outlaw4

Ultimately, nothing really matters until we play actual games so for me, it's more about the differences in approach compared to last season. From the naked eye, our offense is at least attempting to be far more dynamic than... whatever Reich and company were throwing out there. I swear it looked like Reich photocopied a 90s playbook and added in a few random plays to make it seem "new". No guarantees what Canales has will yield results but even now, it feels that this staff is trying more than the prior regime.

I'm not one to draw conclusions from TC but general observations so far: - Diontae seems like a W acquisition so far. Drops may be an issue but a receiver that can actually get separation and draw away attention is huge. Am concerned if/when he's injured because I'm not sure if anyone else can effectively fill in. - O-line pass pro remains a concern. It really shouldn't matter who is behind center because they are not going to succeed (or survive) if they have guys in their faces immediately. - Running game... not enough information which is glaring since our supposed emphasis was to lean more into that aspect. - Clowney might be another W acquisition. Like with Diontae, however, it's more of a short term solution. Other guys have to step up. - Offensive system at least isn't the ultra rigid dinosaur we had previously. Lots of moving pieces, crossers, rub concepts and play action. Not seeing much of those behind the LOS stuff. - Deep ball does need work but given how modern NFL defenses have clamped down on them, I can understand working more on those 10~20 yard concepts. That said, Thielen in TC going deep with Horn in coverage... why? - Bryce making those plays out of structure was a quality that made him draftable in the first place. Obviously, stay in the pocket if there's one but seeing more of those plays in TC and guys actually making catches is a positive, not a negative. If there's an advantage he has that can be exploited, use it. - I like XL as a person but I still question drafting him over someone closer to Diontae's mold. I'd be surprised if he has any meaningful contributions until later in the season. - Overall depth... yeah, even if everything goes to plan, this will limit our success. - Even right now, I don't have a big issue with Canales as a HC. Obviously, some bad tendencies will come up but that's universal across every head coach. Interested to see his tendencies.

The only thing this preseason is telling me is who has already made up their minds and are finding every nugget of information to confirm their bias. I'm not wasting my time arguing because nothing really matters until we play actual football and see where things go. Whatever things need improving, now is the time to identify and manage. Of course, that's on the current coaching staff to hash out and they're mostly brand new and so historical trends may not apply. That said, O-line not trending in the right direction or at least, our overall depth looks last year type of poor. If we're not having our starting O-line out there for the first preseason game and with your main backup currently out, I can see why you would not want your starting QB out there.

Sounds like latching onto something to make headlines. Granted, there's a history of drops - and I'm certain we'll bash him for it during the season - but his ability to separate is going to offset that to some extent. At the least, he'll give the other receivers a better chance to make plays since he'll draw away attention.

Biggest thing that can help our O-line: staying healthy. Even if our guys are average, having cohesion will bump that toward the upper half of the league. Unfortunately, that's the one thing we can't really control.

Bryce puts ketchup on the side. Dinks and dunks his fries like he throws on the field. Oh, and he sometimes fumbles his fries because they're too greasy.

Not going to draw conclusions on regular season performance based on training camp. I'm mostly interested on what new offensive concepts we're throwing out there and which players are moving up the pecking order.

I was part of the old Huddle but don't remember when exaclty. Maybe 2004? Definitely by 2006. The hilarious arguments about benching Delhomme for Chris Weinke.

There's been a ton of emphasis on stretching the field when the league in general has trended away from days where we had 55-50 shootouts with long bombs all day long. What's more valuable in my eyes nowadays is guys that can get open quickly and get us some YAC. Deonte may be a great help here but the downside is that he may just be a stopgap solution. Thielen can get open, surely, but extra yards will be at a premium. I want to like Legette but I fear he's a square peg when we really need a round one. Everyone else is a question mark but frankly, the schemes we ran last season made success far more difficult than it should've been. This is where Canales and company can be of most help but for a lot of the carryovers like TMJ, this is probably their last chance to show something.

Been watching Grossi for a while now. He has a knack for knowing how each team's fanbase generally feels. His NFC South Saga he did last year was a hoot.

How many elite QBs do we have right now in the league? And how elite are they, really? Mahomes - I seriously doubt anyone would say otherwise. My only counterpoint is that since Tyreek left, he has not been as explosive. Only one with a ring. Allen - Yes. His first year was rough, however, and even now, he's a turnover machine which has cost his team games. Wouldn't surprise me if he regresses as talent around him goes elsewhere. Burrow - Can say he got to a Super Bowl but injuries may be a concern. All those sacks he took may be coming back to bite the Bengals. Jackson/Prescott - Can't win in the playoffs even with rosters around them, so no. So there you go. At least in my eyes, there's only maybe 3 right now. And over the past 10 years, QBs not Mahomes/Brady that have won were (noodle arm) Manning, Nick Foles and Matthew Stafford. Even Stafford I'd argue was a one-shot because the Rams absolutely went all-in with talent.

Karl Hankton because special teams guys always get overlooked. Given how much flak he got here, DJ Moore was underappreciated.

Worth taking a flyer just in case we catch a break... or a football.

2010 has no comparision. Even before 2009 was over, everyone knew we were deliberately sabotaging the 2010 season because of the (then) impending NFL lockout. JR did everything to do 2010 on the cheap which meant lame duck coach and lame duck roster. Even the prospect of getting the first pick was blunted of the uncertainty of even having a 2011 season period.

Otah could’ve been one of the best Uglies we've ever had. What a disappointment. Moton is third on my list behind Kalil and Gross.

Oh, you know this will memed to death if Canales stinks and we start a 4th quarter with zero points.

Whatever they're using, chuck it in the trash. Grant you, the odds would be rather dire but 0%? Even someone like me could conjure a hypothetical where we could win and - as such - the odds would not be zero. 1. Most of our offseason moves end up working. Better O-line play, BY has more GB 2023 like games. Run game becomes top dozen. We constantly win TOP which keeps our defense fresh. 2. We're in the NFC South. A ticket to the playoffs only requires winning the division, even with a losing record which we've done before. 3. Playoffs is a lot about matchups. You get a team that limped in and/or lost their QB late. Or you get the Cowboys and they beat themselves like they usually do. Or we simply get opponents that are quite suspectible to what we do best. Obviously, there's a ton of luck involved but given how Canales seems to want something that may be a reminder of John Fox Panthers football, well, that type of thing actually works better in the playoffs. 4. And of course, the Super Bowl. Yeah, you could get the Chiefs or who knows, maybe the Texans make a run. We inexplicably won against them last season. Maybe we somehow simply have their number. Yes, all of this is very much a long shot but at least for me, the biggest factor is "Can you get in the playoffs in the first place and have the stars align?" Play with the variables enough and you'll find a path.

Eddy P is going wide right on this. Kicker job security makes runningback job security look great in comparison.

Based on how discussions go around here, you'd think this is a one player team. Finally, someone is mentioning the defense. Honestly, I am rather unsettled about that side of the ball. Insisting we keep certain coaches between regimes blew up in our faces last season. The fact that we basically forced Evero to stay and put the bulk of the effort this offseason/draft on offense... say what you want about being a professional but I'd probably feel a fair amount of resentment in that situation. Also, losing Burns is going to hurt. How much, I just don't know. Finally, as the video mentioned, we are wafer thin with depth. That bit us losing Shaq in 2023 and with our luck, we'll lose a key defensive player we can't afford to lose this year. The potential to have a significantly improved run defense might be our best chance. If we achieve the ground game play action offense and win TOP, that will keep the defense off the field longer. Their run game is stuffed and so a lot more third and long.

I want the conversations at season's end to be more about what else we need to build onto the foundation to be playoff contenders and less about the fultility of drafting yet another QB and hiring yet another coach because as long as Tepper is the owner, it doesn't matter what this team does.

That's why I rarely read what anyone else says on threads like these. Opinions aren't really going to change in the offseason, only once actual football is being played. I don't envy anyone having to watch last season's tape, however. So many things went wrong that even just getting a realistic opportunity to succeed for anyone was too few and far between.

2008 Bucs at Panthers MNF: https://www.panthers.com/video/nfl-throwback-double-trouble-jonathan-stewart-deangelo-williams-mnf-2008 There can only be one J-Stew. That guy was just built like a truck. Brooks strikes me more of an all-rounder that can do just about anything.

Tremble is just a guy but at least not Ian Thomas. Wouldn't call him a bust at this point since he was a third rounder and has some value in the red zone. Just not TE 1 material.

Part of me wanted Caleb last year but his occasional struggles during his final season gave me pause. Can't put too much stock on OTA performances but I have this feeling that Caleb is going to be rather erratic, some real big highs but some absolute stinkers.

The safe bet would be that at least one win will come from within our division. Those games are the most unpredictable, regardless of how the two teams are doing within the season. Everything else is a crapshot. However, we are still well short on talent and that's going to limit opportunities. Honestly, I feel we're going to have games where our offense is competent enough to win games they would've won last season but we won't because our defense will take a step back.