Mike2.0

A lot of analysts said the same about the Broncos drafting Bo Nix at 12. Most considered him to be a reach. They got a lot of Cs and Ds on their draft grades. Yet, he had a productive rookie season and made the play offs. Back in 2017, there were some analysts calling it a “weak” QB class lacking “elite” talent. Who came out that year? Patrick Mahomes. Most said he had a lot of potential, but only if he overcame bad habits and the shortcomings of playing in an air-raid offense in college. What’s his stat line before 30? About to makE his fifth Super Bowl appearance and goes into it with a 3-1 record. So I’m always hesitant these days to write off QBs before they step onto an NFL field.

Not strictly true. Cam Newton had Steve Smith early in his career, five productive seasons with Greg Olsen, a couple of seasons with CMC, a couple of seasons from Benjamin, plus production from DeAngelo and J-Stew. Ok, he never had an elite receiver but he did have some good receiving options and a strong running game. That said, he would certainly have benefited from more weapons and a more consistent OL. Has Josh Allen had more than him? He had a couple of seasons with Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley, but that was about it. It wasn’t until 2023 when he got a thousand yard rusher in James Cook to support him. Outside of those, he’s had to throw to the likes of Gabriel Davis, Khalil Shakir, and tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. I don’t see significantly better weapons outside of Stefon Diggs. If anything they are fairly similar in terms of the offensive supporting cast.

Correct, Cam was still athletic and his arm strength was not what it once was, but his limitations as a passer were evident. My point is that Cam never developed sufficiently as a passer in his career. He didn’t really overcome and iron-out the flaws in his mechanics, which is fine when you’ve got full arm strength and athleticism, but if one (or both) of those goes, then you’re in trouble. That’s before considering that he didn’t always consistently read the field well or go through his progressions, so the offense in Carolina was designed around his strengths and limited the need for him to make more complex reads. However, that side of his game was exposed in New England because their offense is more complex and asked him to do more of the things our offense’s never (or at least rarely) did. There’s no doubt in my mind that Cam was one of the most physically gifted players to play in the NFL. However, he could have been an all time great had he managed to develop as a passer.

Luck seemed set to take that next step in his last season in the league. It’s a shame he retired when he did because he could have become an elite QB. Cam’s strength was his dual threat ability. The attempts to get him to become better and more effective under center never really worked. He wasn’t a prolific passer and he only topped four thousand yards once in his career (as a rookie) and 30 passing TDs once. The rest of the time he his passing numbers were ok and supplemented by his elite running ability and a usually strong run game. Even Josh McDaniels couldn’t get him to take that next step. So as good as Cam was, once the athleticism started to go, his career was probably over since he never evolved enough as a passer.

I don’t harbour animosity. I simply feel that Cam Newton was one of those people that smiled when he won and sulked when he lost. I don’t recall interpreting his actions as livid (eg Tom Brady throwing his helmet, or Aaron Rodgers yelling at receivers after dropping/missing a pass). I saw someone that was immature (more so earlier in his career) and a sore loser who sulked. Again, I enjoyed watching Cam Newton as our quarterback and he tried his best to win here. However, we often look at our players with rose tinted glasses rather than seeing what everyone else sees and comments on.

Incorrect, I’ve not taken the bait. I listened to what he said and I can appreciate his standpoint. He would rather have an MVP and made the impact he did than have a career like Brad Johnson or Nick Foles, both of whom won super bowls but would never been considered hall of fame or MVP caliber quarterbacks. However, that is a very ‘me’ orientated way of thinking, though I guess swapping it for a Super Bowl ring could be considered in a similar way. Like I said, I don’t blame him for his point of view, but his reaction doesn’t surprise me and shouldn’t surprise anyone else.

Are we really surprised that Cam Newton would take an individual award over a collective one? Nope, because that is Cam Newton down to a tee. Cam Newton has always loved the attention and the spotlight. It’s how he styled himself on and off the field. When he did well, his smiled beamed and he was arguably brash and arrogant. When he struggled, he sulked and put a towel over his head or got grumpy and didn’t want to do press conferences. Most of us defended him when he was here, but if he played on any other team we probably would have criticised him for how he acted on and off the field. Now that’s not to say that Cam Newton was a bad teammate - he wasn’t. He put his body on the line and tried his best. He also did a lot of work in the community and went above and beyond. He’s also not wrong that he did his job, for the most part, in 2015. So he deserved the recognition of the MVP and I can’t blame him for not wanting to swap that for a Super Bowl, but the response is fitting with how he presents himself, whereas I think others former MVPs would swap that award for a Super Bowl win.

It’s strikes me that Jerry wants another Jason Garrett like head coach. Someone that won’t upset the apple cart or make great demands. You’re probably correct that they won’t see real success again until Jerry is gone, perhaps like Washington since Synder sold up.

I think their logic is to give the job to someone that can bring stability and build a winning culture at the Raiders. It’s possible that Carroll is a short term hire, perhaps 3-4 seasons, then hands the reins over to a chosen successor that builds on what is established over those seasons. Granted, there’s an argument to hire an up-and-coming coach that can be there for a decade plus, but I suspect the likes of Johnson and Coen probably wouldn’t have wanted the job because of the instability and lack of a QB. For someone like Carroll, it’s not as big an issue because he’s not likely to be a long term hire. That said, I’m surprised they didn’t consider Ron Rivera. 2023 was a bad year, but he did a solid job helping establish the foundation that Dan Quinn has built on.

That’s the impression I got from what I read about the Texans too. From the outside things looked ok, but it was a different atmosphere inside the building. Ultimately it’s usually only a matter of time once your QB starts to turn on a member of the coaching staff. Slowik will get another opportunity and the Texans need to get the right replacement. It will be interesting to see if a new OC gets Stroud to bounce back to stats nearer his rookie season, or whether he’ll continue to be around the numbers of his second season.

Interesting choice by the Cowboys. I don’t recall Schottenheimer getting any other interviews around the league in recent seasons. After who they got linked with, I suspect it will be difficult for their fans to get excited by this hire.

Best home - 49ers or Vikings (prefer their shiny helmet to the matte) Worst home - Commanders or Falcons. Best throwback - Dolphins or Buccaneers.

It’s up there with Josh McDaniels accepting the Colts job, then starting the process to build his staff (I think the Colts actually hired his DC), only to do a u-turn and stay at the Patriots. People can change their minds. We’ve probably all done it. Said one thing, then had time to think and changed our minds. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things, and if this report is true, then Coen picked the wrong way.

It’s going to be interesting in the NFC. Three teams have an offensive guru - Packers (Matt LaFleur), Vikings (Kevin O’Connell) and now the Bears (Ben Johnson). The only team without one is the Lions, as Dan Campbell has never run an offense. Campbell is a hell of a motivator, but will need to nail the selector for his next OC. Regarding Johnson going to the Bears, I think the job makes sense. They’ve got a talented roster, that with some smart additions and the right coaching staff, could easily flip their win-loss record. Ok, you need to believe in Caleb Williams, but is buying into him any different than fixing Trevor Lawrence or the Raiders finding a QB and overcoming years of dysfunction? I don’t think it is. To an extent I did feel the Jaguars and Lawrence have a slight edge, but in someways Lawrence is starting to look more like Jameis Winston than the generational quarterback he was hyped to be. So maybe backing Caleb Williams is a better option…

Last night’s result won’t make a difference to the Ben Johnson hype. Just like the Falcons collapse in the Super Bowl didn’t make any difference to the Kyle Shanahan hype. Ben Johnson will land a head coaching gig as long as he wants one and doesn’t want to return to Detroit, which he arguably shouldn’t want to do after last night.

Some of the same core from last season are on the Commander’s roster this season. For example, Brian Robinson (RB), Terry McLaurin (WR), Cosmi (RG), Wylie (RT), Allen (DT) and Payne (DT), Wagner (LB) and Martin (S). There’s other carryover too. So they were never a roster devoid of talent, it was more a case they didn’t have a QB and one could argue they were not well coached. If they had this coaching staff and Jayden Daniels on their 2023 roster, then they would have had more than 4 wins. So quick turnarounds can happen if a team drafts well and has a good coaching staff.

Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott left in 2017, that was prior to Tepper buying the team. So we can’t blame Tepper for not firing the existing staff and promoting them. Scott Fitterer was hired by Tepper to become our GM. So the timeline doesn’t fit for his inclusion in the hypothetical front office with Brandon Beane. Could Jerry Richardson have acted after the 2016 season to fire Rivera and Gettleman? Perhaps, but usually a recent Super Bowl appearance and near perfect season (15-1) will give a head coach and GM extra time. Rivera survived and we bounced back (11-5), while Gettleman was fired months after the draft in July. By that point Beane had already left in May to replace Buffalo’s GM. In hindsight Richardson should have acted sooner if he planned to get rid of Gettleman, but something must have occurred to force Richardon’s hand to act at such an odd time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but there’s no guarantee things would have turned out differently under McDermott and Beane. A lot would have been dependent on Cam Newton’s health and production because we wouldn’t have been showing him the door. It does make you wonder of what could have been, but as dominant as the Bills have become under Allen, McDermott and McDermott, they have yet to make and win a Super Bowl. At least we did under Newton, Rivera and Gettleman. It’s just their ending was like Delhomme and co, it ended with defeat in the Super Bowl and eventual winding down and clearing out of the team that got there.

I’m always hesitant to buy into analysts saying it is a “weak class” compared to last year. For example, some said the 2017 QB draft class was “weak”, yet we all know who came out of that draft class (Mahomes). Positional depth and strengthens can vary from draft to draft, but there are usually players who prove people wrong and go on to have great careers. So while I respect that some people view this class as “weaker” than last year, I’m sure there are players that can be difference makers and potentially be perennial pro bowlers.

I wouldn’t be against drafting a running back to pair with Chuba. Look at the production the Lions have had with their duo, Gibbs and Montgomery. We’ve had success with running back duos. It would certainly help our young quarterback by taking some of the pressure off him. Now that’s not to say we should use a day one pick or spend big on someone via free agency, but I’d be happy enough with us selecting someone on day two or three if they are the best player available .

An improved supporting cast would arguably help Young’s production. Realistically where would his supporting cast rank in the NFL? Quite a lot of statistical categories place them near the bottom of the league. End of the day, Andy Dalton’s stint didn’t improve matters because his Y/A and Y/G are almost the same as Bryce Young’s. Dalton did have one prolific game against the Raiders, but the rest were arguably no better. So upgrading the offensive supporting cast would be the first step towards judging whether Young can be the guy long term. Tua didn’t start firing until year three, so maybe Young can do the same when his supporting cast is upgraded?

Garrett Wilson could be an excellent addition for us, but I’m not convinced we will be able to get him for a price that makes sense for us. I think we’d be talking a first rounder or a second and some extra picks. With our team not being a receiver away from contention, we’d be better off building through the draft. There’ll be good receivers in the draft class and we can continue to build the trenches and upgrade the defense.

I’d be questioning his desire as a sports person if he wasn’t pissed off at being benched. Hopefully he takes it as a learning opportunity and works hard to earn another shot (either here or elsewhere).

Interesting decision. I can only think this decision has been made to compete and win games, rather than be patient with Young and see how he develops (ie letting us tank if things don’t improve). Unless of course it’s being done to protect Young rather than break his confidence entirely, but generally speaking when QBs struggle this bad it is difficult to recover (eg Blaine Gabbert).

I guess we’ve gone with the he helped turnaround Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield, so he can turnaround Bryce Young after a woeful rookie season. I’m not sure who I wanted to become our next head coach, and to be honest, I’m not sure it will matter unless the owner takes a hands off approach.