HappyDays

I get it. I just think they have a rare opportunity to accumulate a ton of young talent. Only one QB taken #1 or #2 overall in the last decade has definitively proven to be worth it (although CJ Stroud is likely going to be the second). For my money the top 4 QBs this year - Allen, Mahomes, Jackson, Prescott - were drafted later than that. So do you throw away the opportunity to get an almost for sure game changing #1 WR plus a boatload of picks, for a QB that is statistically unlikely to be worth it? If you hit on the QB it's of course worth it in the end. But it's a gamble. And it's not like they're trotting EJ Manuel out there next year. Fields could be as good as Hurts IMO.

Five years ago I would have said take a QB no matter what. But I've changed my tune on this. I think QBs like Hurts and Tua and Purdy have shown that having a good QB plus elite weapons is maybe the best path to a Super Bowl. Especially if the QB is mobile which naturally increases the margin for error. You need a great defense too, and the Bears are close. They could trade down for a boatload of picks, draft MHJ (giving them arguably two #1 WRs with DJ Moore already there), build up the OL and defense, and head into 2024 ready to make waves in a relatively average division. I sincerely think they could compete for a Super Bowl next year if they have a great draft, and they'll likely still have several high picks in the 2025 draft from the trade down. Not an easy decision but I'd ride with Fields and try to build the most elite possible team around him.

Correct me if I'm wrong - isn't a sight adjustment different from an option? There are times where Diggs clearly changes his route because of a blitz, CB leverage, etc., and he trusts that Allen will make the same sight adjustment on the throw. When we had the Diggs/Brown/Beasley trio it was known that the WRs would occasionally freestyle based on what the defense showed. So I don't think Davis was running an option route there but I would think (especially according to the principles of the EP offense that we run) that his route can/should change to a stop route if he sees an all out blitz. Because my understanding is that under the EP offense, the benefit is that it beats literally any potential defensive play as long as the QB and intended pass catcher are on the same page, but the risk is a negative play if they are not on the same page. Again, correct me if I'm wrong. There's another thread on a Kurt Warner video that touches on this. Allen's WRs aren't making sight adjustments to become hot even when he's clearly expecting them to. In this case it led to an INT, in other cases from this game it led to a sack or throwaway.

Yeah I was gonna post that screenshot too. Baker is out of the frame at that point. It's crazy that it somehow wasn't a TD. A tougher RB stretches over the goalline, but I can't really blame Ty, it was just a great play by Baker. If Allen isn't supposed to throw this pass, then they might as well have just kicked the FG on 3rd down. That's as open as it gets in this situation. The correct answer is that Cook needed to make a simple catch in the endzone on the previous play. You don't often get multiple chances to score TDs at this area of the field. Cook blew it, no one else.

I didn't watch the Kurt Warner video yet but from my own viewing the WRs need to do better with sight adjustments. In the all-22 there's a play at 10:43 in the 3rd quarter, 3rd and 5. Miami sends an all out blitz and Allen is ultimately sacked for an 8 yard loss. Pre-snap you see Allen make eye contact with Shakir. I think Allen knows the blitz is coming and is trying to signal to Shakir to be ready. Post-snap the middle of the field is left completely wide open because of the blitz. Shakir could either stop and turn around, or run a quick slant to the middle, and it would be an easy pitch and catch. Allen looks at Shakir clearly anticipating this. Instead Shakir continues running his full route downfield and never turns his head around, and Allen has to eat the sack because there's no other hot route. If Shakir had made a sight adjustment to the blitz it's an easy 1st down, instead we punt. Little things like this are why I'm still not fully convinced Brady is the answer. Too frequently the players are not prepared or on the same page and it's leading to too many negative plays.

How many teams can say they replaced their #1 CB, their WLB, and their LT all in the same game and the replacements barely missed a beat. Beane's strength has always been the depth. I would put our 2nd team against any other 2nd team in the league.

Fair question. No it is not. That info was actually given to me by two other people separately which I thought was enough evidence to consider it valid. That was my mistake and it's why I haven't posted inside info lately on here, I don't want to post bad info. I later found out Ionnaidis and Suh were looked into, and Ionnaidis at least was given a physical, but a few people made a leap to assume that meant a signing was imminent. But the injury info I posted earlier in this thread is from my usual source, and I'll no longer be posting info I hear from anyone else.

Last year with TJ Watt the Steelers went 8-2 and ranked 6th in pass defense. Without him they went 1-6 and ranked 30th in pass defense. He's arguably just as important to their defense as a franchise QB is to an offense. Him being out is a massive advantage in a game where we already have several advantages.

This particular source has never given me bad info. They were regularly giving me injury updates earlier in the season all of which turned out to be true.

Same injury Jordan Phillips had last year FWIW. After a week or two of rest you can play with a sling/brace, and of course a pre-game visit from Dr. Needle. Yeah the leg whip causes what's called a valgus force on the outside of the knee which puts pressure on the MCL and leads to the strain.

It's been a while since I got info like this, but here's what I was just told about injuries: Douglas - Moderate MCL knee sprain. Will almost certainly miss this week and possibly the divisional round too... Dodson - Tore his left labrum and partially tore his rotator cuff (ouch). Same injury timeline as Douglas. Rapp - Calf & achilles strain. Not a huge concern. Almost certainly going to missing Douglas, Dodson, and Davis against the Steelers... Let's hope they can be back the following week.

Oh God this statement is a Mad Libs of meaningless corporate buzzwords. I would feel rudderless if I was a Titans fan.

Yeah he toed the company line. But they showed him in the draft room when the trade went down and he clearly was not happy. You know better than this.

Sounds like the Titans have a big ownership problem too.

Vrabel is immediately the hottest name in the head coaching market. I am now hoping Belichick sticks around for one more season. My dark horse guess for Vrabel would be the Cowboys, I think Mike McCarthy's job is very much in doubt if they have a disappointing early playoff exit.

He clearly did not want to trade AJ Brown. You can't win consistently without a QB and without pass catchers.

Wow this is a shocking move: For my money Vrabel is a top 5 coach in the NFL, let down by poor roster management. I hope he doesn't end up in New England...

I thought firing Dorsey was the right move, but let's be honest the real improvement in the team since then has been the defense. They went from being literally the worst defense in the league by some metrics to being a top 8 defense. They went from stopping nobody on end of game drives to stopping everybody. That is the difference these past five weeks, full stop. The passing offense if anything has been noticeably worse and the run offense has fallen off badly after one amazing game. I'm still not fully convinced Brady is the long term answer, but the real solution is that we need to start investing in top tier offensive players. No more free agent dumpster diving. Surround Josh with elite weapons and let the defensive head coach manage with more limited resources.

Also it seemed obvious to me in the 2nd half that we were totally ceding the area outside the numbers. Tua threw a couple ducks into that area that fell incomplete, and one ended up being the game losing INT. Go ahead Tua, we're leaving your guy wide open all the way over here. Please lob it to him using the only club in your bag. What could possibly go wrong? Beating Miami defensively is actually somewhat simple if you have smart players. At least until they get more than a bridge QB. Focus on stopping the run on early downs, ignore the pre-snap cheese, force Tua to throw outside the numbers. Bonus points if you can take away the first read which is an automatic win for the defense. Easier said than done of course. McDermott had his players ready, and the consecutive TD drives only happened because we were reeling after losing Douglas and Dodson.

That is a great still shot, thank you. It was 100% the right read and thrown to the best possible spot to give Johnson momentum towards the endzone. If Allen isn't supposed to attempt that throw then running the play at all was a mistake. Personally I just accept that the other team made a great play to keep him out of the endzone. It doesn't always have to be someone's fault.

McDermott has gone through the ringer this year. You can hear it in his voice. This win meant everything to him.

No routes were in the endzone though. I honestly think Johnson was the designed read and Josh thought he had enough leverage to sneak past the goalline. Instead he got stopped in his tracks (by an illegal hit). If Josh wasn't supposed to throw that pass then they might as well have just kicked the FG on 3rd down. Because every throw he could have made there would have been completed short of the endzone.