#iii. turned over a new leaf / int. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

deservedboth · 4 years

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uploading data … ⟳ 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙿𝙻𝙴𝚃𝙴 !

* ; ─ the mirrors surrounding you did as they were meant to, reflecting back a spitting image of GRANT GUSTIN - but it’s clear something is wrong from the moment that a vision of HELPING WITH THE PROPOSAL strikes you. perhaps it was a passing daydream in the frenzy of the funhouse. you reassure yourself - you’re SEBASTIAN SMYTHE, a TWENTY-FIVE YEAR OLD JOURNALIST whose virtue lies in your + AMBITION & + CHARISMA, although you’ve been told that you tend to be quite - VINDICTIVE & - SELF-DESTRUCTIVE, and you’re associated with WINE-STAINED TRIM, DOUBLE ENTENDRES, EMPTY EYES by those around you. suddenly, however, you’ve found YOUR DALTON BLAZER on your person - was that always there? from the moment you leave the funhouse, memories from your life in GLEE have begun to return - leaving whoever you had been before in the mirror’s reflection behind you. you can almost hear OWN ME by BULOW following in your wake. ( he/him & cis male )

tws : suicide, bullying

ALUCARD ---- sebastian was born and raised in alucard. he was in the foster system for a while, going from home to home. he would do his best to be good, to be kind, to be polite to parents who took him in before sending him back. eventually, of course, he was adopted by people who tried their best and did what they could. he had a younger, also adopted, sister, sam, who he would become extremely protective over even as he often joked and teased her. even from a young age, sebastian had the tendency of... pushing. he'd push and push, especially with his parents, to see how far he could go, what would make someone tick. as time would go on, he'd do the same thing with others, trying to see what would be the last straw that caused someone to forcibly leave him. it became a game for him, being as much of an asshole as he could because at least this time if someone left him, he would know why.

THINGS TO NOTE ----

sebastian is cis male, his pronouns are he / him.

sebastian is gay.

note, his actual canon storyline leaves much to be desired, so i took creative liberties with his backstory where i could

wanted connection ? click the source !

CANON ---- born to a business owning socialite in france and a district attorney in ohio, the first few years were pleasant up until it wasn't. then the fighting began. first with passive aggression, then with the screaming. five years later, he had a younger sister who would act as the one last ditch effort to try to keep the parents together before finally, things fractured. unsurprisingly, it happened because of sebastian, and his mom coming to one of his recitals drunk. seemed, really, to suit the mood for the way the rest of his life would go. he was then split from his family, moving to paris to live with his mom and younger sister. forced to act as a parent to his younger sister with the absense of his mother, he remained angry and spiteful, killing off every last piece of himself that used to remain of the kind, innocent boy of his youth. after a series of self destructive behaviours, he was shipped to westerville to try and “fix” his behaviour, living with his father instead. in place of his other younger sister, he'd find a younger half sister, his father having remarried. he went to dalton, joining the acapella group there, easily making ranks through to becoming captain. with little care toward who he hurt, he remained set in his ambitions up until all gears shrieked to a stop at dave karofsky. even if he knows his actions weren't the overall cause of the attempted suicide, the cruel words he slapped in dave's face and the actions that followed afterward caused him to snap awake. vowing to do his best to be good, he tried to rebuild himself. and even if he fell off every now and again, he did whatever he could to pick up the pieces.

TAG DIRECTORY ----

iii. got a dark side / abt. about.

iii. being nice sucks / beg. starters.

iii. born into the money / vis. visuals.

iii. it's about the power / ism. musings.

iii. turned over a new leaf / int. interactions.

iii. price of your greed / aes. aesthetics.

iii. but would die for glory / sol. solos.

iii. in warbler tradition / ask. ask responses.

iii. to roll the dice / dyn. didn’t pick but wouldn’t give up, a family in alucard.

iii. always a warbler / dyn. to choose your family, sebastian & his warblers.

#duality.intro #iii. got a dark side / abt.#iii. being nice sucks / beg.#iii. born into the money / vis.#iii. it's about the power / ism.#iii. turned over a new leaf / int.#iii. in warbler tradition / ask.#iii. but would die for glory / sol.#iii. to roll the dice / dyn.#iii. always a warbler / dyn.#tags.

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maudanouk · 3 years

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PROLOG

MARGOT

Tears overflow my cheeks and from my vanquished eyes a sudden shower falls.[1] The drops form a trickle, a flow, a torrent. Forty days and forty nights of continuous and universal rain.[2] Waves are in excess, everything runs to the sea. [3] No possible action of any flood could thus have modelled the land, either within the valley or along the open coast.[4] A flood that leaves everything in a state of confusion[5] forming a great briny mass searching for direction. The sea by its motion, detaches from its bottom an infinity of plants, shells, slime, and sand, which the waves and winds continually drive towards the shore. [6] There is a stone in the sea called the oyster. A stray grain of sand finding its way into its shells is enough to spark a new beginning. The Oyster comes out of the sea early in the morning ahead of the light, and, opening its shell, it swallows the heavenly dew and the rays of the sun and moon and the light from the stars above. And thus is born the pearl, I am born, from the most high celestial bodies.[7]

LENNY

(Thrusting the flat knife between the two shells) I keep praying for You to make something happen so why this awful, crawling feeling that nothing ever does?[8] (he turns the knife forcefully) God does not shout. God does not whisper. God does not write. God does not hear. God does not chat. God's infinite silence…[9] (the two shells crack open and he draws out the knife) The oysters valves are standing open and a pearl lays between them, a wonderful sight and notable, for no pearl in all history could be compared with it at all, either in size or in beauty.[10] But her beauty does not lie in the perfection of the sphere, nor in symmetry. She is irregular, ovoid, curved and lumpy. One moment it did not exist, the next moment it was full blown in my mind, as though it had been there all the time and needed only the bursting of a soap bubble veil to show it.[11] All this time I sought for truth and unity and now all that matters is her proud glow that strives for contradiction and multiplicity.

ACT I

EXT. GARDEN - DAWN - ABOUT BEES AND HONEY

LENNY arrives at the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE. Here is the garden and around it some flower beds, a space cultivated for flowers for Margot, to make a spray for her hair, to perfume the sheets.[12] Naturally, […] only the apple tree interests him, tempts him: he can see its flowers.[13] He walks towards the tree. The WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE is observing him. As LENNY reaches for one of the blossoms a bee flies out of it.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

Once on a June evening, in those long gone years when the ends of days sank into silence, I was waiting for a total eclipse of the sun on a terrace facing a garden, overlooking the foliage of a maple tree.[14] And I thought of you Lenny. In the sudden darkness I saw you, hidden behind a veil, the massive walls of the Vatican Palace. A faceless silhouette.

LENNY

It’s all different now she has revealed herself only for a short moment but I saw my reflection in her pearlescent luster: functioning, utilising, thinking in causes and effects, logically evaluating and analyzing. But what if I want to walk for hours and weeks without a destination. What if I want to know what the month of march brings for an Aquarius. What if I want to miss her for no better reason than that I love to be fucking emotional.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (hesistates)

When i watched the total eclipse of the sun that summer evening it soon became dark and an eclipse wind, like a wave, had risen when suddenly from the neighbouring house burst forth a sort of wild dance, with the strange, biting, astringent sound of Pan’s pipes. Young people were celebrating some festival, they had confused shadow with twilight and were playing as night fell. However much one knows about it, the veiling of the sun’s light is disturbing and transports one to another world. [15] I saw you cover up in darkness and now i see you longing for the sun. This is a complete inversion. And in this twilight a party shall rise so that the heart, that obscure, celestial flower, undergoes a mysterious blossoming.[16] That is the only way great loves stories are born and I don't want any more part time believers.[17]

LENNY

But how can i find Margot in this city still so strange to me?

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

She’s the bee and you are her honey. What does Margot like?

LENNY (looking at the flowers)

Margot likes wind in her hair and salt crystals on her skin, lace and hoodies, rings on her fingers and flowers in her hair, black panthers and partridges, walking barefoot on wet grass and wearing mid calf boots, day dreaming and ADHD, dancing underground and sleeping in white sheets, Los Angeles and Palermo, birch trees and skyscrapers, gel nails and knitting, equal rights and mini skirts, cabrios and umbrella pine trees, Fellinis Roma and Mario Cart, seashells and pinecones, Zorra by Bad Gyal and playing the Bach Suite Nr. 1 on her Cello, passion fruits and rough fights, oranges and jeweled persian rice, fig trees and Coke, dry white wine and soft cheese, creaky parquet and soft carpets, ....

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

The mask does not hide the face, it is the face.[18] Your new face should combine all these elements to a story and make a lot of noise.[19] [...] the veil of mystery you profess to hang before their eyes, serve but to stimulate their curiosity[20]. In being everywhere and nowhere [...] the object of much social curiosity[21] People will pay attention to it, speak about it, remember it. You’ll be EROS and I will be the embodiment of your story the place where all elements manifest in a happening. A great feast all the Margots will want to attend.

ACT III - THE INVITATION

INT. MARGOTS MURCIELAGO - AFTERNOON

A downpour of summer rain patters on the front window. MARGOT is waiting at a red light. Her phone buzzes and she opens the message.

@ YUNGPAPA:

“My darling friends, there’s one spectacular party in the making! Join us tonight at the Wittgenstein House to another glass of wine under fig trees, eating fresh fish on soft carpets next to blossoming anthuries. Glowing cheeks from dancing till dawn. Bring a delicate, floating, spring bouquet of florets in new leaf green, cherry blossom pink, and marigold yellow[22] and we’ll serve everything else. XOXO”

ACT IV - THE PARTY

EXT. THE CITY - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS TO BE KNOWN

The rain had stopped. The water evaporated on the hot asphalt and left a sultry summer evening air. AVAs cabrio is speeding down the Ringstrasse with its roof folded down.

AVA (lost in thought)

Do you think YUNG PAPA will attend the party today? I wish we’d find out who’s behind all this uproar.

MARGOT

Some weeks ago we’ve never heard about him and now he's everywhere. Noise, ruckus, rumors spread.[27] I’ve heard the parties are supposed to be unique in its kind and his face, enveloped by a more or less dense veil[26] has sparked many suspicions. I think he looks like Hauru, wearing drop earrings made of rubies and emeralds combined dripping down[27] his lobe, his blonde chin length hair making him the cynosure of all eyes.[27]

EXT. THE SITE - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS TO BE SEEN

The garden is enlightened by the colourful lights emerging the windows. The WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE is radiant and reaching in all directions, emitting visual, audible and perceptible vibrations. The air is full of petals twinkling through the air giving off a smell of orange blossoms. A car enters the SITE. AVA and MARGOT step out of it. Instantly they are surrounded by an electric atmosphere. On inspecting the entrance facade, you can discover a series of metaphors and symbolic signs.[29] It would be too strong to call this fantasy a portal to Hell, but it is surely no entrance to a Heavenly Jerusalem[30]. AVA and MARGOT join the stream of guests walking through the garden towards the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE greeting, kissing, hugging.

INT. THE ENTRANCE - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS TO FLIRT

The party begins as people are moving in, gathering in the entrance hall and taking a stand up cocktail.[31] There is champagne, caviar and fireworks.[32] Ahead, some distance from the entrance, is a great mural of brilliant color.[33] Opulent Ornaments, heavy textiles, reflecting surfaces.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (whispering to the Lenny)

First impressions are made. About me as the entrance always affects the impression of the whole house. And especially Margots first impression of you. Is she here?

LENNY

I see her in the hundreds of eccentric bouquets that the guests have brought along overflowing the room. I see her in that mans excessively long fingernails or and your lining flickers with golden mosaics and indirect lighting from above.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

Yes you are right. I’m discovering my dramatic side. I want to dance, twist my elements, feel the motion and sensuality. I flirt and wink at the guests with my dizzying array of rich surface treatments.

MARGOT

Ava! Look at this man sitting on the seashell sofa in the garden. He’s knitting all alone while everybody else is clinking glasses.

AVA (teasing)

Why don’t you bring him a glass of wine. I know it, I feel it, and you will say it.[35]

MARGOT (concentrated)

You just know me too well and yes, he is cute.

EXT. THE GARDEN - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS DRAMA

MARGOT walks over to the LENNY. Rising up in a warm haze, the innumerable modern statues towered on their pillars half way up the golden webs of sunset.[36] The garden is a collection of living beauties, rare plants, exotic flowers and fruits. The trees are old and high. Long white cotton cloths are blowing in the wind, rendering shadow plays. LENNY is sitting in the seashell sofa sheltered from the wind, warm sunbeams begin to play. [37] MARGOT hands him the glass.

MARGOT (laughing)

Hello strange man, what are you knitting?

LENNY

Some of the more exotic plants have to be taken indoors for protection from the cold night air and swaddled in thick woollen garments.[38]

MARGOT We have, indeed, become a flower growing people.[39] You seem pretty passionate about your plants. I like it when people care. About anything actually.

LENNY

When, on a summer evening, the melodious sky growls like a tawny lion, and everyone is complaining of the storm, it is the memory of the Meseglise way that makes me stand alone in ecstasy, inhaling, through the noise of the falling rain, the lingering scent of invisible lilacs.[41] Or when I reach out to touch a fragile tree and blossoming spicules float downwards and fade, each with its clear, tiny tinkle.[42] These are the moments I cherish most and that’s why I care.

MARGOT (hesistating)

But for me love is not only loving and caring. I don’t want my house to be all light and soft. It starts getting fun when you have contrasts, contradictions and drama. It can be raucous, low, full, pleading, vulgar, sharp, cutting, jovial, harmonious, commanding, harrowing, seductive, explosive or irritated[...] noble, high pitched, servile, majestic, ample, sick, affronted, clothed in silence, echoing with the sea or forest, undercut by the twittering of birds, howling like a wild beast, [... ]asking questions and saying come here. [43]

LENNY

Until now I’v only got to know a more one-sided monotonous love but thats another story.

MARGOT (excited)

Oh look over there! A black panther is prowling through the peach trees!

INT. SALON - NIGHT

THE HOUSE WANTS TO BE DIRTY

Food is being served in the salon. The huge chandeliers had dimmed spread a diffused multi coloured light from the tiny nucleo bulbs that bespangle the vaulted ceiling [44] The materials in which the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE presents itself come from the everyday domestic sphere, much having to do with ornamenting the body: copper and brass wire, buttons, beads, baubles, hooks, eyes, straps, false fingernails, makeup, hair, ribbons, lace, thread, shells, feathers, and bones. The amulets are fetishes, beautiful ornamental objects, and they are connected to the fetishism of architectural representation.[34] Billows of smoke of several hookahs hang in the air. People sit on couches of brocaded silk, leaning on a cushions[45]. Chattering and cricket chirping fill the air.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

THE HOUSE WANTS TO DANCE

After eating the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE starts playing Promiscuous Girl by Nelly Furtado. Slowly the room is filled with curiously dancing people. Tossing their hands in a wanton and lascivious manner. One man imitates the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second crawled up, and pretended to spear him.[46] LENNY and THE WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE feel MARGOT penetrating them and start dancing along.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (dances irregularly curved from concave to convex)

♪ Promiscuous girl

Wherever you are

I'm all alone

And it's you that I want. ♪

LENNY

Our most intimate gestures move to sounds, we dance.[47] Absurd, peculiar, mad, fantastic, bizarre, eccentric, capricious, whimsical, laughable, and also charming. [48]

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (opens the ceiling to reveal a hundred sparkling stars through the moving branches of the wind tossed apple tree blond, tawny, copper, golden, straw yellow, orange, ochre, sand or tan, multiplying the straight, centred, short rays, piercing and sharp like the trill of a bird. [49] The signs of the Zodiac are moving from east to west and go round the world in twenty four hours.[48] A strong wind starts rising.)

♪ Promiscuous boy

You already know

That I'm all yours

What you waiting for? ♪

LENNY

Minute promptings coming from everywhere, in quality, dimension or intensity, on every wave length make sensibility tremble, fluctuate and sweep and dance randomly over the spaces.[50] I look at Margot and even while she speaks the waves wash over her lips, and down into the deep she plunges. The sea breaking free.[52] WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (Motion grows, as a wave grows white when the wind begins rising[53])

♪ Promiscuous girl

You're teasing me

You know what I want

And I got what you need ♪

LENNY

Time stands still where space folds in on itself. [54] The sea gives birth to a tidal flow […] a rhythmic current emerges from the disorderly lapping of waves, music surfaces in this place. [55] Here the body rises above disorder, here Margot rises above the waves, even more complex in her multiplicity than the nautical sound of waves breaking.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

♪ Promiscuous boy

Let's get to the point

Cause we're on a roll

Are you ready? ♪

LENNY

However much one knows about it, the veiling of the sun’s light is disturbing and transports one to another world. Lying on the moving floor, shaken by the movement of the waves [56] I am in danger of drowning.

MARGOT

I thought you’ve learned how to swim till now.

LENNY

I am a moving, active body, expressing in exertion, movement, gesture and dance, rather than in sensibility alone.[51] I’ve learned to swim in this flood of confusion. And the ship will not resemble merely a ship, but also the sea itself, even to its hull and sails being composed of waves.[52] The obscurity is long; here is the dawn; the cock crows to the Sun God.[53] And beyond the reach of water, beyond wind, cold, fog, light and dark even beyond noise, […] the house protects us just as the belly of a vessel separates us from the cold of the sea. [54]

[1] Seneca, Complete Works

[2] Da Vinci, Notebooks

[3] Serres, The Birth of Physics

[4] Round the World

[5] Buffon, Natural History Vol 2

[6] Buffon, Natural History Vol 2

[7] Physiologus

[8] Serres, The Five Senses

[9] Aquinas, Summa Theologica

[10] Procopius, History of the War Books Vol 1

[11] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[12] Serres, The Parasite

[13] Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus

[14] Aquinas, Summa Theologica

[15] Serres, Branches

[16] Hugo, Les Miserables

[17] The Young Pope

[18] Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus

[19] Serres, The Parasite

[20] Rousseau, Collected Works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

[21] Foucault, The History of Sexuality Volume 2

[22] Kassinger, Slime

[26] Deleuze, Cinema 1 The Movement Image

[27] Serres, Troubadour of Knowledge

[27] Rand, The Fountainhead

[27] Hovestadt Buehlmann, Quantum City

[29] Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

[30] Frankl, The Gothic

[31] Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture Vol 2

[32] Carter, Anthony Blunt His Lives

[33] Ockmann, Architecture Culture 1943 1968

[35] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[35] The Young Pope

[36] Proust, In Search of Lost Time Vol IV Sodom and Gomorrah

[37] Wollstonecraft, Complete Works

[38] Proust, In Search of Lost Time Vol II Within a Budding Grove

[39] Gothein, A History of Garden Art

[41] Proust, In Search of Lost Time Vol I Swanns Way

[42] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[43] Serres, The Five Senses

[44] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[34] Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

[45] The Book of the Thousand and One Nights

[46] Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle Round the World

[47] Serres, The Five Senses

[48] Wittkower, Born under Saturn

[49] Serres, The Five Senses

[48] da Vinci, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

[50] Serres, The Five Senses

[52] Serres, Genesis

[53] Virgil, Aeneid

[54] Serres, The Five Senses

[55] Serres, The Five Senses

[56] Serres, The Five Senses

[51] Serres, The Five Senses

[52] Foucault, This is not a Pipe

[53] Serres, The Parasite

[54] Serres, The Five Senses

[43] Serres, The Five Senses

#maudanouk #text

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junker-town · 7 years

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NFL’s best and worst trades of the last 5 years

Big-time NFL trades aren’t very common, but it’s always exciting when they happen.

Blockbuster trades don’t happens as often in the NFL as they do in the other major sports. But when they do, right around the start of the new league year is the time they generally happen — or at least when the rumors starting heating up.

This year, the early trade rumors involved Tom Brady’s No. 2, Jimmy Garoppolo, until the Patriots shut down those reports. Now, attention turns to Eagles backup quarterback Chase Daniel and New Orleans Saints receiver Brandin Cooks. Both players are reportedly receiving interest from other teams, and both could net a quality return for their current team.

It’s too soon to tell if any big names will be traded this offseason, but it’s always exciting when it happens. With the 2017 league year fast approaching on March 9, let’s revisit a few of the NFL’s best and worst trades over the past five years.

Everyone wins

Arizona Cardinals trade for Chandler Jones

Cardinals get: Chandler Jones

Patriots get: 2016 second-round pick, Jonathan Cooper

This trade wasn’t perfect — one-time first-rounder Cooper didn’t last long with the Patriots. Still, New England offloaded a player it deemed unnecessary for a Super Bowl run while turning the last year of his contract into a second-round pick.

The 2016 second-rounder was critical for the Patriots, who were stripped of their first-round pick as a result of the DeflateGate fiasco. They ended up trading that pick and came out with two rookie starters: third-rounder guard Joe Thuney and fourth-round receiver Malcolm Mitchell.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, got a superstar edge player. Jones has become the team’s No. 1 priority this offseason. Arizona quickly franchised Jones in late February and will look to sign him to a long-term deal this summer.

New England Patriots trade for Martellus Bennett

Patriots get: Martellus Bennett, 2016 sixth-round pick

Bears get: 2016 fourth-round pick

Last year, the Bears were desperate to move on from Bennett, who had a rocky tenure with the team. They managed to move up two rounds in the middle of the 2016 draft in exchange for getting rid of a player who wasn’t in their future plans anyway.

On the other hand, the Patriots landed someone who, prior to a down year in 2015, was one of the better tight ends in football. In New England, Bennett not only revitalized his career but he also earned a Super Bowl ring. As a result, Bennett will be a hot commodity on the free agent market this offseason.

Philadelphia Eagles trade up to draft Carson Wentz

Eagles get: 2016 first-round pick, 2017 conditional fifth-round pick

Browns get: 2016 first-round pick, 2016 third-round pick, 2016 fourth-round pick, 2017 first-round pick, 2018 second-round pick

The “trade half your draft picks for a quarterback” trades rarely seem to work (see: Washington moving up to select Robert Griffin III and the Chargers doing the same for Ryan Leaf). This trade, however, could be one of the rare exceptions.

The Eagles gave up a lot to get Wentz. Two first-rounders and three Day 2 picks down the drain for a chance at a franchise quarterback. Cleveland got what it wanted: a ton of picks. Philly got what it wanted: a guy the team believes will be the long-term solution at the most important position on the field.

Wentz had a pretty solid rookie year, especially considering he was working with one of the worst receiving groups in the league. As long as he continues to improve, this trade looks like a major win.

Vikings trade for Sam Bradford

Vikings get: Sam Bradford

Eagles get: 2017 first-round pick, 2018 conditional fourth-round pick

Minnesota and Philadelphia pulled off one of the most mutually beneficial trades in NFL history right before the start of the 2016 season.

The Eagles were able to recoup some of the draft assets they’d given up in order to move up for Wentz. Adding a first-round pick in 2017 was huge, especially for a quarterback with Bradford’s unimpressive (though not necessarily bad) track record.

Minnesota added a quarterback after Teddy Bridgewater’s injury for the price of a first-rounder and a future mid-round pick. And Bradford ended up playing well in 2016, setting career highs in completion percentage (71.6 percent), yards (3,877) and passer rating (99.3). He also threw for 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions, the best TD-INT ratio in his career.

With the uncertainty surrounding Bridgewater’s future, Bradford might be in Minnesota for the long haul, too. The Vikings finding quarterback stability, plus the Eagles regaining capital draft to help the progression of their young quarterback, means both sides came out winners.

Lopsided trades

Cleveland Browns trade for Jamie Collins

Browns get: Jamie Collins

Patriots get: 2017 third-round compensatory pick

Belichick is arguably the best coach in NFL history, but even he’s made a questionable decision or two in his career.

Losing a superstar linebacker won’t kill the Patriots in the long term — after all, New England is the NFL’s reigning Super Bowl champion. But not being able to get much value for as special a player as Collins is difficult to defend.

The Browns, meanwhile, were bold, trading a compensatory pick for the rights to sign Collins. Then after the season, they gave Collins a big extension, making him the centerpiece of Cleveland’s defense for years to come.

Philadelphia Eagles trade away LeSean McCoy (2015) and DeMarco Murray (2016)

Bills get: LeSean McCoy

Eagles get: Kiko Alonso

AND

Titans get: DeMarco Murray, 2016 fourth-round pick

Eagles get: 2016 fourth-round pick

Two of last year’s top rushers once played for the Eagles. Both were traded away by the Eagles for next to nothing.

Why has it been so long since the Philadelphia Eagles have been able to sustain constant NFL success? Among other reasons, the team’s seemingly constant trading away of its most talented players might have something to do with it.

Philly managed to turn LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray into Alonso — who the team quickly traded away to Miami — and better position in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Alonso has rebounded nicely with the Dolphins, McCoy totaled 1,267 yards on the ground for last year for the Bills, and Murray went off for 1,287 rushing yards with the Eagles.

The McCoy trade was bad enough for the Eagles, but practically giving Murray away the next year made things worse.

Arizona Cardinals trade for Carson Palmer

Cardinals get: Carson Palmer, 2013 seventh-round pick

Raiders get: 2013 sixth-round pick, 2014 conditional seventh-round pick

Not only did Oakland give up first-round and second-round picks to initially acquire Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals after the quarterback threatened to retire, but the Raiders quickly decided to move on. They trading the QB for cents on the dollar in the most lopsided big-name trade of the past half-decade.

The trade was a no-brainer for Arizona, whose quarterbacking issues had been a major issue since the team’s Super Bowl XLIII defeat to the Steelers. And, at the time, Palmer was still a somewhat coveted quarterback. His numbers weren’t great, but Palmer threw 35 touchdowns and had a 83.5 rating in his brief Oakland career — that’s still serviceable, and deserving of far more than a couple of conditional Day 3 Draft picks.

Smart drafting and good coaching have eventually helped Oakland re-establish itself as a contender, but trading a franchise quarterback for a couple of scrap picks was one of the biggest flubs in recent NFL history.

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