LinvilleGorge

Because he threw for 168 yards against one of the worst teams in the league. Because we've scored less than 20 points 8 times this year. Because he's in the bottom 10 in the league in most passing stat categories.

We all knew that 204 Combine weight was complete bullshit. Bro showed up and hid under a hoodie all weekend to hide the spare tire he was carrying around his waist from pigging out in the weeks leading up to it because his only purpose in being there was to step on a scale north of 200. It being bullshit confirmed when he declined to step on the scale again at his pro day after he'd trimmed back down to or close to his actual playing weight to do some drills. I don't blame Bryce for that, he was just playing the game. He just gave us permission to believe what we were dying to believe anyway. He probably is 190ish today after three years of NFL S&C and just a few more years of natural maturation. That probably means he was 180ish as a rookie.

It's the expectations of a backup. Everyone wants to blame the D or the coaches or anyone other than the QB that threw for 168 yards and a TD at a barely over 60% clip like he's a backup. When you're playing your backup, you're expecting to have a very low margin of error and needing the coaches and rest of the team to carry him. But when that's the expectations from a third year former #1 overall pick, that's just flat out admitting the guy ain't it.

I'm just kinda baffled by it. He was a #1 overall pick that we traded a king's ransom for because we were betting on him being a game changer and yet there's a decent chunk of the fanbase that wants to treat him like a mid-round pick drafted to be a likely backup. If we'd drafted Bryce in say the 4th round and he was a backup forced into action I'd be singing his praises. We would be getting pretty decent play based on the level of expectations. I'd be saying you can't move forward with this guy as a starter because of his low ceiling but as a mid-round backup QB I can't really be mad at how he's playing. This is what you expect out of a mid-round backup QB. But when you're getting mid-round backup QB play out of a third year #1 overall pick you've mortgaged the franchise for and have tried to tailor your offensive roster and play calling to support, you really need to be shifting the perspective to realizing that you it's time to move on.

The "Bryce curve" is just so built into expectations now that mediocre games are good. Because Bryce's "good" is NFL mediocre.

A "good game" for Bryce is sub-200 yards, hovering around 20 attempts, hopefully a TD and no turnovers. That's low level game manager stuff. Backup QB stuff. And that's the real problem. Our starting QB forces us to run a backup QB offense.

Yeah, I get it and I largely agree. I just realize that the NFL wants to give the refs as much leeway as possible to protect QBs. I was honestly surprised a flag didn't fly on that Bryce hit. Do I think it should be a flag? No, but I'm conditioned to expect one when a feet first QB gets contacted.

Yeah, it was dumb of Icky because the push on Bryce was light and legal but it was still a pretty ticky tack flag. Pushing and shoving happens after a lot of plays and as long as they knock it off when the refs step in it's usually play on.

Yeah, I just know it's not gonna happen. The NFL wants to maximize QB protection because owners want to protect the most expensive position on their teams. The last thing you want to see as an owner is that $60M/year player leaving the field on a cart.

Those refs were flag happy as hell. 20 total penalties for 181 yards is just crazy. 11 on us for 103 and 9 on them for 78.

This is why it's important not to cherry pick when looking at stats. The wider net you cast the more likely you are to get the best idea of the overall situation. You can tell any story you want to tell if you cherry pick hard enough.

I think it's intentional. These late half ass slides are all about trying to bait a flag out of the ref's pocket and make defenders second guess whether you're still running or giving yourself up. It's all about trying to get that extra 15.

I know the they'll never do it but honestly I'd just get rid of the slide. If you're a runner, run. Don't wanna get hit, don't run. We'll protect you as a QB in the pocket but once you scramble outside of that pocket you're just another runner and that's how we're gonna treat you.

They do this late slide poo on purpose. They're trying to bait a flag like a basketball player flopping or doing the whole "drive and flail" thing. Shough got hit harder and he did more to sell it so he got the flag. The NFL should try to address it. Allow QBs to slide to protect themselves but you can't let them flirt with the fine line of trying to get every inch they can and then slide at the last second with the defender already committed to the hit and then put the onus on the defender to avoid it.

Can't get around the reality that the Saints are giving up an average of 24ppg and we only got to 17. Have an average offensive game against them and we win. It's just hard to win games in the modern NFL when you score under 20 points. It puts a ton of pressure on your D and when you're feeling that pressure it's only natural you're probably gonna be more aggressive and more at risk of committing penalties.