Khyber53

Looks like we're fifth in running plays/play action plays when in the lead and about 10th in the league when we fall behind. The biggest thing I take from this is not that we drop off like that, because every team does, but that we drop off so much. A lot of the best teams don't drop off much, depending on the game situation, preferring to stick to their game plan through out. Some of those are very good teams. Baltimore barely deviates from their run/action heavy plan. At the other end, KC also barely deviates, but they have one of the least run oriented attacks in the league by these stats. On the other side, there are teams that make even bigger shifts (based on last year's performance) and they are teams that for various reasons found themselves in desperation attempts. Dallas, Atlanta, the Browns, Bucs and Bengals were all literally throwing out their game plans and trying to either lean on their top end QB or were just frantically trying to create something downfield. Considering the years of us completely abandoning the run (oh those Matt Rhule days), maybe we are starting to stabilize. Don't even get me started on the Reich days...

If gambling got the better of him in college, it's not going to be an easy quit for him in the NFL. More money, more influences, more ability to say "I'm a grown ass man I can do what I want." Pass on this. It has Jets or Browns or Cardinals written all over it.

I'd have rather faced Penix. But as someone pointed out, that's a mighty fragile group to have as your QBs. QB3 going into training camp with Atlanta might find himself with an extended opportunity to start.

Good for him. Maybe he gets another season on an NFL team roster and who knows from there.

And no shade on Moose at all... he was incredibly underappreciated by the NFL and sports writers. He and Jake still hold the longest touchdown pass in Super Bowl history record. The guy was just the prototype of the WR2 every team wants and needs.

Look, for those first two years, Smitty only gave the smallest glimpse of who he would become. So, who knows? Wouldn't it be grand if we could just get him up to Moose level?

I love seeing this. It's great for a kid that came out and played lights out for this team. He got a chance and made the ultimate best of it. Hopefully there's even better to come. And on an important note: That contract shows every UDFA and late rounder that this team will richly reward effort and ability regardless of pedigree. That's one good way to get a team of young men who will run through brick walls for you.

There's an old adage that with wide receivers, you really don't know what you've got until their third season. I'm hoping he puts it all together and makes a great run of it, I'm really pulling for him. I think after that first season, he went a bit Hollywood and thought he'd made it. Last year was the hangover. Hopefully the young man has grown up a lot, gotten in better shape and plans to use that big frame of his to bully DBs around like we'd hoped he would.

Every damn one of them if we're going to get further than the first round of the play offs. That's just reality. It takes the whole damn team to get to the big dance and win it. From starting QB to 3rd string kick returner. Heck, even the equipment managers, trainers and the folks who cook the meals have to be on point for the whole season.

I think you've nailed it here.

I love it when they say sh!t like that.

Rice was always balanced by two of the greatest QBs to ever play the game. Megatron may actually prove the statement a bit. He was probably the second best WR to ever play the game (see above for #1) but he was the only star in Detroit for a looooong time. That team just threw money at him and hoped they could grow a team in the shade of the man. Great WRs are incredibly important, but they just can't be a factor in every play. A QB, LT... yep, money better spent. DE, MLB, same. But building a football team is a desperate and intricate balancing act. Not a lot of folks do it well or for long.

I've been saying this for a decade and a half here, but here we go again: If your highest paid player on the team is a WR then you've got big problems.

There's a lot of truth here, but at the same time, that one year of production we might be paying for is actually paying for a development arc. And a lot of players have those. QB is the most complicated position in sports, hands down. I'm not saying Bryce will make it past the hump this year, the odds are stacked against him just like any QB in the league that isn't already considered an elite player (and there are only about 5-8 of those at most). Arcs happen, and slow arcs happen, too. Sam Darnold seemed a wash up for the Jets and a horrible mistake. He was better with us, but still couldn't carry a bad team on his shoulders (or bad coaching). He went to Minnesota and got a shot under better coaching with more mature eyes to see the field. Something sparked and then he took his team to the Super Bowl and brought home a ring. Baker Mayfield had a similar arc, and may yet hit the big game. Hell, locally, Jake Delhomme had one. Or Bryce could flutter back down having already hit his peak. It happens. More often than any of us want to admit. We've paid for a full development arc for Bryce, but we've had it on rookie deal rates and that's been a savings that has let us build out the rest of the team, which was really needed. Maybe we end up diving back into the QB pool in the first round next season. Might be the guy, might not. But he'll be set up with a better team that Bryce was when he started. Or maybe, just maybe, Bryce adds another seven TDs and loses four INTs on the season. Grabs three more wins and maybe a playoff win, maybe two. It's not completely impossible and that'd be great for the team and for him. We're just going to have to tune in and see how it plays out. Probably won't be boring.