Khyber53

I forgot about Alex! Really liked that dude. But let's face it, we need another Brad Hoover.

I disagree. We've been trying for about five years now to do it with a TE or another RB. We need to get back to smash mouth football and nothing fits the requirements like a classic fullback. We haven't tried to use one since Mike Tolbert and it shows. It has been one part of the softening of this team.

This ^

We're better than we think we are right now, and had we only had about half the injuries on defense we're carrying, we'd likely have won that game yesterday. That being said, don't start with the Sanders crap. That guy will be a cancer to whatever team he ends up on. And, as much as I've loved his Dad's work and antics over the years, no one is going to survive him on the sidelines. Want to fix this team? Drop our first pick on the best Edge rusher in the draft, our next one on a DB and find a full back to ease into the system. We've got most of the right personnel, if they could stay healthy. Lock in that DE and DB, keep Dalton for another season and start looking at his eventual replacement/apprentice.

Chuba has been excellent and has earned the right to be listed among the really good running backs in this league right now. Major respect for the young man and he is something that keeps getting better. Someone needs to be working on that contract for him right now. And, we need a real, dedicated, punch them in the mouth, fullback on this team.

Evero will be pushing for a head coaching job in the NFL next season. Me, I don't think he's been very good as a DC, but a lot of people just feel he's the guy. And, I wish him luck with that. Might end up in Cleveland. Now, onto this Sunday afternoon's game... We're going to go out there and do the best we can with our patchwork team while a lot of our best players will be at home, recovering from injuries and watching on TV. In short, they should just kill us on the field, the Falcons are on their way up, have found their guys and are suddenly pretty darn competitive again. This being the NFCSouth, though, it could be a dirty, low scoring game that they blow and we sneak out a win. I'm not expecting much, but I wasn't against the Raiders, either.

No, some of us last year were pointing out that our defense only looked good if you looked at the total yards allowed per game and that there were MAJOR issues with that. Opposing offenses were generally playing with short fields and/or had the game locked up so early they were just running the ball to eat the clock and didn't have to worry about further scoring, or even making first downs, as they would soon get the ball back anyway. Players were constantly out of place (greatly attributed to Shaq Thompson not being on the field due to injury) and even with the much vaunted (and overly hyped) Brian Burns we just couldn't generate pressure or turnovers (not that we could do much with them anyway). Evero, last season, was just the least lousy coaching situation we had in the building, which wasn't saying much. I believe he was kept in an attempt to build some sort of continuity on the team considering the shaky recent history. And this year, major injuries have again plagued the team and our defense is decimated to the point where the deficiencies in our team building haven't just been exposed, but they've been left with nothing left to hide behind or excuse. There's no grit in this team and certainly no teeth left in this defense. There's no personnel, there's no scheme, there's no fight in these guys.

Ding! Ding! We have a winner! At this point we can choose the change away from our base 3-4 defense (and we should). We have like four guys on defense (counting the injured reserve guys) who could start on other teams and seven starters who might make second string on their own. It's time for Tepper to put his baby Pittsburgh aspirations aside and get back to the 4-3 defense. (And those four are Brown, Thompson, Horn and Woods if you were wondering.)

And our teams have been powder puff soft ever since. Don't give me a weight room guy, give me some farm kid who has spent his life throwing hay bales and helping fallen cows get back on their feet to work with our O and D lines. Gimme a guy that when they asks if he can push a stalled car, he wants to know if the family would like to get back in and rest as he pushes them down the road.

Pick smart, brave and gritty players. You'll never go too far wrong with them. Stay away from divas and workout monsters.

He can find the open spots in the middle of zones. It's amazing how underappreciated that particular talent is. 9-14 yard receptions when needed, nothing highlight reel worthy but integral to building a winning team. Put him in the slot, let him learn from Thielen and let him get the starter reps. Guys like that can have great, long careers. Doesn't matter if the guy is from Holy Cross or Notre Dame, his resume is being built on the field. I kept watching him make those catches yesterday and thought he reminded me of 2003 Ricky Proehl. A fellow could do well to follow in those footsteps.

The injury bug nails a number of teams heavier than others each year. We seem to have been at the top of the hit list this season. It's a rough game, always has been, always will. It's kicking our butts right now, when we were already down, but in the end, it's just our turn.

While that is praise for Hurney, and he gets an awful lot of criticism, I have to agree just on the basis of how bad the rest of our managers have been. Still, under Hurney's drafting, we were competitive, or near champs, more often than not. Now, we're just the chumps sitting at the big poker table that are borrowing chips to try and fill an inside straight. We don't understand the game, we're behind and we're looking desperate.

And yeah, I did just praise Gettleman AND Hurney. That's how bad things are now.

I've been banging on this drum for about four years now. We once had decent scouts, and now, not so much. Actually, our scouting department seems to rely on Reddit rumor boards and grocery store newstand staples to do most of their work. It's hard to believe it, but the good ones left with Rivera and Hurney, leaving behind a patchwork of guys that couldn't get the job anywhere else. And then we brought in Fitterer and now Mushy-head Morgan to do the final picking. But let's not just slam our college scouting group. We've not been very good at grabbing and finding vet talent either. Heck, that was Gettleman's forte (he was a helluva dumpster diver) and Hurney wasn't bad at it either. But man, we've not had decent drafting in some time. We haven't had competent free agency work in some time either. And Lord, do we ever need it. Because what we have on the field right now, the survivors at least at this point, just aren't up to snuff. We look like a team picked up from a Goodwill Store and day labororers from the parking lot of Dick's Sporting Goods.

Tom Brady would have time winning when there are that many injured players on the team. Sheesh, it was like a bad day on M*A*S*H out there. Just devastating to see how long our injured players list is.

And here's the latest. A good portion of our crew is based in western NC in the Hendersonville area. Might see major delays in our videos coming up, but we're just glad everyone is safe.

I remember him as being a guy who was constantly on the cusp of becoming something. Apparently, he is again. Man, sure would be nice to see him get over that wall and run in glory for a bit.

I always said Darnold was better than people thought here. I'm glad to see him doing so well.

Competence, like incompetence, is contagious.

Looked good, but lost. About 15% of our starters went down and out, some for the season. Take another 9. We're up for revenge date with the Bears. No telling how this will look.

I've been pounding on that drum for years, no one listens.

All them sixes...

This ^100%. Just enjoy the possibility that we COULD win any game that we are heading into. We probably aren't winning most of them, probably not a lot of them, but definitely some of them. And that is an improvement over past years. We don't really have a shot at doing much, but we do have something watchable and a lot of growth happening. And that's something to hang our hat on. Oh, and I think we have the right coach in place to see us through this and onto better things. Feels a bit like 2002 again.

Actually, I think Jewell has been pretty decent. But Shaq, the team is going to miss him a lot. He's the on field leadership for the defense and there isn't a good replacement there.