MasterStrategist

People keep saying WR3....what does that mean to you specifically? Because Davis isn't playing the slot, which means if we have our top 3 on the field that puts either Diggs or Dhop in the slot. Which to me, is a waste of resources. That's where Kincaid and Shakir will split reps. So basically Wr3 means backup/limited snaps, is that what you mean?

Horrible take on many fronts. Re: 2nd half of season offense: 1. Points: we avg 29.4 PPG (Chiefs as a comparison avg 28.1) 2. Yards: 379 3. Run game: we started to run the ball more, become more balanced and take pressure off Josh being a hero. 4. Josh: obviously his elbow injury had an effect on him, as he stated himself. The offensive gameplan was adjusted, see point #3 above. He also had some poor decision making games, ie: turnovers I wouldn't call the above "crappy and unimaginative", as you put it. That's just frustration speaking, and letting that blind you. Who would you suggest we should have hired as OC last year then? Dorsey was a known commodity in-house, highly respected by his coaches and players (past and present). Thats the definition of how you want to build and replace coaching staff departures. Top 5 offense, and you're speaking with emotion and throwing crazy predictions about not using Kincaid already....lets remember this come regular season

💯 DE is a luxury at this point. When we have three young, highly drafted players and a very high priced FA...fans need to grasp that's a premium investment. Yes, maybe whiffed on Aje and Boogie some, but they still have some potential and young. And we don't have the $$$s, as you said, to keep spending. Like you mentioned, we filled a potential "Von missed time" with some low cost moves. Not unheard for 3rd and 4th year players to make a significant leap forward at DE. On top of this, I have less concern bc I have faith Sean will be more aggressive with blitzing/simulated sugar A-gap looks/nickle blitzes. A healthy Tre and Hyde, allow us to bring more pressure/simulated looks. If they're both back to form, we are in good shape in general. Elam/Benford should take a step forward too, if one of them develops into a high-end starter then that's even more coverage flexibility (less need for high priced DEs)

Both sides of the ball played poorly against Cincy, it was definitely the worse performance of the season. That's been discussed ad nauseum, same with who was to blame, offense or defense. It was clearly bad on all fronts. Not sure I agree about the 27 points comment (assuming a win)...given the weather conditions, that can easily neutralize teams, which it totally worked against us..lack of running game/short passing game 2nd half of season. Bottom line is Frazier wasn't completely at fault, but to somehow assume Sean was OK with what was occurring on defense simply isn't true. His scheme, yes, but there's a reason he's taking over playcalling this season (which is an important point of discussion). As for 13 seconds, that's another topic beaten to death. When there's a pattern of failed execution on defense in the past few playoffs, which there clearly has been... That falls squarely on the Def coordinator/def staff/players. Hence Sean taking over playcalling and we will see if that rights the ship

Thansk for sharing, that's great information! My biggest concerns from 2021 and 2022 have been addressed, and hopefully pan out: 1. Interior OL 2. Def playcalling/style 3. Lack of middle field weapons/YAC guys 4. Def line And agree about our division, I think it will be weaker than much of the media is predicting. Similar to the Afc west last season. Spot on about Hyde and Tre. I'm also bullish on our young DEs taking a big step forward.

Not sure what is difficult for you to grasp: 1. 4 week scheduling notice: this is plenty of time for fans, players, coaches, team personell/etc to adjust, if a game is flexed. 2. Quality of games: no fan wants to watch a meaningless Thursday night game late in the season. Let me ask, if your options are in Week 14, to watch the following on Thursday primetime, which would you pick? Game 1: team A 3-10 VS Team B 5-8 OR Game 2: team C 8-5 VS Team D 9-4 To me it's obvious. I'm picking Game 2 all day. And it is about the $$$ and the fans, BOTH. It's something that is a win-win. Better quality games as a fan, more viewership ($$s, which is part of revenue sharing and impacts future cap ceiling), for the tradeoff of potentially having to reschedule a hotel, sell/buy tix, and/or change vacation schedule. Easy decision.

Seemed like a good man/leader, but I'm glad to see a change (regardless of how it went down). Hoping we see a more aggressive style/playcalling, not expecting anything schematically to change much. As many said, this has been McDermotts' scheme and philosophy. The devil is in the details with execution, and playcalling though. Improved playcalling has been what is lacking.... Best predictor of future success is past results, and Frazier has been dreadful in the playoffs (past few years summary): 1. Excellent: Pats 2021 2. Average: Ravens 2020, Miami 2022 3. Poor: KC 2020, Colts 2020, Houston 2019 4. Horrible: KC 2021 (13 seconds should have been the final straw), Bengals 2022 That Houston game should have been a W, in 2019...and that 2020 Colts game could have easily been another L. McDermott has a good scheme, it just needs to take it up a level in aggression and creativity, at key moments of games.

Your main point is spot on. When you have a star QB/high scoring team, you should unleash an aggressive defense. This is KC style, Dolphins, Eagles... I'm hopeful with Coach taking over the defense, he gets more multiple with his looks/scheme and more aggressive. At the same time, as a head coach you usually look to hire a coordinator (especially being defensive minded) who shares the same or very similar philosophies. Water under the bridge now, and not turning this into a Frazier thread, but i think alot of players could see a huge leap in production this year (Elam included).

Thats a good take and the most likely scenario. But I will mention that Beane/Coach are thinking long term about where Benford best fits. If they think that's safety, I'd still not be surprised to see them work on his conversion (ie: Cam Lewis LY, same as McLeod). And still find a way to keep 5 safeties, if need be. Personally, I think Benford would be best suited at Safety (long term), regardless of the signings we made. Our 7th rounder, Austin, is the exact type of physical/zone type corner that exceeds expectations (ie: Dane Jackson, Benford too) and would be a nice S/T guy immediately. Would put him in the mix to be the 4th outside corner. Speaking of Cam Lewis, I wouldn't right him off either. He gets a lot of flack for the Vikings game, but he is coming into year 2 of his transition to safety and could surprise. Bottom line, they have a lot of depth as mentioned, and the battles for the final CB/S spots will be fun to watch.

There is no scenario we can afford Hopkins, this has been beat to death....unless Cards eat a large majority of his salary (which is very unlikely). It'd require restructuring more deals, which Beane has said he's opposed to. As far as Gabe "still not looking the part of a #2", it comes down to more than him. This offense lacked any slot WR/middle field threat LY. A hopefully improved Shakir, Kincaid, then some more diverse weapons in Harty/Sherfield and Knox not having dealt with a major loss. I'd add OL really struggled as well, both interior and Spencer at times. Spencer hopefully is over his back issue, and continues to improve. On top of all of this, Dorsey having another season under his belt. Point is, this isnt a simple issue of Gabe becoming the #2 that fans are clamoring for. People need to realize that we have a modern NFL offense that doesn't need two high end WRs, Chiefs and other teams have proven its about balance. Now if Diggs would go down for an extended injury, then a Dhop would make sense. Otherwise, our offense should be primarily Diggs focused, with a more well rounded complimentary group this season.

13-4 would be a great record, with our schedule. Game 1 against Jets will be a great litmus, to see our improved OL/weapons against a very good front 4 and secondary. Philli (it's Philly btw), is the 1 game that I feel we will struggle. Rest of schedule is definitely winnable, we should be in every game and hopefully get to 13 wins.

Only XFL game that I watched...it was cool. QB play and general talent was better, compared to USFL imo. I like 2 "rules" the XFL uses, that'd be interesting if the NFL considered: 1. Kickoffs: like the no run up, and having to land in between EZ and the 20. 2. PAT: like the opportunity to pick to go for 1, 2, or 3 Both of these may have been discussed before, but they make for more strategy/skill. As both the kickoff and PAT in NFL, are mostly automatic/wasted plays

It's the Derby, go big or go home. Those are some nice suits!

Problem is the numbers. We're not keeping more than 5 DEs, especially if Von is ready for week 1(indications are definitely possible). So who goes? Boogie, AJE, Shaq? I'm not sure Beane is going to move on from any younger guys, especially just year 3 for Boogie and AJE did improve enough. They didn't sign Shaq just to cut him/not have him in their plans. I still think this is thr group we roll with, unless Von hits a setback or another injury.

It's fun to think about, but in reality these are "break glass"/emergency type signings. We have basically zero cap room, unless Beane restructures OR extends a few contracts (ie: Ed) with a material savings to this year's cap. Or these players accept a very low offer, it's possible I guess, but these guys are likely waiting for a key injury and someone to pay closer to their asking price. Cap aside, just analyzing the roster and Beanes comments: 1. DE: maybe a 50/50 shot we sign someone, best option would be a pass rushing specialist/non-starter, cant see us signing a fringe starter. Melvin Ingram would come to mind. We are keeping 5 DEs tops, AJE improved LY but still inconsistent. Is Ingram worth it over AJE? I'd say Beane keeps the younger player, on a cheaper deal 2. MLB: no chance we're signing anyone else before camp, unless a freak injury. Slight chance prior to draft, but we now have Dodson, Bernard, Spector and Williams competing. Not to mention Klein is an emergency fall back option. Like it or not, we're counting on someone to step up this year

Agree, he should be better in our scheme. However, he didn't play the traditional NT role as much LY (as you stated). That was AL Woods role. Poona was more often lined up at 3 or 3i, sometimes 5 technique. Seattle was more versatile with their fronts last season, predominantly a 3-4 scheme, but still had some of their 4-3 under mixed in. I'd expect Coach will utilize him most at 1-tech, but can be versatile. Daquon isn't getting any younger and took on a large role for us LY, we needed someone who could take more rotation with him. I don't think his potential needs unlocked, rather he needs to be more consistent. Not an excuse, but he had below-average talent lining up at 1-tech, until LY. Not to mention our DEs struggled prior to LY, and after Vin went down. His injuries LY didn't help either, his ankle was worse than originally reported and he battled throughout the season just like other guys up front. Daquon and Poona are good/solid players, but not like either are superstars. I wouldn't say we're investing into a 1-tech to unlock Ed's potential. Not easy finding disruptive 3-tech DTs, and while Ed isn't Aaron Donald, he is a very good player in his own regard and what he's asked to do. Beane, unsolicited, has brought up the desire to retain Ed long term. I think they'll try to get this done before the season, I'm expecting Ed to have a great year (if he can stay healthy)

Agree, he should be better in our scheme. However, he didn't play the traditional NT role as much LY (as you stated). That was AL Woods role. Poona was more often lined up at 3 or 3i, sometimes 5 technique. Seattle was more versatile with their fronts last season, predominantly a 3-4 scheme, but still had some of their 4-3 under mixed in. I'd expect Coach will utilize him most at 1-tech, but can be versatile. Daquon isn't getting any younger and took on a large role for us LY, we needed someone who could take more rotation with him.

Another great Beane interview, can listen to him speak all day. Nice info re: 1. Von: sounds like his progression is coming along very well 2. Kincaid: interesting to hear Beane give more details about the discussions with Jax GM, and with Joe Schoen as well. 3. Josh elbow injury/predraft interviews: it's probably been discussed before, but the initial 1-3 week time frame and jokes about Josh not avoiding contact in the Vikings game, never heard those details. Then Beane have some great insight into the pre-draft meetings, a bit more than the Rich Eisen interview 4. LB traits: Beane gave some indication (this is how I took it/first I've heard Beane say this), about Tremaines coverage ability. He raved about Milano matching up against TEs and Rbs, then also discussed what type of LB they ideally have at MLB. Have to say, Dorian Williams seems to meet alot of the traits he discussed Great interview by Chris Long too, he does a nice job with the questions/very natural approach

I don't think that about Settle. I could see us carrying 5 Dts, especially with how snake bit they were with injuries at Dt LY. Beyond 2023, my money is on an Ed extension sometime before training camp. Daquon is likely a year-to-year type at this point of his career, similar to Phillips. Then certainly FA/draft, not worried about 2024 at this point.

Feel like this is why he hasn't signed with anyone yet....he's asking too much/wants to be a starter (waiting for Draft/May 2nd comp pick date). Either way, I'd love to see it happen but not expecting the $$$ to align with us.

I think he flashed, albeit inconsistent, at 3-T...but we played him out of position in necessity at the 1-T at times. He was also injured LY too, just like all our Dts it seemed. Hopefully they can stay healthy this year

He's been all about the $$$, we shall see but it'd be a steep discount for us to be able to sign him

You need to tamper your expectations, first Dhop now Yannick. Yannick is going to want paid like a starter, not sure we need that/have the $$$s. Unless Von is going to miss most of the year, we need to count on our young DEs to continue improving. They'll likely continue monitoring Vons progress then decide if a modest improvement to DE is necessary. We will see what Fords contract is, but Beane has been adamant about affordable signings.

I think that domino will fall before training camp.

Exactly. 1 more thing to consider is how this signing impacts Ed's play too, in addition to DL and LB impact. Ed doesn't always have Daquan lined up with him, and he performs better with a true/capable 1-T. This gives us a much stronger rotation and trickle down effects elsewhere