wakingfane

Interesting points... putting more draft stock in fewer players is like putting more eggs in one basket... it also stands to reason that a GM that put more eggs in one basket would be the type of GM that is trying to exert greater control over the precise makeup of the roster, pre-selecting the top of the roster, rather than allowing competition to do the job of selecting from within a larger pool of legitimate competitors. I wonder if such a GM is more likely to cling to that basket even when it is clearly unraveling... I actually think Whaley strikes a good balance between the two extremes.

Did the family submit his brain for posthumous study? I bet he has CTE from all the big hits...

Everyone piles on Mario for not making effort to rush upfield. This has got to be BS! The reason he's not rushing upfield is because he's being asked to spy and play pocket contain to prevent late developing plays out of the backfield. I find it very hard to believe that he can be in the backfield at will one year and then the next year, just not get upfield because he doesn't feel like it or he doesn't like his coaches so he's quitting. He's mad about the scheme because the scheme has him hanging out 2-3 yards down field. Here's not just hanging out down field for fun because that's what he wants to do... Because he WANTS to look bad!

Mario just got slammed by Chris Brown. Anyone catch this in his Fan Friday blog post, quoting Bill Parcells? - As Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells once said: Blame nobody expect nothing do something. Losers sit around in small groups, b**ching about the coach, the system and other players. Winners come together as a team.

Definitely. I was screaming at Rex through the TV, "take control of your team"

McCown was a street free agent in January. Cassel was traded before free agency. Taylor did not become a free agent until just before we signed him.

Two words: "That's cute". Hahaha

You know what I don't understand, why is the crowd so silent while the play is being radioed in. Everybody makes a huge deal of being as loud as possible while the quarterback is under center. Great, that makes checks and snap count difficult. But the intensity drops right after a good play by the defense. Everyone should keep screaming after the play while the coaches are talking strategy, the call is getting radioed in and the quarterback is calling the play in the huddle! Am I missing something?

Interesting that all our cornerbacks have dreads and all of our safeties are clean cut.

I haven't noticed Connor much in the preseason but this is definitely a possibility... Is Connor a receiving option? Felton definitely should be. Interesting approach.

I agree, I wish we heard more about the backup safeties at training camp. Jonathon Meeks was mentioned by Coach as really standing out. Rambo looked good last year but hasn't really created any buzz this year. I never felt good about Duke being named the presumptive starter. It's a shame that Kenny Ladler didn't step up. I thought he might have been a good surprise this year. The other factor in this conundrum is that Ryan supposedly likes to use three safeties. When Pettine was here we heard a lot about his use of the safeties and of course, we saw it on the field with Searcy and Jim Leonhard seeing a lot of action along with A.W. and Byrd. I don't think I've heard anything about Rex's plans to use three safeties this year, but he's done it in the past. So we have an offensive coach that likes to use TE's and a defensive coach that likes to use safeties and lots of questions at each position.

I hadn't thought about the likelihood of injury or cheap shots. I suppose that is the reason you don't see much of this. We did used to see Josh Reed motion in tight and do some very effective blocking as a seal the edge type blocker. Hines Ward did a lot of that in Pittsburgh. Roman's blocking schemes though, seem to have a lot more mixing it up in very tight spaces at the line of scrimmage which might just not work for a smaller body. But, I still think Sammy would do fine one on one against most LB's toward the edge of the line or at the second level. He could get to the second level very quickly. And yes, he could obviously be a decoy blocker releasing into space to catch. This would not be a true heavy set to use regularly, but something to sprinkle in. It would have to be practiced when media is not around because no one saw anything to indicate this is a real option at TC

I hear you on Duke. Maybe Duke plays in the box and Aaron plays deep?

I am a ten-year veteran lurker, first time poster. Not sure why this topic compelled me to join the forum except that I haven't seen the idea posted anywhere else... The fans are concerned about our depth at tight end working out for Greg Roman's offense. We don't want to keep a middling tight end at the expense of a very good wideout like Hogan or Goodwin. What if we only keep three tight ends on the roster. Then in the game, when it's time for Roman to call a power running play that would typically use three TE/FBs instead just keep two TE/FBs on the field, and motion Sammy inside as the third blocker. Remember when Sammy blew up his opponent in blocking drills? I'm guessing that wasn't a unique occurrence. This leaves Clay, Felton and Sammy on the field together, allows for pass plays out of the same formation. Maybe as elite an athlete as Sammy is, he is just as good a blocker as Marqueis Gray or Chris Gragg In a similar vein, don't be surprised if Corey Graham plays all summer at safety to learn the position and then when the announcers begin to call the Colts game, you hear them say "Rex opting for the veteran at cornerback. The Buffalo native in his ninth NFL season, Corey Graham, matches up outside with Andre Johnson."