MasterStrategist

100% accurate. But it won't change his mind, until he sees it...even then who knows. Crowder is more explosive with ball in his hands, can also play outside in a pinch. Although, I think Shakir will be the top backup outside. I still don't get the opinions some have about this skill group, it's top 5 in the NFL. A bunch of weird anxiety about losing Beas, who clearly lost a step or 2, and Manny Sanders who ran hot/cold during the season. We were a better/more explosive offense when Davis and McKenzie were both on the field. Not to mention Motor was improving, which I think was a playcalling issue all season long (balanced attack and type of run/blocking schemes). Now, add in Crowder, Cook, Shakir, and Howard...I am lost on what these posters wanted? Who did they want to sign or draft? It would have put Davis on the bench, maybe that's what this comes down to.

Noted that Davis is not high on your list. Many teammates, front office. and coaches have been singing his praises this offseason. That's what this truly boils down to for many...is Davis who we think can be a solid/consistent #2 opposite Diggs. Those in your camp think we needed to upgrade, while others have seen enough to have faith he will deliver for us.

Saying that the NFL has turned into an offensive league, isn't absent on me or others. I'm simply saying where would we have looked to "stack" offensive talent, that we don't already have? Oline is the only area, specifically G play, that I'd say sure. But they clearly think Bates can be an answer and Saffold will be a good/solid addition ( no worse than we've had, imo). The skill players are currently: Diggs, Davis, Knox, Motor, Cook, Crowder, McKenzie, Shakir, and Moss. Only potential gap is if Davis and Diggs go down for a prolonged period. This is a stacked group, that has 1 all-pro, likely 2 future pro bowlers in Davis and Knox, and other talent.

Yeah, we clearly spent more $$$s and draft capital on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Everyone should be able to agree ont that. "Opinions" come into play on what we could've/ should've done. To me, the investments were targeted just as I saw our weaknesses last season/couple seasons, and at areas that would most upgrade our overall team results: 1. Needed a premier pass rusher ✔️ 2. Needed more physical DTs/disruptive in the middle ✔️ 3. Upgradable at CB2, more speed and length ✔️ 4. Upgradable/Need playmakers with more YAC ability ✔️ Personally, alot boils down to what people think of these combination of players on offense. I think we upgraded in three major ways: 1. More playing time for Davis, over Manny 2. YAC and speed in the slot: Crowder, more PT for McKenzie and Shakir Vs Beas who had clearly lost a step or two 3. Versatility with player personnel: we clearly wanted a pass catching back with elusiveness (Mckissic) but then got a good one in Cook. Howard, even if not his former self, is a huge upgrade over Sweeney at TE2. He at the very least gives a receiving/RZ threat. On top of all that, I think Saffold is a better Guard than Williams (there's a clear reason he and other guys we cut are not signed). And, we have young talent that is still developing on offense that will command big $$$s in the next 2 offseasons (Knox, Davis). So get ready for the $$$ investment to flip soon. Not sure how educated fans can watch what happened to us in key games (ie: Chiefs, Titans, Pats game 1, even Steelers week 1) and realize that our defensive weaknesses were very real and needed fixed if we would have a shot to go to a super bowl

I didn't say that, btw, lol. But while you brought it up, what did this mysterious immediate pressure lead to? 500+ yards given up, and just 2 sacks? Oh yeah, great pressure by our front 4. You clearly missed the point that I was supporting from the other poster. Which was Cincys front 4 pressure and defense performed much much better than what we did. Our defense lacked a top edge rusher all season, for the past few years. Difficult to be a super bowl team, without one. But continue to find useless "immediate pressure" stats, that Jerry Hughes seems to always be great at, but not actually getting the sack. I think the front office agrees. Take care as well Where is the $90m coming from? By my math, it's $72m...of which Von is $51m. So....why are we throwing around this figure, when Vons contract heavily skews the discussion? Point being, the front office saw a glaring need to find a true difference maker to rush the passer. Outside of that 1 contract, we invested similar on both sides of the ball...albeit a bit more on defense, when considering our draft class.

Good try yourself. Lets state the facts: 1. Against KC in playoffs a. Cincy generated 4 sacks, while rushing just 3 guys (with a spy) on quite a few occasions. Mahomes ran 3x for 19 yards. KC had 375 total yards, 29 min TOP b. Buffalo generated 2 sacks. Mahomes escaped 7x for 69 yards. KC had 552 total yards and 36 min TOP Single game, yes. But like Magox said, it was obvious during the KC game and many times throughout the season, against above average offensez, what our 3 main problems were: 1. Lack of physicality up front/continued struggles in the run game 2. Lack of consistent pass rush, especially with our DEs. 3. Struggles at CB, emphasized once Tre went down. We needed a CB who could matchup with speed and length..enter Elam. a. Levi struggled against big bodied and/or speed WRs. b. Dane is better against big bodied WRs than Levi, but also has issues with over the top speed Pretty wasy to connect the dots and see what the front office/coaches thought were issues, based on the FA and draft priorities. We invested big money on #2, our 1st round pick on #3, and a manageable amount of $$ to address #1. You don't give up 550+ yards in the playoffs and think our pressure rate was good enough OR equivalent to what Cincy was able to adjust with. Hubbard and Hendrickson, were leaps and bounds above Hughes and Mario. No surprise we basically left 4 of our 10 key rotating DL walk in Fa or cut.

Exactly, high and mighty old timer who thinks he instantly knows more than practically every poster. Don't get too upset about it, he does this to everyone. Based on what I've seen, limited (thankfully) exposure to his posts: 1. Talks down to most posters, b/c he sits around with his 60+ yr old buddies talking football and makes him instantly knowledgeable. (although somehow he disregards that some of us actually have coaching/background playing experience, or could just be well educated fans). 2. He also is a season ticket holder, Bills sideline somewhere 20-30 rows up, between the 40s. Although his other old pals, have seasons and likely closer to field. 3. Every now and then stirs the pot (ie: go search his Beasley/McDermott thread from last season, pure gold...or other topics of "expertise", including Tremaine Edmunds). Bottom line, long time posters will get benefit of doubt. Just how it works in these parts. Back to WR/offense weapons topic, I agree with you, and actually like this year's collective group of skill players better. Why? Because we have a ton of versatility, and likely improving players. I don't look at "1-1", who did we lose and replace guys with. To me, it's a collective skill position group, that should each compliment another player. Cook, Crowder, Shakir, and Howard collectively bring more to the table than Beas/Manny, just my 2 cents.

Tua is a modern day Chad Pennington, and that might be his ceiling. Tua held that offense back, for several games last year, and couldn't hold off Fitz from getting playing time in prior years. Dolphins will need to have a top 5ish type defense to be a playoff team, in a conference loaded with star QBs/offenses that can score alot of points.

I always loved the attitude Mongo brought...he isn't wrong that we need some more "juice"/edge at times. Defensively especially, that's why I really like some of the guys we brought in as FAs. But, Mongo wasn't the reason we lost. Sorry Feliciano. Does you no good to come off as bitter, you lost your starting spot due to injury and honestly struggled prior to then. Also think this "clip" is pointless, need to watch the full interview for context:

All your comments on coaching, I disagree with: 1. Colts game: was more about our lack of physicality. No coincidence we basically turned over the entire dline in 1 offseason. 2. 13 seconds: alot went wrong, but if you want to point a finger at coaching, then let's start with the ST coordinator....now gone. Next, looking at how we aligned to defend the chiefs, no way Wallace played his position correctly or Milano was out of position. I'd put that on players. If anything, I would have ran a 3 man line and brought in Neal as an extra DB...thats the only mistake I could see, no saying that would have worked though. 3. TB OT game: our defense shut them down most of that 2nd half. It wasn't Edmunds role to play that WR 1-1 on that play, he scraped off his "man" making it appear like it was. TB executed well and caught us in a look, I'm not blaming the staff after they made great adjustments throughout. I'm in the camp thinking we had an "average" dline last year...at times good, other times they were a liability. Coaches schemed ways to make this a #1 unit, plus below average competition at several points helped too. Let's see what happens with the makings of a more well-rounded defensive group.

On Defense: 1. Physicality up front 2. Lack of front 4 pass rush 3. Corner speed (without Tre) On Offense: 1. Lack of balanced attack (albeit mich improved in playoffs, this was on Daboll) & redzone offense. 2. More YAC/playmakers 3. OL play On defense: 1. they attacked FA to improve the top 2 areas. Very showing that they let 4 prominent P/T guys go. 2. Von brings an entire different dynamic to our pass rush, hopefully helping Oliver too. But agree with posters saying we need 1 of our 3 young guys to take a big step. 3. Elam brings speed at corner and offers alot of different coverage options. I think this will be a great area of strength once Tre is back. On offense... 1. Daboll always had a way to frustrate me, more than impress, with how he ran his offense. Yes, playoffs was fire, but he was also conservative on a few drives to start 2nd half in the KC game that hurt us. Dorset is an unknown, but hopefully he along with the additions of Howard, Cook, and others will allow us to be more balanced, and lead to more consistent results. 2. the additions of Cook/Crowder/Howard/Shakir >>>>> Breida/Beas/Sweeney/Sanders. We needed more Yac and someone other than Diggs/Josh to be top contributors. It also took forever to get McKenzie and Davis more involved in the offense, that alone should help this year 3. OL: can't say we did alot, which may be ok and again probably my least concern. But will say Saffold >>>> Williams, OL continuity is a great thing, Bates helped our OL click toward end of year, and bringing back Kromer should only help. I'm hopeful for players such as: Brown, Bates, and Ford (yes him too). My biggest concern is backup C, maybe Mancz is good enough to be the man, but I don't like the idea of Bates being the backup there.

I look at this way: 1. AJE is still 'young'/developing: we all know by now that his rookie nfl strength/conditioning did not go to plan. Extreme weight loss/COVID forced these guys to spend much more time "virtually". He showed brief flashes last season/overall improvement, I think it's worth being patient to see if that continues. 2. Dline rotation: we know that our dline rotates heavily. Need 4 solid players. He's in competition for #3 role, but he's also 1 injury away from being "for sure" in our top 4, for those viewing him and Shaq as competing for the 4th spot. Likely to keep 5 DEs on the 53 roster as well. 3. Trade value: what do we truly gain by trading a depth/young developing piece? You risk jumping the gun perse, and becoming a Wyatt Teller/Jerry Hughes type. But let's say AJE is already close or at his ceiling, what position would we target? OL - maybe, DB - not likely, unless Tre is behind rehab schedule. Bottom line, I see more value in seeing if he turns into a valuable piece. Too quick to give up on a player at a premium position, on a cheap rookie deal, and think that whoever we trade for will make this team/receive PT similar to what AJE likely will. After this season, sure.

Just my opinion: 1. AJE is a near lock, he isn't getting cut...I'd take that to the bank. Heading into year 3, Beane isn't going to give up on him. Maybe next year, if he doesn't perform. 2. Crowder is a surefire lock: Beane specifically signed him as our replacement in the slot. Shakir is a 5th round pick, yes I have hopes for him, but historically Coach has brought rookies along slowly at WR and I'm not expecting our best slot WR to be cut. Shakir will be the #4, just as Beane stated recently. 3. Quessenberry is 'meh': Agree he's not a lock, but likely one of our top 8. I'd actually consider Ford more of a lock, go listen to Beane and he isn't going to give up on him yet. Ford has 'starting talent', obviously not reached that potential, but hopeful with a healthy offseason+Kromer, it will make a difference. Mentioned Ford above, but also would consider Moss and Hamlin locks. Again, Beane didn't mince words saying Moss was still battling back from his ankle surgery. Hamlin is going to eventually be a starter for us, maybe a season or two away.

I agree. The Hill/Kelce combo was lethal, perfect compliments to each other. Add in Mahomes unique/great skills and Andy Reid, one of the best offensive minds, and you have a near unstoppable offense. Great pass rush is the only thing that can slow it down. Trading Hill will cost them in the near term. I'm predicting them to finish 3rd in the division, behind the Chargers and Broncos. Afc West is loaded, and everyone is gunning for KC.

Fantastic analysis and write-up! I'm really interested how they use all their WRs this season. Thought they did a great job adding complimentary pieces, that will allow them to be extremely versatile with sub-packages. I'm not ruling out Speedy having a great camp. He impressed until he was injured last year, and was a standout playmaker at Houston. Battle for the 6th WR spot, and seeing if they keep a 7th WR again, will be fun to watch.

Some guys are more "football fast", than track speed guys. At least in Speedy's situation, he went out for track when in high-school and wasn't considered a great "out of the blocks" type. So I could see why he doesn't time in the 40, as expected. Hoping both these guys turn in great camps, we can find a spot for both of them on the 53. Speedy can play outside, but he's more a slot type as well. Pretty certain that the coaching staff was working him into the Mck offensive role last year. But it wouldn't surprise me to see him excel in year 2, he needed some nfl training, getting off the press and route tee combinations that he didn't necessarily get accustomed to in Houston. Hope he can crack the 53 again, and think he's a much better returner than the small sample size we saw in the Reg season.

Yeah I don't think the coaches had alot of confidence in Kleins coverage/zone fit in our defense. He was very instinctive, but if he took 1 falsestep, he didn't possess the speed/quickness to recover. Hence his use in blitzing, which he did well. We got lucky several times his man dropped the ball out of the backfield, ie: Patriots playoff game. Enter Bernard, who has been talked up a superb leader, great instincts, strong blitz ability for the position (which alot of this is instincts/timing), and coverage skills. Gives McD alot more options to take Taron off the field against 12 personnel (which NE will run alot of) and replaces Klein at a reasonable cost. Win/Win

Completely agree. He's a super competitive player, not sure why he was getting labeled "soft" (maybe just a myth on these boards). I'm most excited about the complimentary skills he brings. Tre locks down the quick/shifty receivers extremely well, but Levi struggled with defending any players with 'length', ie: Claypool, Parker, etc. Really gives Frazier/Mcd alot more versatility/flexibility with playcalling. Not to get off the Elam topic, but that was a theme this draft...get morr athletic and create a lot of scheme versatility. Might be that we haven't had a roster this talented in a long time, but I really liked the overall draft strategy.

Yes, Crowder and Shakir can play outside. Maybe not fulltime, but either could play 20-30% of their snaps in that role. Which is what each has basically done historically. That would leave say maybe 50% of snaps to "potentially replace". But then keeping in mind Diggs moves around the offense alot (ie: motion to the "#2", lines up in the slot), we run bunch formations (which IMO who cares who is the "1/outside"), line up a TE or RB at the "1", etc. So in reality, we don't need to fully replace Diggs or Davis outside snaps with a similar/same player, many options exist to mitigate a short-injury duration (ie 2-3 weeks). Kumerow may not be ideal, but serviceable, if called upon. Speedy is a huge unknown, he was liked enough to keep on the 53 and coming off a foot injury that possibly kept him from being at full health last year. He's likely a "slot guy" too. He struggles when pressed, hopefully something he improved with a year of NFL tutelage. He can be a playmaker for us, another McKenzie type. Long way of me saying, I think we run enough "empty" sets that favor versatile playmakers. We can split out Cook, Motor, Knox, OJ (doesn't have to always be Diggs or Gabe), and feature our slot guys as well (we have an abundance of them). Key thing is getting more RAC/YAC this year.

Yes, only if Dion goes down. I'm not advocating for Brown as our swing tackle. He's our 2nd best LT on the roster

1. Backup LT: Spencer Brown, they will either plug Quesenberry in at RT, or if Doyle progresses then Tommy. 2. Backup Outside WR: not sure why this is so complicated, we can bump Shakir and/or Crowder outside, not full time but 20-30% snaps per game. In addition, we split out a TE or RB to the "1" position alot in our empty sets. Same as last year when Manny was around, Shakir/Crowder will fill his role. Then yes, Jake will get some time if needed. 3. Backup S: Yes, IMO, Hamlin could be our starter in another year or so. He and Johnson certainly capable of filling in, not all pro, but Dane Jackson level talent. So yes better than the DBs you listed. 4. Backup G: this is the one position I agree I'm concerned with depth, however Beane specifically mentioned Cody in his post-draft presser as a player they expect to improve this season. I'm still not investing in a Rd 1/2 G though. Sweet spot would have been Round 3, but they liked Bernard. Quesenberry can kick inside to G as well. New coaches want "their guys", so I trust Kromer had plenty of say in what he needs up front. Potentially Boetgger is ready midway through season as well. 5. Zone CB philosophy: we've "managed" the CB position in past years, but that hasn't got us over the top. We need talent at both corner spots against top tier QBs, plain and simple. You should go back and watch the Kc game, then listen to Beane and McD post season presser and pre-draft presser. All point to this team needing more "speed and versatility", and continuing to get after the QB upfront. Which is exactly what they achieved, via FA and draft.

Agree, good call out! We have almost exclusively run 4-2-5, a base nickle package, the past few years....that people sometimes forget that McD ran an athletic 4-3 defense in Carolina before joining us. Just need the right blend of LBs, which we might have now.

Im hoping Tre is back week 1, as that is what Beane said this week. And I never said the season was over last year without Tre, not sure where you pulled that comment from. You just are making up things now. You list WR, LT, DE, S, and G. That's all i need to know about your misguided opinion. You say round 1 should be used on high-price FA types, then jnclude S and G? Newsflash, we just drafted two DEs last year, let them develop, not to mention signing Von Miller. I could go the list of positions that you listed and do the exact same thing. G, I would give you, but again I'm picking CB over G all day, unless thr player value doesn't align. There were 0 Gs left worth taking at that point, Beane even stated Elam was their last 1st round graded player remaining on the board (hence the trade up). You picked a strange hill to die on, with these arguments with everyone. Let's see how things play out. Unlike your poor memory accusing me of what I said (didnot) about Tre, I will remember to carry on this conversation once season starts.

You are incorrect in alot of this, just my opinion. There are two ways to improve the roster, FA and draft. If you disagree that we should have targeted a CB in FA, fine name him. But we had a HUGE hole at corner. As you said, "if we were a press man" team, well now we have thr ability to run more multiple looks on defense, ie: man, press man, press zone. Not to mention that big/long WRs killed Levi. Who cares about scheme, Devante Parker owned Levi as did Claypool in game 1 against Steelers...cost us big. Elam fixes that problem and gives us much needed skill at that position group. You don't overload talent at a single position, and leave a gaping hole elsewhere. That's like building a pool, while your basement is flooded. Not a good investment, and "balance" while improving the team with quality players is key.

Great analysis. 1. WR (outside depth): I'm less concerned about this. Shakir can play both, same with Crowder, albeit not their best positions. Remembering we are basically in the same boat as last year, minus Manny and Beas...where Crowder/Shakir can be the Manny replacement and Beas never could translate to outside. We also have plenty of ways of "splitting out" Dawson, Cook, Oj etc 2. I know nothing about Tenuta, except the VT coaches raved about him, ie: Teller esque praise, but that's all to say he will be a developmental project that has an outside shot of the final lineman slot. 3. Speed and versatility: the type of players that we added, just speaks to the job Beane does to improve weaknesses and continue evolving this roster. My biggest beef with last year's draft, was lack of speed that we added...it was a meat/potato draft. This year we get our dessert and the speed should be apparent early in the season. 4. Immediate value/complimentary players: should see many guys contribute this season, but I'm most excited about the complimentary skills they added to current position groups, ie: speed/receiving back, press corner ability, Yac receiving skills, etc. Going to be a fun/athletic group.