TheFunPolice

Football feels a lot easier to affect the outcome of than most other sports. You get a lot more possessions/chances in basketball. A crooked football ref at any level could call holding at a key moment and totally derail a drive. It doesn't even need to be a big moment. A holding call that kills a promising 1st quarter drive could be a major factor later in a close game. You only get so many possessions in football. A drive killing penalty here or there totally changes the game. And you can call holding almost every play. It's so subjective. Same with pass interference. The effect of any 1 call in football is so much more impactful than almost any other sport. A theoretical crooked football ref (at any level) who stops 7 points from being scored by Team A in a sport where 23-17 is a typical score output , is lowering Team A's point total by as much as 25-30%. That's like a basketball ref directly stopping a basketball team from scoring 20-30 points.

No. This is McDermott's preferred approach. Safe and steady. Limit mistakes. Low event football. Yes, sometimes (13 seconds, opener this year) that has to go out the window, but we have one of the best QBs in the league and won't lean into it.

After watching the SF MASH unit that is their defense basically shut down the same Falcons team that ran and threw all over us, I hate this scheme on defense even more. Without their star DE or LB SF shut down the same offense that had their way with us 7 days ago. Robison and London were non-factors. Penix was under pressure almost every drop back. Meanwhile, we get zero pressure and everyone is wide open. I am 100% convinced the issue is scheme and coaching, not players. There's just no way the guys we have on defense are this bad.

Just keep the game in front of you. Don't make any mistakes. Nothin cheap now! Let them get their catches. They'll make a mistake eventually, and we'll capitalize on it! On offense, play it safe, don't turn the ball over and make it easy. Everybody eats! Slow and steady! If that mantra and system doesn't fire you up, what will?

Wow Colts might be for real

Eagles had a 34-6 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl vs KC with Hurts at QB. And Siranni at HC. Enough excuses. Find a way. Throwing up your hands and saying "golly but Mahomes and Reid" is not good enough. As far as Rex Ryan goes, he got as far with Mark Sanchez as McDermott has gotten with Josh Allen.

Bengals will win the division.

Rodgers still has the arm. Fun game to watch!

Rodgers is playing well this season

Terrible punt. Your defense can barely slow them down.

This is a fun game! I expected a Steelers collapse once the Bengals got ahead

Plus once the momentum shifts there are flags on the Steelers defense every other play. It's like it's....

3-4 if they win. That's no miracle. They could win that division

When games switch like this the pass interference penalties always come

This game is over Everything is going the Bengals way

Steelers are such pretenders. They could be 15-2 and I wouldn't take them seriously. That said, go Steelers! Bengals and Ravens still play each other twice.

There are some diva WR, but the vast majority of star WR just show up and ball.

Familiarity. Same reason we signed a guy with a career ending neck injury to the practice squad last year, completely wasting a roster spot. For the record, I would absolutely let McDermott go if this team doesn't get to the Super Bowl this year.

One could conclude that McDermott doesn't like many of Beane's picks

The more I post about this and think about it, the more I am certain: McDermott is fine. This roster is not great. Beane must go. But he won't. Look for a 1st round DB who McDermott can't stand, a 2nd round DL who McDermott won't dress for games, and a 3rd round LB who McDermott won't play because he's a rookie. But these guys are one mind, right?!

McDermott is a better coach than Sirianni. And it's not even close, IMO. Yet Sirianni has been to 2 Super Bowls and won 1 with Jalen Hurts. Really he should have won both, had Hurts not had that fluke fumble. Allen is worlds better than Hurts (IMO) so what is it? It was KC both Super Bowls. Eagles roster is stacked with talent. Bills roster is stuck in the past resigning guys from 5 years ago because there is no better option. That is 100% the direct result of the GM failing to find players to replace them. Beane needs to be let go at the end of the season unless the team at least gets to the Super Bowl. He got Allen. Aside from that, any competent GM could do no worse in roster management. I bet McDermott's defenses look a lot better with an elite corner and a DE who is a problem for opposing offenses. Beane has tried and tried again and has yet to get this done. I bet McDermott's offense looks a lot better with an elite WR. This is where the GM says "here's Waddle or Olave" and the HC makes it work, because the goal is to win a Super Bowl, not get to the playoffs and be eliminated every year.

All time great QBs do not equal "drought" The problem is twofold as I see it: 1. Our defensive minded HC has a scheme that no longer works (if it ever really did). It relies on smaller, faster players who are going to get hurt more often because of the nature of having a 225 pound LB getting blocked by OL who outweigh him by 100+ pounds play after play. It relies on keeping everything in front, and eventually the offense will make a mistake. It works often against mediocre QBs, but not against most of the guys you see in the playoffs. This carries over into the overall philosophy of the team: low event football as some call it. So exciting. Keep it clean, limit mistakes, make a play when you have to. Again, many teams are sloppy, undisciplined, and will often hand you the game if you play this way, so you'll rack up wins. But it doesn't work against great teams very often. 2. The GM is not very good. He is living off of drafting Allen, which was amazing for this franchise. But his free agent signings have been so-so at best, his draft picks, especially high ones, are so bad the HC who he is supposedly one mind with doesn't want to play them, and his roster build is so bad we're bringing back a guy with a broken neck who cannot or should not even play to sign to the practice squad and waste a space for no apparent reason last year, and this year we're signing back a bunch of players we let go ostensibly because they weren't good enough. This is an admission that the GM has failed time and time again to find suitable replacements for these players. There is no other way to say it, as much as we love these players as human beings and for what they did here. I'm not even kidding: Andre Reed would have had a better chance of seeing the field and making a contribution last season than Hyde. This is no shot at Hyde, the man had a career ending injury. But why was he taking up a spot on the practice squad? This GM has to go, and if the coach was fired as well I am fine with it. But Beane is by FAR the bigger issue.

I also thought this, but then it seems like McDermott often is reluctant to play the guys Beane drafts, especially early rounders. Later round guys seem to do much better, which is odd. It makes me wonder if someone is more involved early and less involved late or something. It defies logic. IMO McDermott is going to get Allen's entire career, so the best we can hope for is a GM who does a better job at building the roster and has a little bit of independence from McD. I have major issues with McDermott's defensive scheme, but no doubt it would look better if Beane's DL or S picks were better.

I don't think he was that bad. He's not the same guy he was, but he is FAR from the biggest issue on defense. Neither of our safeties can play. Our undersized LBers are always getting hurt. Our DE's are basically nonexistent. The real issue? The defense keeps bringing back guys it let go because the GM has FAILED to replace them. Last year we actually signed a guy who shouldn't/couldn't even play to the practice squad (Hyde). That was insanely bad roster management.

Beane and McDermott have Allen's entire career here. If either one goes it's Beane and that is unlikely