Khyber53

100%. It's the difference between last year's results and a playoff team. Converting first downs, when you really boil it down, is the key. We convert more and we keep them from converting as many. We could have been an 11 or 12 win team last year with just a handful of third down stops by our defense. This year, we have CMC back and if he can stay healthy and perform as before, then we will convert again and again. Our defense... on paper it should be stouter, but we need Snow to call the defense like he knows it is stout -- aggressive, not passive like last year.

Exactly. Teddy didn't do us many favors, but he was far from the only reason we came up short in game after game last year. And we came up just a wee bit short, one score most times. There's a lot of hope one can take from that, but there's also a lot of potential for a downgrade this season. On paper we should be much improved, but we won't know until the season starts. I think we'll do better and maybe contend, but we're in one of the three toughest divisions in a season where literally any player(s) could find themselves missing two games or more just because they walked past someone who coughed at the wrong time. Still, I'm liking our depth. Depth may be one of the biggest factors in winners and losers this season.

Probably the biggest reason I think Winston will flame out is because, well, he's Jameis Winston. I've never been a fan of his and he's always played for one of our division rivals. It really comes down to Darnold is our guy and Winston is always the opposing guy, therefore I'm pulling for Darnold and booing Winston. It's homerism, but hey, there it is. And Watson, don't get me started. Let's just let that go away.

This is a very good point. Also, beyond Teddy, those would have been wins had the defense been able to hold the line just a bit better. Teddy wasn't doing us any favors, but not being able to get the opponent's offense off the field on third down is big, too. Really, we just weren't "there" for a number of reasons. Hopefully we've corrected some of those reasons and didn't pick up any new weak spots. Just a bit more success here and there would have changed last season mightily.

Panthers vs Saints won't be decided by the QBs. It's going to be their D-line vs our O-line and our D-line vs their O-line. Everything else is pretty much a wash. Which side has the advantage? Not really sure at this point. Both o-lines have their difficulties and both teams have good defensive lines on paper.

Right now, I'm not sure why Watson doesn't just go ahead and play. If he wants out, he's going to have to show teams he is worth the cost that's being asked. Right now, no one is taking the offer. He's going to have to make some team willing to cough it up before the trade deadline once they know they are desperately in need of a QB. Having a couple of wins under his belt (because the wins will be on him considering the Texans' team quality) will make him more attractive. Personally, I see Jameis Winston flaming out fast and Sean Payton diving into this to get a QB he can work with that needs no development. Scandal? This is Sean Payton... he has more experience navigating scandals than an editor at TMZ.

Just need someone who can catch the kicks and know when to just take a knee in the endzone rather than bring it out to the 21. On punts, just fair catch it and get the offense on the field. For every attempt to run a punt back you get maybe seven yards if you are lucky, but it's often negated by penalties. Just fair catch it, get rid of the risk of a hold or block in the back.

In light of his self-proclaimed genius, errr super genius, I've got nothing to say.

Two different characters in the comic book, two different characters in the movies. When both emerged in the actual comic books, that was the "cool" character archetype, so you end up with guys like Deadshot, Bloodsport, Slade, etc... sort of combinations of the Punisher and Deadpool.

Rare is getting more common every day. But really, let's enjoy the football for as long as we can this season. I may well be wrong and we get crowds in the stands through the Super Bowl. I sure hope so. We need it.

Well, you're partly right on the drafting, except we draft linemen nearly as often as you'd think. We picked up two in the most recent draft, who may or may not pan out. None in 2020, Little and Daley (bust and backup-ish) in 2019, none in 2018, Moton in 2017, none in 2016, Williams in 2015, Turner in 2014 and Kugbila (washout) in 2013. Nine guys in nine drafts. Moton and Little were both taken in the second rounds. Moton has become a stalwart here and Little, well if he hadn't had the concussions he might have been decent. Since we never really got to see Little perform (getting injured way early in his rookie season) we'll just have to count him as bust based on performance. But those are our two highest draft picks spent on the line. That's it. Even with all of the worry and difficulties we saw last year because of bad line play, and picking early in the draft, we still didn't even make an effort until the third round. We took Christensen, a well-regarded LT, and then pretty much were told he wasn't expected to play LT or even be a starter this year. We took another guy in the sixth, G Deonte Brown from the stout Alabama championship team O-line, and even after a decent preseason stuck him in the second string. At a certain point, you have to wonder do we even know what we're doing? Or are we specifically just stashing players for Rhule's third season? And trying to get another high draft pick by sacrificing Sam Darnold? (Let's face it, if bad line play kills Darnold's season, the blame will fall more on the side of Darnold just couldn't cut it and he was what we thought he was.) I know it sounds crazy, but it's just as crazy to think that in nine drafts and the off seasons accompanying them, we could only draft, attract or develop Taylor Moton and produce umpteen meh linemen? Random chance probably would have served us better than this!

I don't mind that Disney bought up a bunch of stuff because, in truth, they were buying legacy brands that needed to sell and could have gone to companies with less commitment to product and longevity. Look at Marvel -- no one else had the deep wallets to do what they did (basically risking a ton on Ironman -- an unappealing character outside of the Spiderman/Fantastic Four/X-Men realms and believing in rehabbing Robert Downey Jr. and (at that time) relative unknown Jon Favreau). Really, just look at how badly other big film companies had screwed up Marvel characters (and DC, too). And Lucasfilm? I think it was showing that George Lucas needed to have the franchise taken off his hands and put into a better place. But with all of this, it has not reduced the amount of content being created out there. For all the screams of "we will all be sheep watching nothing but Disney properties" there's just more and more and more stuff being created out there. New ideas, new ways of telling stories, new stars in the making. They can keep buying stuff but we're living in one of the greatest times ever for creative types -- there's a voracious market, there are unlimited outlets and so much money to be made -- either from the big studios, streaming services, and even the tiny patreon and youtube vehicles. It's a good time to be alive if you want to be entertained.

Whew... yeah... ummm... At a certain point you have to wonder if perhaps we can't choose a decent O-line coach and that our scouts just can't judge offensive linemen. We've got Meyer and Sparano working on it this season, but could we not, even by accident, develop more than one starting quality offensive lineman? We have Moton and... a bunch of guys who'd struggle to start on any other team in the league.

Honestly, we're in 1919 a year past the big flu outbreak trying to learn how to deal with what is going to be a long run of the disease (really, every flu outbreak since then is just a variant). Except this is more deadly than the flu. Covid is going to be with us for a long time and we're going to have to wrestle with it mightily before we can get it contained, not controlled, like we have flu today. We're getting better at dealing with Covid every day, from therapies to vaccines to care initiatives and preventative measures, but we haven't hit exactly what will get us to a workable coping methodology yet. We're going to lose even more dearly loved people and we're going to have to make sacrifices but some day this will be no more than the flu is now.

In truth, the NFL's plans and rules dealing with Covid are basically wishful thinking. Right now, everyone wants to make every effort to keep working that it's all going to be business as usual, full slate of games, fans in attendance, no make-up games. If you look at the spread going on now, and realize that there are other variants lining up behind Delta and will emerge, then we're going to have to be prepared for a season like last year, even with the vaccinations. No one wants it, but conditions are that we're just trying to hold another shut down at bay for as long as we can. Come November, December, it's going to get bad.

And we're walking...

Actors just can't do Southern accents. They don't understand the nuances, they just think "stupid" and go on.

Yeesh. I'm not even gonna.

I had to look... all three made the active roster (as it stands at this moment). Sheeesh that was a masterwork trade then!

Lasik only fixes the eyes. Decision making... not sure that can be fixed.

They aren't bad, as long as Radio Shack hasn't set out a bin of used batteries before the game.

Let's just look to the immediate future. C'mon big trade.

Honestly, he looked like he was in preseason under the idea that as a vet and holding a contract, he really didn't have to work at it. He got outhustled by about three guys that should have been lower on the depth chart than him. Not sure he'll be missed here. He might have been the better player, but he didn't seem to make much effort to prove it.

This has been a tough year. I lost my first cousin Monday, his Mom two months ago (long-standing medical issues) and five months ago I lost another cousin to suicide. This has been a trying year for so very many people. I really need a good season of football to help me cope, yanno? And to enjoy that season with the folks I love.

He was a really good, good man.