GunnerBill

I am definitely in they are on the hotseat next year. But I repeat what I have said elsewhere the GM's seat should be significantly hotter of the two.

These KC games keep coming down to a play or two at the end that they are making and we are not. That isn't scheme. It isn't coaching. It's not Xs and Os it's Jimmys and Joes and I feel like when at the end of play off games you having to use a slot receiver (in 2023) and a tight end (in 2024) as your go to "downfield" options that is telling you that you are lacking in something that you need. Not having it in 2023 when Diggs hit a wall in season was somewhat defensible. Not having it in 2024 when you knew that was the issue calls into question the drafting of a proven non-separator at #33. If we were getting nowhere near KC and couldn't live with them I'd be saying the schemes are the problem more than anything. When we blew it at the end in 2021 that was on coaching. But the last two years we have had the ball on offense at the end of the game with a chance to go down and win it. And both times we have not been able to find a guy to make that play. Not Xs and Os. Jimmys and Joes. Add to that the corner that we spent a 1st round pick on being brutalised all night, the guard we spent a 2nd round pick on fluffing his key block on the final offensive play of the game. The safety we spent a 2nd round pick on looking clueless in coverage all night. Oh, and the guy we gifted them in round one to take the aforementioned non-separator being our tormentor in chief (no pun intended)..... Yea. I'm fine with them both on the hotseat going into 2025. But no question Beane's seat should be hotter IMO.

The answer to that is not a great one for Beane. Those later round picks rely a LOT more on your regional and area scouts than your GM. The GM is making the pick but Brandon Beane hadn't spent hours grinding Christian Benford's film for example. At that point he is following the board. He will have guys he likes but it is much less "his" evaluation.

They actually made really good adjustments at half time. Their initial gameplan was more of the problem than adjustment. Agree on Rousseau - he was shocking last night and times barely looked like he was trying.

There is no way the Chargers are a better franchise. None.

No way is it worse than the drought. Not a chance. Losing sucks. The less losing the better. It is devastating when you get close and fail. Nobody should just celebrate getting close. But people should always enjoy winning and hate losing. Yes FREAKING please.

It's 3 although I'd term that "wavering confidence" rather than "somewhat confident".

On an NFC team, sure, he makes some Superbowls. If we could make them by beating Case Keenum, Josh Johnson and the Washington Commanders like for example the Eagles three times in the past decade we'd have made multiple by now. On the Chargers? Not a prayer, they are miles behind the Bills.

No he shouldn't. If he has genuine concerns about the leadership of the franchise he should certainly talk to Terry Pegula about them. But marching into offices making demands and issuing ultimatums is Aaron Rodgers style jackass behaviour and won't fix anything. Luckily Josh is a better person than that.

I know for a fact from people who have been inside the building that Beane runs the draft and while McDermott definitely has the power of veto in reality he has total faith in Beane to execute. I disagree on your "terrible schemes and philosophies point" and Shakir wasn't ready as a rookie and Dorian Williams is still up and down as a second year player. Those usage decisions are obviously Sean McDermott's though. That isn't Beane.

I think Groot did have a decent year, but he was ROUGH last night. The Mahomes TD run on the boot he didn't even seem to try and fight through Hunt's block. It was very un-Groot like but it was pathetic.

Jury is still out on Torrence too. If he executes his block we might not be talking about Kincaid's drop. Torrence has been the worst starter on offense all year.

I think you are under a misapprehension that I have defended the defensive performance in that first half in some way. I most definitely have not. I have also said very clearly and pointedly that the initial gameplan was wrong - we tried to play man coverage and we don't have the horses to play an coverage against the speed the Chiefs have. We played a lot of man in week 11, with some success, but they didn't have Hollywood or Pacheco and we did have Benford and Rapp - and we got away with Worthy and Mahomes missing on a critical big play even then where yesterday they hit on one. That is squarely on coaching unless you think me criticising the opening gameplan (on both sides btw I thought the first half plan on offense was wrong too) is a criticism of someone else? All of that is accepted. But there is a second reason we lost this game - and it is that a whole bunch of the big draft decisions that Brandon Beane has made in recent years and that have no worked out but have been papered over by an MVP style year from Josh and some clever coaching (particularly on offense from Joe Brady) came home to roost. It is Beane himself who always says your last game often reveals your biggest flaws. That is true. And one of them is three botched first rounds in a row and all three of those showed up BIG at critical moments of this game. Yea, McDermott may be on the hotseat next year, he may not be, but Brandon Beane darn well needs to be. You don't get to mess up the first round three years in a row when you are in an arms race with the Chiefs and in two of those three years we were fishing in the same pool as them: Both wanted a corner in 2022 Both wanted a receiver in 2024 Brandon Beane lost both of those battles. Do I think yesterday goes differently if you flip McDuffie - Elam (who was btw the Chiefs fallback if they missed McDuffie re. The Athletic article a couple of years ago) and Worthy - Coleman? Yes. Yes I do.

Coleman can't get open. That's why Josh doesn't trust him. And Elam was getting cooked in man looks which are supposedly his thing last night. Just two bad picks Im afraid.

I'm not hedging anything. And it is 4.30am. I am going to bed.

Brandon Beane is responsible and accountable for who he drafts.

Keon C: is exactly who we drafted - a non-separator Cole D-: disappointing in the extreme. Totally clueless in coverage Carter E: healthy scratch Davis: C+ third best running back on the team The other guys on day haven't really played so not fair to judge. But I liked what I saw from Solomon and Grable in pre-season.

I'd try and trade him.

One can separate. The other can't.

No it's not. It is because of the evidence on the field tonight. His guys made the critical mistakes. 1st round corner who can't play 1st round pass catcher who can't catch 2nd round blocker who whiffed on the key block 33rd overall receiver invisible while the guy we gave them goes off. That isn't bias. Those are objective facts.

I have not dismissed coaching as a reason we lost. I've been clear on that. On offense we still lack talent. The guard who wiffed on the critical block? 2nd round pick. The guy who had the critical drop? 1st round pick. The guy who couldn't get open when we needed him to on that drive? 33rd overall pick and oh... to get him we gifted the Chiefs their leading receiver on the day. If people want to pretend those personnel decisions are not a critical fact then go ahead. But they absolutely are. And they are holding us back at the end. When you have an elite Quarterback if you get to that point in an AFCCG - 3 minutes left, with the ball, a touchdown wins it - you are supposed to win. The reason we are not is because in those situations there is not enough around Josh. Scheme goes out of the window at that point. It's about players not plays. And we don't have the horses to get it done.

I dispute that it isn't Beane. I think it very much is Beane not getting him enough good players.

I understand what you are saying. What I am saying is yes, more needs to be said, because that isn't the entire picture. The entire picture is that they had our D again but also that in the key situations they had our O again too. And we have to ask why that is as much as we do anything else.

Yea, I do. The coaching wasn't faultless tonight. Not at all. Too cute on both sides of the ball first half. Not enough Cook and too much man coverage. But made good halftime adjustments and helped us get back in the game. I think Elam being a liability, Kincaid's drops (two but obviously the big one at the end) and the Worthy - Coleman misstep all contributed pretty significantly to the outcome because of plays they did or didn't make. That is the last three years of first round decision making and in the biggest game of the year it looks like all those decisions were wrong.

He definitely started shaky and was a bit frenetic first half but Josh played a good game. We might have need a great game to win but that is because of failings elsewhere. Josh did not choke.