CRA

Frank Reich should not call plays and just focus on being the HC. Let the OC be the OC.

But even on paper going in, end of the Ron era was still stacked with talent. Injury caused us to go to the backup QB in week 2. QB play was the ultimate derailment. Injury forced it to be a Kyle Allen, Will Grier season. Going in, it was still a roster that featured CMC, DJ Moore, Olsen, Samuel, Turner, Moton, etc. O. Luke, Shaq, Bradberry, Burns, McCoy, Irvin, Addison, Poe, Jackson, Reid, etc on D. I don't dislike where we are at presently. Think we are building a fine base of players. I just think it is being exaggerated and everything based on everyone hitting the full optimistic path.

Denver was last in points per game last year. I would make a wager they will improve dramatically from that. Sean Payton might be a douche but Denver will be in a drastically different place form a coaching standpoint. We talking close to the shifts of moving on from a Rhule or Urban. I mean it was comedy from the start.

I mean, NFL history says your take is wrong. Our history too. Teams change a lot. It's why a team like the 2015 squad will not be on the radar at this time . At all. Or other teams you think will be strong....flop. Each season is it's own beast. You mention Denver. No one thought they would suck as bad they did last year. And it's probably a safe bet they will be nowhere near as awful this year as you are penciling them in as simply because last year existed.

it's a rebuild when you trade away your stud playmakers to acquire draft picks, hire a new HC and staff, plan to start a rookie QB, and have brand new D and O schemes that the entire team whether new or old has to learn. That's a rebuild. this team won 7 games as by product of a weak schedule. Not because they were playing good football or were good. It would have been a 1 win team with a tough schedule. The fixation on a bad team stumbling to 7 wins and somehow that carrying weight on how many we win this season just doesn't jive.

IMO our roster is being drastically overrated by the board during the before the season starts high window. The argument for it being better than prior rosters in too dependent on guys being something they really haven't proven to be. On paper going into a season (not accounting for injuries, the season playing out).....I honestly am not sure when I would say this was a better overall roster than. I'd have to really think about it. Now, I do think this roster is deeper than many teams we have fielded. Which is good. We have had a lot of teams that were thin and too heavily dependent on a few. But that top end talent carries a lot of weight in how I view things.

CMC and DJ Moore. That's 2. and I'm cool with it because we wanted to rebuild. Draft a rookie QB. Build something new. New HC. New O. New D. You know the whole rebuild that when acknowledged some are freaking out claiming we somehow are in win now playoff or bust mode.

My take was the exact same before Saturday. Saturday’s game didn’t create the expectation for the year. Trading away our stud playmakers for the draft, starting a rookie QB, new HC, new O, new D and being in year one of a rebuild created it. and I’m excited. Like OP says, it’s 2011.

Vegas got Saints 9.5 Falcons 8.5 Panthers 7.5 Bucs 6.5 and that’s about as rational as it gets. I mean, you can find a TV personality making a case for every team

The little brother SJ was on Barstool today. Basically said they had been supportive of Oher going after money for years. The family angle is more recent but they had been talking about it for years too. He did sort of suggest he thought the timing was about selling his book. He endorsed the book as good. Said Oher didn’t just find out anything new about stuff. Said all the money they got from the movie will be out there for everyone to see. Said from start to finish with money trickling in over the years he got 60k total off the movie.

I still love Joe Montana ruining Rudy too. Montana was like offering up our jersey/spot? Nah. Chanting his name? Nah. Carried him off the field? Well, technically some pranksters did it as a joke to tease him.

that's not what the movie said. Sandy taught him to play LT with an inspirational speech about defending her.

Oher always hated how he was portrayed. Seems to have really festered. I don't really get the fixation on it not being totally accurate. No movie based on real life events is entirely accurate. They always tweak stuff for the entertainment value. It's a movie. The real story wouldn't of been a good movie. Just like the real Rudy story wouldn't of been.

changed to left practice early.

There is always some advertised as the most pro ready. Brock wasn't more pro ready than Trevor. Trevor had no speed on the field and no one could get open. Trevor had a talent problem just as big as the Urban one. Probably more. I still think the NFL is more a players league than anything. Brock had an all star cast of studs that could get open and were feared. I think Bryce will have a decent season. But a decent season isn't playoffs or bust. If we had CMC and DJ Moore? Well, folks could talk playoff or bust. He would have legit playmakers he could let do the work. We lack talent. And we are DJ Chark injury (who has never played a full season) from teams really clamping down big on the small ball and making life really hard.

they sat virtually all their starters if just Matt Corral and backups got smacked by the Jets, no one would care.

I don't disagree in time. That's the type QB he was and projects to be. A distributor. But I don't think that rookie Bryce Young is going to be a prime Brees. That is where we want him to be one day. I think he will have a lot of ups and downs as a rookie. Which would be normal. And the skill talent is lacking on playmaking end. Even our weak units over the years had better top tier talent. You just need that until a good QB enters his prime.

But that’s basically a formula for the elite QB. And you basically are settling on that. Not because you want it.

Well, that’s the difference. Those are roleplayers. Luck and Ben had those types too…..in addition to pro bowl/all pro talent and them. Im not bashing our guys. But those aren’t they type that will bail a rookie out and do it on their own

I mean Payton Manning sat out. They played some undrafted kid if I recall the year prior to Luck's arrival. No one is saying a HOF caliber WR can make a horrible QB good. Rookie QBs that contend generally have elite D or great skill talent to mask the growing pains. Luck is an example of it. So was Ben. But yeah, part of Luck's rookie success was being able to throw nearly 200 times at an All Pro/Pro Bowl WR that will go to the HOF......and aided his overall development his first couple seasons. Whose Bryce's playmaker?

Luck had a HOF caliber WR when he walked in the door. Who was an already established All Pro/Pro Bowl WR. and Luck targeted Wayne a mind boggling 194 times his rookie season.

The Steelers had the #1 D in the NFL his rookie season. Multiple Pro Bowlers on offense. Which again, is how you can make it work.

Not sure about that. On paper, Ron's teams were better. so you are really only looking at the Rhule era. And I guess it depends on how weight you put in legit studs like CMC, DJ Moore, etc. This team is stud less at the moment on O. We have a much better staff than the Rhule era.

Name a team? That didn't have an established top tier D or HOF skill talent that inserted a rookie QB and was instantly able to contend? Rebuilds take time. QBs have to develop. To contend with a rookie, you largely need a roster that can make up for the fact you got a rookie QB.

I don't think Fields is terrible. You need talent in the NFL. Especially young guys. Fields hasn't had that in the pass game. I'd say it's safe money his pass #'s are drastically better this year. And that's because DJ Moore can make plays. People were calling Trevor a bust his rookie year. It wasn't just Urban. He had no WRs. They couldn't get open. Steve Smith could get open with me calling the plays. NFL is a talent driven league. Josh Allen was meh. Then they added Diggs. Then he put up MVP numbers.