outlaw4

I'd guess it's a combination of lack of progress from Mingo, Coker/Sanders showing promise, drafting XL, and the fact the Cowboys offered a fourth round pick for him. The potential return from another draft pick - especially when your fourth round pick this last draft has already shown more than what Mingo has - is likely higher than whatever Mingo's ceiling likely will be.

Canales did say when he first arrived about wanting to really establish the run. We haven't always done that, but I like that we tried and there were real benefits that came out of it. I just took a peek and the Cowboys defense is generally not that good but they're the worst run defense we get to face this year. Mike Boone, I hope you're ready to carry some of that weight.

I'm just pleased Canales actually followed my advice and used the running game to churn yards and try to win TOP. That was our best shot and we were so close to pulling it off. Losing Brooks surely derailed our plans some, especially since he would've kept Chuba fresher and been another outlet in the passing game.

It's too early to say for cetain but overall team culture may be the biggest contribution Canales has brought here. When he talked about Brooks reinjuring his ACL, he kept going back to the mental aspect of it. The thing with adversity is that overcoming it is more than just rehabbing, workouts, reps and studying. There's also having the motivation to keep pushing on despite how difficult it may be with injuries, mistakes and losses. At least to me, this unit is playing a lot more like an actual team supporting each other rather than a collection of individuals who just so happen to work together. Whether we can sustain this is going to be the question, but I would hope the team as a whole understands that it's starting to get noticed by everyone. Please keep this up.

Is it just me or has there been a ton of roster churn during this season? Also, who names their kid Velus?

Rico Dowdle's going to be our biggest problem. Our biggest thing in our favor may be McCarthy deciding to put the game more on Cooper Rush's hands. Also, the fact that the Cowboys may be demoralized after that crushing loss on MNF.

Cowboys find a way to lose because they blocked a punt.

I can't recall the last time a blocked punt ended up being a good thing for the kicking team.

Rico's running all over the Bengals. And yet, they call three straight passes. May we be as lucky with that bizarre playcalling.

Wow, Bengals defense leaves a guy wide open for a TD.

That's not really on him, though. Whatever plan we devised for him from the beginning blew up in our faces and that's time we don't get back. If anything, we should feel fortunate that we're seeing some progress we can build upon rather than starting all over again because I doubt even the most optimistic fan saw this coming after how disastrous it looked like at the start of the season. At the minimum, we are still going to have two more years before we worry about extensions which he's going to have to earn. That said, it's the team's responsibility to give him enough to take another step forward.

At least when I listen to the radio broadcast, I get the impression snaps are not consistent. If there one thing that still irks me, it's not getting a center last draft when we had great options available. Seems that everyone that's not Thielen are almost always in the 40~50s range. Not sure how that compares to other receiving corps but... yeah, it's probably not the best.

I still like how they are relying on the ground game and strong defense but it seemed they were trying to put the game more on Hurts hands yesterday. Not sure if I want to do that come playoffs. Being in the same division as the Steelers and Ravens definitely doesn't help. Bengals may be a cautionary tale on how if you have a great QB under a rookie contract, that may be your best window for a SB run. It gets way harder once you dole out the money and you have to make sacrifices elsewhere as a result.

Worst case, there's always another back we can draft next year. Just don’t spend a high pick on one.

How I see things, this year is his true rookie season. Most of what the prior staff taught him is probably of little value now and his 2023 on-field experiences - if anything - taught him more bad habits than good. It's almost as though BY needed to flush all that out of himself and start all over again. That's why I'm not obsessing about raw numbers because he is still very much learning how to play the game properly with just enough good pieces around him that he can make something out of it. We used to have a QB that did stuff like this a lot. In fact, one of the reasons I became a fan of this team. Not going to declare we've gone full circle yet but I'd be lying if it doesn't feel like a blast from the past.

I'm still traumatized from Dwayne Jarrett and Keary Colbert.

Miles Sanders as a runningback is about as useful as Ian Thomas is useful as a tight end.

What is all this obsession with someone else's injury prone #2 receiver who's likely isn't going to have the benefit of a superstar #1 WR drawing away coverage at his next destination?

luck (n) - Kansas City Chiefs

Our run defense is still as porous as ever. Pass rush has been better since the Giants game, however. That's been saving us to a certain extent.

With the luck this team has with injuries, we could've drafted a center like I wanted and he would've torn their ACL by now.

Bills have all three timeouts. They could just pass from here and maybe stop the Rams one last time. *tries to QB sneak and fail* Never mind.

7 sacks on Caleb today. Frankly, I'd bench him for his own good.

Just the fact that BY's play is to where it's actually changing some people's opinions around here is a Christmas miracle. For me, it went from wanting to give him a second chance to thinking his awful rookie experience may have irreparably ruined him to moments that highlight exactly why we drafted him in the first place. The biggest surprise is how he's played in big moments. Going toe-to-toe with Mahomes. Throwing what should've been the game-winning TD to Thielen last week and then having a game winning drive in OT right before Chuba fumbles the game away. Then a Houdini-like escape from your own end zone and then what could've been another game winning TD if your rookie WR could just catch a ball against one of the best defenses in the NFL. The stats may not be the prettiest but he's starting to prove his worth not just to fans and the media but more importantly, his own team. If they believe in him and are playing as such, then that's what matters the most.

I'm not one that's surprised very often, but the way this team has played lately is a surprise to me. This scrappy team thinks it can win any game, even though the bevy of roster limitations says otherwise. Maybe we didn't win today, but Rocky didn't win against Apollo in the first movie either. But he earned a ton of respect. There's still the part of me that wants to be cautious, but it looks like there's finally something to look forward to again.