Brand J

Trade one of the better third down backs in the league to gamble on an unknown RB in the 3rd? Yeah, no thanks. At the time all three backs were coming off a season where they had much more production than they do now - so much so that there was a large contingent of people on this board who would’ve rather seen James Cook walk than get an extension. We all see how well Cam Skattebo is playing now, but without magical glasses from the future, it was a guessing game. His impact could’ve been on the Zach Moss level, nobody knows. He was never an option for a team that had real holes and depth issues elsewhere.

Before the draft Johnson was thought of as one of the better third down backs in the league. Ray Davis was also very productive after his rookie year. You’re not taking a 4th (wildcard) RB in the top 3 rounds when you’ve got far more pressing issues elsewhere.

Didn’t he go in the top of the 4th? That would mean picking him in the 3rd when we already had Johnson and Davis backing Cook, which wouldn’t have happened. Trading up in the 4th would’ve meant more assets than it took to get Deone Walker and that also wasn’t happening. I would’ve loved Xavier Watts or that rangy New Orleans safety who picked off Josh, but that’s all hindsight. Skattebo was never a realistic option at any point.

There was definitely a play where his head slammed on the turf. I remember against Green Bay a few years ago something similar happened and he went on to have a terrible stretch of games. May be true.

But what do you do when he’s having an off game which includes missing open receivers? I get that if it was DK Metcalf he was throwing those 50/50 balls to and not Keon Coleman, the result might be different, but if he’s not reading the defense well and having a generally off night, there’s not much you can do with that (besides run the ball even more). He’s not being asked to be Superman, just run the offense. Hit the open guy when he’s open. I mentioned that Joe Marino said he has the tape to prove players are open and now I’m seeing stills circulating on social media showing the same. Stills don’t tell the whole story, I get that, but there’s one in particular where no one’s 8 yards within Shakir and Josh is seemingly looking his direction but doesn’t throw the ball. According to that poster the play ended in a sack. All of this is to say - everyone needs to play better, including Josh Allen.

Josh has to take accountability on his own for poor play and he does that. People keep throwing out the notion that “no one’s ever open” but Joe Marino said there were guys open throughout the game and he has the tape to show you to prove it. That’s not a Beane or McD issue, that’s a Josh Allen issue. Brady and Allen were the problem with the offense, if Allen was playing nearly flawless but constantly let down by others around him that would be another discussion.

If there’s a way to get robot refs on the field to replace human refs, I am 1000% for it.

None of you will convince me that “Edmunds was a better player than Bernard.” By what metric? He was certainly bigger and more athletic, but he didn’t exploit those attributes. He wasn’t physical. In one famous play, he had a full head of steam on a blitz and got stoned by a Patriots RB. I had never seen that before. All this talk about how he dissuaded QBs from throwing over the middle yet I have vivid memories of Edmunds standing there and chasing a completed pass within 5 yards of his zone. His awareness was putrid. If an OL got hands on him, it was over, he’d move backwards like he was on skates. In no universe was this gentle giant a better football player than Bernard. I’m not falling for that bull jive. Letting Edmunds go was the right move. The only question is was extending Bernard at 4/$50M the right move?

Bernard did in one season what took 5 years for Edmunds to do (in terms of making splash plays). I would not have wanted Edmunds back at Bernard’s cap number, he was not the answer. Maybe Bernard isn’t either, but at least you get the occasional splash play out of him. We need bigger LBs.

Sports Illustrated is running with a similar story too: https://www.si.com/nfl/former-nfl-qb-defends-patrick-mahomes-chiefs-on-controversial-td-play-vs-jaguars

I’ve been saying we need to bring in a passing game coordinator. Every receiver that comes into this Brady ball offense has become a lesser version of himself. Every one so far except Shakir. I’m not 100% confident his scheme would allow a true number one receiver to go off or become the focal point. He has a difficult enough time getting the ball to some of our playmakers as is.

Well, it’s certainly easy to understand how and why he was a training camp star. Between the DBs/LBs poor understanding of zone coverage, a guy like Keon can shine. He had the space. Put someone on him and it’s a struggle.

Beane got the most important position right and for that I am forever thankful, but I support moving on from him as well if we can promote someone who has a track record of being a fantastic scout (something Beane admits isn’t his background). I’m done with him getting antsy in drafts and moving up for mid players when he does better later anyway. After the season if it’s another failed SB appearance, I’d give McD an ultimatum: bring in a fresh defensive perspective/philosophy or you’re out as HC. Our personnel may not be top 100 players, but they’re also not as bad as they’ve looked. I was happy they finally went to man coverage in the second half, but the blown coverage to Bijan when Bosa was immediately in the backfield was another busted zone. Just man up, the back seven aren’t smart/instinctive/quick/fast enough to run an effective zone.

We like to complain that Beane’s lack of blue chippers have caught up to us. Walker looks like a home run pick, a blue chip player on the defensive side of the ball.

Hate to say it, but Allen’s floor is much lower than Mahomes.

Just throw that one OOB Josh. There was nothing there.

Josh has a mid season lull EVERY year.

OL and Allen having simultaneously their worst performance of the year.

Neither coordinator is ever ahead of his counterpart, especially Babich.

Im done with Rapp. Please put in Hancock, I’d rather take my lumps with more athleticism on the backend.

Best QB ever? I guess that would be true if about 5 others never played in the league.

Thing is, NFL talent isn’t so drastically different that the defense should suck this much. We’re not light years behind the Panthers defensive personnel man for man and yet the Falcons couldn’t score against them. It’s 100% a scheme issue, players aren’t being put in great positions. Too many open spaces, too many one on one tackle attempts. A ball just got topped and NO DEFENDER was within 5 yards to knock it down. It’s the scheme, or the play calls.

There’s just NO LBs at the second level to meet the run.

If the measuring stick is playoffs, they’re at least that good. They’re not winning a SB with this defense though.

Groot usually has 1-2 really good games a year. Maybe this will be one of them. He owes us after that penalty.