I do know when he reported – it was on a Sunday, and I was traveling - they said he fell down the stairs. I said to the doctor, 'Let me see about this deal.' I said, 'Don't give him the physical yet.' "

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Thomas refused a blood test and urinalysis. "In those days, you did not have all the information you have today," Bell said Wednesday.

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

The Patriots' coach preferred Garrett. There were other complications. Thomas also was rumored to have had involvement with drugs (his agent, Al Ross, who represented basketball star Spencer Haywood in Haywood's historic fight against NBA eligibility rules, shot down these rumors at the time).

150

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Upton Bell was in his 1st year as Patriots' GM after a 5-yr run as the Colts' personnel director. Bell thought Thomas could be the best back in football. And so Bell sent the Patriots' 1972 1st-rd pick with RB Carl Garrett to DAL for Thomas, OL Halvor Hagen & WRHonor Jackson. Mayhem ensued.

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

"I hope Thomas has a lot of money," Brandt said then, "because we're not going to trade him. In fact, if he did have a lot of money, I'd sue him." This went on for a while until the Cowboys did what teams do when a player becomes more of a distraction than an asset: they traded him.

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Duane Thomas demanded a new contract from the Cowboys after winning NFL OROY in 1970. He held out and ripped management. GM Tex Schramm was "dishonest" … exec Gil Brandt was "a liar" … and coach Tom Landry was "plastic man"

140

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

My favorite part of this story didn't fit into the story so I'll share it here: a time when the #NFL commissioner helped to undo a Patriots-Cowboys trade involving players and a first-round pick. A 🧵 …

1199

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Also in Pick Six: #patriots were outlier among outliers this season What does it mean for future?

1181

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

What do the last two Super Bowl winners have in common? Final Pick Six column of the season marks #seahawks SB win by tracing evolution of the modern GM Schneider & Roseman out front 👇👇👇 www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

0543

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Who else besides Craig could: •Block like a FB •Excel in short-yardage •Run like a tailback •Catch like modern receiving chess piece RB I think Craig waited because there weren't comps for him--harder to measure

2241

Reposted by Mike Sando

Kevin Fishbain @kfishbain.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

"Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain" episode 44 Guest: @sandonfl.bsky.social Learn how Sando got his start in sports media, and we go through some of the stories he wrote at his first Super Bowl, 27 years ago. Sponsor: www.playbyplaycamps.com

youtu.be

Episode 44: Mike Sando, senior NFL writer at The Athletic

YouTube video by Breaking In With Kevin Fishbain

1122

Reposted by Mike Sando

Kevin Fishbain @kfishbain.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

How do you find a unique story at an event covered like the Super Bowl? Great advice from @sandonfl.bsky.social

172

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Nice recovery with that 2026 HOF class: •Brees = #2 all-time pass yds •Fitzgerald = #2 all-time receiving yds •Vinatieri = #1 all-time scoring leader •Kuechly = DPOY, 5x All-Pro •Craig = one-of-a-kind RB Yes, Belichick should have gotten in. Short of that, this is good recovery.

4402

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Was working on this before we knew Belichick missed www.nytimes.com/athletic/vid...

nytimes.com

Why is it harder than ever to become a Hall of Famer?

3101

Reposted by Mike Sando

Darin Gantt @daringantt.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

@sandonfl.bsky.social is, as usual, thorough and well-spoken. It's a complicated process, and far less personal than many would like to believe. The Hall asks that we not disclose our ballots, though I'd be happy to provide mine.

392

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Lots of opinions on Bill Belichick reportedly missing the HOF on first year of eligibility. My fears over the new (since 2025) voting mechanics have come to life. www.nytimes.com/athletic/vid...

nytimes.com

Why Bill Belichick might have been snubbed: HOF voting process explained

Senior NFL writer Mike Sando, who is on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, explains why Bill Belichick probably got snubbed.

1182

Mike Sando @sandonfl.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Could been worse I guess lol

010

Reposted by Mike Sando

The Athletic @theathletic.com · 19/01/2026

Sean McDermott leaned into the officiating angle after the Buffalo Bills' loss in the divisional round. But when your superstar QB is responsible for four turnovers, officiating makes for a more inviting topic, writes @sandonfl.bsky.social. McDermott has now been relieved of his duties.

10615

Reposted by Mike Sando

Kevin Fishbain @kfishbain.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

A defensive coach to @sandonfl.bsky.social on Caleb to Cole: "This is like Aaron Rodgers in his prime. Patrick Mahomes. It is really hard to throw that ball 7 yards deep in the end zone over someone's head that is standing 2 yards in front of the guy. Miraculous." Sando's weekly Pick Six

nytimes.com

Bills fallout, the real officiating issue and more divisional-playoff madness: Pick Six

Bills coach Sean McDermott was fired Monday, two days after an officiating controversy involving Buffalo underscored a decades-old issue.

1271