Khyber53

Okay, I'm going to take a controversial stance here... maybe. I think that we are told constantly that the QB is the most important player on a football team. And many times, that is true. They can make a team or break a team. But what if the QB is just one of the cogs that makes the team work. Like the computer in a car, it doesn't run the engine, it just sends the electricity/fuel/torque where it needs to go at that minute. It feeds this, then that, this, then that again as needed. If a team is run with this mindset, and the QB is just there to feed the ball to this RB, to make sure the play gets in to all the guys on the field, to make some last moment adjustments and make some throws to open receivers, then it all works. It's game management, it's playing point guard, it's the pivot point. And, well, Bryce has been doing that. He's mostly been trying to let others do their jobs and stay out of their way. And, like it or not, the kid has shown remarkable resilience when the game is on the line. He suddenly gets tough and focused. Nope, he's not turning in the stats to make the fans cheer. He's not throwing precision strike bombs every third play. But he's somehow there, making his contribution. He's not a star, but he's not bad either. And that makes it tough on the fanbase. It's hard to get behind him and cheer him on. Even though he's been behind center for one of our best seasons at the midpoint in a long time. Maybe he has a breakout game and passes for over 300 yards and 3 TDs. Maybe he completely collapses in a five turnover, seven sack game. Maybe he just keeps handing the ball off and making some decent mid-level throws when needed. Who knows? But I will say this. The kid that got just thrown into the bench from that sideline smash early in the Green Bay game got up like a helluva man and went back out and competed. Stats and stature aside, the guy ain't a pushover. And you've got to respect that.

You and me both, brother.

Rozeboom played like a man possessed yesterday. I hope this was the game that sets the tone for the rest of his career here.

It is an inevitability. There are 53 players per team, untold numbers of coaches and trainers and management people on each team, plus there are what like 20 teams of eight referees working the league... All it takes is a young player coming out of college who overspent and overborrowed on their NIL deal, then over-borrowed based on what they thought they could earn, then they are over a barrel. I can think of two examples of that (and famous ones to boot) already. Or a ref who has gotten behind in their mortgage or lost most everything in a divorce. Or a back-up QB or bottom of the roster guy who knows his time on the league's dime is running out who is willing to sell copies of a playbook or just pass on some real injury information that isn't public. Or how about a star player's personal pee provider just decides that yes, for $1 million they will make sure that guy's next pee test gets blown out of the water, crippling a team's chances right before the play-offs. Soooo many moving parts, so much money at play on an industrial level. And right now, we aren't even talking about the devastating impact this is having on the incomes of young college age and under 30 men in America right now. The numbers are being soft-pushed into the background because the ad revenue is so strong, but it's going to be terrible. They kinda sold their souls on this one. And that always comes back around to get you.

This! Bet you bottom dollar it's within this or the next season. And it will be big.

Sure beats being baffled by us blowing it game after game!

Let's enjoy it for what it is. And that first post was hilarious. We somehow keep winning games in the least expected ways. This is getting to be a scrappy team that no one should want to see coming up on their schedule. This probably won't be our big year, but you'd have to be a big cynic not to think something good was building... finally.

We pulled them down to our level and just out wrassled them. Good job guys! Ugly wins are wins just the same.

We got the win, and Bryce conducted another game winning drive. Say what you will about the stats (and they are consistently bad), the kid doesn't wilt when the game is on the line. But man, we've got to get something going during the rest of the game...

I thought the only way we'd win was if it got ugly with the turnovers and if Rico was used extensively. Scary to be right. Now, let's see who is next.. Also, Bugles before every game we've won.

Winning against massively favored opponents by turning it into an ugly game is well, a sign of a team identity being formed and young men buying into what the coach is putting out there. We're a scrappy bunch, can't take that away from them and our defense played lights out. And how about our O-line, injuries and all taking Micah Parsons out of the game pretty much? Rico has been terrific and that's great. I hope we find a way to keep him for next season. And Chuba, I just get the feeling that he isn't fully recovered from that injury. He doesn't move like he did before. Bryce... I hope he gets a lot of wins because he's going to make a helluva back-up if he doesn't start getting much, much better stats. Rookie kicker? We're good.

We've got a chance. But we're going to work the run game all danged day.

Feasting on the foes again today! It's the Packers today so it's CheddarWurst and potato salad. It just screams Wisconsin for some reason. And Bugles, of course. What about y'all?

Yeah, right now there needs to be a culture shift there. I think the coach lost the lead roll in that a while back and there has been a vacuum there since the real team lead went on IR. And if you don't know what I mean, it was the guy that once ran his sports car away from the cops to the team facilities rather than get a speeding and reckless driving ticket. And somehow got away with it, with no repercussions.

This Also, on this team right now, I think you need some kind of consistency builder. Giving Chuba a second contract and then trading him away so early in it doesn't look great in a locker room for a team trying to build an identity.

Somebody was going to. Not sure if McDaniels survives the season there. And they'd be letting a good coach go.

Woof. I watched that game. The Dolphins really are that bad. So bad that for all the praise that the Ravens got last night, I've got to wonder if we just saw them successfully punching their way out of a paper bag.

Look for the best ILB who has a proven track record of running the defense on the field. High leadership and football IQ marks, good tackler, looks to correct mistakes being made in-play. Needs to be the brains more than the brawn. Luke was always the brains, TD the enforcer and Shaq the chaser. Worked like a charm. Dan Morgan should know how to build this, but seemingly can't. I think he is easily sold on players by their agents more than what they actually bring to the field. But what do I know?

Move back to 4-3 full time, start putting more mass and muscle into our DEs and push for more blitzing, too. I'm sick of a passive defense approach... "Do what you want to the girl, just leave me alone" isn't how you win in the NFL.

Been here since 2009, what a long, strange trip it's been. Here's hoping the road goes on forever and the party never ends.

Grabbing anyone from the Titans just isn't worth the investment. MLB, though, needs to be addressed either now or in the first round of the draft.

We will believe in changes when we see them.

Roll it into next season while we spend the rest of this one seeing what we've got, what could be drafted and what we'll still need. Then go grab it. We aren't far from being competitive and we're developing a level of grit we haven't seen since the best Rivera days. There's still a long way to go, but don't eat the seed corn yet. Unless Myles Garrett is on the trading block... then grab him. He'd fix a whole heap of our problems.

Honestly, I don't think Canales is on the hot seat at all right now. He inherited a bad team with little depth and a QB who came at a high price and got no coaching in his first season (coupled with some physical limitations that require different game planning). I think he and the Teppers both knew this was going to be a situation where he had to show progress in more than just the QB position to keep his chances going. And, well, we might not like it but there's progress being shown. The defense has shown some good games and some terrible games. That, especially over last year's effort, is a remarkable growth. As bad as we look at times this year on defense, we are nowhere near as bad as we were last season. Nowhere near. Brown came back and shored things up, and both free agent pickups and draft picks seem to be helping. It's not a finished product yet, but it isn't embarrassing (at least on a consistent basis as before). On offense, well, Bryce has done better. He's not putting up big numbers, but we're sitting at .500 at the mid-season point, which is a far shot better than we have been. Bryce probably isn't our answer at QB (unless he really turns it up when he comes back from injury), but our running game is stronger, our receiver corps is markedly better (to the eye if not on paper), we've got some decent tight ends for once and our O-line had been looking decent to good (at least until Buffalo opened up a machine gun on them... ouch). If Bryce just holds the line here as he's doing, we'll finish with an okay record for once. If he does poorly, it's just another rinse repeat season for us. Either way, I think we could either go QB in the draft or look for a solid free agent back there. All that being said, I think that Canales has made a stronger case for his future here than he is making for his present here. Play calling could be much stronger, more inventive and more able to exploit opportunities. He needs someone in the coaching booth who can see the whole field making those calls while he manages the team and the game. That's going to take a step of maturity on his part. And I think Ejero moves on after this season, here's hoping he gets a HC gig next season (good for him and even better for the compensation we'd get). All that said, if this team does completely collapse after all these injuries, all bets are off. If he can hold the team together with these injuries and make it to that late bye-week, then he's going to be here. If we can somehow snag a wild card spot (and we are honestly very much in the hunt) then the sky is the limit.