The Big Cat

This guy gets it.

That's turrible

More often that not, that's synonymous with "successful."

For real, that actress will never have to work again. That campaign is seven years and running.

Please, bruh. I gots more flow than Progressive.

You're crazy. 6-10-8. This dude's on fire!

You sure about that? Or ton runs like di al up Unless you pronounce "dial" "dile" I've always pronounced it "di-al"

At least your batting average didn't change. We need a third party to arbitrate this one. Because one of us is definitely the fool here.

Sunday's game could DEFINITELY cause an avalanche of ass-kickitude. (in both directions)

Wow, fellas. Rhythm not a strung suit here, I see.

One for three aint bad. Sammy cut that stupid hair. (because of what happened to Ivory) Squished beneath the Williamses. Orton run likes dial up.

Horse ****. Atlanta (12): scored 92 of their 291 in two games. We play the games on our schedule, just like the 31 other teams in the league.

Yep! Robert Woods is doing what professional receivers are supposed to do and routinely do for other teams. We just haven't seen it in awhile because we haven't had QB's that let them go up and make a play.

Right. And just as we've seen a devaluation of RB contracts because of that shelf life, perhaps the "seismic" shift in professional QB's could follow a similar path. I'm completely spit balling here. I'm not saying it WILL happen, but I am saying it's within the realm of possibility.

That's all true. But perhaps working toward stellar pocket passer and abandoning what WILL work is letting perfect be the enemy of good. May be it's time to reevaluate the QB position? I can't prove anything and you know that. That could be the response to--literally--every assertion made on this board.

I agree. But while EJ probably has a much, much higher ceiling than Orton, he also--currently--has a much lower floor. So, which are we hoping will rise first? And in the meantime, while he struggles to figure it out (not a knock on him, I believe the point of this thread is to discuss what reasonable expectations should be for a young quarterback who WILL struggle), we have a world class defense that's compromised by his low floor. I think it's Orton's higher floor that brought him here in the first place, and if we go into 2015 with the same QB's, what will earn him the starting job next September too. EJ's not ready. And it's not worth risking what we DO have for him to develop, IMO. Russ Tucker--former Bill--was in an interview this week talking about this, specifically how the read option took the league by storm in 2012, and how it's the best option for Kap, Newton and RGIII but that owners/GM's are the ones pumping the brakes not wanting to risk their high-worth investments. The gradual phase-out of the read-option has corresponded to each of their declines. So no, as has been common wisdom, I guess college-style offenses that expose the QB won't catch on in the NFL. Woods said that Orton does what receivers want them to do: give them a chance to catch the ball and make a play. That's a backhanded critique of EJ, but he's also made the most of that opportunity, making the plays when they're there to be made. Sammy famously said that Orton runs things "differently" (read: better). Woods and Sammy were pouting all over the field in weeks three and four. To say that wide receiver morale didn't play into the decision is to ignore the before and after.

You, know, actually, they're still ranked 7th in total yards and 10th in ypp. They just give up an assload of points. Think of it as our offense and its redzone woes, just in reverse. Cool, thanks. And also, way to be on this stuff. This board appreciates some good sweat equity for the good of the order. It's a popular place because--believe it or not--it's one of the more reasonable places on the Internet, and that's thanks, in no small measure, to quantifiable context provided by posters like you that helps steer the conversation. Bravo!

I guess I don't buy this cowboy mentality that so many posters here have regarding what is essentially OPM. The Jets identified what they thought gave them the best chance to win and they went out and tried to manufacture a win and were damn near successful. When was the last time an NFL team rushed for 277 yards...and lost!? When it's not your job to produce wins, and you don't have 22 guys putting their lives on the line each snap of the game, it's really easy to sit behind a keyboard an espouse about all the wild and crazy things that COULD have won the game if the coaches had just strapped on a pair.

I don't buy this regression claim. He looked to me to be exactly the same as he was throughout his limited 2013 run.

I'm asking what you think they SHOULD have done. Also, bear in mind: the game plan pretty much worked. They ran for more than 5 ypc...on 49 carries. 277 rushing yards and they found a way to lose. That's criminally insane.

I agree with most of what you say here, but IMO, there will be SOME moves made this offense do move toward securing the QB position.

Okay. So what is it that you suggest?

Well, first off, this narrative needs to stop. I'm sure you're on record here as saying how great EJ was poised to be, just like many of the posters here who suddenly want to blame his limitations on the coaching staff. Secondly, the cause for Orton's so-called slide (sure looked bad against NYJ, huh?) can easily be explained one of two ways that have zero to do with the TSW default coaching critique: He's a much different QB than EJ and thus runs a different kind of offense differently. Whaley said as much in an interview. For his first few starts, teams didn't have reliable tape to gameplan for him. Now they do. He's Kyle !@#$ing Orton. Markets have a tendency to normalize, and once teams figured out what he/Hackett were up to, guess what? He regressed to the mean.

Because Harbaugh is likely gone.