SCO96

We really should have tried to pry Gardner Minshew from the Jags in the offseason to back up Darnold. He's currently the 3rd string QB for the Eagles behind Hurts and Flacco. We don't even have a 3rd string QB on our roster. It's not saying much, but I think Garder is better than either of our guys. I think we'd be above. 500 with him. You guys think it's too late to try to trade for him? https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MinsGa00.htm Check out his stats and pay attention to the INTS (or lack of them) while playing for a terrible franchise the past two seasons.

I'll admit to not watching the games as closely as I did at the start of the season. The four game skid has definitely dampened my interest. But, it still seems like we should be able to add some new wrinkles to make it easier on Darnold. 1) I think screen passes to backs (if they can catch them) could slow down the pass rush. 2) Draw plays could get out rush numbers up and keep the defense honest. 3) I haven't seen a lot of crossing routes, which can be hard to defend against man coverage. 4) A flea flicker or reverse pass might be able to fool the defense long enough to get someone behind the defense for a big play. 5) Half back option pass (Hey it worked for Derrick Henry yesterday) 6) Pass the ball to Darnold like the Giants did with Jones yesterday. Try to scheme the TE open more often. If those guys became passing threats it would open things up on the outside. I think if we could get Sam involved in a couple of explosive plays it could improve his confidence and the teams moral and possibly turn things around for the rest of the way.

Great point. Holding a team to 20 is quite and accomplishment these days. But as you pointed out you've got score more than 20 to even win those games. Right now, I''d like to see Rhule address the 3rd quarter scoring issues that have plagued the team for the past eleven games. If the offense has only scored 17 points in the 3rd over that period it just isn't going to cut it, no matter how well you run the ball, protect the ball, and/or play defense.

The above quote speaks volumes about how much faith Matt Rhule has in his newly acquired QB. How can anyone in today's NFL really believe running the football and playing tough defense is formula for sustained success? John Fox, Rex Ryan, Jeff Fisher all had similiar philosophies and none of the above could ever put winners on the field year in and year out. They could win games...but not championships...which should be the ultimate goal.

It hard to tell for sure, but it looked like the TE on Robbie's side of the field was also open along with Chuba on that play.

The Gilmore trade is good if it works out this season, and he re-signs and has 2-3 more good years. Even if he leaves after the season. we'll could possibly get a 3rd round compensation pick in 2023. The Henderson deal sound good at the time, swapping a 3 for a 1st round pick from just a year ago. But, the Jags didn't think twice about letting him go so early in his contract. And so far, he hasn't made an impact for our team. I'm hoping he can put things together in th 2nd half of the season.

Good points. It takes time to build a good team. I never thought we'd be a playoff team this year. I am shocked at how bad we are offensively. But, this could be a blessing in disguise. We had too many flaws to be a legit contender. Yet, if we had lost a couple of games we should have won, then we'd be 5-2 (maybe even 6-1) and probably over confident. The holes are obvious. We need to seriously address the o line and QB play. I think the latter would be better if the line was just plain average no matter who is behind center. Our current offensive line play is TERRIBLE. Sam and PJ were practically running for the lives yesterday. I'm not sold on Darnold, but I still think he's salvagable. He could at least hold things down until the 2022 season while we groom a successor for 2023-2024. He just doesn't look comfortable at all, and I can see why since 300 pound monsters seem to be breathing down his neck every on every other passing play.

The defense is not great, but it isn't as bad as you're implying either. Yesterday, we had about 8 3 and outs. That's terrible when you consider most teams average 12 offensive possessions per game. Guys get tired if they're own the field too long. Years ago the late Dwight White talked about how bad Terry Bradshaw was in his early years with the Steelers. He said before he could get comfortable on the bench the team would have to go back on the field because of a 3 and out or a turnover. Too many defensive snaps will wear a team out. When Monte Kiffin was DC for those great Buccaneer defenses during the Dungy/Gruden era he practically said the same thing. I remember saying that they were great if they could keep the snaps at 60 or less. After that he said we aren't nearly as effective. Factor that in with the fact that the defense knows how bad the offense currently, I can see why its hard to keep the same level of performance all game long.

None of us saw those moves coming and they may not end up helping us out at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Gilmore walks at seasons end after seeing how bad this team really is...unless he just wants to stay in the Carolinas. And, we really dont know how much he has left in the tank. I don't know what to make of CJ Henderson. He hasn't made an impact on the team at all. It's looking like the the best CB currently on the active roster is Keith Taylor, who appears to be a steal in the 5th round. Donte is still solid but we may end up losing him to FA next year. But, you're right. It's easier to find CB's than top notch LT's.

I could except the reasoning of the Christensen pick if you had taken a LT in the 1st or 2nd round and taken him to play guard in then 3rd. The way things played out, we could have taken Slater in the 1st at LT, Creed Humphrey at center in the 2nd, and Brady to play guard in the 3rd round. That would have been a sound investment in the oline . Even it didn’t work out in the long run we couldn’t have criticized them because on paper it those moves are legitimate.

Nothing was wrong with winning that game last season. We dropped a few spots, but at #8, but it doesn’t appear that the franchise was set back for years to come by not getting Wilson or Fields. We don’t have enough tape on Lance, but he isn’t a sure bet to be a success either. As you pointed out, LT is almost as important as QB. After dropping to #8, we still had a shot at The left tackle Slater. We also passed on several tackles and interior lineman in round 2. I don’t know what happened internally, but We could have kept Bridgewater another season to see how he would do with an improved oline, a healthy CMAC, and another year in Brady’s system and plan to move on for him by drafting a successor in 2022 which was the last year of his deal.

I agree with your post for the most part. However, at the time I had no problem taking Horn in round one. We only had one CB on the team that got an INT in 2020…Donte Jackson. JC has the potential to be a top 5 corner in the NFL and we know those guys don’t grow on trees. But, I would have had no issues with taking a legitimate LT like Slater. My problem was passing on 6 tackles and 3 interior lineman after two trade-downs which resulted in the TMJ selection in round 2. DJ and Robbie both had over 1000 yards receiving in 2020. Did we really need to draft a third receiving option in the 2nd round? Now, after drafting Marshall we gave the guy I thought he was replacing a contract extension. If we had followed your line of thought in round 1 and mine in round 2, we’d have 2 solid starters to pair with Moton and our greatest team weakness, the oline would be significantly better.

We’ve only scored 17 points offensively in the third quarter in our last eleven games. That goes back to last season. We said we were going to emphasize the run last weeks, but had less than 20 rushing attempts the entire game. I’m not saying I would fire Brady now. But I could see the rationale. Personally, I hope he moves on to greener pastures next year and we bring in a seasoned OC. If Brady does stick around, then we have to bring in a QB who doesn’t have the flaws of Brigdewater and Darnold that you so aptly laid out in the above post

I think the announcers said yesterday that we had EIGHT 3 and out drives yesterday. That’s terrible when you consider team average about 12 possessions a game. Our defense is on the field too long. They are having to support an offense that literally cannot score points in the 3rd quarter. It’s too early to go into a full panic mode, but getting rid of our OC would be a justifiable move at this point. Thing is, I don’t think we have another viable option on the staff right now.

Passing on Fields isn’t what is hurting this team. He wouldn’t have made us better. Ohio State quarterback have never panned out in the NFL. Field’s 5 turnover performance yesterday appears to be a continuance of that trend. He and Fitz passed on some solid offensive line prospects in the 2nd round in favor of two questionable FA acquisitions. Now, we’ve traded away a lot of draft capital heading into the 2022 draft. We’d have to give up everything to acquire Watson: first round picks in 2022, 2023, and 2024…and probably 2nd round picks in 2023 and 2024. How on earth would we fix the holes at LT, LG, RG, C, LB, FS with no high draft choices for or the next three season. I hope the Dolphins are the ones who give up everything to get him instead of us.

Year three isn’t always a “the year” for a head coach, but there is some historical precedent for the statement. Bill Walsh took over the 49ers in 1979. He started with a 2-14 season. By the end of the 1981 season they won the first of their four Super Bowls in the 1980s. Jimmy Johnson took over the Cowboys in 1989. He started 1-15. In his third year they had their first winning season and made the playoffs. They won back to back titles in 1992-1993 and third title in 1995. Walsh and Johnson’s teams were so good that the last titles their teams won were done so without either guy coaching the team. Walsh resigned and George Seifert took over. Jimmy was “let go” and replaced by Barry Switzer. The problem seems to be that Rhule doesn’t really seem (at least so far) to be a great HC like the above 2 guys. Bill Walsh was an offensive genius. Jimmy could spot talent a mile away and figured out pretty quickly that physically imposing offensive lines win games in the NFL. His biggest blunder was the 2nd round of the 2021 draft. He and Fitterer passed on 6 offensive tackles and 3 interior lineman to draft a WR who has not made us any better, even though the oline was a weak link on the team. I think we traded down over 20 slots to pick TMJ when either of the guys we passed would have made our OLine better immediately. Then we draft a LT in the 3rd round that he views as a 2nd round guard LG in the NFL. If you’re that sure he’s a guard, then you should have drafted a tackle or a center( the best center in the draft was on the board before we moved down) in round 2 and picked BC in round 3. You’d have at least improved 40% of the line in two rounds.

We didnt’ score any points in the 3rd quarter….AGAIN. The offense has scored a total 17 points in the last (11) 3rd quarters. We can’t count the seven 3rd quarter points last week because they were the result of a special teams play that resulted in a touchdown. If Brady returns as OC coordinator in 2022 I think I’m going to have a lot of free Sundays next year. In fact, I’m close on turning this off now. The defense gives up 12 points thru three quarters and this game still feels like a potential blow out loss.

I wholeheartedly agree with you guys on the LT issue. I had no problems passing on Fields in round one. I just can't get excited about ANY QB from Ohio State. I don't think we're gonna end up regretting getting Horn who could potentially end up being a top 5 cornerback in the NFL. My problem was trading back in round 2. We passed on six tackles and 3 interior lineman guards to draft a WR who is currently number 3 on our depth chart. I pull for everyone we draft, but I would have taken a Tackle or Interior lineman over Marshall because they would have had a greater impact this season. The silver lining to all of this is that the FO and Rhule realize the O-line has to be fixed in the off season. A failure to do so would be a justification for hiring new people to get this done.

Your post made me realize a typo in my post. We lost 11 games during the 2020 season. Tampa whopped us pretty good both times we played. The Saints destroyed us in the last game of the season. The other 8 losses were all by 8 pts or less, meaning one extra TD and 2 pts conversion would have won or tied all of those games. This season we lost by our games by 8 pts (Dallas) 3 pts (Philadelphia), and 6 pts (Minnesota). Once again one extra TD and 2 pt conversion would have tied the Dallas game and won the last won games against Philly and Minnesota. In our last 10 games, the offense has scored 17 points in the 3rd quarter. That's why we're losing all of these close games. If we could simply address/fix the 3rd quarter meltdowns we could make the playoffs THIS SEASON. I know Rhule has made some mistakes, but he isn't stupid. He has to realize it. I'd be shocked if this isn't fixed before the end of the season.

We've all heard the saying "Rome wasn't built in the day". Well, neither are championship football teams in the NFL. Like some of the other guys have posted, I didn't expect us to make the playoffs this year. I just want to see us show improvement. I figured we'd challenge for a wild card this year but far short. Make the playoffs in year 3, and be a legitimate SB threat by year 4. It took Bill Walsh 3 seasons to get the 49ers to a SB after starting 2-14 in his first year. Jimmy Johnson was 1-15 in his first season with Dallas. in year 3 they were a playoff team. By year 4 the Cowboys were on the verge of Back to Back titles. Our defense isn't a finished product but we're progressing. If we can can 1 or 2 more pieces we could be a top 10 defense. We've accumulated some talented parts on offense at the skill positions. We all know the O-line is the week spot holding us back. I'm pretty sure that'll be addressed this off-season. Darnold has potential. Even if he isn't "the guy" we can afford to ride with him one more year until the O-line is fixed. I'd hate to have a rookie QB playing behind our current offensive line. I'm disappointed by the losing streak, but we're still competitive. We lost 11 games last season and 3 games this season by a a score or less. And , we've played some good teams over that stretch. We're not an easy out. Once we learn how to score in the 3rd quarter and close out games we should/could be a perennial playoff team.

Our past rush did absolutely nothing this game. Did we even manage to sack Cousins today? To be fair, our putrid offensive performance during the first 3 quarters of the game resulted in the defense being on the field too long. Still, I just don't see our DT's impacting the pass rush. If out ends don't get home we ain't getting a sack. We still need a pass rushing DT.

I bet Brian Burns is feeling like the world has been lifted off of his shoulders.

Sam hasn't played that well, but those dropped throws certainly haven't helped. He's not a quitter and he's got some spunk. Both of those 4th down throws were clutch. If we get him an offensive line and a good OC coordinator I think he can win some games for us.

Ian Thomas?

I actually agree with you. I think he's not comfortable dropping back because he knows his pass blocking won't hold up. The offensive line is just plain bad. Even if we figure out that Sam isn't the guy, we can't expect anyone to succeed at QB until we get it fixed. Building a formidable offense line has got to be the top priority this off-season.