Khyber53

Prophetic.

You know he had to be on the bench just saying, "Put me in coach, put me in..." Me, I think you should sit every newly drafted QB for a year behind a vet QB. Even if that vet is just a journeyman. But I don't have millions of fans breathing down my neck to make something happen right now, either.

You know what? Good luck to him. Hope he finds a good home out there and does well for himself.

I certainly can't argue against that. He was a train wreck here and it was with good riddance when he was gone. Still, he did have a career out there.

Can't argue with that. Rhule was a massive mistake for this organization.

I wish I knew, but he had a growing confidence out there as the game went on. I sure hope he can build on that. I kind of think he's been under the gun to prove he can be an NFL QB since he got here in the fans' eyes, but he might also be having to prove it to himself. God, I sure do love those kind of stories when they work out. They are sooo rare, though. But then again, there was this Cajun dude a while back named Jake...

You know, I have to say Elflein had been better this season than last by a pretty fair margin. Still, Bozeman really passed the first look test this past weekend. Protection calls were mostly on the money and he can really tie up a DT. I've said for a long time that we really needed to get Center down pat if we were going to go anywhere. Maybe we have finally done that. Elflein was certainly looking fair to good, but if Bozeman really is as much of an upgrade as he looked, then it is going to be contract talks time for the man.

Some people just want star names on their team with no regard to whether those guys can play anymore. How about we take a hard pass on yet another worn out QB? Just for once. Yanno, make it a new effort.

Don't mark out, he's just building heat for the heel that is going to wrestle. It's all in good fun. And lighten up on pro wrestling, it's America's version of Kabuki theater. The theatrics, the atheleticism, the acrobatics, the story lines ... there's both innovation and ritualism in what they are doing. Yes, it is a work, but so are action movies, but they are also improv artists of the highest caliber or they don't make it far.

I've not crowned anyone in a loooong time, but okay. And yes, year two for those guys. None of them have completely ripened on the vine yet, so it is still hard to tell. None of them are tearing the place up yet, so we will just have to see. And that gets back to my original point, it's a roll of the dice when it comes to drafting a QB and pedigree only takes you so far, I mean, our two Super Bowl QBs were both great, one was the #1 draft pick and the other guy was a nobody picked up off the Saint's discard pile. The rest (except for maybe Burlein and Collins) were just busts and quite a few spectacular ones. Crazily, that's not just how it works for us, but for most teams in the league.

Let's pump the brakes on Fields just a bit. I'm still not sold on him or Lance. That crop of QBs just hasn't looked right at all yet.

The first and most important job of a Head Coach is taking putting a quality team on the field each week. The best ones can maximize all three phases of the game and push their staff and players for maximum effort and results. They don't have to be either defensive- or offensive- minded to succeed. They need to be able to lead men, strategize, evaluate and coordinate. Good head coaches hire offensive and defensive coordinators who can plan and execute schemes under the head coach's philosophy and direction. He respects their opinions and the knowledge they bring to the table and integrates it into the overall effort. He entrusts them to do the same for their subordinates and individual players. A good head coach sets the tone for the team. A great head coach creates an identity for the team (or brings them back to one in our case). Steve Wilks can be that guy. If he can get the right coaching staff around him, he can succeed. And he can bring "Keep Pounding" back into this team's DNA.

Every QB is a roll of the dice each season. Whether they are brand new out of college, are a proven vet or just a guy needing a chance, you don't know what you will get. And that can be season to season, too. Is there a more pivotal job in sports? A more make-or-break proposition? We like to think that teams like the Packers, Chiefs, Bills have all been built for these moments, that something they did, some evaluation they had brought them to the QB they are now working with. Maybe they did, but it was probably as much blind luck as anything else -- they somehow managed to catch lightning in a bottle. Each team has been helped immensely by giving that overcharged bottle over to a solid coaches and management teams. And medical trainers. I'd hope we can find that magic, but I'm not putting all of my hope in the draft. First and foremost, we've got a lot of work in-house to do. So much work.

Sooo much flex around here. Good for y'all.

We have that.

Is there anything that says we can't take one of SF's traded picks and go shopping with it? Just pondering since now with two wins we aren't completely out of the race yet. And that there could be some deals to be had.

Yes, doubly so. And perhaps we should make that our top draft priority rather than a QB. I think it is a surer fire deal -- but I really wish we had a way to evaluate Matt Corral before getting there, though.

Here's the thing, Burns needs a big pressure force on the opposite side of the line to get maximum value out of what his skillset is. That means one of two things: A: A team already needs to have an established pass rusher to pair him with. If they do, they are going to get one of the fastest, most aggressive guys in the game. If they don't have that, then Burns will be the main focus for an opponent's blocking efforts, much like we're seeing here. Burns is more fast than strong and he doesn't have the mass to move two o-linemen on his own. B: The other option is we desperately need to get someone as a rushing mate for him in the coming season. Much like Reddick worked well with him last year, he needs that help to really succeed. If he stays, then we've got to really put some effort into getting another effective pass rusher, hopefully someone with the strength and mass to not just command but demand double teams. Personally, I think that's our best route... to keep Burns and try to find that running mate. Should we manage to place ourselves outside of a top 5 pick, we might find that grabbing a perfect DE is a much better way to go and something more attainable.

He's one of us now, so good luck to him!

You have to judge the man like you should judge any head coach. It's the wins in the end. Progress is good, but it is deceiving as each year your squad can change immensely in truth but little on paper. Please see the Buccaneers, Rams and Bengals for examples. He now has a win. I'm not putting that first week against him and no one should. If he somehow pulls a winning season out of this, it will be a miracle and one we cannot, in any way shape or form ignore. If he breaks five wins, then he at least needs to be in consideration. Right now he has A win. I hope he gets many more. He has elevated the players on that squad in one tumultuous week. If he wants the job he has to keep doing this again and again, not because he's the interim, but because that's what head coaches do to manufacture wins.

This is good, quality analysis. What I see is that Icky is getting better at the pro-level game. Almost nobody has ever come in right out of college and were a monumental success at pass defense from the left tackle position. They get beat, a lot, that first season. And he's there, but I just see that he's learning the position. Run blocking, while still a skill, plays more into the physical gifts he has. Technique and exposure to the game will fix his pass blocking. Giving him extra help on that side during pass plays is exactly what he needed from the looks of it. It does, however, set up a tell that opposing defenses can use against us. Unless we learn to exploit the tell... He's a smart kid, and our coaching just got smarter. This can work out very well. Eventually. And probably sooner than later, but there are going to be some bumps in the road. We just can't shift him away. Let him learn in this very difficult season. He'll be a grizzled vet before it is done and he'll be a monster out there. Our monster.

Yesterday was great. But it was yesterday and whatever happened out there was for about a billion different reasons. Let's let this play out a bit more before we're ready to say the miracle is on. Still, enjoy that win, it sure was something.

You'd think this would be wrong, but the vast majority of #1 picks just seems to bear some level of truth here. A bad season nets you the top pick. A history of being a bad team keeps you picking at the top of the draft. You may be getting the picks of the litter, but if you can't either evaluate or properly use the guys, then it's all a wash. I want a team that can win games more than anything. Even if you are picking in the middle of the pack, with the right evaluations and a real, honest appraisal of your assets and coaching potential, you can make a winner. Sooner or later, every team has to put its future in the hands of some 21-22 year old kid straight out of college. More often than not, it doesn't work out. Taken at the right time, with the right team already on hand, and preferably with a good vet QB in the room, you can make it happen. Brady, Rodgers, Mahomes, Wilson all came out of college into just the right situation with the right coaching and well-built to progressing teams. Are we in that spot? Maybe, if you squint just right. There was a lot about yesterday's game that made me think we might just be a QB away. But that's a lot on just one game. And that's a lot on just one young QB. I sure do wish we had gotten the chance to see Matt Corral in actual game play.

Me, neither and I think that it was a bad line for the NFL to cross over. Nothing good will come of it, but hey, everything in the name of immediate profits, right? Integrity eventually became a commodity that could be sold. The amazing thing was how cheaply it could be had for.

I don't know, but if the NFL has fully gotten into bed with sports betting (and believe me they have) then the idea of a team, or teams, actually throwing games for draft positioning is very problematic. Like 1919 Chicago White Sox (Black Sox) scandal level. Like Pete Rose level. Yeah, to get caught tanking would implicate the team, the owner, the coaches and every player who made it to the field on any of the given Sundays. If you love the game, then you want the competition to stay true.