Tr3ach

After looking at the top receivers in the league it definitely looks like being a great route runner and being able to get open without being schemed open is one of, if not the most important trait for a receiver in the modern nfl. It's not so much the physical freaks anymore.

I agree if there is one there they believe in. I wasnt really saying not to take a qb, just that that seemed like the clear giant hole to make us competitive on the roster and some other holes may have shown up just as glaring if not more.

We have been hiding the obvious problems with the oline by scheme all season. By running down the throat of the defense. Like I've said for weeks that is always going to be an inconsistent strategy against good teams. They stacked the box. Once they got a lead and we were in obvious passing situations our oline couldnt pass protect nearly as well. Our oline is great at run blocking and average to slightly below average on obvious passing plays. As far as the D line, they just cant get off blocks. Once the o lineman gets hands on them they totally give up the rush and stand up. That's why we never get any late pressure. We either get through quick or not at all. Holcomb relying on the front 4 to generate all pressure compared to Snow and his blitzing scheme has exposed them even more.

I'm not sure any qb in the draft is a surefire prospect. If Young was a little bigger I would feel better. If Stroud made quicker decisions and didnt have the best skill positions in college football then I would feel better. I'm actually more demoralized that Sam played pretty solid and it made it pretty clear that qb isnt even our biggest need really. Before I at least had the illusion that it was plug in a good young qb and we were set. That's not the case unfortunately. I think they should still try to trade Burns if they can get two firsts. Its doubtful but who knows. Nothing matters now till the coaching hire though. That's going to have much more of an impact on our next 5 years of a franchise than this draft, etc.

I definitely agree with your take on not trading Burns. One of the worst decisions we've made as a franchise. Not the worst but it's up there. Hes a one trick rusher. Hes elite if he gets around the edge with his speed rush but once lineman gets their hands on him he completely stops rushing and stands up. That's not even factoring his run defense or his contract situation. Bad bad decision. The fields part I dont really agree with though. Hes flashy in the ground game but that's about it. I saw a play yesterday where the lions literally rushed 0 and he threw an interception. Elite runner, below average passer. Elite runners dont get it done in the playoffs. Back to Burns though I hope maybe they put him out there and see if they could still get 2 firsts for him this offseason. Two firsts and a second I definitely dont see again though.

Holcomb is a bad dc and will be tied to his hip. Wilks is too conservative and not great at scheming. Hes a great motivator but that's about it. He has done a commendable job but not going to push us to the top.

Darnold played really solid today. Hes way down the list on reasons we lost.

Bad coaching to even go for onsides. With three timeouts kick it off and use them. Onsides never work when expected and even with the 3 and out we are going to be pinned back with no timeouts. If kicked it off we would have had good field position after three and out.

It was a perfect read and perfect stepping into the pocket. He just was a yard or two short. It happens to every qb in the nfl every once in a while

This is also why I dont like holcomb as DC. Doesnt blitz and relies on front 4 to get pressure and front 4 gets shut down a lot. Once they're blocked they dont get off of it.

That's one of the reasons I'm not sold on Wilks. Very very conservative.

I think he gets hated on because he probably got slightly overpaid and he shows flashes of being a great player sometimes and other times he kind of disappears, but hes definitely a solid to sometimes really good player.

The most impressive change I've seen is sometimes when there is an outside pressure he is stepping up and actually climbing the pocket instead of totally panicking and his footwork going everywhere. He definitely still has some frantic feet every once in a while but not like before. He is learning to trust the oline a little more.

Its just been said by other coaches and Wilks himself how he wanted Chinn to play safety. I'm sure you could find some interviews somewhere but I dont remember them specifically. I do remember a lot of comments here when Wilks was over the secondary that of course he would want the best players in his position group

You also ignored the other games I listed. While it feels miles better than where we were with Rhule and Wilks deserves credit for that; we are still a .500 team with Wilks and we beat average to bad teams and lost to average to good teams. I don't know thats we have any questions answered yet besides how bad Rhule was.

Now look at our rushing yards and rush per attempt. This style of offense isnt going to consistently win against good teams in this era. Its just not.

Wilks has always specifically wanted Chinn at safety. It has nothing to do with him being there out of necessity.

That is true but the defense was better with snow. That's why this is specifically talking about second half of the season drop offs.

Say that and rewatch the Pittsburgh game, or the Cincinnati game, or the ravens game. Same oline, running backs, and coaches. You cant rely on your running game always working. You cant rely on your defense always getting stops so you can continue running. It doesnt work anymore like it used to. Not with all these elite big play offenses.

Holcomb isnt a great DC. The defense was better with Snow because we have a lot of specialized players on defense and Snow utilized it will aggressive blitzes from all over the field. Holcomb relies on the front 4 to get pressure and it just doesnt work as well. Maybe that's an indictment on our dline but you have to call plays for the players you have and adjust.

Can it though? It doesnt feel like it. It feels like with the elite offenses these days every defense is going to have a bad game from time to time and our style of offense is going to be very inconsistent against good teams. We have went 500 against mostly bad teams. I want to believe in Wilks because I'm pretty sure it's going to almost have to happen now, I'm just not as confident in it as so many people seem to be. I'm tired of conservative vanilla coaches.

To be fair laying an egg once the games really matter is the panthers standard for a long while now.

I said multiple times I doubted he was the answer. Before the season started i said i wasnt sold he was or wasnt yet. When the season started with the exact same problems i was plenty vocal about saying he wasnt the answer. Society today is so bad these days to say if you arent on one extreme then you are automatically on the other and of course the huddle is a microcosm of that.

I would compare Wilks coaching success to Darnolds recent play at qb. Take that how you will. They are both in situations where they arent asked to do too much and they are doint a pretty good job at it. My question though, is that enough for you?

He made some great throws/reads sprinting to his right with defenders chasing him throwing across his body back to the middle of the field in a full run that the receivers dropped. I believe it was Ian Thomas that dropped them both.