fergie's ire

It's VERY easy to get him through since he's not subject to waivers. It's why, even though I agree he sucks, I think he might be coming back.

Lots of discussion about Quessenberry in the "non-discussion" cuts thread...and thought I would reply here. There seems to be a lot of concern about the lack of backup Tackles. It could be that there is someone else out there that they are hoping to pick up after cuts, but I also think Quess is a likely candidate to be re-signed once we slide someone like Shakir to IR.

Wouldn't Isabella be subject to waivers? How many years before a player is a veteran who does not need to go through the waiver process? Seems like the move in the past was to cut a vet who they plan to keep and who has agreed to re-sign 48 hours later.

He better get that worked out. I remember Shakir doing exactly the same thing last year and it seemed like it was right after he whiffed on that block that his playing time dwindled. Unlike many I think McDermott WILL play rookies, but he has a very quick hook with them when they make mistakes. Hopefully, he will see that Kincaids abilities greatly outweigh his deficits and will keep him on the field.

I think McDermott's handling of Williams is influenced by his experience with Bernard last year. I heard him saying that Bernard's head was spinning last year because there was too much for him to learn. Matches what we saw on the field. A player whose strength was supposed to be reacting and quickness was slow and a step behind. It always looked like he was thinking too much and unsure of himself. Again, sometime during OTAs, I heard McDermott mention that and mentioning that they wanted to keep things simpler for Williams. If they keep it simple by having him just focus on learning the Will, he can be a valuable backup and sub, unlike Bernard who was useless last year.

He should've taken a tip from an old Bills QB and run out of bound.

Yeah. You'd never see the Chiefs do anything like that. They started Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Looks to have the dreaded slow eyes.

I wonder if Shorter is a candidate to mysteriously fall to the ground screaming "My LEG! MY LEGGGGG!!" in the last preseason game and then be awarded the Marquez Stevenson "spend the year on IR" award. Based on Gunner's description of Basham's success it seems like he could play the Shaq role making Lawson the odd man out. Of course, it might come down to what players draw an interest from other teams. They might be able to trade Basham for something but not Shaq. Just seems that Basham still has potential upside so if he can already come close to giving us what Shaq gives us, it would make sense to stick with the younger player.

I know the Dolphins offense last year was designed to get the ball out quickly and that may have taken care of the problem, but I remember that the year before Tua was terrible at reading blitzes. I thought our defense was going to kill him and that was before he had the concussion issues. Has he gotten better? If not, and you're willing to risk jamming their receivers and blitzing, it could get really dangerous for him.

I think we largely agree. Need to stagger so you aren't paying two #1s at their peak. I guess I don't believe Gabe will ever be a REAL #1. Think he is good if he's healthy and could put up monster numbers and seem like a number 1...so that some lesser team will covet him as a number 1. Very much like Pearless Price back in the day. Hopefully they can develop Shorter or someone else to stagger as a #2 and then invest in a future #1 soon.

Yeah, I think once you pay a franchise quarterback, given what the market has been for receivers lately, the best case scenario is to draft a receiver who is a good number 2 who you can develop into a 1 and then let him walk. I was really hoping that Davis would ball out LAST year and we could've traded him as a 1 and gotten a haul....but just getting the comp pick might have to be enough.

What? You don't miss the days of "original" drafting like picking a run of the mill safety with the 10th pick of the draft or moving into the first round to pick a DT who was the third best DL on his Maryland team? Or what about having zero talent on the team and being in desperate need of constructing a legit NFL roster and so using your early 1st round pick to get a "waterbug" running back. Ahhhh, yes. Original drafting. Those were the days.

Yeah, hearing this makes me very happy because I've always felt this team plays better when they are having fun and being loose. Haven't seen as much of that end of last year and start of this year. Hoping the fun bunch is back.

I think there's evidence that Kraft is not crazy about Belichick and he probably blames him for losing the great love of his life: Tommy. So, I think he could be on the hot seat and has a shorter leash than expected for a coach with his record. https://nypost.com/2021/09/29/robert-kraft-called-bill-belichick-the-biggest-f-king-a-hole-in-my-life/

Think it rhymes with Byron. .....or Myron.

Yep. Now lets hope both jobs go the same way.

By that you mean that he had a track record of Aaron Rodgers liking him and that hiring Hackett might lure him? I think that is all the track record they looked at. It couldn't have been his track record at Jacksonville and Buffalo.

Exactly. Dane and Benford have outperformed their perceived ability which probably says a lot about their work ethic. Do you want to keep them engaged and reward them by giving them a start against Cincinnati or KC? Instead, give them the start in training camp to make it clear they are valued even if you don't want to have to rely on either as CB1 which we did, at times, last year.

Maybe..... However, it seems to me that McDermott likes to use the depth chart as a motivational tool early in camp. I remember Phillips getting all the 1st team reps in the first half of camp the year we drafted Oliver. McDermott seed to wanted to A) congratulate Phillips on the good work he had done for the team the year before (particularly since he felt unloved in Miami) and B) Send a message to Ed that he needed to work and earn his position even as a top 10 pick. On offense, guys like Kincaid need to get in there to learn scheme and timing, but, particularly on defense, I think McDermott likes to use these positions as carrots and sticks and doesn't necessarily relate to the players' talent level or eventual place on the depth chart.

A big problem in NFL is sample size. There actually aren't a huge number of coaches who have gone to the super bowl. Also, what to make of a coach like Andy Reid? On the thread about preferred coaches, I think he was number one. Okay, so he made it within 7 years (his sixth year). So I guess that makes him a good coach who can make the Super Bowl. But after that he went 15 (yes, 15) years before reaching another one. Is he still a good coach who demonstrates he can reach the Super Bowl because he got to one early? Or is he a coach who can't make because of all those years in the middle? Would it have been significant if the 15 years were in the beginning rather than the middle? I'm just not sure.

Exactly. It is a great story to create when there is no news because the wording alone creates the story. EVERYONE can be traded for the right circumstances. If Kansas City could cobble together a couple of extra first round picks for next year's draft and were to offer us Patrick Mahomes, those 3 first round picks plus their first rounder for the next five years, would we take that for Josh Allen? I would think so. So, Josh Allen is available for trade given the right circumstances. I once heard a former GM being asked about a similar story and he said any decent GM is always willing to listen to offers for ANY player. It would just take an awful lot (more than would be practical) for some players...but, any reporter can claim that they are willing to listen to offers.

Agreed. Here's hoping with the retooled line and a healed elbow, we see it.

Yeah, it irritates me when posters write "Josh has NEVER taken the short stuff." He has. It's been sporadic, which is annoying but it's been there. Most consistently was the end of the 21 season and start of last year. Against NE, KC, LA (prompting Collinsworth to comment that he was Brady-esque), Miami (prompting half our offense to vomit from heat exhaustion because we had the ball so long), etc. Then, I don't know what happened. I remember speculation that the Pitt game spoiled him and Josh started looking for 98 yard bombs. There was the injury...and as mentioned above I do think there was a lack of trust with his receivers. I don't think Knox (also a good short to intermediate target in 21) was ever quite right after the loss of his brother. And, maybe it was scheme from Dorsey. It was probably a combination of all those things and I just hope they remember how effective Josh's short game can be and it gets back on track.

Yes, that too....and having to deal with a blizzard...and a mass shooting in town before the year. There were just so many things that I think had a cumulative effect as the year wore on and players talked about having nothing left by the time the playoffs came around. I just hope they have a better year this year and can re-find that joy. Not only do they seem to play better, but I really enjoy that fun loving team.