BrianS

I think "hope" is a more accurate way to state this. We have no basis to think he was a dissenting voice, but we can hope that he was. That pretty much sums up Dan Morgan for better or worse: Hope.

No we didn't. The separation of our WR's was largely equivalent to some very highly rated receivers like Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Jordan Addison, Stefon Diggs and Rashid Shaheed. One of our problems was that our QB didn't view that separation as "open", when in fact it was "NFL open".

The question you have to ask yourself about Sam Howell is whether you believe you can fix his decision making. He has the tools, no question. But if you can't fix the decision making, he's not an NFL QB.

We don't have anything like the third most space. It's more like 15th, with a bad and old roster that needs far, far more than one superstar receiver to make it competitive.

The real problem with this roster is the one that I never see mentioned. Our roster in 2024 (as it stands now) is the second oldest roster in the league at 27.23 years old. We are bad, old and frankly still a little strapped for cash. We have to fix the roster with young players, not keep throwing money at marginal players who are probably over the hill. Pay Brown? Yes, that's a no-nonsense move that we need to make. Luvu, probably, if he's asking for reasonable money. But Burns? No. Go look at the stats and be real about it. His production doesn't support his valuation of his abilities.

Zach - not Russell.

Then let me present you with some alternate data. Here is reality. BY was the 31 ranked passer by completion percentage.

Burns is Charles Johnson. He is Mike Rucker. He is not Julius Peppers. Treat him accordingly. If trading him can give you two assets you need, then trade him.

What does "open" even mean? It ranks CeeDee Lamb's "Open" stat as 85 and Mingo's as 21 despite the fact that they had nearly exactly the same separation. I don't like things that obfuscate statistics behind rankings. Smells like Madden to me.

Curious what stat you're using to track that. If you are using separation, you couldn't be more wrong. Here are the WR separation stats for people who were around the same separation as Mingo last year. It's not a bad crowd. Slightly more separation than DJ Moore, DeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson if you're keeping track at home. Slight less separation than Stefon Diggs, Brandon Aiyuk and Puka Nakua.

In fairness, up until this season it's been a valid question as to whether DB was going to be an elite player. His first two years were terrible. Last season we started to see glimpses of the player he could be. It wasn't until this year that we all saw DB become what everyone wanted him to be from the start. It's a funny thing. His effect on the passing game hasn't really changed. His pressure numbers, QB hits, sacks . . . it's not any different than it was his first season. He takes up two blockers. That's his job. It's good that as a fan base we've come to understand the value of a DT who can do that. We clearly missed the mark back when we made the Star / KK decision.

Here's how PFR (not PFF) sees it: One of the top 5 ILB of all time . . . you gotta put him in 1st ballot. Surely.

Accomplishment? Let's not get carried away. The Chiefs only averaged 21.3 points per game in the regular season, and 23.8 in the playoffs. Pretty much just held serve. Wilks is about average. The DC on the other side, now there's a dude.

We're not an attractive destination for a "younger vet". Those guys typically want a chance to play, to show that they can be "the guy". If you're on the outside looking in at the Panthers situation, it's not a place you want to go. 1. They have a young, first round QB. They clearly want to give that guy every opportunity to be "the guy". 2. Young vets who come to Carolina inevitably fail. Bridgewater and Darnold most recently. 3. You've got a first year HC and staff who have not done their new jobs before. We'll be lucky to have a guy like Dalton back, assuming he doesn't retire.

We literally have the worst roster in the NFL. We are the team who can legit take BPA with every draft pick and we will be able to say that guy can help us if he pans out.

It really is sickening what a good team we had to come away with so little.

This is important. All the restructures are what got us the worst roster in the NFL with $30 million for free agents. We keep thinking we can get away with it but we can't. Houston did it right from a cap perspective. They took 2023 and said "This is a throw away. We have a rookie QB, let's get it right for next year". They had $47 million in dead cap for 2023. Now, they have $65 million in free cap for 2024. They paid the price and now look at them. Houston never intended to compete this year, they were carried to it by an otherworldly start by their rookie QB.

Worst roster in the NFL. 30 million in cap. This is not my definition of "good".

And now we start to see why our cap "guru" was let go.

I'm mildly optimistic about the coach. I am concerned with the front office, the owner and the roster.

He did play 13 games in 2022. I'd take the option. If he winds up injured the next two years, he won't get a contract from anyone anywhere. It's most definitely in his interests to be healthy. At $11 million, it's not even that bad.

Good that CJ and Bryce have an actual friendship. Love that for both of them. I think it's tough to argue that Stroud was put in the better situation. Houston EARNED the #2 pick. They looked like a team years away. We looked like a team with awful coaching, earned the #9 pick and traded a bag to move up. 12 months from now we'll know for sure on Bryce. I don't have high hopes, but he'll get the chance.

We traded up to #1 so we could have any QB with a pulse hand the ball off 35+ times a game? That's our plan? I don't think so. Yes, we need to be capable of running the ball - regardless of what blocking scheme gets us there. But we don't need to become the 85 Bears. Or the 2023 Titans. We need to be able to make explosive plays in the pass game.

sigh. DeVonta Smith, #2 to AJ Brown, 2.8 Sep, caught 81 balls for 1066 yards. Gabe Davis, #2 to Stefon Diggs, 2.8 Sep, caught 45 balls for 746 yards. Rashid Shaheed, #2 to Chris Olave, 2.8 Sep, caught 46 balls for 719 yards. Jordan Addison, #2 to Justin Jefferson, 2.8 Sep, caught 70 balls for 911 yards. But seriously, why does it matter how they got the separation they got? Oh, right, it doesn't. These guys were NFL open. Our guys were NFL open. Put the ball on them. If we subsequently lead the league in drops, ok, fine we can clearly see where the problem is. Man, can we face reality please? It's one thing to hope for the best, but we have to do it while staring at reality. I hope Bryce makes a miraculous turnaround. I hope he becomes a franchise QB. I promise, I want him to succeed. What I can't stand is seeing the continuous string of excuses that the copium and hopium peddlers keep trying to sell. What I can't stand is the idea that a potentially good coach gets hamstrung by the dead weight of a QB who can't do the things the NFL demands. What I can't stand is the thought of another wasted season with no backup plan.

Just to add a little context around this . . . our top 3 receivers averaged 2.7 yards of separation this year. Was it the best or even close? No, not really. However, here's a list of some receivers with 2.6 to 2.8 yards of separation on the year: Davante Adams, Terry McLaurin, Odell Beckham, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Romeo Doubs, Jakobi Meyers, DJ Moore, Tyler Lockett, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis. Having 2.7ish yards of separation didn't stop those guys from being good to great receivers this year. Our receivers were NFL open. End of story. I'm not arguing they were great. I'm not saying they shouldn't or couldn't do better. But their separation was not an issue that should be considered when talking about our QB.