VW82

I said we were in this position because we whiffed on Carter and because Ogunjobi lied. Clearly, if things had progressed to the point of him flying to Buffalo to sign an agreement, we’d already done a bunch of due diligence on guys and felt good about him. At that point, what were we supposed to do? I’d argue Beane made the best of a bad situation. Getting two good DT prospects in the draft further insulated us against really bad outcomes. Signing Phillips even further helps. I don’t know if you’re aware but we didn’t exactly have tons of cap and Aaron Donald wasn’t coming out of retirement to play with us. Fans can whine and complain all they want but how we handled our DT depth/future this off season was prudent even if a little unlucky.

And what difference does that make? Ogunjobi was signed in FA because our DT depth sucked last year. For all we know, him and Phillps will be in the playoff rotation. This team has been undermanned on the DL for years. Now we have proven back ups + an influx of young talent. We're loaded with depth. Somehow this is being portrayed as a bad thing.

Your point stands but I don't see why bringing Sanders or Walker into it yet makes sense. They're rookies, and from everything I've seen/read, they look like really promising players. The crux of the issue is we whiffed on Carter and got lied to by Ogunjobi, which is why we're in this spot. Also, McBeane usually only carry one traditional 1T on the active roster, so calling everyone who isn't that a 3T isn't correct within the context of their system (i.e. Phillips and Walker will be used as rushers from the 1T spot on passing downs). Again, I like how they handled the Phillips signing as it gave them a chance to evaluate Carter, Sanders, and Walker. I suspect they had Phillips ready to go the whole time. He's a useful piece. If we need to do this again next year, then you'll have better grounds to make the point you're trying to make.

We're a SB contender relying on rookies to fill big roles in the interior of our defense. I'm sure they hoped Carter would've developed into something useful. As it stands, he looks like a bust. Meanwhile, because they didn't have Phillips in camp, they gave valuable reps to their young players. Sanders and Walker will likely contribute this year, but asking them to do so right away in a meaningful role isn't the best winning strategy. Signing Phillips says absolutely nothing about the long-term expectations for Sanders and Walker. It does say something about Carter, though.

I like that we take swings on these guys. Jackson has a lot of tools and might be quality starter one day. That’s a really good outcome for 3rd round. What does a more game ready rookie with more limited upside actually do for us? Plus, taking raw, toolsy players like Jackson, Walker, Bernard, Bishop, Keon, etc., and making them wait allows the team to maintain their “everything earned” stance and have it be legit. That’s an important part of winning culture in pretty much everything let alone football.

A few as in three? I definitely missed that.

I think both Ciarlo and Shenault make it over Shavers for teams. Shavers makes 53 if we decide to keep six WR which isn't a guarantee at this stage. Everyone is overlooking teams imo.

Lots of folks seem to believe we'll keep six WRs this year. Why? Last year we kept five. A big part of our offensive philosophy seems to be "play big" with extra linemen or TEs. At some point, there just isn't room, especially if we go into the season with a few injured guys we probably don't want to stash on IR given they might be back in a week or two (e.g. Tre, Max). If we only keep five, has Shavers done enough on teams to outplay a guy like Shenault? The latter appears to have also had a great camp / preseason, but specifically in the role he'd play every week as a core teams guy. Interesting he can even return kicks. I don't mean to downplay how good Shavers has been, and he'd be the first call once one of the top 4 goes down (samuel, samuel, curtis), but that likely isn't the case heading into week one, and I tend not to think Shavers will make it over Samuel given the traits he (theoretically) brings to the offense that no one else does. Maybe I'm missing something here Edit: another poster intimated Shenault was a disaster in coverage yesterday so maybe that complicates things.

Lots of talk about Shavers the WR but little about Shavers on teams which is interesting because presumably that would be his main role if he made it. Is the idea here that even though we like to play big with extra lineman and/or TEs, we're going to carry six WR this year? I kinda don't see it, especially with all these injuries heading into the season. We have enough guys that we won't want to stash on IR because they'll be back and so will need to make the team and just be inactive for a week or two. I'll admit that Shavers could quickly become top 4 the moment one of our actual top 4 gets hurt which seems likely with Samuel's track record, but that won't be the case heading into week one.

Ok so to summarize the events of the day: -Tre gets "carted off" except he walked part way and it doesn't sound serious. -stark reminder that even if White heals up and starts week one, CB2 is shaky until one of the young guys steps up and solidifies it. -something, something Asante Samuel and Rasual Douglas. whatever.

That’s a different issue though I’d argue Hancock has outperformed Hamlin. Bishop was outperforming too before sustaining yet another injury. It looked to me like he rushed coming back due to McD’s comments.

We are apparently now “ruthless” fans for wanting the team to move on from Hamlin per all the mainstream media.

I agree. It's still early, but one season plus most of a second off season and preseason is enough to form an opinion. Keon looks improved but he's going to take time to learn all the nuances one needs to win without speed. Bishop and Carter are behind the eight ball. Ray Davis is ok. SVPG is TBD. Ulofoshio looks like a bust. Solomon struggles vs. the run and isn't getting as much pressure as one would hope for a one trick pony. Grable is super interesting but hurt. I like our 2025 class much better, or at least have more hope.

Right he hurt it trying to be a physical football player and was never the same. If memory serves, he was tackling someone after throwing a pick. And Josh doesn't just run into DBs. We do designed sneaks and runs right into the teeth of the defense all the time. It exposes him to getting hit. There are few examples throughout NFL history of teams using their QB like we use Josh, so you can say the data says x but it's mostly meaningless. Josh is a unicorn. I'll make you a friendly bet that at some point in the next 2-3 years we stop doing as many designed QB runs/sneaks and reference Josh's continued health as the reason. Even if you believe Josh to be indestructable, the threat of coaching intervention is still there, and that will force the kind of changes I'm talking about.

This isn't really addressing Septide's point which is that Josh's physical style of play likely has a shelf life. Elway and Young weren't exactly bowling guys over. The better comparison is Cam Newton who hit a wall in his 30s and couldn't dominate the same way anymore. Josh is more talented than Newton as a passer and overall player so there should be lots of confidence he can change his game over time with considerable effectiveness, but he likely does have to change. Septide's related point about our receiving talent is on point as presumably one part of Josh running less is him needing to make more plays in the pocket; we could also lean more into our RBs. Anyway, I share the same concern about the Superman timeline. We maybe only have a year or two left of this version of Josh.

Seems really high to me but glad we at least removed the distraction. Edit: looks like a two year deal with some guaranteed $$ falling in year three is most likely outcome. Will we be able to fit in future deals for guys like OCT or Kincaid if he breaks out? Cap sheet is getting pretty filled up.

We don’t have the pass rushing talent to dominate anyone but it feels like we probably have the depth to actually pull off McD’s philosophy of rushing in waves, especially if we can get something out of guys like Sanders this year.

Cooper is washed and Tre is a placeholder. Even if Tre struggles the first month and it becomes obvious we need to make a change before Max is ready, I'd rather see someone like Ingram or Dorian Strong get a shot. Hell, even Te'Cory Couch looked ok out there yesterday. This is the one area where we can probably trust in McD to coach up some options after finally reinvesting in our DBs.

Well at least Samuel can run in straight lines now 🙄 We can’t cut or trade him but we sure as hell can leave his ass off the active roster on game days (assuming we can’t justify IR). Only seven months until we can cut bait. What a waste!

Hate to say it but this escalation was always a greater risk to the season than people were admitting. Cook is a huge part of this team. Like, we probably need to change some of our offensive philosophy if he’s traded. I don’t think he’s worth what he wants and that will become apparent to him when he starts negotiating with other teams, but this still sucks. Perhaps it’s still premature to start freaking out but it doesn’t look great. He has so much to potentially lose entering this year without a deal done, hence why a holdout during the season and /or trade could happen.

These injuries are getting out of hand

The big remaining question for Benford (and all our DBs really) is can he improve in man press alignments. We haven’t really had anyone who could do that since prime Taron (who got smoked last year the few times we tried like vs. Rams). I think McBeane understand this has been a weakness which is why we targeted guys like Hairston, a zone CB but someone with the wheels to in theory play without a cushion, and Dorian Strong who seemed to show man press ability in college.

I could see a repeat scenario of Benford’s rookie season where someone like Ingram or Dorian Strong comes out of nowhere and wins the job out of camp. Hairston is a prospect stud. He’ll be fine. He just needs time to learn the league. Might be one of those cases where he needs to get through camp and then watch for a bit. We’ve certainly seen that before. Also, happy for Keon. He needed that. Now let’s start to see some consistency.

I was diagnosed three years ago after having heart issues in the year following covid shots and immediately bought a cpap. It didn't work then and still doesn't work. I also have insomnia, so can't get to sleep and can't stay asleep unless I'm extremely careful. Even though I don't snore much and have never been overweight, I don't doubt the diagnosis but have always found the one-size-fits-all cpap solution to be somewhat lacking. In my case, lifestyle decisions make all the difference. Mediterranean diet. Portion control. I repeat: diet and portion control! Limit caffeine and alcohol. Exercise every day even if it's just 30 min walk on the treadmill. Lots of time outside in the sun and green areas, preferrably in the morning or afternoon. I even bought a UV-B lamp for psoriasis to use on days/weeks where it's too cold or rainy to be outside. Those things can help with vitamin d production and mitochondrial repair, or so I've read - I think it works. Magnesium biglycinate also helps. I think a lot of us are deficient in those two areas. Basically, if cpap isn't working for you, live like a nun and supplement and the symptoms will be greatly reduced.

I'd like to see the snaps vs. target numbers for Davidson and Kincaid (from Josh) over several practices.