Bear Hands

What's wild is that most even mediocre seasons, this team, like others, produced consistent highlights and fun TDs. Big plays, defensive TDs, etc. This year has maybe 3-4 total plays you can throw on a reel from 13 games. The QB has the 2nd lowest YPA in NFL history for a starter behind only Jamarcus Russell. It's insane how anemic this offense is. It's an insult to the sport and every fan to produce a team this bad. We're easily one of the worst ever NFL squads in the 21st century.

Oh damn missed that! Well maybe he elevates to a top pick by 2025. In googling, top odds look like LSU, UCLA and Miami. Interesting. I just love his potential. He had me hooked last year. The arm is there, he can run, he's tough as hell, he's got the size, and really progressed nicely as a passer this season.

Oh man. Breaking down a few moments in sequence that really stand out: -Pick 8 in 2021 could have produced 2 firsts, as we had offers per Fitt's post-draft presser. That could have netted an extra first in 2022. Instead, we had that huge gap between R1 and 4 in 2022 and mortgaged even more to trade up for Corral. Not having a 2nd and 3rd clearly made Fitt and Rhule ansty to trade up when they could have sat and got Howell ahead of WAS. -The Burns offer last year could have given us a 2023 and 2024 1st. We decline, yet we proceed to trade up and put ourselves in a position (again) where we need picks. Mortgaged even more of what we had remaining because we got desperate, too needy. Then, they treat the CMC package way too carelessly going all for this Bryce kid. The CMC picks were filling the voids we gave away for Darnold and Corral, they didn't truly net gain and we immediately waste them. Fitt has simply done an awful job. And he hasn't brought in a single playmaker. Just gave 2 away. And I'm sure they declined interest again from a team like Detroit this season pre-deadline. If this team was just patient and let certain things come to them, we could've had 2 firsts in the 22, 23, and 24 drafts. Bezerk. Could have had a crop like Rashawn Slater (21), Garrett Wilson (22), Zion Johnson (22), & CJ Stroud with CMC and DJ Moore still in house, and an extra 1st in 2024. And also more potential OL and DL from the picks that wouldn't have given away for Corral and Bryce. They keep backing themselves into the corner, these forced situations, needing to force picks, missing the real talent. The careless QB carousel resulting in one of the biggest trades in NFL history ruined the rest of the team. So much talent missed.

If Penix or McCarthy is there at 33...I mean, that's tempting given what we've seen this year. But it's doubtful to think a QB at the top of the second realistically happens. However, I don't think it would be a bad idea to keep an eye on one in the 3rd-4th rounds. Some competition with a young backup with big traits/upside could be better at this rate. And maybe we find ourselves a Hurts, Purdy, Cousins type. Cameron Ward & Michael Pratt are the two I'd personally target.

Listened to most of the game in the car today. Luke and Jake were having a really hard time this week trying to frame anything positively. They were even talking about potentially benching Bryce in the second half. They were pointing out a fair chunk of misses and inaccurate throws. You can tell they're getting pretty frustrated by the output.

The team was just constructed very poorly. Tepper hired coaches, sans Brown, that didn't run the modern spread + stretch zone he wants. And now Brown, as promising as he could be, doesn't seem in his element. It's also just a bad squad so it's not like anything he can do that would have this offense take off. We didn't acquire any guys that can stretch the field. That is what is most baffling. The job Fitt and Morgan did is particularly awful. They really thought we had enough speed on this team. And Bryce is just playing very bad football.

Not just that, but Fitt also admitted to turning down trade offers at the draft bc they wanted Horn so bad. Two really compelling options at our disposal, line needs,QB needs, and we went DB.

Perna is a funny dude. Have always enjoyed his stuff.

@BenjaminBreeg @Gapanthersfannice posts, good adds to the convo. Makes you wonder how much is truly pass pro issues vs the guy in the pocket. I’ve also seen a lot of people allude to the zone v power gap discussion again. The “scheme isn’t right” point is still kind of a dead end for me bc we’re aiming at running a spread zone for Bryce with some RPO. We simply aren’t going to have this kid running a power heavy approach. Lots of factors at play. And looking back, the pass protection really wasn’t all that bad against TB. Notable-Bozeman is still having discipline issues and is just getting bullied by dudes. He also just misses assignments some snaps. I think it’s more than a blocking style issue for him right now.

For real. Luvu is the closest thing. D Brown a second. But there’s just nothing.

Bozeman is not worth keeping

Pretty much. That's the most concise way to put it.

There was a lot the Richardson family had to cover up with Mark. Including involvement with a South Park madame employee and wanting to abandon the family. There was a reason Jerry cut his kids out.

Yep ha. He's in a weird situation because his college coaches didn't bother to correct. So then, it quickly became his thing. Problem is, you can't have that as a "thing" in the NFL. So it's going to be super hard to train him out of. I've said before, it's one thing to have a unique throwing motion, but another to have your own lower body mechanics. That's something that is either right or wrong. There's no alternate style to what that is and this loose, slow-motion back stepping is killing us on the short throws. He does that, and his timing/accuracy will never be there. Add on the lack of stepping into throws with proper distribution, and the INTs will continue. I'm just astounded this has been something so shrugged aside. Kurt Warner and some of the Athletic staff have seen it, but it's surprising how many said, meh, his intangibles outweigh any possible physical traits so much, that it's whatever. And they say it about the one 2-year+ starter Bama QB that didn't win a title.

The mega concerning thing with the footwork I've started to notice (that is at a much higher volume now): Weight distribution is wonky and he's just not even setting/stepping up properly. His feet are barely ever planted for routine throws. For example on the early Mingo challenged catch, he throws that in a clean pocket, almost falling off his back foot. And he could have been able to hit an easy 12 yarder if he didn't do his weird overly skip parallel drop back. It's like he trips backwards on 80% of his throws. It disrupts timing, and he's not planted when they're at the top of routes. He's doing this on passes that are these quick outs and comebacks. If you wanna see an example of how to do it right, check out Dak and Cousins. Those two have some of the more disciplined mechanics in the league. It's just bananas this is where we're at. I can't believe this is a 1st overall pick. If I had a nickel for how many throw Bryce steps into per game, I wouldn't be to get maybe 2 pieces of gum from the glass vending ball.

At the end of the day, what's so insane is that this the 1st overall pick. The QB1 that we deemed ready enough to make arguably a top-3 biggest trade in NFL history for. We in part didn't grab much high-level WR or RB because of the trust we had in Bryce. Heck, Tepper admitted so on camera. They thought he was a plug and play (still do apparently) that you could go modern-spread with and spray the ball everywhere. Yet, they get a coach that doesn't run that offense and players that don't fit. I think us fans were concerned but still bought in because it was clear the team was trying to go all in. Also--rewatched some of the game. Why? I have no clue. But it is becoming so abundantly clear--the stuff Bryce is showing is beyond just bad OL jitters. It's truly bust-ish level material being produced. I'm honestly there at this point. The decisions, weird flinching before there's even pressure, footwork, inaccuracy, awareness, outrunning-DL abilities. It's also just crazy re-sorting stats and continuously see the same 3 grouped at the bottom. Bryce, Mac, & Wilson. And Bryce is the lowest for many. Looking at stuff like Y/A, A/YA, Success%, 1st downs passing. His performance, not the OL, not the WR, is still the biggest issue from what I see. Half our WRs will be gone anyways next year. The eye-test screams the b-word right now. It's like watching Wilson or Clausen and just knowing it's not gonna work out. There's just nothing there. And this is a guy that should be ready, everyone wants him to be (I really do), but he simply isn't and can't quite figure it out. It's going to be a short leash in 2024 with fans. And who knows whatever coach ends up here thinks of him. He's honestly not even showing much if he wants to be a backup on another team right now. This is what you should get when your backup goes down and resort to the guy with the clipboard.

This is a situation where we could use an upgrade at every position sans safety. But playmakers are key and we need the best playmaker available whoever that is. Troy Franklin, whoever.

What's unfortunate is that he seems like a genuinely good dude, but it's just not translating. The footwork is a mess. The accuracy is not there. He seems really nervous and unsure, afraid to take risks, afraid to make mistakes. That's without factoring in all of the physical things he cannot change. You trade the barn for a franchise QB. A draft's QB1 should not need this much coaching. And the fact that he does, instantly sinks all the excitement -- Especially because that translatability was what we were sold on that overrode his size limitations.

True. His move set isn’t that crafty. He does have an inside spin and swim but they’ve been getting stopped by the average tackles. He just hasn’t been able to go from this solid rusher with star potential to that star level. Fools gold. There are a lot of edge rushers I would take over him in this league.

Burns has played very poorly the past two games, not to mention the ejection. He got worked by Wirfs and was a non-impact starter. Bigger picture, he still holds a lot of value by simply being a versatile pass-rusher. But he's not providing enough for us and what we need for a guy warranted that high of share of the DL allocation. He's a pass rusher, poor run defender...so his pass rushing better be dominant, yet here it sits, in the NFCS, at 6 sacks (36th/t) I also think it's now clear that he doesn't want to play here. He didn't get traded, so then he was waiting to see the market work itself out. It reset a bit, he realized he can possible get $30 mil. Meanwhile, he got to see how good the team was this year, which as we all know imploded before even taking off. You can just see it. He doesn't want to be here and he wants the dinero. It would make sense if we did what Tepp/Fitt/Reich expected us to do this year (compete). But now, we've honestly got more to build than last season which is hard to fathom. So he's waiting, it will likely be a tag & trade. The crappy thing is that he still has leverage at this point as bad as he's been. That's again, another thing on Fitterer.

Want a walk down memory lane to make us all even more miserable? Check this out lol: The most accurate prediction in line with his current projections:

There were some smidges of improvement. Great run blocking left side of the line. Icky did well today. I can still smell 1-16 or 2-15

I can't get over how bad Burns was today before his ejection. That boy ain't got no dog in him. Just annoying little spiders posing for cameras

Some news, in 12 games: CMC: 1400+ total yards, 17 TDs DJ Moore: 1,000+ yards, 6 TDs (with Bagent & Fields)

A downfield throw. WTF did we just see? lol