MrEpsYtown

Yep that was the risk, and the worst case scenario played out unfortunately.

I am not happy with this regime and obviously this move did not work out, but the process made sense. They came to the conclusion that the only way to beat Mahomes is to sack him…play coverage and rush 4…that was the plan and it failed because Von got hurt. So here we are. That is still likely the way to beat him. That off season the best offensive free agents on the market were Christian Kirk, Allen Robinson and Evan Engram. Kirk has been really good when healthy and Engram has been excellent. Allegedly we were in on those guys and they went to Jacksonville. Robinson was a big bust who got cut after one year. So again, signing an elite pass rusher coming off a Super Bowl win made a ton of sense at the time, it just hasn’t worked out because of the injury.

So first you have to have a net loss or free agents, sign less than you lose. League minimum signings do not count. Then contract values come into play. Their free agent list is extensive: QB Kyle Allen WR Gabe Davis LB Tyrel Dodson DE A.J. Epenesa LB Leonard Floyd DT Poona Ford RB Damien Harris S Micah Hyde CB Dane Jackson DT DaQuan Jones DT Linval Joseph CB Cam Lewis DE Shaq Lawson LB Tyler Matakevich RB Latavius Murray DT Jordan Phillips S Taylor Rapp DT Tim Settle WR Trent Sherfield Guys who are not minimum contract guys are Jones, Davis, Dodson (PFF nonsense), Epenesa, Floyd, Hyde..maybe Jackson, Rapp and Settle. The rest are minimum guys imo. So they do stand to lose a lot. Davis and Epenesa are definitely gone. Floyd and Dodson are likely gone as well imo.

Epenesa was a bad pick and fit from day one. Another wasted high pick to throw in the bucket with Cody Ford, Kaiir Elam, Boogie, Moss, Zay Jones. Just huge misses.

This would have been an ideal time to sign Araiza to a futures deal if they wanted get another look. Everyone is distracted with the loss etc and two huge games coming this weekend, it would have kind of flew under the radar. The fact that they didn’t go down that road, to me, means that ship has officially sailed. And maybe it did long ago, I’m simply saying that if they wanted to sign him, now would have been the time to do it. Shavers is supposed to be a standout special teams guy, but if we learned anything this year with all these injuries, is that your depth players need to be able to actually play and can’t be special teams only guys. Waste of roster spots. Hopefully that approach changes.

Zac Taylor calls plays in a scheme very different from what Brady is doing. So I would not worry about Brady to Cincy. But, this could mean Brady is a legit HC candidate somewhere. Callahan has been around good staffs and his dad is basically the goat OL guy with Mouse McNally. But, Callahan has never called plays. Brady almost has a better offensive track record. If someone is looking for a young offensive guy, Brady could be the choice. edit: I actually really like this hire for the Titans. It’s kind of out of left field, but I would definitely take the Atlanta interest in Brady seriously.

Harrison Butker is from Georgia and went to Georgia Tech. He was fine. Justin Tucker is from Texas, went to Texas, same. Bass is just not very good.

I see your point and I see where you are coming from. I guess my question is do you think this regime will ever win a Super Bowl here? If the answer is no, I think you have to make the move now when guys like Harbaugh, Belichick, and Vrabel, even Pete Carroll are on the market. If they look to make a move next year, those guys probably aren't available. In my opinion, they will not win the whole thing with this regime. On the next point, from the perspective of a coach, player execution falls into the coach's job. To some level, so does player performance. Now no one could have done anything to make Diggs catch that ball...that's on him and that is where player performance comes in. But the lack of execution is on the coaching staff and that starts with McDermott. If they run it back, next year will not have a different result.

I agree. Allen is the whole reason that they are in the playoffs. That's why I make the change. There is zero risk to making a coaching change as long as you have Josh. In terms of scheme, this is a bend but don't break defense, trying to keep you from making big plays. It's Dick Jauron zone stuff, which hasn't won a Super Bowl since Dungy's Colts. The last two zone dominant type teams to win a Super Bowl were the Seahawks and the 2017 Eagles led by Jim Schwartz. Those teams had dominant pass rushers and secondary guys. The Ravens are in your face, pressman, line stunts, and totally in your face. They somehow kept finding linemen who disrupt and have changed DCs multiple times and kept it going.

It is also crazy to rush 4 with no creativity. Oliver and the ends never bother with any kind of inside move. Maybe that was the plan, but it is easy for an OT to run guys up the field when they know they are taking a contain rush. Oliver was very disappointed, but he was held a lot. Offensive holding was barely called this weekend, so maybe it's a playoff adjustment. But Oliver just really didn't do much of anything. With everyone running straight up the field, it was easy for Mahomes to step up and make plays. I have been pretty critical about the lack of twists in the rush game the last few years. Again it feels like it was the gameplan to keep Mahomes in the pocket and that neutered the pass rush. Even in this instance, coaching did not put their players in a situation to maximize their abilities. Coaching is the issue.

I agree. To me, Milano was what was most egregiously missing yesterday. That was a huge loss. Bernard as well.

Brady's script early in the game is so good. Lots of presnap motions and things, and then he just gets away from it. There are plays that he calls like the 4th down to Shakir that was just a great design as he is scheming the guy open. I loved it. I feel like the potential is there for Brady and I would like to see what he can do with a full season of scheming and prepping. But I do think they at least have to interview some guys. They would be crazy not to.

McDermott is the problem. As much as I appreciate everything he has done, as others have said, he will never win a Super Bowl. There are too many situational things that fall through the cracks. It's how Andy Reid was early in his career until he got fired and made adjustments. A couple of situations stand out to me from yesterday that just really bothered me... In the locker room, Spencer Brown was asked about the plan for clock management, etc at the end of the game and he said none of that information was relayed to them. To me, that is unconscionable. As a head coach, why aren't you talking to your team about what the plan is? Does your OC know the plan? Why are they just blindly running plays? Is it because McDermott didn't have a plan, or did he figure the team would figure it out on their own, or does he not want to share it with them...Was the plan to just score with no regard for the clock? That is elementary thinking. In Bass's post-game interview, he talked about how he didn't adjust enough for the wind and should have aimed more for the left upright from the hash. McDermott said he was concerned that Bass's kicks were going right the whole game. Was this discussed with Bass? Did the special teams coach talk to Bass about that adjustment on the sideline? Or did they just expect Bass, Martin, and Ferguson to figure it out on their own? This all could have been corrected with conversations and adjustments, but it feels like none of this happened. The players need help from the coaches and I don't think they are getting it. Guys like Parcells and Belichick were great because they hammered situational awareness and were massive control freaks. They micromanaged everything that happened in a game, and that is why these dumb things didn't happen to them. That's why they make other teams look so stupid all of the time. That is just a part of it, but they all need to do a better job communicating information with the players and that starts from the top. We all made fun of the Chargers and Brandon Staley, McDermott is just one notch above Staley in terms of his situational awareness. I know he will be back, but I can without a doubt that I don't think that he should. I have come around to the offensive weapons world. Just surround Josh with speed and great players and make Kincaid the focal point of your offense. Forget about the defense. This team should be trying to score 60 every game. This is probably 100% true. And Terry is wrong. This team will be fine with whoever the coach winds up being because of Josh Allen. That is all they have and he is what makes the train go. Terry is doing him and the city a disservice if he isn't trying to get the best possible coaches in here to maximize Josh.

It's the team that gets hot who goes on a run historically. That is us. The only thing I worry about is the injuries and the refs. But I believe we are the better team.

I would think Martin is the guy if cleared. 100%

Good call! Carmichael is a good coach. Not sure about play calling…but he would be a good fit to assist Brady as a QB coach if Brady is indeed named the full time guy. It’s doubling down on Brady and the E-P system. That’s fine with me as long as they fully commit to the vision.

Cam has been fine in the safety spot when they go into certain dime packages. Once he went to nickel for Taron Johnson he got eaten alive and he was awful. I don't think he is a starter in this league, but ok as a safety.

Dugger is a really nice fit. But I agree, I think the fun exercise is to try and find the "slow" zone corners in free agency who could make the switch to safety like Poyer and Hyde did. Now I assume they cut White, but if they don't Dougals and White at corner with Benford at free safety is probably not too bad.

Well at least he is an elite holder

I love em, I think one of them will stay for one more year. I know free agency is probably not the way, but it is a very strong safety class... Antoine Winfeild Jr. Kyle Dugger Kamren Curl (same system) Xavier McKinney Jordan Whitehead Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Julian Blackmon Darnell Savage Geno Stone P.J. Locke Jeremy Chinn etc...

Pat O’Donnell as I mentioned above is probably the best veteran avalable. Was a surprise cut in camp. Haack has been mentioned. Another lefty they have been around before and is a free agent is Michael Palardy, neither of these guys are ideal in my opinion. Drue Chrisman is out there, young, but has some experience and was good for Cincy at times. Got hurt in camp and lost his job, but they drafted his replacement the year before anyway. Young guys Araiza and guys like Michael Turk are available but have not taken a regular season snap yet.

I got Pat O’Donnell on the short list, bet used to very cold weather. I would be surprised if Araiza is the move, but I’d be good with it. Haack has proven he isn’t very good in the cold. Probably not the right move in my opinion, but maybe his holding helps Bass.

Huge play there and unbelievable awareness, he read the play the whole time. I wish I could put his brain in Williams’ body.

agreed. He is at his best when he is playing with a chip on his shoulder. All those commercials did him no favors. This is the “prove everyone wrong” version of Baker.

Winfield is a free agent this offseason