outlaw4

It must be an early Christmas for JT O'Sullivan having Thielen back so he could put a coal in Thielen's stocking every chance he gets. Honestly, the biggest surprise is not so much the anticipation. There were those moments here and there last year as well. It's that even that one positive quality he had seemingly vanished his first two games to where it looked like it was all but over, only for it to start coming back some until you get exclamation points all over this game film. And some of those throws were under a lot of duress, something I feel is something new. Finally, those deeper shots are starting to land. Not all of them, but enough that defenses may have to start respecting them. No guarantees whether this will end up as more of anomaly but I certainly hope it isn't. The Green Bay game was a sampler of what BY could be. Against KC, we got a meal. If we could start getting these meals regularly, we might actually have something to work with here.

Almost to the day one year ago, Tepper told Reich he was fired. I'm hoping that he's telling Canales today to keep up the good work.

I'm being careful not to raise my expectations too much. Our offense could be to where we could score closer to 20 points than 10 like last season. Our defense is still really bad, however. I'm ultimately more about our team continuing to fight regardless of the long odds like with today.

Not being mentioned much but just having Thielen back was a boost for Bryce, basically his original reliable go-to from his rookie season. As for David Moore being a major factor today, that's an odd one. My guess is a combination of Thielen being back drawing better matchups for everyone else and essentially doing all the stuff Coker would've done but better because he has much more experience in this system. Could've also been by design from Canales because Moore got ten targets today.

This was a big test for Canales and company. One of the best teams they have on our schedule and it's after a bye, so they had more time to prepare. This may be closest equivalent they had in a while to a pseudo playoff game or even a Super Bowl. Could've so easily been the wrong side of a "get right" game as just about everyone expected. Instead, they went a full 12 rounds with the Chiefs and it took Mahomes heroics for them to win, something which has befallen much better teams. Obviously, there's still things that need work but given what little they had, they proved it not just to others but more importantly, themselves, that they belonged to be on the same field with one of the best. The hard part is to keep this going but, I'm encouraged that the trajectory the past three games is upward.

Have the game recorded and even with the L, it will be worth watching later.

So sounds like Jones wants to sign with a playoff contender before season's end. First off, definitely not us. Second, that scream more like a guy that would rather ride the coatails of a winner than someone who wants a more viable path to be a starter again. Third, which playoff team will actually want him? Initial guess is Vikings.

Great coaches inevitably get promoted to higher positions elsewhere. Obviously, if a front office wants him and he wants to leave, so be it. I do feel it's a really hard sell to the fans bringing in someone who - regardless of how little talent he has to work with - is over one of the worst defenses in the NFL right now.

Only way I see Jones rejuvenating his career is finding a team with more overall offensive talent. That's not us. We've made decisions in the past thinking we were and it bit us.

Utterly ragdolled. That's going to hurt in the morning.

At the least, this has been a pleasant surprise of a game that I don't think too many saw coming.

More pressing concern, then. I just have this feeling any large extension for Moton is going to bite us.

Best to see Icky in the position we drafted him in to see if he continues making progress. All signs point to Canales/Morgan staying on board and so decisions on whether to move him elsewhere on the line will probably be done during the offseason. Personally, I'm more concerned about a more long-term answer at safety and Moton's spot. Love the guy but he's a FA after 2026 and he'll be 32 by then. Kinda has that sign of having to let a player walk one year too early.

Clearly, they never heard of deadly dolphins.

Oh, no. We won't have Ian Thomas out there. Whatever shall we do?