Bear Hands

The Houston, Indy and Chicago games are the ones that will be super telling/could result in some major shade being thrown if we don't start pulling out Ws. Those are the teams in our tier going into the season. 2 of them being in the same boat - New coach, new QB, major makeovers throughout. The other team being in absolute disarray after we gave them our top offensive weapon and draft pick in 2024. That stretch will be telling. This Vikings game -- we at minimum need to see a competent offense with Bryce on the field. No ifs ands or buts about it.

Bo, I don't know. He's improved a lot, has a lot to like. The growing reality is a lot of rookies are going to be older with just how things like NIL and college life seem to be evolving these days. See -- Hooker, Levis, Nix, Rattler, Travis, Penix, etc. All 23+ coming out. I almost expect some adjustments are being made on the scouting side to put a little less emphasis in the age department. Unless there's some super promising 20-21 y'o Junior coming out (like Caleb) that become the obvious exceptions in a top tier.

Agree with a bit of that. I don't know the right way to say this but we just seem too much of a "fixed system" right now with parts that don't pair well. Our personnel is also cramping our style, running concepts where you need speed, against speedy defenses. Stretch zone works when you have a fun ebb and flow between spread and condensed formations (see Shanahan/McVay/McDaniel). You also need the speed at WR to keep a defense honest and actually stretch their personnel pre-snap with that stuff. We just don't have the personnel, aren't doing enough presnap to keep a D on their heels, and just aren't being that creative. Thus, we're getting really bottled up with inside runs right now. Reich's offenses have fallen into this trap before when guys like TY went down. It's an overused word but what we're running is just not very dynamic, very stagnant.

The Pac-12 has been the spot to watch QBs. Caleb, Nix, Ward, Penix, Sanders. It's been fun. Drake Maye is having a very underwhelming season thus far. That UNC team isn't doing him favors but he's just not as commanding moving that offense as I thought he'd be (braces for UNC fans)

To me I think it's absolutely about playcalling, not scheme. The scheme change is honestly a tad overblown. We're just not running a diverse playbook right now and it is just too redundant/easy to diagnose. Thing is, McAdoo ran zone concepts. Heck, look at the Lions game last year where we had the most yards in the modern era for a first half- so many of the runs were stretch plays with Chuba, misdirects, thinning the defense out by having 4 WR sets to open up the box. We'd disguise a formation to look like it was a DJ Moore screen and counter in the other direction with a handoff. Some of Foreman's big runs were where the line pushes a D laterally and he would cut in the counter direction shooting up a nice gap created. Reich is just running A LOT and I mean A LOT of repetitive playcalls that is not disguising anything and creating any running game mismatches. Split Zone all day. And when you can't have guards creating displacement, the D breaks the front and timing is off. It's all about execution and timing. You'd be amazed at how much an OL can break down by just missing one guy like Corbett. They communicate so much beyond pre-snap and having essentially 2 void spaces between Icky and Boze and then between Boze and Moton--it becomes very difficult to execute appropriately. There's too many mental hiccups and learning on the job right now by some of these players.

I would like to see over 200 passing yards before our final drive, 60%+ completion and (most importantly) 6.0+ YPA. If he's floating around 4-5.5 YPA, I won't be a happy camper.

We were supposedly looking closely at Mike Borgonzi last cycle but wanted the best fit for Rhule & Tepper...

Yeah. Ideally, I was thinking this draft could’ve been good to trade down slightly in the 2nd with a packaged late rounder—could gain a pick in the 75-80 range without losing 93. Easier said than done but it seemed we were either trading up or standing out at 39 seeing our draft room videos. I just thought there was too much talent at RB, TE, DB and EDGE to lose more picks in that top-120 range. Mingo was an internet favorite but I thought his high was maybe 50-60ish. Had him going to KC in late R2. I will say, Fitt’s picks leave the same taste Gettleman’s did. On one end—Online and “expert” rankings aren’t that far off at the end of the day. There’s legit intel and you do get a good sense of consensus boards, and then so many of our early mid-rounders (like DJ) are like “who’s that guy?” Then we say, “we’ll I’m sure the team knows what they’re doing, we’re just fans and prognosticators” and then a lot of the guys we liked do well and we’re scratching our heads.

Tuli from USC or Brents from KSU were my table pounders. They’ve been playing super well in LAC and Indy. Could’ve made a lot of sense at 39. But can’t get mad it’s in the past. Oi vey

They wanted Byron Young and definitely panicked. Could’ve just stood pat and got more offensive arsenal (Spears, Downs, Scott) and not given up a later pick. The EDGE class was still good enough to not reach. And we weren’t in position to reach on a project. Reaching on a boom/bust? That’s fine but not a project.

Forgot he came in for a game in LA: 19/34 55.9% 161 yards 4.7 YPC 1 TD 2 INTs Checks out

Thanks dude, I try to supply what I can...and try not to get too bent out of shape. Tough way to start the year so really hope we can turn this around with Bryce against Minny.

It's like they looked at Philly last year and said: "We're going to be like the C-graded version of that but without receiving RBs and speed"

You really can't change blocking schemes on a whim though. Though I get what you're saying. I just see generic zone concepts and we're not stretching outside or using any sort of misdirect. It's just a super watered-down Reich offense. I see no horizontal stretching or misdirect going on. It's all vanilla and the rare vertical, with no WRs to fit the bill minus Chark. From a pass-protection end, it's downright bad right now, scheme regardless. We've got no guards left. Corbett was a huge factor on this OL. Overall, Icky was projected as a strong fit for gap or zone coming out. Scheme versatile, athletic for LT but also a road grader. Bozeman and Corbett are strong in zone. The scheme isn't an issue for me, it's the adjustments within the playbook, and possibly the playbook they put together. We need to get the ball out and quickly, space a defense out. It's historically in Reich's arsenal but it's just not happening. We don't have the personnel and aren't calling a good offensive gameplan.

To be fair, Corbett and Bozeman have a solid track record in zone so it's reasonable to think they thought it would be fine, especially with Icky being young and a scheme versatile type. Not to mention, stretch zone is kind of where we should go in today's NFL. Problem is, well Corbett is out, and we're not calling a lot of outside zone stuff. Very general concepts, more runs inside with a scheme that should present a ton of plays that stretch a defense horizontally and vertically at the same time. No speed to stretch vertically, no play calls to stretch horizontally = this It's all very counterintuitive.

We just have a bunch of people who still don't know what they're doing. Fitt isn't a Roseman type and we can't keep hoping we find his magic pairing. You need a duo that works together with established roles. It still seems like a place with no framework or FO structure. I get the feeling more and more that Tepper has just been winging it all which would not happen IF HE GOT A DAMN PERSON TO RUN FOOTBALL OPERATIONS. Not a glorified draft picker/scout team leader in Fitterer. We are yet again in a situation where Scott is trying to decipher what the staff wants and configure a team to work with that staff's style. It's like they don't have a set idea on the type of team they want. Every decision is made in isolation irrespetive of any larger framework or vision. It's like they don't "football"

We were wasting him because we were never truly building around him. We had a GUY and just didn't do sh*t with him other than overuse relentlessly to the point of 2 sequential dings, once healthy, overused him again for trade showcase and sent him off. It was like Rivera and Rhule never even knew what they had at their disposal and forced us into that dead end with CMC where we were wasting him. Should have never gotten to that point and honestly, if he was getting irked behind the scenes, maybe it was indicative of poor coaching and team building around him. Not firing both Hurney and Rivera at the get-go and then not hiring a coach with a legit vision for the stars we had in place was our undoing. That's my perspective anyhow...it sent us down this spiral. Could have recovered from the end of Cam in short order but the ownership change occurred at the worst possible time. So we drove ourselves into the CMC dead end and took mid-round picks. Zero proven commodities for a perennial OPOY/MVP candidate. That was such a miss from my POV.

I may be on my own here, but his shipping off is honestly what gets me the most riled up over anything in recent years. He's pretty much the king of the mountain in respect to playmakers league-wide alongside JJ and Hill, and is on the best team right now. We sent him off because he quietly wanted off. He's clearly an outlier at his position and a top-15 overall player in the league, position regardless. We couldn't build around one of the best players in the league with any combination of Hurney, Rivera, Rhule, & Fitt. Couldn't find an innovative coach, couldn't find a serviceable QB. Neglecting to build around him and acting like he was hamstringing what our crappy coaches wanted to bring is arguably our biggest fail of the last 5-6 years and the one I hate the most. We had a situation with Cam phasing out and a new center of the offense actualized in CMC. Perennial OPOY contender, stuck with coaching who couldn't use him and GMs who couldn't create around him. And we ship him for mid-rounders.

The guy I wanted rejected us (Ben J) but I'd be lying if I didn't say I stomached the Reich hire and convinced myself I liked it through the staff he brought in. So then, I accepted it and got excited. Problem is that we now lost 2, arguably 3, VERY winnable games and Young looks much less ready than anticipated. It's just a sour taste when our flaws are the areas we were primed for the biggest improvement. Looking ahead, the upcoming schedule combined with circumstance has us in a bad spot that will get worse. Just be ready folks. Jefferson, then Detroit, then Miami. It could get downright ugly and Reich is obviously not going anywhere in the coming weeks. Could EASILY be looking at 0-6 going into a stretch with 3 teams that were supposedly on our same "tier": Bears, Texans and Colts. This offense needs to be non-Clausen level by that point. Honestly, sh*t will absolutely hit the fan if we're 0-6 and lose to Stroud to get 0-7.

Yup, this seems like an ideal back on track game. Regardless of W/L, we need an emphatic performance reminding everyone why he was the #1 pick. Vikes play sloppy. Let's make some sloppy joes.

Yeah we had to take a gamble and I'm happy we did. Not happy with the results thus far (or) how this HC is working out, it's looking bleak, but we had to shoot our shot at some point. I mean, and in the absolute worst case, if Bryce completely implodes and gets blown into the quantum realm, it's not like we can't take a QB in R2 next year at 33 right? lol

361 yards in one game (AD) vs. 299 in 2 (BY) And yeah I think he was right around 160 yards at the half. Would love to see Bryce get past this sprain and make something happen this weekend. We all want this to work out, really hope he gets something going. It's the Vikes. Jefferson and Addison could go bezerk, but just give us some offense please.

Have they even clarified what the issue with his ankle is? Soreness? Strain? Sprain? It makes people think of all these wild theories but the longer the vague updates continue.

Not to mention, he still isn’t a 3-Down type. There were a few big series where he needed breathers or was on the sideline for critical downs as Seattle was marching. A top-10 paid DL is a 3-down lineman. Period. Stats be damned. I’ve actually leaned into more of the “pay him” side of things but he really is not showing much different than he has his entire career so far. Except he’s got a whiny #0 and darker visor.

There are no quick fixes. We had the opportunity to add speed/playmakers in the draft and FA..then chose not to. We shouldn’t mortgage anymore unless it’s for future assets. We should be done in this dishing-out-picks phase and should be looking to collect more to make up for what we’ve lost. YGM for a 5th is about all I’ve got.