SirAndrew

Probably for an entire season. The media would have taken a hit like that on a star player and ran with it too. Gronk wasn’t very harshly criticized anywhere in the media either. If it were Suh or someone like that, all the sports talk shows would have been calling for banishment.

I wasn’t enamored with the Epenesa pick, but I’ll give him a chance. It’s clear to me that Beane has a solid plan where he values certain players and positions above others. I know many people wanted Dobbins, but I don’t think Beane values the RB position that early in the draft with so much talent left in the board. Beane got the guy he wanted with AJE, and still landed a quality RB. Those are the moves that make me appreciate Beane. Epenesa will at least be a mediocre contributor, while Moss has potential to be a playmaker. Our previous regimes would have taken Dobbins who would have been a good player, but their next picks would have all been lucky to see the field. Epenesa and Moss will both see the field at some point. I don’t see Epenesa as a bust, maybe just not elite as some people will want. Gone are the days of spending high draft picks on WR’s and RB’s. Beane understands value by position. That’s why he was willing to make the deal for Diggs. Beane realizes that recent NFL history indicates WR’s are really tough draft picks to get right.

People who love football. I used to attend tons of concerts because I love music. I can't tell you how many musicians went on rants that I didn’t agree with politically. I was there because I enjoyed the product, and maybe that person I disagree might even be a decent person, I just disagree. I don’t ban my uncle for the Thanksgiving dinner because I don’t agree with him politically. I’m never going to let politics take away something I enjoy.

I think those are fair points. Tyrod was never going to take this team very fair. He just didn’t have the tools to QB a championship team. He still deserves more credit for what he did here. There was a brief moment where he led the best drought era offense. He hasn’t gone on to have much success elsewhere, but had a couple decent seasons with us. People have forgotten how Tyrod was dynamic with legs, and had a great deep ball. I think some of it stems from our last memories of Tyrod with the 2018 team. He was the QB under a new regime who rightfully wanted to move on from him. They gave him the role of a game manager with the mission of not losing games. Taylor excelled in that role, but the brilliant deep throws and running game from his first two seasons as starter basically disappeared. The 2018 team also had an absolutely pathetic supporting cast of skill position players. Tyrod was never a risk taking QB, but it seemed like the Tyrod of old had been coached out of him. I attribute that to your final point regarding the conservative nature of McD involving his offense. Allen has the tools to succeed, hopefully coaching allows our offensive to enter the 21st century.

They might need to make the decision to move on from Ryan soon. A decade ago I would have agreed to ride out the next few years, but QB’s who can find employment seem to be playing to 40 and beyond. Ryan might think he has five or more years left in him.

I agree with that fully. There’s a difference between not leading your team to the Super Bowl, and being downright awful. I have a tough time comparing Tyrod and Fitz though, because they were such different players. Tyrod obviously won more games, but also played on a better team. My only issue is the idea that Fitz had “sustained success”. That thought is generally accepted on this board. I truly don’t understand at what point Fitz had sustained success with the Bills? He beat the Pats, but mostly struggled outside of the occasional big game. It seems to be more of a sacred cow scenario with Fitz than anything grounded in reality.

I’m confused why he was ever utilized in the passing game. I can’t say I followed DiMarco’s career prior to Buffalo, but was he supposed to have good hands or something ? I just didn’t see it. I completely understand using a guy like DiMarco in power run formations, but he seemed to be used in situations that required athleticism he didn’t have.

Who’s going to fill the role of offensive player who has no business being on the field this season ? I joke, I’m a McDermott fan, but it seems a trademark of his tenure has been over utilizing one useless player on offense each season. Guys like Tolbert, Benjamin, Peterman, and Gore fit the bill.

Absolutely, Kumerow is a nice practice squad addition. He can step into the lineup if needed, because he has caught passes in this league. He’s also a practice squad level guy, and not much more imo. I’m simply poking fun at the potential for people to claim he’s some hidden gem who could be a great receiver. He really checks all the boxes to become a TBD legendary practice squad fan favorite. The truth is, he’s on his forth team, is twenty eight years old, and has caught twenty passes in his career. I’m sure he can help the practice squad, and is nice insurance, but I’d be shocked if he became anything more.

I’m not a gamer, and don’t know much about gaming in general. I lost touch with gaming long ago. Madden is the only game I play at this point in my life. However, I think people who only play Madden might be missing the issue with this game. That’s why game reviews have been so harsh on the new edition. I have friends who are “gamers”, and the games I see them playing look spectacular. Everything about Madden looks weak when considering what today’s consoles are capable of. The physics, graphics, and gameplay are all years behind what a more ambitious developer could release as a football game in 2020.

This was my first thought. He is a solid addition for depth, but expect some fans to get carried away. I expect the adoration to be a cross between David Sills, Duke Williams, Da’Rick, and Chris Hogan.

Agree, we could win an ugly game and go on to win the Super Bowl, but we need to see this team take the next step. An ugly victory isn’t going to convince anyone we’re anything more than a one and done playoff team.

Not a bad list, except I don’t find Dak or Aaron Rodgers very intriguing. I expect more of the same from both this season. I’d take one of those guys out for Kyler Murray. It’s going to be a huge boom or bust year for Murray. Agree, I can’t criticize the list for too many QB’s, it’s kind of an important position.

Yep, most football players just want to play. Championships are overrated if you weren’t a contributor to your team winning it. It depends on personality type imo, but I wouldn’t feel as thrilled with getting a Super Bowl ring as an inactive player vs being a starter.

Coaching is my greatest concern with this offense. We have lots of talent, but Daboll hasn’t shown the ability to lead a quality offense. We have no idea if our talent will be utilized properly. I love everything about this team. McD and Beane have righted the ship, but I’m not sure how many good offense minded guys we have on this coaching staff. I’m fine with the Singletary and Moss duo, and happy we didn’t use a high pick on a guy like Dobbins. Our biggest question mark on offense is the development of Allen, and the TE position. We’ll need to be bold and innovative on offense to compete with teams like KC and Baltimore. Playing not to lose isn’t going to win a title. McD needs to learn not to slip back into a shell with the offense when they take a lead. We basically allow opponents to get back in the game by taking our foot off the pedal with our defense first mentality. We have the talent, it’s time for the coaches to trust them this season.

Yeah, I don’t understand where the “ spoiled rich kid” narrative comes from in regards to him as a football player. There are millions of successful people who grew up as “spoiled rich kids”. I think people just don’t take a liking to the guy, and write their own Rosen narrative at this point. He might prove to be a bust, but it’s because he didn’t have the tools to make it (weak arm etc), not because he’s spoiled.

Definitely going with Baltimore. They have talent all over their roster, and I think Pittsburgh get overrated just by being Pittsburgh. I don’t think we’ll see the Big Ben of old. The injury concerns with him are quite real at this point. Having an entire year off isn’t going to do Ben any favors imo. He also doesn’t have Brown or Bell these days, but I could be wrong. I actually like where the Bengals are headed more than the Steelers at this point. Lamar Jackson might get “figured out” somewhat, but a lesser version of Jackson would still be great. I think too many people here are predicting Jackson’s downfall, and expecting Big Ben of the early 2010’s to come back. Just because Big Ben is “a real QB” in the eyes of some, doesn’t mean Jackson isn’t the better QB right now.

Agree, Cleveland never had a chance. That locker room has such a volatile mix of personalities, none of whom have ever won in the NFL. Talent doesn’t matter when you have a QB with questionable leadership skills and no maturity. Any chance that Mayfield had to be a good QB was tossed away when Beckham, Hunt, and that circus came to town last year. The offseason accolades last year likely fed into that arrogant egotistical part of Mayfield you don’t want to feed. Mayfield is a more restrained version of Manziel. Not as much off field drama, and a better skill set, but I question his work ethic when things get tough. Cleveland is the ultimate “anti-process” team. Talent doesn’t matter when you have zero character on the roster.

This one is easy for me because Rodgers is easily the best QB in that division. He’s not the same guy he once was, but is still very good. Cousins can’t be trusted, Stafford’s stats have always been the best part of his overrated game, and the Bears have Mitch.

I wanted Tyrod out of here, because I knew we weren’t winning a Super Bowl with him. Moving on was still a risk because you might be downgrading the QB position inadvertently. He just didn’t have what it takes to lead a team anywhere. The TT fans never understood that. However, I also recognize in hindsight that he was one of our best post Kelly QB’s. That isn’t saying much because we’ve had garbage, but he deserves some credit. The same people who trash Tyrod look back at the Bledsoe, Fitz, and even the Orton years fondly. I’ll never understand that. Tyrod had more success with this team than many of those guys who are often fondly remembered. I was a harsh critic of TT, but even I must admit what he accomplished here. It was nothing spectacular, but he doesn’t deserve to be trashed, while we reminisce about how amazing Fitz was.

I agree, it has yet to be seen if Baltimore can overcome what happened to Roman here and in SF. However, I don’t think it’s unfair to say Roman is more accomplished than Daboll at this point in his career. Roman has struggled to produce a passing game, but his teams have had success on offense, regardless of how it got done. Daboll hasn’t had any success outside of NE with an NFL offense. Daboll might have great passing games schemes, but we have yet to see it actually work in the NFL. Daboll needs to prove it this season. Roman>Daboll with any team. Daboll hasn’t proven anything in this league imo. Comparing Roman and Daboll’s offense is comparing apples to oranges, as they both have different styles. With that said, Daboll hasn’t done much as an OC. I hope our offense has tons of success, and we can consider him an accomplished OC by the end of this season. I’m simply addressing what Daboll has done up to this point in his career, I’m not trying to harshly criticize him.

We have the roster, but this season goes as far as Josh Allen takes us. I don’t like to oversimplify things, but it is that simple. That leaves me believing anything between 9-13 wins is possible. We truly get to find out who our QB is this season.

Exactly, you also need a guy who consistently kicks touchbacks in today’s NFL. If I remember correctly, Hauschka struggled with extra points at times also.

No reasonable person is going to say Reich had Hall of Fame talent, but I don’t understand people implying he was a bad QB. He played well for us in the prime of his career. Reich did everything you could ask from a backup QB. He played smart football, utilized the talent around him, and didn’t make mistakes. That 14/2 TD to interception ratio in games that mattered says it all. He’s not Fitz, or some middling QB who throws games away. Reich always gave his team a chance to win. That’s all you want from a backup, and that makes him a good QB.

Thurman won a lot of games for that team. I realize he’s in the HOF, but he’s almost undervalued by fans in some aspects. Kelly was spectacular, but he had tons of average games where Thurman carried the team. Kelly is a legend, but that legend is lessened if he didn’t have Thurman.