top dawg

Man, I know you're going through it. It's some difficult times. I have dealt with an extended family member who had the same type of cancer. I'm just going to ask God to pull her through. I wish her, you, the kids, and the rest of your family well.

I feel ya, but just to add a little something to think about to that perspective, is anyone on our coaching staff an outstanding and sustained winner over those two centuries of coaching experience, or have they just been so-so, or hanging on the coattails of others? Real question (I haven't done the research).

I can't say that. He got a pretty middling defense. And he's a seasoned pro, supposedly one of the better backups in the league. You could probably put Dalton on the Texans or Colts and they might be undefeated right now. You also have to take coaching and context into account. In my opinion, Bryce's growth and experience means way more towards the long-term progress of our franchise than useless losses by Dalton.

Reich is guilty of the same thing Rivera was: He has some preconceived notion about seniority when a guy isn't getting it done, and refuses to play the guy who is actually more productive. Add in the fact that he's more invested in Sanders and keeping up appearances, everyone else is just a glorified afterthought at most.

We were poo last year in a poo division. The "problem" with an improved roster is that a lot of people think that their team's roster is the only one that's improved. There is a reason why Vegas had us as the bottom of the NFCS this year, and yet many Huddlers just kept singing the same tune. No one has moved any goalposts. I told you guys in August that I saw 7-10 as our ceiling (unless things went unexpectedly smooth)---hell, I started a thread about it. There was way too much newness and inexperience going on to have such great expectations this season. Many people said so, including @Mr. Scot. When Scot and I are in step on something, it's probably right. You talk of improvement, you're damned right I expect improvement, but "improvement" is subjective, especially within the context of season to season. Expecting a young team with a rookie QB and coaches---some newly promoted from lower level positions---trying to mesh philosophies together into an established plan is not going to happen without growing pains. As an aside, I was skeptical of the Reich hire and said so at the time. So, the thought of "all-star coaching staff" didn't really move me.

Steichen would have been better. Moore has looked kinda shaky. Harbaugh was the total package in my mind, though Tepper was never going to give him control, and I suspect that's why Harbaugh never solidified any traction when he and Tepper had their meeting. I think it's a bit overboard to call Frank a loser, though he was the safe, uninspired C+ pick reminiscent of a Fox or Rivera---a glorified John Rivera or Ron Fox. I just can't stand it, really. What kills me the most about Reich is that he seems out of touch with reality as to how average, dull and surprisingly situationally off the mark that his play calling really is.

So predictable.

This is dumb. Preseason is still just preseason. Anyone with realistic expectations, even before the preseason began, felt that it would probably be rough this season. A lot of you were simply delusional, or drank way too much of the Kool-Aid.

I wanted Jim Harbaugh, retread or not.

So what constitutes "garbage time?" All that is is an overused catch phrase that really doesn't mean anything. Stroud was NOT playing against a prevent defense for the preponderance of the game, and Indianapolis was trying to thwart the Texans from coming back in the second half. That's how football works sometimes---a lot of times.

You may be right about that. I really can't see any rookie do well if the last two games are any indication.

You may be right, but 3-14, 2-15, 1-16 or 0-17 will be a very hard pill to swallow. Fans will be calling for his head. And don't let Houston and Stroud show tons more. Tepper will likely be on a slow boil, and Nicole will be in his ear.

You can rationalize it all you like. All you can do is play the hand given to you. Every QB---perhaps most QBs---can't even put up damned near 400 yards, regardless of whether their team is getting smoked or not. It's even more impressive considering the O-line and the skill players. Some of you want to act like Indy was simply out there purposely giving him yards. I watched every pass. There was no prevent defense until the last couple of minutes. To his credit, Stroud does anticipate well, and he's not tentative as far as letting the ball fly. But, his receivers do look to be getting more wide open, and there seem to be more quick-hitter play calls across the middle. Stroud hasn't been perfect, just like Bryce, but he seems to be way less tentative. I can't say with any surety whatsoever, but this is probably a combination of his mindset, the coaches putting him into a better place to succeed, and receivers who are sometimes---not all the time---wide open more than ours. If we can get the coaching to maximize his skill set where it is now, and perhaps put a little less on Bryce's plate and feed him gradually, then perhaps he can be as productive, or even more.

To hell with Steichen, Wilks and Reich, Jim Harbaugh was the get, and Tepper ran him off (probably because he didn't want to give Harbaugh control).

Yes, P-Diddy, but Reich did not call the plays in Philly, Doug Pederson did.

Hush yo mouth!

If we win three games or less, he absolutely needs to be fired. Y'all can talk about Rhule and leashes and all that, but Tepper aint gonna be too happy if we obviously regress and Houston obvious progresses.

Well, I didn't want Reich. I had enough skepticism for probably a half dozen Huddlers, but I decided to push that aside for the time being and give him a chance. It's still early, but the supposed shine of the all-star staff looks more like sweat on a bald head. Reich's play calling was somewhat sketchy in the minds of Indy fans. He was/is also somewhat of a slow starter (which could give us hope depending upon perspective).

I haven't given up on Bryce at all yet, but my mouth 'bout fell open when I learned that Stroud had thrown for damned near 400 yards. I think that if anything, this is an indictment on Reich's play calling. Stroud has a worse line, and a so-so receiving corps that may not look as good on paper as ours, and yet he put up more yards in one game than Young has in two. --------------- On a way off note, funny thing: In my twelve team fantasy league, most of the dudes just keep backup QBs on the bench, so it's slim pickings with Garropolo, Tannehill, Ridder, Howell, Dobbs, Dalton, Wilson or Stroud. As Burrow is my QB & probably ain't playing Monday, I really don't have much to pick from. I picked up Stroud.

I was skeptical when we hired him, and said so. It all came down to his uninspired play calling. All you had to do was read what Indy fans had said. He's a nice guy, and he's also very knowledgeable about the game, but his situational play calling leaves something to be desired. I hope that these are just growing pains.

Yep. The only one getting consistently open last night was Thielen. Bryce can also throw into tight windows because he's had to.

Our offense has no identity yet. On an off note, It would appear that Chuba is actually our most explosive playmaker, and that's not the position we want to be in.

The other RBs are deemed to have more value. That's always been the thing with rotational backups. It's not surprising in the slightest. That's why he isn't here as well.

I haven't seen anyone hype TMJ since he's been here. People have generally said that maybe he could put it all together after flashing (after injury), and that if he could then that would be great. I haven't seen one person claim TMJ is the savior. He's always been a question mark. Obviously, this is a critical time in his career. The coaches decided to keep him because he had something on tape that basically said that he is worth exploring this season. I would hardly consider any of that hype.

Wasn't his best work, but he's likely still working some rust off.