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I think I gave him a B+... somehow I must've suffered severe brainfarts between voting and scrolling down to type a reply. Ha! I think he's a solid coach. I've said this before and others have pointed it out but he knows how to get a lot out of a little. The 2017 roster wasn't loaded by any means but he gets them to 9-7 and a Wild Card in his first year. We knew 2018 was destined to be the "growing pains" season and although they looked out of their element at times, they were able to get six victories and some invaluable experience for their rookie QB. I think a lot of folks assumed 2020 would be the season where they'd "arrive for real" but it looks as if they might be a year early, at this point in the season, anyway. Even though this is an entirely different organization from top to bottom, it's still difficult, as a fan, to be confident that they aren't gonna find a way to implode and start 4-1 and finish 7-9 or something. It's not as difficult as it has been in the past but those hot starts/lousy finishes in '08 and '11 still haunt us. I have a lot more confidence now than I did back then, though. He's gotten every player and coach to buy in, and if someone (player or coach) isn't buying in or isn't producing, it seems as though he can see that and make changes as needed. He's installed a culture, he's created confidence, he's created chemistry among players and coaches and he has these guys playing for one another. Yeah, surely he'll have some mishaps here and there, as every coach does, but given what he's been able to accomplish so far, I don't think there's a whole lot of room to complain. Maybe I shoulda gave him an A.

Doh! I hope it isn't too serious. I'm a bit confused on Foster... wasn't he a healthy scratch for the first few games? Something about them wanting him to develop more and keep earning it... and then somewhere along the lines he was inactive because of injury. Am I kinda right or...?

I'll give ol' Rexy-boy credit on this one. He wanted this guy here right from the start and the dude has been nothing but a class act and great player since arriving.

I don't think either of these guys makes this defense lose sleep at night. In fact, the more they play, the more confident they seem and at this point I don't think they're intimidated by anyone.

I think they fear overturning too many calls because they feel like it'll empower coaches/teams to call more challenges and eventually push for additional challenges to be added as well as more rule changes/tweaks. It seems as though they believe if they just stick with what they called, coaches will be dissuaded from throwing the red flag. Seems like they want coaches to think, "Well, they're not going to change it anyway, so why waste my time-out?" Big dumb Al Riveron has a lot to do with it as well. He's a complete schmuck. Officiating makes this game more and more difficult to enjoy every season. If they don't realize that and do something to fix it soon, it's gonna end up going down in history as an element that eventually helped killed the game. Jackwagons, all of 'em. They have too much of an impact on the game and when things come down to the wire between two teams there seems to be two schools of thought in officiating: "let 'em play" where they call virtually nothing, or they call every little thing (in some cases calling BS penalties that you know they've ignored all game). I'm in whichever group thinks the entire rulebook needs to be shredded and rewritten from the ground up. Only way to fix all their convoluted crapola.

I'm not sure why, but it still kinda baffles me that some people expect these rookies to come out of the gate as if they're All-Pro already. The college game isn't doing much to prepare OL for the pros right now. Guys barely line up with their hand in the dirt and there isn't a whole lot of scheming. Takes time to get used to the speed of the NFL game and it takes time to develop skills these guys didn't really work on in college. I think Ford will be alright. At worst he's a capable RT, at best he could be a Pro Bowl guard. He's five games into his NFL career, let's pump the brakes a little bit before we go calling him a bust or saying he was drafted too high.

Carolina is 4-2 with an undrafted backup at QB. In fact, they are 4-0 with Kyle Allen starting (5-0 going back to last season). I think it'd be Cam that's done. I think his body is just shot at this point and it's started to mess with him psychologically because he definitely doesn't seem to play with confidence or urgency when he does play.

I agree with most everyone else on Quinn. That team just doesn't look prepared to compete week in and week out. He won't be out of work long, as someone already mentioned, he'll make a good D coordinator somewhere. I think Kitchens gets the full season just to see how it all shakes out. Browns seem like they're gonna be a up and down team all season. Wouldn't be surprised if Zac Taylor is one in done down in Cincinnati. This trend of hiring anyone who was once within ten feet of Sean McVay doesn't appear to be the best strategy.

Barf @ the Jets winning. I just can't stand Gase's bug-eyed fartface. Seems like the kinda guy that'd kick in the door to a children's birthday party to tell them Santa isn't real. Friggin' turd.

They probably could stand to make things a little more balanced but I think most coaches are gonna throw it all over the field when you have a QB like Mahomes. The flipside, though, is that their run game should be able to produce pretty well when you know every defense they face is zeroed in on Mahomes and their passing attack. Kinda reminds me of the Bills in SB25. Thurm was on his way to the MVP but Jimbo wanted to keep throwing it. Sometimes teams just get it in their head that they're gonna impose their will no matter what. Doesn't always work.

But I did say it. It's right there in all its digital glory.

Methinks Mayfield has been a smidge overrated. Leads the league in turnovers yet every set of QB rankings I see has the guy rated ahead of other QBs who are playing better, JA included. I hate how these pundits cling to their pre-draft evaluations like players can't develop new/different skills in the league. Mayfield could throw six picks in a game but if he wins they'll highlight his good throws and kind of ignore the picks. Allen could go 24 for 30, 390 yards with four TDs and one pick in a victory and the pick would be the focal point. What I'm trying to say is the guys who get paid to babble about football are usually turds.

Also Zac Taylor: "He wasn't touched down!! It's a safety! Rrrreeeeeeeeemyeyesarebleeding!!!"

This one is specific to Bills fans, and is seen quite often on the ol' board here... "(Marginally effective, mostly average player becomes available). Get it done, OBD!" or... "If Beane doesn't get this guy in here then I've lost all faith in this front office!" Also... "Don't let him leave the building!" "McDermott claps too much!" "I've seen enough of Dion Dawkins at left tackle!" "If they cut Trent Murphy they can save fifty cents, no... tree-fiddy on the cap!" I've also always liked "Rumblin', bumblin', stumblin'" even though that's more of a catchphrase.

Holy pile'a crap, Batman. Those rankings are hideous. They should be ashamed of themselves. I hope someone makes them go sit in a corner for a while. Rams have dropped two straight yet they still come in at #4? And the team that just beat them, Seattle, actually drops from 10th to 12th after a victory? And Seattle has Russell Wilson playing probably the best ball of his career right now, but nah, they're eight spots lower than a team on a two-game losing streak. Titans and Steelers ahead of the Bills? I know these rankings don't really mean a whole lot, they're just something to chew on for fans during the week, but cripes... those PFF rankings are abysmal. I've always questioned their credibility and whatever credit I may have given them just got flushed down the terlet, which is exactly where their rankings need to go.

I can give one... one crap? But two? Now they're gettin' greedy.

Yeah, I was gonna say if they were going to cut him for his off-field stuff then they probably would've done that already. He definitely appears to be a prospect they see something in and wanna work with to see what he can become.

Right? Is this another dingbat thing the talking heads have come up with? The Dolphins would wipe the field with them.

Tre isn't just a zone corner. He played a lot of man in college and shut down guys like Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley. Check out some of the quotes from his scouting report: "...one of the premier mirror-and-match cornerbacks in the game. Has the feet, athleticism and instincts for prolonged coverage responsibilities and his twitch will always have him near the throw. Best suited for all forms of man coverage." "Experienced island corner with slot reps over last two seasons." "Patient in press and rarely commits prematurely." He's a really versatile DB and I'm sure that versatility was one of the main reasons he was drafted by McDermott. And I'm pretty certain he's firmly in their future plans as one of their "sign our own" type of players.

Smith struggled quite a bit against Green Bay last week. He has a tendency to run himself out of plays and get wiped out rather easily by OL. Check out @CharlesRobinson on Twitter, he had some breakdowns and video clips posted. Essentially, Smith is a big reason why Aaron Green ran all over them. I realize this article is more about coverage than run defense but I just thought Robinson had some interesting observations. He didn't trash the guy, when Smith gets his first step going in the right direction he's usually quick enough to elude blocks and make the tackle or get in the lane. He's kind of all-or-nothin' in that sense.

Could definitely be a good fit. He's that tweener-type that McDermott likes, can play safety in addition to LB.

Actually #4 in points allowed. 1. New England, 34 2. San Francisco, 57 3. Chicago, 69 4. Buffalo, 70 San Francisco has only played four games, all other teams listed have played five. Source: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2019/opp.htm

Who's saying anything about them being easy kicks? He's paid a whole crapload of money to kick a ball between two posts and on Sunday he failed miserably at that. He wasn't even close on one of them. I didn't even see the ball on that 38-yarder because he missed so bad. It was caca! He shall feel shame!

Zebrie Sanders!

Cairo Santos, he's their new MVP after all.