Khyber53

Okay, still in honor of the old school great that started doing this back in the day. (Can't remember the name, sorry.) In my tradition of feasting on the foes, we'll be ordering Jet's Pizzas. And of course, Bugles, the best crunchy snack ever. How about y'all?

Really looking forward to this game. It's going to let us know if the recent resurgence is for real or just happenstance.

Pass blocking is a really hard stat to correlate into real world. There are some parts of it that are incredibly dependent on things well beyond the linemen. Play calling can affect it, receivers route running, chipping from backs, QB awareness and mobility, strength of play action, adjustment calls at the line. And those are all things we're still working on here. I also think we are getting closer to the right recipe for our O-line. I think Cade Mays at Center is the right move. BC at guard seems to be working out. And I really need to see Moton back in this line up to see if we are showing overall improvement. We aren't there yet, obviously, but something is beginning to gel.

It's not just growing Bryce's game, it's also the coach growing the entire team's game. We need to be a smash-mouth running team. We're built in the trenches for it, we have the TEs for it and we damn sure have the running backs for it now. If you can make that your bread and butter, then developing a point guard QB that can distribute short passes as an extension of the run game and once in a while burn the other team downfield when they creep up to eight in the box, then you've got one of the classic recipes for a winning organization. Our defense... getting better. But holding the opponents under 30 isn't going to cut it. Hold them under 24 and we're showing progress. Under 20 and you become dangerous. Special teams... started out rough with those bad tackle games, but it has swung about mightily. I think we're onto something here, but we still haven't arrived.

They've said forever that you don't know what kind of receiver you have until their third year. Kelvin Benjamin looked like the GOAT his rookie year to some people. And then injury and happenstance just ended that. Steve Smith was lucky to see the field as a rookie outside of special teams. XL may come along and get with the program. Tet may struggle as DBs have more tape on him to learn his tendencies. Who knows? With both, though, we have four years on a cheap contract and a fifth year option to sound it out. Guys like Coker and Tremayne... those guys you hope they develop quick enough to get them into a good contract for us before someone else poaches them away.

Tua, Jalen Hurts was there for a while, Ken Stabler... those are the ones with success. Mac Jones is looking pretty good in San Fran right now but that's what good coaching and good team building will do for you. Still, I think Bryce is growing, just not in height. His growth as a player is on a collision course with the end of this season. Will he come out on top or not? I'm not sure yet, but if he does win out, then I'm going to be happy for him and us. If not, well, he got a shot and a lot of folks never do... And we're back to the drawing boards.

I think part of the difficulty might be that QBs have a lot of trouble once they come off the Alabama assembly line. That's a tight program focused on competing in the SEC and that school always has a succession line of QBs rolling. They can shred at the college level and then really have difficulty finding their footing in the pros. They can and do, however, eventually find it if they can last long enough. Will our guy? We're just going to have to wait and see. I think he's got this season to prove himself before the team gets antsy and the coach decides to move along to his own handpicked QB.

Odd stuff happening there, but they seem, historically, like a team that can sort things out.

This won't be a trap game for them. I worry more for the next time we face Atlanta. That's a death trap game if we aren't careful.

Luckily, we've got more games ahead to watch and see what happens. Maybe he keeps growing his game, maybe we see that he's topped out when we hit stiffer competition. Or maybe he flames out against a team he should well be able to beat like the Jets this weekend. I really can't tell where all of this will end. I can say, though, there's no reason to hit the kid at the moment. Let him roll for as long as he can. Heck, Sam Darnold is setting the league on fire right now, along with Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones. Examples of guys mired in bad coaching on bad teams (sometimes our own) that hit their stride just as a team did. Maybe we're about to get lucky. I do know one thing. The biggest change in a winning Bryce and a losing Bryce is that when he plays fearlessly, he is a hell of a competitor. When he gets scared, and he has so many times, it all just falls apart for him and no team can save him. Bravery makes the difference and it comes from believing in not just himself, but his line, his receivers, his running back and the play calling. Just like most young QBs. And quite a few of the old ones. Rodgers couldn't make it in the chaos of the Jets situation. He can in Pittsburgh, so it seems.

That Atlanta game really skewed the stats. Amazing as it was, the stats right now don't tell the tale of the tape yet. Heck, not sure anything does. We've either hit a lucky streak for a few weeks here or we've turned the corner (and for once it looks like the right one). This is a weird season for the whole NFL. I mean, the Ravens are 1-5? The Chiefs came out of the starting blocks and fell over their own feet? The Eagles are melting down in front of our eyes? Luckily, the Jets are still Jetting. Let's hope they get their act together about three weeks from now.

Option 2. Winning keeps the door open. Simple as that, just like with any QB. I don't care what the stats line is. I care about wins and losses. Gunslinger, Point Guard, Game Manager, Athletic Freak, Pocket Passer, Aging Vet... whatever. Get the win, keep the starting QB job. Do it consistently and stay competitive in the playoffs and you are, by definition a franchise QB. And those guys don't develop overnight. It's all about the wins and getting to the playoffs. Rings... well, those are rarer than people think.

So good to see you back! And what a great post. Hope to see more and more from you. There have been some really rough years for the team and there's developed a crusty, cantankerous exterior to those who've stayed through it all. Maybe a little sunlight is starting to peek through the cracks once again and this place can be more upbeat. And yes, maybe having Bryce as the QB as we improve might set the idea of what a QB is and how important the whole of a team is in its right spot. We appreciate not just your return but your insight!

Our young guys are looking solid all of a sudden. Might we be finally on the upswing? Canales keeps this up, there's no telling where we'll be.

He'll end up in Buffalo.