Mage

Derrick Brown was unblockable all game.

I don't think the problem is McCaffrey. The interior OL just isn't effective in the run game. I would agree we should stop calling inside runs as frequently as we do though.

Phil Snow is a SPECIAL defensive mind. Those blitzes on the last drive had me salivating... that is how you coach football. Don't be a freakin' pansy. Force them to make mistakes. Don't wait for them to make mistakes. I praised the hell out of Snow last year and he just keeps proving me right. What a pleasant freakin' surprise.

No way.

Right lol I felt like one of the few people who actually defended him back then.

Yes, in retrospect, it would have been better to go for it. But ideally you would hope your punter is able to pin the opposing team in that situation.

Nah, if you aren't going to kick the field goal, then punting is the better option. No reason to give the Jets momentum by going for it on 4th and 6 that early.

This defense is nasty. The pass rush is going to be a problem for a lot of teams. Derrick Brown looks as unstoppable as I figured he would be this season. I love Burns, I have his jersey and everything, but by seasons end, Brown is going to be considered the best player on this defensive line. He is strong as an ox. And if he keeps improving as a pass rusher (SOO farther along than I thought he would be in that regard? Oh boy. And the dude is only 23 years old. I thought Donte Jackson and Shaq Thompson both played their best games in a long time. I didn't notice Jaycee Horn much, and that is a good thing. The offensive line looks as bad as I figured. I thought Brady and Darnold did a good job making up for it though. Lots of quick play designs, Darnold with good pocket work and getting the ball out in a timely manner. But there is only so long you can make-up for a bad line. They either have to play better on the line or we are going to have to make a move somehow. Both seem unlikely though. McCaffrey is still amazing, but hopefully we get more involvement from other guys in the weeks to come. I trust this will happen though. You don't have 4 guys get 1,000 yards on the same team without an OC who is able to mix it up. Overall, I was a little disappointed we only scored 19 points, but I was very, very impressed with this defense. And I think there is a lot of room on offense to grow as the season wears on. So I'm optimistic going into Week 2 against a Saints team that I think we can beat. Saints are thin at wide receiver and against the Packers, mostly were effective underneath which means they can't take advantage of our biggest weakness on defense (defending the deep ball). I think Winston is a much better QB than people give him credit for, but without Michael Thomas, he can't really do what he does best. I know that is weird to say after a 5 TD game, but that had a lot more to do with the poor play of the Packers. I think the game is going to come down to how well the offense is able to compensate for how the OL will likely look against the Saints pass rushers, but even that is a ? for the Saints with Davenport out. Next week is going to be a measuring stick for this coaching staff. I'm not saying the Saints aren't a good team. They are, but we measure up just as well as them talent-wise. We're at home. We're the healthier team. It is a divisional game. I'm fully expecting us to win. And it better happen.

I genuinely thought he played extremely well. Perfect? By no means no. But his movement in the pocket was great. The TD throw to Robby, while yes he was wide open, doesn't happen if Darnold doesn't smartly slide in the pocket. I thought he showed a quick release and very good arm strength. Missed a few throws, but that is easy to fix up with more chemistry. And I don't recall any clear-cut reckless decisions by him. All in all I don't see how anyone can really be disappointed in what we saw. He looked as good as he's ever looked in the NFL. That does not mean there isn't more to prove, because obviously there is, but at the same time I don't know how that isn't chalked up as an absolute positive when many league wide wrote him off as a bust. It shows that the talent is there. Now we just need to find out if Darnold is gonna do all he can to maximize that talent and if the Panthers coaches are good enough to do so. So far, it is off to a good start.

We certainly could have played much better offensively, but I think it is too soon to be expressing concern about him. It is Week 1, after all. I agree he still has things to improve upon but I'm not ready to discount what he did last year with this offense, which I found to be extremely impressive. I trust him to do as he did last year and that is mask a bad offensive line in pass protection and get everyone involved. Yes, McCaffrey took on a huge load last game, but the Jets weren't exactly forcing them away from him. I feel certain that Anderson, Moore, Marshall, and the TEs will be more involved going forward. Maybe I'm just being too much of an optimist, I just think we should give it a few more weeks before we get concerned. It isn't like we're the only offense that didn't play up to their potential this weekend.

Lol so should no bad teams have captains?

Watson only has to play if the Texans want him to play. The Texans are not going to ask him to play. And honestly the only reason why the NFL hasn't put him on the exempt list yet is because they know the Texans aren't going to play him, and so they don't need to deal with it (yet).

Eh, not really. Usually teams wouldn't play starters in Game 4 because Week 1 would start next week. The Panthers don't have a game until September 12th. I don't think we should play our starters, but only because I don't think preseason reps help nearly as much as people think it does. At least not to the point where it will be the difference between Darnold being a good or bad QB this season lol. Training camp/practice is more than enough. And at least then you can use your whole playbook. No offense is showing their full hand in the preseason, so you are already limiting your offense.

People seriously underrate the job he did here last year. We had 4 1,000 yard players. That isn't just some footnote - it rarely happens. Only the 5th team in the Super Bowl era to do so. And we did it with a patched up OL and a mediocre, at best, QB. It is a testament to how intelligently Brady designs his plays that he can find a way to get so many mouths fed. There is a reason he's such a hot commodity at 31 years old. He learned under Payton for 2 years. Helped coach up an electric LSU offense in his lone year there, and was there for the development of some BEASTLY receivers. No doubt in my mind that he is a great up-and-coming OC.

Yep. Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman, two elite corners in their prime, used to get away with it a lot too just because they did it so often.

I mean, its Christian McCaffrey. Not much to talk about, really.

Jermaine Carter is nothing special, but he does the job asked of him and he does it well enough. Can't ask/expect for much more out of a 5th round pick.

Who is giving a big deal to Donte Jackson? Even if he performs well this year, I doubt he would get a big deal from us given we just took a corner at #8. And Jackson on his best day ain't really worth that investment as a #2. He only comes back on a reasonably priced contract.

What? If he wants to get extended, and we won't extend him, then logically he would like to be traded to a team that will extend him before he plays on a 1-year deal. I never said anything about him sitting out a season or forcing a trade.

Julio is 32, was hurt last year, and has a fat contract. Sanu went for a 2nd round pick. Now granted that was obviously a dumb move by the Patriots when it happened but I don't think it's unreasonable that a team would trade a 2nd for Robby, especially once injuries happen.

Joey Slye is definitely the most frustrating kicker we've had since Olindo Mare (another brilliant Hurndog move), right?

I'm not an insider, but I think it is obvious he wants an extension or to be traded to a team who will give it to him. It would suck to lose him but at the same time when you are a rebuilding team, getting compensation for a guy who will leave in a year can be very beneficial.

Rookie DTs rarely make a huge impact unless they are generational talents (Donald, Suh), especially guys who are run stuffers.

As much as this actually hurts them even more, I also don't want to deal with defending Julio, Ridley, and Pitts. That's just dirty. No way they don't have a top five passing game if Julio stays.

I think our defense is going to be great. The biggest advantage is the speed and youth of the unit. Remember how bad the 2019 defense was in Rivera's last year? We were too slow. Teams would beat us to the edge with ease. Teams aren't going to beat this team to the edge easily. So much athleticism and strength in the front seven. Last years unit was better than it had any reason being. No reason to think this defense can't/won't finish in the top 15 barring injuries.