Dr. Who

Van Denmark has looked pretty good at LT. IOL is suddenly pretty deep. McGovern, Torrence, and 2 of Anderson, Bates, Edwards, along with Morse. It's the poor play of Dawkins added to uncertainty with Brown that elevates concern to urgency at OT.

I am keen on Anderson. Edwards is coming off injury. If he is playing well, that is a plus. I don't think your surmise unreasonable.

Has to be sarcasm.

Surely Bates would have some value in a trade if it comes to that.

Oh, I wasn't trying to say it was all short stuff. It was a diverse attack, but it was diverse because it did not neglect the entire field and always try to swing for the home run.

As @BADOLBILZ was pointing out in another thread, it's also incumbent on Dorsey to call a game that features short and intermediate routes. You can't be dully always trying to hit on the long ball. And that is equally on Josh. He's the most talented qb in the game, but he doesn't play as smart as he needs to. He's certainly bright enough to figure it out, so it's a matter of not being stubborn and foolish. Last years draft is looking like very poor returns. This years is much more promising. I was an early advocate for Kincaid, so I'm not going to fault Beane for taking him. It's hard to find good LTs picking late first round. It wasn't a particularly good year for MLB in the draft. Still, I do think this regime has not been sufficiently driven to build the best oline possible and that is a culpable failure when you have a qb who could destroy the other team if he wasn't running for his life all the time.

One hopes Dorsey has the minimal intelligence requisite to figure that much out and also that Josh abandons the need to emulate Brett Favre all the time going for the long ball. It's just not smart. When we destroyed the Pats* in a near perfect playoff game, he was taking the easy stuff and the offense was unstoppable.

You might want to look over some of the thoughts by Ralonzo, GunnerBill, Oldmanfan, etc. The initial wave of pessimism is not outright wrong, but there's legitimate pushback on some of the narratives that quickly foresaw doom. (And no one is unconcerned. It was a fiasco of a game, no doubt.) There are real issues at OT and MLB. It appears on second look that Dawkins was as atrocious as everyone thought, but that Brown was less terrible with some good play. I'd like to see Van Denmark get a lot of snaps at LT in the last preseason game. He shows promise. I don't know what the answer is at MLB, but I'm starting to think Milano and Williams are the best two LBs on the team. Williams is not up to calling the defense, so maybe they could pass that off to Milano.

I blame Marge.

I live in Georgia, so I end up watching bits of the Falcons. Seems to me their third string qb, Logan Woodside, has looked better than the starter or Heinicke, the back up. I get that he is frequently playing against lower level competition. He might be worth a look as I doubt the Falcons keep 3 qbs. Still wonder if the Texans are open to trading Davis Mills at a reasonable price. @Ralonzo started an informed thread on the oline last night. Main takeaways for me, Dawkins was the worst tackle yesterday; Brown was uneven, but better than many suppose. Van Denmark shows promise and Anderson ought to make the team if they judge on merit. I keep reading that Shorter is body catching everything, which takes away his size advantage. Haven't heard much good on Shakir. I hope they are willing to choose Ankou over Ford if the current trend in play continues. Don't have any answers for MLB. Everyone was writing off Bernard and now most are hoping he recovers from the hammy and can at least be adequate. Dorian Williams isn't ready for the job, but he looks like a player that won't bust.

I wouldn't try and prognosticate from the entrails of a preseason beast. It wasn't pretty, but it also wasn't dispositive. I indicated already what I considered of perduring concern. The folks who enjoy misery and rapidly predict doom are in fine fettle. It's a weird quirk to carry. The trolls are gleeful and the morose feel vindicated. If that's your holiday, have at it.

You've got an agenda, so this is really a futile attempt: nonetheless, look two posts above for a plausible rationale. The two teams did not approach the game in the same way. That is reflected in how the game played out. I agree that McD has not shown himself to be an elite coach. I do think he is somewhat better than average, though he has the annual clunker and when he does, it looks bad. I don't think this game is indicative as it was not game planned. They were not trying to compete and win, that was not their aim and it is rational that they had other priorities. Lots of overreaction. Concern about OT is the most significant genuine anxiety. MLB is not great, but I think they can scheme that deficiency to some degree.

Eternal is not the same as an infinite amount of time. Eternity is not time. If Eternity has genuine meaning, it explodes the antinomies that end in apparent contradiction for finite minds and the conditions of contingent, mortal being. Certainly, it is not something that can ever be approached or mastered by technology or any other action available to either a single being or an aggregate of all the beings that start from a condition of need and lack. Either there is a plenitude that is Pure Act from the Origin that is able to gift "eternal life" or it is a surd concept with only the emotive suggestion of meaning.

Yeah, I'm not sure what they can do about OT. Van Denmark appears to have some promise. He's better at LT. Betting on Brown was always risky and seemed unwise from the get go. I think we can overcome deficiencies elsewhere, but improving the IOL is not going to be a win if the tackles disappoint as badly as last night.

The IOL has been upgraded. Bates is versatile. I'd like to see them hold onto Anderson, because he's looked good at C. Tackle is the issue. It's not outlandish to think that Dawkins can at least raise his game to average. Van Denmark is better at LT. He's shown some promise. RT is the main issue, and it is a concern.

Davis Mills if the Texans will trade him for a late pick. Logan Woodside has looked good for the Falcons; really better than Ridder or Heinicke. Don't think they'll keep 3 qbs. Worth a flier, perhaps.

I have some hope for Van Denmark. Is Gouraige anything more than a practice squad candidate?

He's not a pessimist. He's a troll.

Ah, well, the frisson associated with an idiosyncratic aesthetic is certainly not to be blithely dismissed. You might like to peruse Flannery O'Connor's short story, "Good Country People," though given your tastes, read it alone.

Top four are locks. I think you are correct that they will want to keep another bigger receiver with either Shorter or Shavers most likely. In fact, Patmon and KeeSean Johnson have had good camps. Patmon is also 6'4", though I suppose he is a PS squad possibility only. Some folks are talking about Isabella taking Harty's spot. Not with the FA commitment made to Harty. Then some think they try and stash Isabella on the PS and bring him in when Harty gets hurt, which is his penchant. I dunno, I have a feeling Josh has developed quick chemistry with Isabella. Today should be illuminating. Let's see if Isabella is featured when Josh plays his one quarter plus. In any event, I would agree that it is more likely the battle is between Isabella and Shakir. I still think it tilts towards Shakir as of this moment, but that could change and I am actually rooting for Isabella. If Shakir loses out, I think they try to trade him. If you place him on the PS, someone will pick him up thinking he is worth a flier.

I was sorta looking forward to the game until you put it like that.

Edward, thought you left us three centuries ago. Good to hear the pirate take on these things. I tend to agree.

Pretty sure they've got him in a straight jacket and he is having to type with his tongue.

The numbers were good, but as I remember it, there were still a lot of issues. Josh uncharacteristically had a lot of turnovers in the RZ, and they struggled the closer they got to the goal line. The run game never seemed integrated in a coherent fashion. It was sprinkled in randomly, and unable to take advantage of Cook's ability to catch passes out of the backfield; same for Hines, for that matter. Dorsey forgot all about Knox as a redzone threat for half a season. The offense became stale, there was a burst of creativity to start the season, and then not enough later on. Josh's injury, Gabe Davis struggling, the porous O-line, all that affected what Dorsey could do, but there were signs of a first year OC. I expect he will be better. The innovative sets and integration of 12 personnel that has been glimpsed in training camp are a welcome indication of growth. The effort to improve the IOL and adding Kincaid should also pay dividends. And they finally have a hammer at RB so they don't have to rely on Josh so often for goal line runs.