The Athletic FS - Bryce Conversation

[Tbe]

1 hour ago, jayboogieman said:

That remains to be seen and it's too early to tell for me.

We don't know how well the line will play, especially without a true starting caliber center on the roster. Will Icky be better at pass pro? Does Moton start falling off? Do the two guards play up to their contracts?

The receiver room looks better on paper, but there's questions there. AT is a year older and slower. DJ is evidently inconsistent and has drop issues. Will Mingo be better? Will TMJ finally develop? Will XL contribute well as a rookie?

Will Chuba keep playing well? Will whoever backs him up play decently? Does Brooks heal and contribute as a rookie?

TE group? Uh... yeah. Still one of the worst TE groups, if not the worst, in the NFL. Hopefully Tremble steps up and Sanders plays well as a rookie. Not holding my breath though.

Will Young take a step and show more of what he did in college that made him the #1 pick? Or has he been Carr'd?

Then there's DC himself. Can he make adjustments all game long? Can he draw up innovative and good plays? Will he play the best players and not just the vets or his guys? Will he be more than a good public speaker or will he end up another Rhule?

All this said, I do hope it's a better situation and not a bad one anymore.

Yup, new guards are great but it doesn’t matter if Icky is still a turnstile.

If one of those new guards goes down we are right back where we were last year. 

[RJK]

1 hour ago, ForJimmy said:

He could be good, but wait and see. Arm strength “better than Tua.” Around here that’s been labeled as “cope.” 

I’m also not buying that. Tua is no gunslinger but i’m willing to bet he has a stronger arm than Bryce.

[*FreeFua*]

1 hour ago, Castavar said:

I just don't see that "IT" factor the was supposed to be the main reason we took him over Stroud. With Cam, you knew right from the jump in that Cincinnati preseason game that he was special (and then he comes out and smokes ARI's defense).

Our only hope is that we surround him with enough talent and a great system that he can become a system QB like Tua or Brees. If we can create a deadly dink and dunk offense like the Saints with Brees or the Brady years with the Pats, then we might have a lil something.

Your QB needs at least one special physical trait

Cam had legs and powerful arm

Stroud has his arm

Bryce doesn’t have anything. His brain doesn’t count when he doesn’t have the physical traits to take advantage of this “super brain”

It’s been so damn long since we’ve had a real QB that the bar for some of these training camp throws has been set so low. 

As far as system QB’s go I think Tua is holding that Dolphins team back. His numbers look great but he’s a product of that system. Tua is another one that doesn’t have any special physical traits and when push comes to shove the Dolphins always come up short 

[jayboogieman]

15 minutes ago, Tbe said:

if Icky is still a turnstile

Yeah. This and the lack of a true starting center are my biggest fears with the Oline.

[Bear Hands]

1 hour ago, jayboogieman said:

That remains to be seen and it's too early to tell for me.

We don't know how well the line will play, especially without a true starting caliber center on the roster. Will Icky be better at pass pro? Does Moton start falling off? Do the two guards play up to their contracts?

The receiver room looks better on paper, but there's questions there. AT is a year older and slower. DJ is evidently inconsistent and has drop issues. Will Mingo be better? Will TMJ finally develop? Will XL contribute well as a rookie?

Will Chuba keep playing well? Will whoever backs him up play decently? Does Brooks heal and contribute as a rookie?

TE group? Uh... yeah. Still one of the worst TE groups, if not the worst, in the NFL. Hopefully Tremble steps up and Sanders plays well as a rookie. Not holding my breath though.

Will Young take a step and show more of what he did in college that made him the #1 pick? Or has he been Carr'd?

Then there's DC himself. Can he make adjustments all game long? Can he draw up innovative and good plays? Will he play the best players and not just the vets or his guys? Will he be more than a good public speaker or will he end up another Rhule?

All this said, I do hope it's a better situation and not a bad one anymore.

Yeah, I will say, there's a lot of assumptions being made about what Canales can do for a QB.  I think he's got the HC gene and can make this work, but there's a lot of brushstrokes being made over his career.  And I'm curious to how much of it is overall team/environment vs. a specific coach.

I.E. - In Seattle, it was an established Carrol system, strong running game, Russell Wilson in his prime, plus-starter WR talent (Baldwin, Lockett, DK), then Geno was there resurrected with an established passing game (and they had two rookies perform super well on the OL)

In TB, I mean, Baker had Evans and Godwin.  A terrible OL situation with injuries and poor performance.  That offense didn't really have it going or an identity until midway through the season.  And even then, it was at best above average.  He was throwing a ton of concepts out there until he found the stuff that worked with both those receivers and Baker. So he did a solid job, but it took a minute.

Our adds look good on paper: 

RB: Brooks*

WR: Diontae, XL

TE: Sanders

OL: Hunt, Lewis, Yosh

Those should all realistically be upgrades, but it all needs to mesh to work effectively.  We definitely have more firepower, but it needs to translate. 

One thing is for sure: We're going to face 3 very good defenses early vs. the Saints, Raiders and the Bears.  It will be telling, rather quickly, if this is a situation with potential or not.  

Sept 22, this fresh OL is facing Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins, Koonce, & Tyree Wilson.  That's the early season matchup I'm quite interested in.  The Raiders offense doesn't scare anyone so it's a game people could see as an early win, but it will honestly be a major test for this offense.    

[Bear Hands]

2 hours ago, Castavar said:

I just don't see that "IT" factor the was supposed to be the main reason we took him over Stroud. With Cam, you knew right from the jump in that Cincinnati preseason game that he was special (and then he comes out and smokes ARI's defense).

Our only hope is that we surround him with enough talent and a great system that he can become a system QB like Tua or Brees. If we can create a deadly dink and dunk offense like the Saints with Brees or the Brady years with the Pats, then we might have a lil something.

I haven't seen it either at this level but the patience in me tells me to give him the start of the season to check it out in a new environment.  Gotta see what he looks like a bit longer given the investment, but my leash isn't long (although my leash doesn't matter lol)

[Ghostofdelhomme]

26 minutes ago, jayboogieman said:

Yeah. This and the lack of a true starting center are my biggest fears with the Oline.

He can adjust to one weak spot as opposed to last year when a free man would come from anywhere

[strato]

I mean, on paper of course, the running game should be there if they can keep 8 and 9 people out of the box. That is the assignment. Make an offense that the defense can’t cheat like hell on. 

[jayboogieman]

45 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

Yeah, I will say, there's a lot of assumptions being made about what Canales can do for a QB.  I think he's got the HC gene and can make this work, but there's a lot of brushstrokes being made over his career.  And I'm curious to how much of it is overall team/environment vs. a specific coach.

I.E. - In Seattle, it was an established Carrol system, strong running game, Russell Wilson in his prime, plus-starter WR talent (Baldwin, Lockett, DK), then Geno was there resurrected with an established passing game (and they had two rookies perform super well on the OL)

In TB, I mean, Baker had Evans and Godwin.  A terrible OL situation with injuries and poor performance.  That offense didn't really have it going or an identity until midway through the season.  And even then, it was at best above average.  He was throwing a ton of concepts out there until he found the stuff that worked with both those receivers and Baker. So he did a solid job, but it took a minute.

Our adds look good on paper: 

RB: Brooks*

WR: Diontae, XL

TE: Sanders

OL: Hunt, Lewis, Yosh

Those should all realistically be upgrades, but it all needs to mesh to work effectively.  We definitely have more firepower, but it needs to translate. 

One thing is for sure: We're going to face 3 very good defenses early vs. the Saints, Raiders and the Bears.  It will be telling, rather quickly, if this is a situation with potential or not.  

Sept 22, this fresh OL is facing Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins, Koonce, & Tyree Wilson.  That's the early season matchup I'm quite interested in.  The Raiders offense doesn't scare anyone so it's a game people could see as an early win, but it will honestly be a major test for this offense.    

They're going to have to win a few meaningful regular season games before I'm willing to believe things are starting to get on the right path. Way too many losing seasons since the last SB run for me to just blindly trust the team again, especially since Tepper took over.

[fanpanther]

3 hours ago, Wundrbread33 said:

It’s funny: if you talk about Bryce like this on Reddit, they treat you like you are saying the assassination attempt on Trump actually happened. 

I know this reply doesnt really fall under this but its crazy i know 10plus people personally that believe Trump hired an expert marskman to shoot his ear at 130plus yards.  The 2 to 4 inch life or death grouping the rifle he used would have at that distance doesnt register with them at all. Lol

[ForJimmy]

1 hour ago, RJK said:

I’m also not buying that. Tua is no gunslinger but i’m willing to bet he has a stronger arm than Bryce.

Maybe. I remember Tua had a weak arm until get got WRs like Hill and Waddle in McDaniels system. Now he was in the top 5 statistically for deep passes. 

[Basbear]

3 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

But, but, but Drew Brees 

As much as I hate it, Sean Payton is the best play caller for periods during the Brees era. Plus he's one hell of designer too. Unless Reid got Brees, I don't see the success. 

[strato]

1 hour ago, fanpanther said:

I know this reply doesnt really fall under this but its crazy i know 10plus people personally that believe Trump hired an expert marskman to shoot his ear at 130plus yards.  The 2 to 4 inch life or death grouping the rifle he used would have at that distance doesnt register with them at all. Lol

Yeah, and never mind the firefighter that died or the other wounded.

Edited July 31 by strato

[strato]

1 hour ago, jayboogieman said:

They're going to have to win a few meaningful regular season games before I'm willing to believe things are starting to get on the right path. Way too many losing seasons since the last SB run for me to just blindly trust the team again, especially since Tepper took over.

I do think they could have hired the right guy going off of what there is to see so far.

Everyone is green sometime and it is a journey of correcting mistakes for the most part, for a while until you get comfortable.

I’m simply not bitching about him this year because maybe he was hired pretty green. Like, he has ascended the ladder so fast after his years of being on the lower rungs, I expect a learning curve. 

but I think he is up to it. 2025 will be a closer look at his job performance.

Edited July 31 by strato