BlackPanther22

Then if he bets on himself and has a career year, the asking price only goes up and people would complain that we didn’t get the deal done earlier.

Yeesh, reading through some of the stuff here, I see why I’ve tried to avoid being on here during this whole contract news cycle. A lot of unrealistic views on contracts and what not. No matter what we pay Burns now whether it’s $25 or $28M, the cap increases every year so the value of the contract looks a lot better over time. Whatever they pay him won’t “cripple” the team because he’s not getting Bosa money. And he’ll get paid based on the market + production, not just production.

Not trying to come across as rude or anything but.....are we sure that we can trust your info? I remember during draft season you reporting that the team was unimpressed with the rookie QB's at the combine and that they really wanted Carr. Also that Stroud was definitely gonna be the pick even when the Bryce rumors were picking up. You could be right here, but idk im weary. For my money The Crown and the Claw is the most accurate "leaker" on this board. Again, not trying to be rude but yeah. Either way though, I think a deal will get done. Just a matter of when. I'd like to have Burns out there week 1 though for sure.

I think it’s really weird how 3 preseason games has completely flipped how people think of a guy who was getting praised for the majority of last season. Granted, I wasn’t on this board until this off-season so this might be a normal thing on here or maybe he was questioned more on this board but…..yeah. The way perspectives have flipped on players and just the overreactions to stuff in general these past few weeks have been really weird to watch.

I think that’s a fair thing to question, I just think he’s way too talented to not figure it out. I feel like towards the end of the season we’ll be speaking of him glowingly.

People will look at the sack and say “OMG ICKEY AGAIN?!?!?!” But honestly I think that was a coverage sack and that Bryce probably could’ve gotten that ball thrown away a little sooner. From what I saw today I thought Ickey genuinely played well for the majority of the time he was out there. Yeah, the sack happened however I think that was definitely more of a coverage sack than an indictment on Ickey. On to the regular season lol.

Ickey will be fine, he’s super young and showed a lot of promise last season. He’ll be our LT for years to come. Right now he just has to get out of his own head and play ball. He seems like a smart guy who works hard so as long as he settles in here soon I have no long term worries for him.

Jesus Christ some of y’all are ridiculous lmao I like AR plenty but getting riled up over preseason highlights when the Eagles played none of their starters is ridiculous. AR has a super high ceiling but so does Bryce IMO. Also, let Cam go. I love him and appreciate all he did for this team but the sooner y’all stop chasing after Cam v2, the better.

https://x.com/duncondemand/status/1693670856314982556?s=46&t=yrBlFSgSq03Cj7OTIrow0Q Good insight from Dunc. Didn’t recognize that he didn’t even start on Friday, so something clearly shifted. Granted, we’ve been told a million times not to put stock into that first “unofficial” depth chart because it wasn’t put together by the staff, so being surprised we cut a “starter” may be short sighted.

This is a little surprising but something I’d look into is the usage of a true NT in Evero’s scheme and seeing if that has anything to do with this. They’ve cut 3 guys who would probably fill that traditional mold in Roy, McCall and the Penisini guy. It’s possible that they won’t be running a lot of “traditional” 3-4 fronts which negates the need for a true NT. Idk though, McCall showed flashes here and there but it’s a new staff, stuff like this happens.

I think we might have 2 UDFA O-linemen make the 53, especially if Cam Erving is out for an extended period of time (even though he shouldn’t make the team regardless). Nash Jensen is the name we hear the most but an under the radar guy who held more than his own with the second team offense at LT last game was NC A&T rookie Ricky Lee. Just going back and watching some of the game, I thought he was pretty solid in pass pro and held up in the run game. He looked a lot better than Jordan and Erving have. I could see them trying to stash him on the PS but he’s put out good tape this preseason so I’m not so sure he wouldn’t get picked up if they risked that.

Ickey is definitely over thinking everything right now. Campen or somebody has to sit him down and get him to relax and to get back to the level he was playing at the latter portion of last season. I'd think getting reps against Burns every day would help against the speed rush but yeah, I hope whatever he has going on gets worked out by week 1. I believe Ickey can still be a dominant tackle, he just has to get out of his own head.

I think the point of the poster you quoted though is that they aren't trying to necessarily call plays for the sake of finding rhythm in preseason because it's much more about finding what works and what doesn't. Fwiw, I do agree the offense has looked smoother with TB calling the plays to this point. But again, it's preseason, it's much lower stakes now than it will be when the real games start. Also consider this as well, Thomas probably has a bit of a better grasp right now because he's been calling plays throughout training camp as well so that Frank can oversee the entire operation vs just zeroing in on the offense. I'd like to see Thomas become the full time play caller at some point just because I really like the guy (he should've gotten a HC interview here IMO) but for now, Im cool with Reich doing his thing because as I've mentioned before in here, he's called top half of the league (and even top 10) offenses before.

I'll say for a lot of the crap the DJ Johnson pick got (and process wise, I get it) I have been pleasantly surprised by him. He's been pretty stout in the run game from what I've seen and I've seen some flashes in pash rush or just being in the right spot at least. He at least seems to be a guy who is catching on quickly. I'm excited for Mingo and even if it's not immediately, I'd love to see him become the Alpha in the WR room. He has the right physical traits to do so. And honestly the only other non-Bryce rookie I'm excited about is Zavala. I was super happy to hear that he held his own for the most part playing out of position technically, after missing the bulk of camp. I genuinely think he's the future at LG, maybe as soon as next year if not earlier. That's not a slight to Brady as much as it is what I think Zavala can be.

Yeah from what I've read about Evero's scheme it's a lot of Cover 3 with split safeties and late rotation. As far as pressure, I'm super curious to see how they handle that in the regular season because as you alluded to; with the Broncos last year when they traded Chubb to Miami they blitzed a lot. I believe Evero led the league in sim-pressures as well. I believe he has more toys here in the EDGE department to play with so Im super curious to see how he deploys everybody week 1 and beyond. I don't know if I expect a lot of blitzes as much as I expect those sim-pressures to continue with him probably consistently rushing 4-5 guys but it not being the same guys every time. Coverage wise, the only thing I really want to see is for them to allow Horn to shadow the best receiver on the other team and to play their match up's better. I'm over seeing DJax on 6'3 guys who can bully him lol

Well…..I don’t agree that Bryce is a game manager because there’s two years of film that prove otherwise. He very much elevated Bama the past 2 years with his play, with stellar efforts and comeback/clutch wins. Game managers don’t do that. But did people place lofty expectations on him for year 1? Sure, I can agree there. He isn’t gonna be Bama Bryce from day 1. This doesn’t have to be a Bryce v Cam thing because I mean if you want to do that, it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows for Cam either and Bryce has yet to play a regular season snap. Let’s relax a lil bit lol

The O-line protection issues are something I think people could legitimately point to as an issue that could translate to the regular season games. They absolutely have to get that cleaned up and I’d like to be optimistic and believe they will. The play calling and stuff however, idk man. They’ve told us over and over that they aren’t running the stuff we’ll see in season. Frank has said it, Thomas has said it, and Bryce admitted it in the pressers last night. Now if the plays/play calls look similar week one then hey, we can have a discussion. But right now when they aren’t game planning to beat certain looks and coverages, idk if I can get too worked up about it.

Is this the most volatile the preseason has ever been on this fan bases outlook of a season? Lol, the reactions have been all over the place. I get that it’s not great right now but preseason isn’t the end all be all of what’ll go down in the regular season.

Horn over Surtain, sure even though I still think Jaycee has top 10 corner potential. Neal was worse than Ickey though last year and Pickett hasn’t shown anything to suggest they should’ve taken him over Ickey last year. I think Fitt has flaws for sure in that he has to hit on the later rounds more often but idk. I don’t think top end talent is the issue here as much as it is finding quality depth guys, which is a league wide issue in a lot of ways. I think Fitt’s leash is getting shorter but I’m not calling for his job over preseason.

I agree that Thomas seems to have a better grasp/flow of the offense right now as a play caller and honestly, I’d like to see him get to call a half with the first team Offense to see what it looks like. And I mean I think Frank does have to eventually do what’s in the best interest of the team, if that means letting TB call the plays to get the offense going. However, and like y’all can correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Frank Reich have top half of the league offenses 3 of the 4 years he was in Indy? I’m willing to see what his playcalling looks like when it’s not “vanilla” just to be certain. If it’s one thing I do think we should brace for it’s that one of the most common criticisms of FR was that his teams start slow. One article I read said Frank was one of the best “advanced scouters” in the league which is apparently why they believed his teams start slow and get better as the season goes on, because they have more tape to pull from later. So that might be more of a “concern” to the fan base imo.

Yeaaaahh I don’t think this fair at all. Ickey came along in pass pro as the season progressed last year and the run/pass splits weren’t as lopsided for the team as you seem to suggest. The team attempted to pass 457 time and attempted to run 483, so it’s not like his growth in pass pro can be downplayed by “lack of a passing game” last season. And again, we don’t know *what* this offense is yet to even make bold declarations that our second year LT doesn’t “fit”. The only thing we know about this offense from what the coaches have said is that they will run the ball a lot and use shifts and motions, that’s it. I understand he hasn’t been great the first two preseason games but my God some of y’all gotta chill lmao.

I get having concerns for sure because some things don’t look great. However, I can’t understand writing the team off in games where back ups/maybe practice squad guys play 85% of the game. Even if it’s not fun right now for you guys we still won’t really know till week 1. I will say though, I do like the rhythm of the offense with Thomas as the playcaller better so far. That dynamic will be interesting when the season rolls around because there was a point in time where Frank Reich was considered one of the better playcalling HC’s in the league. But yeah, overall I see things that need to be cleaned up but that’s what preseason is for and I know folks may not like to hear that but it’s the truth. Now if they come out flat week 1 vs Atlanta then yeah let’s have a conversation, until then, it is what it is.

Based on Frank’s comments today, even though he might not say it outright, I kinda feel like the RG spot is a 2 man race between Zavala and Jensen seeing as the other choices stunk it up Saturday. I think as the drafted player Zavala will get the biggest opportunity to impress but long term I think his future is on the left side. Jensen is the real wildcard because I swear every reporter who covers the team has hyped him up at some point this offseason/training camp. It’d be a cool story if a UDFA came in and won a starting job. Ultimately I just want the best guy to win the job, we gotta keep Bryce upright.

Yeah honestly, the only thing I’m “concerned” about is how they end up settling the RG situation. Everything else is a wash imo. And while it is embarrassing to lay an egg in general, I really can tell they went out there with the intention of being as vanilla as possible. For 1. Offensively, there was no pre snap motion at all. Anybody who’s listened to Frank and Thomas talk or even seen any amount of training camp clips knows that motion is a big part of the offense. They didn’t show motion at all yesterday. It was legit just line up and go. So I don’t expect that to carry over. 2. The defense was playing basic coverages/pressure schemes yesterday too. Correct me if I’m wrong but I didn’t see any of the Evero defenses staples last night, those being sim pressures, exotic coverage looks, stunts, etc. Just trying to put perspective out there and why I do actually believe what Frank said about them intentionally being generic. I think as fans we have a right to be disappointed in laying a goose egg BUT there’s a line between being disappointed and acting like the first game of preseason is the end all be all. The main thing to be concerned about IMO is the iOL play, but like offense/defense scheme stuff is way to early to be panicking about.

Thought Bryce did well, made good decisions and just like in college he got back up after he was hit. Ideally, you'd like to see the O-line block for him better going forward but I agree that he passed the eye test. It's all about building now.