Bear Hands

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.

No need to oversell the “I was a CJ fan” route. I think a majority of the fanbase was, myself included. I felt the biggest want pre trade up was Stroud the entire time to the AZ pick. He’s gonna be good. He’s got the accuracy, poise, the arm. He’s got what you want at the position. Hope Bryce starts showing something when he gets back.

Neglecting getting shifty and speedy guys will haunt this team the entire season. Hell, maybe next year as well. We saw DG do the same thing along with reaching for DBs in 2016 and it ended him (well other things did but it was all downhill after SB50)

Troy Franklin it is pretty please

We're basically the 11 gen intel. And just an i5.

Sir I’m going to need you to process the way we’re processing the process of one of the best processors

This guy is good, he understands a lot of NFL concepts. Also, there's not much pre-analysis bs/he gets right to the point. Good breakdown, shows he's processing but making some rookie mistakes. Stuff to learn from. Doesn't push me overly into pushy or complacent territory, but there's a bit for him to work on.

Hubbard shows a bit more burst to the line and you can probably run stretch plays with him more effectively than Miles. Although neither are pure in the receiving department so there's a redundancy. Similar to the WR crew with certain fundamentals down but severely lacking a quick slot guy or reliable deep threat. We're missing two critical pieces most modern offenses should have: RB with receiving skills A Shifty XYZ receiver We decided to sign Miles and draft Mingo with those needs, which was in retrospect starting to seem kind of shortsighted. Guys like Tyjae Spears, Marvin Mims, Tank Dell, or Tyler Scott would have been in a good place here to make an impact.

Just crazy how quickly the wheels fell off this year. Horn is out, Brady C is done, Shaq is done, Bryce is banged up, 0-2. It's just wild. I'm not in market so it will be on my quad sunday ticket box for as long as I can stomach.

It's really about identifying what Tepper's temperature & patience was going into the season. I get the impression he's TRIED to be patient. Didn't want to look brash so didn't immediately clean house when the team was purchased. Then, once Rhule was in place, he tried to be patient and was willing to give him time. However, that backfired after it was one of those super apparent bad hires and the wheels fell off last year. Since Fitterer wasn't on Rhule's timeline, he doesn't ditch him, gives him more leverage at personnel that final season and now with a new hire. So, the new hire is off to a very bad start. The new QB is struggling and now injured. I think it could be otherwise and DT may be done trying to be patient. Maybe he's ready to be more like his ruthless self. 4-13 or worse could cause a Reich ouster. However, beyond the record, there would also need to be some riffs that develop, noticeable player morale dip, or mid-season staff changes that reveal additional fundamental issues. I think it's unlikely given the staff and Reich's character, but it could happen. It would need to be like Mularky/JAX, Tomsula/SF bad.

Fitt is slightly hitting more than missing at FA but draft is a different story... I don't like to compare drafts after the fact because it's all a crapshoot, but the Mingo pick and then aggressive trade up for DJJ (who's been inactive) is just not looking like the best strategy given the holes. I would have loved to target a trade down from 39 (I.E. PIT had 48 and 80) given who was available, but no doubt, that needs a willing trade partner. I just hate to see some draft crushes killing it right now. Tuli is crushing it for the Chargers, Torrence in BUF, Mims in Denver, Spears has looked great for TEN, Byron Young in LA.

Reich's teams historically start slow. Although, the offenses have never looked like what we've sent out, not even remotely. My gut tells me they oversold how much of the playbook they've truly deployed with Bryce combined with the fact our receivers aren't doing diddly minus some nice moments from Mingo and Thielen. Reich's playbooks have been far more nuanced and flavorful than what we've seen utilizing mesh and hi-lo concepts. Rivers knew and worked his system better than anyone in SD and IND. So that's just my gut instinct about Bryce. Combine that with the running game having no explosion, you get a rudderless offense. However, I don't think the OL is necessarily in shambles--we're not going to "ruin" Bryce. He needs the reps. So first things first--I just want to open things up more and see some sort of pulse on offense. We need a reliable speedy receiver. Even if it's Dalton out there at QB. We just don't have that. TMJ is a 4.3 guy who jogs, then Mingo & Thielen aren't providing that and we cannot rely on Chark, Shenault is not a route runner. It's such an obvious need. All of Reich's offenses have that speedster.

It went from optimistic to cautiously optimistic to full meltdown...if the losses continue, memescake factory will be far sooner than expected.