OldhamA

I don't think anyone made him look like a rookie last year - that's why the Chargers are so excited.

We can fix this. Santoso is 26, Borregales is 23. Get on it Fitz.

Could someone please explain why they do these things? They're so odd.

Cash strapped Saints.

Didn't we have a year where we named a different set of captains each game?

You hate Darnold almost as much as you love Howell.

All the pressure against the Steelers came from our C missing blocks.

So many of you have made up your minds about our FA acquisitions without seeing them play. It's bizarre.

Sad face. Jose Borregales was right there. That's it, I'm on the Rhule Out bandwagon. There are no Canes on this squad. Burn it all down I say.

Chinn and Brown walked into the lineup last year. YGM, Roy and Pride saw significant minutes. Horn will walk into the lineup this year. Marshall will start in the slot this year (or outside if they rotate Anderson / Moore into the slot) and Tremble will see significant minutes. The common denominator? They were all better than the incumbent. Brown and Christensen haven't proven that they're better than the guys in-front of them YET. Same goes for Nixon, Hubbard and Taylor - as the season goes on they'll get into the lineup, but right now they're way behind the veteran starters. There's no shame in that.

Besides both being white men there's nothing similar about Fitterer (and Rhule) and Hurney.

I mean College football is back so I've had about 4 hours sleep in the last 48 hours - I wouldn't call it a slow night! But I'll watch what Simms has to say.

Guess we're watching different games then. Paradis was responsible for several splash plays for them - can't have that on the Oline.

How did Paradis do on these plays? He's the biggest problem on that Oline.

I don't understand this mindset. We're into Year 2 of a major rebuild. I just want to see progression this season. The team massively outperformed all projections in 2020 and that was down to the coaching staff. If we finish 'middle-of-the-pack' this year that's not the disaster some are making it out out to be. We're not on a boom or bust journey. IF the rest of the team looks great and Darnold is the one holding us back (unlikely, but I'll play this game) AND they fall in love with Howell et al, they'll make the move to go get him. They've shown that.

They're trying it again this year with Smith and Henry, but yeah those two were exceptional.

They're (rightly) placing a huge emphasis on STs - we currently offer zero threat to house a return. I'm more than happy for that Zylstra spot to go to a killer K/PR who you can throw out there on passing downs as a YAC threat. This is a fun video that highlights the importance of STs, if you've got the time:

Mike Davis is making $5m over 2 years in Atlanta. Freeman is making $970k this year for us. We made out like bandits here.

Based on the fact that Schofield is currently unemployed and Chris Reed is a backup in Indy.

I don't think he's as bad at LG as some fear, but yeah he wouldn't be my first choice to play OG.

Ugh.

You're right it does sound crazy. I don't know how many times I have to repeat that Rhule isn't here to lose football games. He wants to win early and often - it's just not possible with this roster. He (and Fitterer) did exactly what you're meant to do this offseason - plug holes in FA and pick the BPA in the Draft. That's why we've crushed it in back-to-back years. RIGHT NOW Brown and Christensen aren't better than Elflein / Miller / Erving et al. They have to beat out the players in-front of them - you can't just hand them the job. However, they will get their opportunities during the season - I suspect if Brown can keep his weight down he's first man up at OG (unless Michael Jordan comes in and is sensational). He provides a stoutness that we currently lack - albeit he doesn't fit the athletic profile they're currently acquiring. Christensen they've started at RT, LG and LT in the pre-season - they LOVE his athletic profile and are trying to find the best fit for him on the Oline. Oline is about communication and chemistry more than anything (once you have the baseline talent / physical ability to play at this level). This group haven't had time to develop that yet - I'm going to give them 4 games before I start judging. Oh and he's not paying Darnold $19m next year to watch him get pummeled into oblivion this. They're doing everything they can to turn him into a franchise QB that they acquired on the cheap - whether it works out is another matter.

Word from where? Who's your inside source?

It's like CB, if you're asking your Oline to hold up for more than 3 seconds (or your CB to cover for longer than 3 seconds) then you're Tom Brady.