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I never wish injury on any player, but I get where people are coming from with Brady. My dream scenario is this: KC beats them soundly and then this supposedly massive east coast winter storm hits and delays the Patriots flight back to Boston so they have to sit in KC and stew with their loss for an extra day or two.

I miss Woods. He's shown for the last two seasons what he's really capable of, caught 86 passes for 1200+ yards and 6 TDs this season. He did have some injury issues during his time in Buffalo, in fact, this season is the first season in which he hasn't missed any games. In Buffalo, he ended up on teams that were run first. He was a good team guy though, he's a solid blocker in the run game. One of my favorite plays of his was when he threw a block on a DB who crashed into another DB behind him, knocking both out of the play as Tyrod ran in the game winning TD against the Titans in... 2015, I think? Yeah, good stuff, good player. And I agree on CJ. I don't think they were as creative as they needed to be with him. He had that breakout season in 2012 but that was it. Never was really able to keep it up, bounced around the league and last played with KC in 2017.

That's his background. He helped Peyton Manning resurrect his career in Denver. That put him on the map and eventually lead to head coaching jobs.

Part of the reason those OLs looked good was because Fitz was pretty good at getting rid of the ball quickly. I'm sure speeding up the snap to throw time will be a big focus for Josh and the coaching staff this season.

The guy helped the Colts OL hold to only 18 sacks this past season, fewest in the league. I'm fine with that.

He looks friggin' nuts. I think he's trying to look "intense/serious" or something but maybe he should've practiced in a mirror because he looks like the kinda guy who lures you into his van with candy and Nintendo and then turns you into a lampshade. He might be a good coordinator, he's probably a really good QB coach, but the Dolphins under his leadership were one of the softest teams in the league. There seemed to be no sense of unity or brotherhood among any of the rosters he coached. Those teams would get down by a couple scores and that was it, everyone checked out. I've heard that from day one when he went to Miami there was constant discord in the locker room and he could never get a handle on things. I feel like the Jets rolled with him because of what he might be able to do with Darnold. But if he can't successfully lead the entire team it'll never matter.

Everyone overpays in free agency, Buffalo is no exception. In fact they probably have to bump up their offers a bit more than others because Buffalo can be a tough draw for free agents. If you watch the All-22 you see the Lotulelei is doing exactly what they're paying him to do despite not showing up much on the stat sheet. And it's not his fault he's playing 49% of the snaps. McDermott prefers to rotate guys on the DL and that's fine.

Man, lot of questions on Wentz's ability. Maybe people forget that the kid was well on his way to winning league MVP in 2017 before he got hurt. Lot of Eagles fans feel like he rushed himself back from injury and played at much less than 100% for 2018 and it cost him as he got injured again. Wentz is definitely the better all-around athlete. I also think he's ahead of Foles in terms of reading defenses and checking in and out of the right plays. While Foles does see the field pretty well and he can get the ball out quick, a lot of the stuff they call for Foles involves pre-determined and/or half-field reads. He's limited in the sense that once defenses figure out to stop him, his coaches don't really have a whole lot of flexibility in changing the play-calls and asking Foles to do things outside his comfort zone. Foles has a good skill set but he's reached his peak. It's why he's never been able to completely hold down a full-time starting gig. Wentz is able to adjust a lot better than Foles. Wentz should be 100% next year and will probably make Philly fans forget about Foles.

Are you seriously questioning the immense coaching genius that is Nate Hackett?!

I hope Rodgers likes handing the ball off 74 times a game.

I'd say their comparison is pretty far away from "indisputable facts." These turds are paid to come up with controversial talking points in order to drum up interest and get people involved in calling in and discussing things with them. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't believe their own BS half the time. And I dunno how many times it has to be said but anyone that thinks Mahomes would've lit it up in Buffalo (or anywhere else) like he has in KC then you're delusional. He has an outrageous supporting cast and a very good OL plus a coach that's been known as "the QB whisperer" for years. He fell into a perfect situation and he's excelling, good for him. Other teams passed on him as well. There was a lot of hesitation from most who scouted this guy that they didn't think his style of play would translate well to the NFL. It's not like he was some perfect, can't-miss prospect, there were plenty of questions on him coming out of Texas Tech. Another thing beyond that, so many people think the only way to win in the NFL right now is to have a QB who throws for 450 yards and 5 TDs a game, yet here we are in the playoffs where defense makes the difference. The scores are 20-14, 21-7, 24-22, 16-15, etc. Yeah, the Patriots, Chiefs and Rams scored at least 30 in their games this weekend but that's more like the exception than the standard. Every year there are a handful of teams that light up the scoreboard while every other team averages between 14 and 26 points a game. This idea that no team can succeed without a quarterback that puts up Madden-type numbers every season just isn't the case.

The drawback with Foles and the simplified play-calling is that defenses catch up with that pretty quick and given Foles' limitations, they don't have a whole lot of flexibility to switch up the play-calls. I think this is why he's always fizzled out when he's a full-time starter. With Wentz, they have more flexibility so once defenses catch onto what they're doing, Pederson has the ability to switch things up because Wentz can handle it better than Foles. Overall you just gotta scheme to the strengths of your players. Can't be like Rex where you force the scheme onto players who aren't necessarily suited for it. That's an old school way of doing things and I think it's fading out of the league at this point. Coaches are aware that they need to design plays based off what their players do best. You do that first and then you gradually expand the playbook to things that the player has to improve upon in order to be a complete player. Coaches also need to recognize when it's time to throw more at them and when it's time to scale it back some. I think Daboll did alright with Josh this year and without draft prep this off-season, the kid should have plenty of time to get more experienced on his own, during OTAs, minicamp, training camp, etc.

The fact that Clay was a healthy scratch for Week 16 (I think) tells me they plan on moving on from him. He had chronic injury history with his knees before even signing here, I think that's probably caught up with him, doesn't seem to be able to separate anymore. McCoy's rough year can be put on the OL somewhat but there were other times where he should've hit the hole and taken the four or five yards that were there. He was really pressing to make a play just about every time he had the ball. He may have to switch up his running style a little bit if he wants to keep playing because, to me anyway, he's lost maybe half a step. He can still cut and juke but he did a little too much of that and it doesn't bail him out like it used to. Defenders were on him quickly. The fact that guys like Ivory, Murphy and even Ford had more success with a straight north-south style makes you wonder if that type of running style is better suited for the offense this team wants to run. I still think McCoy can be effective in a specific role, get him the ball maybe 12-15 times a game, both on handoffs and catching it out of the backfield. Just design some stuff for him where they can get him in space and let him do his thing. I'd say running back is on their list of needs. They need to get a little younger there and I wouldn't be surprised to see RBBC this season.

I was also perplexed when he was given the Broncos job after only what, like one or two years as Miami's DC, and their defense wasn't anything to write home about. But around that time I do recall reading that he's well respected as a leader and as someone who has a natural ability to connect with his players. I'd assume that's what keeps getting him good jobs in the league.

I hope Lamar Jackson enjoys going 12 of 19 for 143 yards every game. Guy can plan the run big time but his passing schemes are really simple and predictable.

This was my thought. In the years he coached Miami, I don't think I've seen an entire team check out so quickly once things got tough. Seems to be no sense of team and brotherhood. They'd be down 10 points and it was like, "Eh, screw it."

In 2015, Reich had only one season under his belt as an offensive coordinator. Before that, he had been an offensive assistant, QB coach and WR coach from 2008-2011, all with Indianapolis. Spent 2012 as Arizona's WR coach, became the Chargers QB coach for 2013 and then became the OC for 2014 & 2015. He did interview here in 2015, IIRC. Interviewed with a couple other teams as well (I wanna say the Chargers interviewed him) but at that time he didn't have a lot of experience in primary coaching jobs (HC, OC, DC, ST) and that's why teams passed on him. I still would really like to know just what Rex said/did to land the HC job here. I know the most commonly accepted explanation is that it was Brandon who pushed for it while it was said that Whaley was ready to offer the job to Hue Jackson. Either way, I'm pretty pleased with the job McDermott has done so far. Hopefully he continues to trend upwards. I definitely feel like they've positioned themselves to obtain that long-term success they've talked about since day one.

I really thought he chose to step away because of health concerns. I don't recall hearing about any friction in Arizona. And I never heard anything about him and the Cleveland job but it's been mentioned by numerous people so obviously there's merit to it. I really thought he had hung it up for good but I guess not.

This is exactly what I was going to post. I thought he stepped away due to heart problems and needed to get away from the long hours. Although, he is one of those coaches that prioritizes family over work. Saw him on that Amazon show, All or Nothing (I think) and he said if he ever sees any of his assistant coaches sleeping in their offices, he'll kick them out and tell them to go home. Although I'm pleased with Allen's development so far, what I wouldn't give to have Arians come in and be the QB/assistant HC.

Holy crap did he ever. I know he was on the refs radar for a couple of seasons given his track record of committing a few personal foul penalties per season and always jawing but over the last two seasons he hasn't had any scuffles at all. You'd think he'd get a call here and there.

As usual my man, you know what's up. Would any of us mind if they added a "true #1" WR? No, but the fact is is that you can win without one. I do think it's important they find some more pass-catchers this year, whether that's WRs or TEs but I don't see them going out of their way to try and land a big name receiver.

I said at the very beginning that one of these prospects could turn out to be a big time receiver, but as of right now the wide receivers in this draft aren't in the same class as guys that often come to mind when you think of a #1 receiver. And my point on Daboll was that he's going to carry over some of the things he learned in New England and one of the things he learned there was that you don't need a premiere wide receiver to win. Julio Jones, Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown, Mike Evans... all those dudes are sitting on the couch. The whole idea is that a "true #1 WR" doesn't make or break a team.

I believe Dennison was always a stop-gap. They knew they were tearing it down after 2017 so after their first few targets went elsewhere, I think they figured, "Let's just get an experienced guy in here for this season and next season we'll look to find the guy we'll roll with for the foreseeable future."

Each year as the draft rolls around these prospects have their skill sets picked apart. Case in point with this Snell kid, I keep seeing, "Kid doesn't catch out of the backfield, pass!" And I always find myself thinking, "Maybe he didn't do it a lot in college but it's not like they can't coach him up and help him develop that skill." Sometimes it feels like people view a prospect as they are in college and that's it. Scouting prospects is partially about what they've accomplished now but it's more about how they can translate to the pro level. If there are pro-level traits in a player, he'll be found by someone out there, and they'll bring him in and coach him up wherever he needs work.

I think I've mentioned this in some other threads but it all gets lost in the shuffle. Seems almost every other day we have new threads about how badly the Bills need a number one wide receiver. I'm not saying I disagree, they certainly need some playmakers added to the receiver room, however... I wouldn't hold my breath that they acquire a big-time pass catcher. There are a few reasons, mostly everyone already knows the first two: there's not much in free agency and while there are a handful of receivers in the draft who *could* develop into a number one guy, there aren't any prospects that are ready to assume that role right from the start. A trade can always happen but I doubt Beane is willing to give up too much at this point, especially after he got the short end of the stick on the KB deal. But the other reason, probably the most important reason we won't see them add a guy like that is because Brian Daboll is their OC. That's not a negative comment, by the way. Daboll spent a long time in New England where Tom Brady only had a "true WR1" like, once, and that was Randy Moss. Other than that, Brady has been throwing to an assorted collection of receivers, backs and tight ends for his entire career. They always have a stable of versatile running backs that can make plays coming out of the backfield. They've usually always rolled with at least one monster a TE (Gronk) and have in past seasons added another monster TE that would be a #1 anywhere else (Martellus Bennett), and slot guys like Edelman and Welker have been their leading receivers more than a few times. Belichick has always put a lot of value in versatility. It's the reason the Pats offense is always able to morph back and forth from a pass-heavy attack to a run-heavy attack or something more balanced. Whatever defense they face, they tailor their offense to exploit weaknesses in that defense. Some teams have their schemes and it's "our guys can beat your guys" and that's that, but more and more you're seeing teams that want to have more than just one offensive identity. Daboll is cut from that same cloth. He's said it since day one, that his offense would be a multi-faceted unit capable of switching gears based upon their opponent. And McDermott, like Belichick, is another coach who values versatility. I'm not saying that they'll never have an established go-to receiver, but I don't expect it in 2019 just given the circumstances. Really, I'd expect them to add pieces to every offensive skill group; backs, receivers and tight ends. Again, Daboll worked with Gronk, and then you have McBeane who are following the formula they used in Carolina where they had Greg Olsen. On the bright side, while the draft isn't very deep for receivers, it's shaping up to be pretty good for tight ends, so maybe McBeane finds his own Greg Olsen there. Overall, I expect them to follow the same type of formula outlined above and honestly, it's a proven method that shows you can win without a big-time WR.