Bear Hands

Are we forgetting Piniero missed the game winning 32 yard field goal in OT too? That was shorter than the penalized XP.

Of course. He was killing it. But the playcalling down the stretch was so bad that year coming off the wildcard loss season to the Saints. That was the most frustrated I was with Ron’s staff outside of pre-Riverboat days. It was obvious he was a goner. Then, the following year though, we just carried through with a lot of assumptions that we had enough talent and Cam was fine (which he wasn’t). Then we had to be thrown for the Kyle Allen whirl. Honestly, going into that 2019 team, it was a great core and a good one to hand off to a new coach. Problem was, Cam was done, CMC just blossoming and the defense was closing its window. 2018 was the year to can Rivera and Hurney at the same time and for Tepper to start his thing..

People say Evans or Higgins, I'll go similar but he gives me heavy Drake London feel (after the catch movement) with a little bit of Michael Pittman (the way he high points and aggressively outduels defenders). Went to HS in SoCal...surprised he wasn't recruited by USC haha. He's a solid solid prospect. Would have no problem with him R1. It's not a top heavy draft so he's in play. Same goes for Burden honestly. Put those guys vs. Johnson vs. Graham, it's a tough call IMO.

The approach we took to build the WR room is one I will always be miffed by. I’ve never liked our draft choices and it always leaves me feeling uneasy (even back to LaFell/Gettis/Armanti). I loved Pearsall and Ladd, but those just aren’t types we target for some reason. RB wise - Just seeing what Bucky Irving has done this year with guys Canales built his offense around last year, is enough to really make the RB approach seem questionable. If we were unsure about Chuba preseason, then we should’ve gotten a guy who could’ve played immediately. If we were confident in Chuba, then we should’ve targeted a Ray Davis, Irving, Tracy, Guerendo etc. a bit later and reserve the R2 capital for a potential long term starter. The reasoning doesn’t entirely check out even though I love Brooks as a prospect. I dunno, just still feels off. Same taste I got with the Horn pick. Same with bringing back Hurney. Just a big old ick.

I liked Trevin, think his ceiling is high and he's got some grit. He was a bit further along than expected in a few respects from a development standpoint. Same goes for S-W and Sanders. And I consider our priority UDFA for Coker a late 7th (even though we waived and brought him back). The draft wasn't bad, but the top of it is just really frustrating yet again. We had some pretty glaring fits staring us in the face to pick at the top. I mean, imagine Ladd at 32 and Frazier/Sainristil at 46, this could've easily been a home run draft. But Xavier and Brooks rubbed people the wrong way, and seems to still be the case. Especially when one has a dropping problem and the other injured the same knee and now looks like a question mark as our future RB.

It’s been catchup/reactive mode ever since. We’ve been patient when we shouldn’t have been, and impatient when we should’ve kept our chill. Just no real feel for savvy decision making. First major hire should have been the guy to really be the architect of the team with a vision and plan in mind. Whether it was a Roseman, Gutekunst or DeCosta type. He should have at the least sought that person during 2018 as he got used to ownership. Tepper eventually thought he found his combo guy in Rhule and then Hurney could be his shoe-kissing lackey. So poor choices and timing with HC/GM moves, playing merri-go-round with QBs, waiting too long to grab an LT, the list goes on. I will say, this year, it felt a little bit different so I’ll give Tepper an inch of credit— but they’ve got a lot more to keep building. Even if it feels a bit dummied down with the “dawg” thing, it’s at least something — Morgan/Canales seem in sync.

Even after that, it could have been salvaged.. Tepper should have wiped the slate clean once buying, instead of delaying the inevitable. The whole "don't step on the org's toes year 1" approach killed us. The 2019 season should have never happened the way it did. Cam's shoulder was gone at that point, but we didn't know until he bowed out for the season after the first few. Kuechly was likely going to retire no matter what. But you end Rivera at the close of 2018, we would have been positioned for Burrow/Herbert/Tua accordingly. Simple as that.

Out of all the woulda-shouldas, that’s what you choose?

This is a fair assessment of the situation from my view. We got a glimpse of him at his near best, and saw what happens when he slips back. I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the right type of thinking, considering lows vs highs relative to ultimate goals. If his highs still can’t quite produce big wins, and everything needs to be damn near perfect, then you’re needing too much from him as a limited player. Get him in the right environment, sure, I guarantee there could be a coach+team combo where he could make a 10-7/11-6 type run with for a season or two. But that’s best case, and is all of this worth it to get there? I say we need to keep rolling the dice. Given our timeline, team around him, and what he needs to do, it doesn’t align and isn’t worth settling for, and at the least need competition. The ceiling is not a game changer. We can’t coddle him this offseason and not strongly consider other avenues.

While we’re playing what ifs - there was a path to getting a solid team situated, it all stems from the timing of the sale, waiting to can Ron, and delaying the LT search. If you fire Rivera a season sooner, you hire in the Kevin O’Connell circuit. Blowing up right when Tepper got here, we could’ve been positioned for Herbert/Burrow/Herbert. Then the next season, positioned to get Slater or Darrisaw in instead of that damn Horn pick. And then the following, wouldn’t have been forced to pick Icky and could’ve gone Garrett Wilson or Parsons. No need to mortgage future picks at any point. Keep DJ Moore and CMC in that scenario, and not suffer through one of the most forgettable seasons in our history with Teddy. Not firing Rivera sooner and delaying the LT search until it became a forced R1 pick set us back as much as missing on QBs. I blame jeans day. Okay that game of what if was fun. Back to the present lol.

He has tools (size, arm and quick release), his negatives being more coachable stuff (decision making and inconsistent footwork). I’ve been most impressed with the accuracy this year- his placement has been just really darn good at times. Shows why OSU recruited him. What he doesn’t have, and can’t gain, is the mobility/athleticism you want to see, but he’s not as statuesque as a Trask or O’Connell. He can fight for yards when he needs to. Definitely a mid rounder to consider.

I still think there's a high likelihood Bryce is starting week 1 next year, even if his next few games have similar downs. But, this is the the type of draft where we absolutely should consider a low-risk pick at QB (after R1) to see how he stacks up. He could be a pressure backup to Bryce instead of a vet. And if Bryce implodes, you transition to that rookie, see if he's worth anything, and if not, onto a high drafted QB in 2026.

It shows that what was happening last year (and the first few this season) is not a phase he will magically leave behind. He has certain deficiencies and tendencies at the pro level that are hard to shake. He showed some great progress, today was regression; have to keep seeing how it unfolds the rest of this year.

High on Green.

Seems we need a General Second Round pick venting thread lol.