CRA

he should play. as much as any other starter. we got a new scheme. Horn hasn't even logged a season yet in the NFL. We need to be good defensively this year. I don't want to go w/ a Mr. Glass mindset. Also sets a bad tone I think w/ other legit starters. Horn more precious than Burns or Brown?

I mean, most players aren't CMC. Coaches still want and need players that aren't that. That's how you build teams. Saying Miles Sanders is a solid runner and hasn't been a good receiving RB isn't calling Miles Sanders trash that shouldn't be on the team. I think we should round out our backfield given the recent history of Miles and Chubba. Everything should be about Bryce Young. And the past several years would at least say we don't have as well rounded of a group as we should given how quick we should be getting the ball out. I don't view that as wild. I mean, all it takes is a quick google and you can find tons of reporting in Philly about Sanders and his struggles post rookie season in the pass game. And how it opened the door for others to come in on passing downs. Duce, head coach, and even Sanders himself acknowledging others were just better.

I actually don't disagree that if Wilks had this team earlier we would have won more games. But I think that is largely the competition we drew that year. We were competing while not exactly doing what I call playing great NFL football. Which I mean, it could happen again. Schedules to an extent make teams. Good teams largely have weak schedules. Best teams last year did. Really bad ones, tough schedules. And the prediction on SOS more times than not is hard to predict.

I mean, that is an article from early in his second season. If context matters, you can't just reference the take a month into his sophomore season. He went on that season to lead all RBs in dropped passes and highest drop rate. You can find articles with Duce and everyone talking about his bad routes, bad hands, etc that extend well past a month into year 2. Problems continued the next year in camp. Seasons after. Lack of reliability. And Philly continued to insert more reliable options into passing downs year after year. Miles Sanders is not a 3 down RB for a team starting a rookie QB IMO. We need to add a RB to our backfield. I mean, you can hope he improves. I do too. But the fact is, he hasn't been a good pass catcher in Philly. They didn't view it that way. And we don't view Hubbard as that. So why wouldn't we add a RB that actually has proven to be able to be good at what we know we will need to be a big part of our O. Instead of just hoping Miles turns into rookie Miles just because we want/need that.

Miles Sandes isn't a good pass catcher. It's largely why he found his way out in Philly. After his rookie season, he began to have big issues in the pass game. It's pretty well documented. Really bad sophomore season as a pass catcher. Plagued him in camps after that. Philly never trusted him again really in that role. Which is why they consistently pulled him in those scenarios going forward in favor of RBs more reliable. We know Hubbard isn't that dude. We have early down runners. Which is fine. Just hope they end up rounding out the backfield before the season starts. We have a skill hole in our backfield IMO. Especially given Young is going to have to unload it quick and often this upcoming season.

I'd love him coming off the bench if needed. But I suspect he might could get a starting gig for a team in need.

teams are going to load the box and force the pass. We got a stable of RBs with bad hands. We have a very average receiving cast compared to the rest of the league. Good coaches or not, you got to have talent that can win in the situations you get put in. I just expect a rockier road than some here. I love the Bryce pick. I just think expectations for this year are coming in pretty dang high for a rookie QB who will be in an offense that is new to everyone involved. Every aspect is a brand new marriage. The Panthers would basically have to be an anomaly of sorts to have real success with the way we are entering this season. And the general consensus here is playoffs. That seems high. An unneeded expectations for Young. Just seems to be a predictable path, going to end up having folks end up bashing Bryce for being a standard rookie going through rookie things. I just care about growth from Bryce. I care about that more than wins in 2023.

That doesn’t seem to be fair math for Bryce Young. Cam had a STUD cast around him offensively as a rookie and getting to 7 is a lot different than getting to 11. we got to 7 wins last year by winning a game where we had 32 passing yards on the day and scored 10 points. Our schedule should be tougher this year. Saints and Falcons should be better.

I mean in fairness, we won a game last year with 32 passing yards. I think overall the division will be slightly better overall than last year. So I think our schedule might be harder. plus, just the rookie QBs factor and winning games being hard in the NFL. Learning how to win and all. I suspect we could actually look like the better team sometimes and just struggle putting it all together at the end. People seemed to have removed Bryce Young from going through rookie struggles and learning. I think the 6 to 9 win range is probable. Lot depends on just the randomness of NFL games and how the ball bounces. Don’t think we will be good enough offensively to overcome things when they don’t go our way.

Duce was also there when the ball got taken out of his hands though as a pass catcher. Sanders isn’t in Philly because he lacked the ability to be a reliable dual threat player. I think he is a fine rusher. Hubbard is that too. A reliable pass catcher? IMO, we don’t have that. And we are trotting out a rookie QB who needs that. Hope they add some savvy 3rd down bet to add that component for Young.

Freak defenses or hall of fame skill position talent generally have been the markings of how teams made the playoffs with rookie QBs.

yeah, but for me, that's not cheap. Look at Sanders next season. Is that a cheap committee RB? Cap is the cap. Any savings can always go elsewhere. And that's the spot you can get by on cheap labor. Especially, if you build a good offense. Because you can turn an average Joe into a producer. Which IMO is what Philly did last year. Any decent RB was going to produce in that O w/ volume.

Still puts him at 65 though. And if you look at the Eagles backs, they had a couple guys in the top 10. I mean you can go back to the Double Trouble days. People have never liked my take on RBs and money. I'm generally never a fan of how we manage that spot. I don't like drafting them high. I don't like paying them after their rookie year. and I don't like paying FAs "good" money. If you build a quality OL, you can build a good committee for cheap. Put the money into the pass game and defnese.

Take the first graph. The YACON/ATT and sort that one. The 1.7 number. That's the stat/ranking I was referencing.

you already forgot him lol. you mean, Hayden Hurst? I mean, he is a fine TE upgrade. That's what you want to do, get better. But we sucked at TE. We now have an average starting TE. I'm fine w/ the TE add. I feel we should of added more at TE to bring that group up though. Still think we whiffed in the TE heavy draft and should of snagged the UGA freak show.

Biggest concern with Sanders is his lack of production after first contact. He was running behind the best OL in the NFL and with huge holes thanks to the push and Hurts. Miles Sanders ranked I believe 65th in terms of average production after first contact. And the Eagles thought others were better pass catching options. I think the pass catching RB is the hole on this roster given we are starting a rookie. Because you load up to stop the run vs Bryce Young. I think we need a backfield that can handle about 80 receptions.

Miles Sanders isn't a top talent though. I mean, that is the reality of it. He is a solid RB. He cracked 1000 yards for the first time in his career last year (behind arguably the best OL in the league) and hasn't caught a receiving TD since 2019.

I think the entire offense is being overrated that is around Bryce Young. Not saying they are trash. But it's a step back in a lot of ways from what we had around Sam freaking Darnold. Miles Sanders is a pretty good RB. A massive step back from CMC. Miles Sanders belongs in a committee IMO. He was a pretty good runner behind a great OL. But some of his more advanced stats seem to show a lot of his success was because of the OL. He didn't make a ton happen on his own. and whoever we want to claim is our #1 WR is a massive step back from DJ Moore IMO. I do like the OL and the way it is progressing. Which frankly mattes the most. But the skill position talent is weak for a rookie QB if you are hoping for real success this year.

100% we win that game with 89. Only problem is we likely never get to that moment if 89 had been on the team that entire season. 89 would have completely changed the dynamics on the year. The good time, dabbing, dancing, picture taking fun crew lead by Cam as the face of the NFL….would have faced resistance all season from 89.

I already addressed Cam. Or Brady. Or Lamar or Mahomes. If you got a MVP caliber QB and a Pro TE.....they can make a weak WR cast work. That's not the model we are playing out in 2023. 89 wasn't years away from greatness. He was instantly great when given the opportunity in 2003. Dominate postseason in 2003. The best season of his career was his next healthy one after that season. And Moose wasn't some JAG either in 2003. Add to all that a top 10 defense, Pro Bowl in the backfield, roided up OL. I just don't see all these comparisons people are trying to make. We got a rookie QB and a bland cast around him this year. It is what it is. It's good enough to develop Bryce some. But we need better skill position talent around. Don't see how that is that big of a debate.

pointless seasons remain pointless. Not sure why teams do them so often. There was no point organizationally for 2010 to be what it was. Same could be said for 2022. Fox and Rhule were both gone in reality before those seasons started.

I mean, maybe I’m missing someone but what QB is out there winning with a receiving corp by committee? MVP caliber QBs? And even a Brady or a Cam had dominant TEs in the passing era years they did great with bland WR corps.

89 one man showed the entire 2005 season. People were most definitely game planning to stop that and couldn’t. It was probably one of the most exaggerated one man shows in modern history. same thing happened in the post season. Dominated the Giants first round. Completely embarrassed the Bears in probably his most dominant game of the season. But stopping him was suddenly easy in the playoffs vs regular season… ….because an all time historical defense doubling and triple teaming him in the 3rd playoff game finally pulled it off?? Not many all time historical defenses around to lock freaks down week to week. Regular or post season. give me a prime 89 all day every day…..over 3 average/decent WRs. I think Justin Jefferson is a dominant freak that people can’t stop despite knowing it’s going to him. Not the system.

if they could easily be shut down.....Devante Adams wouldn't sleepwalk to 1300+ yards and double digit TDs every year. Justin Jefferson wouldn't be flirting w/ 2k last year after a historic start to his career. I mean, we went to the NFCCG in 2005 with 89 catching 103 balls and being a one man show. 2nd leading WR had 25 catches. Seattle finally stopped him. Which took an all time historically great defense focusing all their attention on him in order to stop. I mean, we got what we got this year. But no GM/coach wants a cast of average joes at WR thinking it is some way to game the system and be more productive because no one knows where the ball will go.

I mean, that is just watching the game. And it's been steadily acknowledged here for years now. PFF ranked Burns as the 65th DE out of 119 players last year. Yet they don't deny his ability to get to the QB. Which he is great at pressuring the QB.