tukafan21

Nah... Luke was just a different breed and knew that he couldn't continue to play the game with the same reckless abandon that he played it with while not putting his brain at significant risk after multiple concussions already. Luke was never going to play at even 95% of himself, those concussions was going to make him completely change the way he played the game and would be more like 60-70% of what he used to be. Granted, that would still be a Pro Bowl level LB, but I think he knew he just couldn't play the game that way so he had to retire to save himself.

No it won't, it will slightly help, but it won't fix poo in time for this hire. Even hiring a legit and competent GM before an HC this offseason, it doesn't solve the real problem, that we're tied to Bryce for 2024, no 1st round pick in 2024, and a depleted roster. I don't care if we could somehow steal Howie Roseman from the Eagles, no decent HC candidate wants to step into that situation this offseason. Which is why I've been saying for weeks that firing Riech right now is 1 step forward but 3 steps backwards, it solves one problem while creating a whole new mess of others that I don't see a logical path forward from, namely, we can't attract someone we actually would want long term as HC this offseason. Short of Tepper guaranteeing this new HC that they won't get fired after this season, that they have free reign to replace Bryce with our 2025 1st, and another guarantee of 2 or 3 full seasons after that point before he'd consider firing them... nobody is tying their HC career to Bryce, not when most HC's only get 1 shot at it. They'd be taking a job where they're on the hot seat before they even move into the city and have Bryce as their QB while on said hot seat... who in their right mind wants that?!?!?!

Brown would go for it because nobody else is giving him an OC job in 2024, not after how this year went, he'll have to take a step backwards next year. So for him, I think it's a no brainer to get another chance at being OC in 2024 and see if he can show anything. Evero would be tougher to sell, but at the same time, he's not getting a HC job in 2024, so if the option is having to be a DC for a 3rd team in 3 years, or keep the same players and system he had this year that has been decent with mostly backups and hope they can stay healthy in 2024... the later seems like a better path for him to get an HC opportunity in 2025. It would be more favorable for finding a new HC because even if we kept losing because Bryce is awful, there at least will be more of a fight in the players with someone like Greg leading them. He'll instill a sense of confidence back into the players and franchise, even if the wins aren't there, similar to what Dan Campbell did in his first year with the Lions when they only won 3 games. And since in this scenario, Greg is taking it knowing it's a 1 year job unless we somehow have an amazing season, him stepping down because it's not working (which is what he'd have to agree to ahead of time in this scenario to get the job) is VERY different than if Tepper fires someone for the 3rd year in a row. We then have our Top 5 draft pick to entice a good HC candidate to come in and use to replace Bryce with the QB of their choice, while the franchise as a whole is just in a better mental state than they are right now. Again.... I'm not advocating for this and I don't think it will happen... but if the alternative is settling for say, Eric Bienemy, who will only make the locker room worse over 2024 because the players will hate playing for him, and then Tepper has to fire him after 1 year... I'll take this Greg scenario I've laid out 100 times out of 99 over the Bienemy one. Seriously, if we end up with Bienemy, people are going to long for the times like right now, when we realize we were nowhere near rock bottom compared to this time next year when the players are openly complaining about Bienemy being a POS. There is a reason he's never gotten that HC job before now, and it sure as hell isn't the color of his skin, it's because nobody likes him, he couldn't even get along with Mahomes.

Also, on the above, as I said in the first post, I'm not at all advocating for it, but it's a scenario I could see playing out that would at least make sense to consider him if it played out that way, that's all.

Well, I probably should have been more clear... it's only known that it's essentially a 1 year deal with the coaching staff. That way if/when Greg is clearly not a long term solution, they can easily sell it as a mutual parting after the season that just didn't work out, so Tepper doesn't have to fire another coach for a 3rd straight season. Basically just Greg trying to do his part to help fix the franchise and put them back on the right path before stepping aside to let a "real coach" take it the rest of the way. Brown would/should be on board with it since nobody else is giving him an OC opportunity in 2024 after this mess, Evero would be the tougher sell to get on board as he could/would have other interest, but his best shot at an HC job in 2025 would be to stick with the same unit he coached this season to try and build upon a not horrible defense this year when we're hopefully healthier next season. The alternative after we get turned down by all the HC candidates we actually would want, is hiring someone we don't want and then needing to fire them after the season because they're terrible anyways. I'm just convinced we aren't getting anyone worth a damn to be willing to take this job on and tie themselves to Bryce, and it's why I was VERY against firing Reich until next season. As hiring a crappy fallback HC who we then have to fire again is about the worst case scenario and only hinder the interest in the job again next offseason. Next season with Bryce and a 3rd rate HC is already a lost season before this one is even over, might as well at least bring in someone who loves the franchise and is someone who can be a leader of men like a Dan Campbell (essentially since I think we'll end up with Bienemy, who is the literal opposite of a leader of men, his players hate playing for him).

I actually could see a scenario where Greg makes a lot of sense as our HC (although I'm not exactly advocating for it). I also don't know if they could convince the coaches to buy into it either, but as a fan who isn't pleased with them firing Reich because of the level of HC I think we can get now, there is one scenario I wouldn't hate. Basically Greg goes into the job knowing he's a 1 season filler to bridge us to the next offseason when we can attract a new HC, partially with our 1st rounder to replace Bryce. The other half of it is that he's really there to provide a re-set to the franchise's mentality, which I think he actually would succeed at, on field success aside, especially as I think he'd bring guys like Luke or TD into the fold in some way as well. Keep Evero and Brown as the DC and OC here as well, so he basically is more of a figurehead and leader of men than anything. If we shock the world and he's some amazing HC, then you can give him another contract, but if not, it bridges the gap until we can attract a legitimate HC candidate and it would help get us back to the "Keep Pounding" mentality that this franchise has lost over the last few years. Again, I'm not saying I want this, but if (or more accurately when) we can't get anyone we actually want, it wouldn't be the worst fall back situation in the world as it avoids hiring someone crappy and needing to fire them after 1 season again. Basically what the Raiders are doing with Pierce right now, although he has actual coaching experience so it at least makes more sense.

Is he though? They do a great job scheming up easy throws for him to complete, but he's not a QB who is completing tough passes into tight windows and winning with his pin point accuracy. He's also only 20th in YPG this year, with only 2 games all season where he's thrown for more than 237 yards, and only 13 passing TDs in 12 games (he's also not racking up the rushing yards like in the past, he only has 5 games over 45 yards with only 1 game over 62). He is 29th in accuracy rating, 26th on deep ball accuracy, 28th on deep ball completion percentage, 28th on deep ball catchable pass rate. He is 29th and 27th in accuracy rating vs man and zone respectively, yet he is also 8th and 7th in completion percentage vs those coverages respectively. Which means he's completing a bunch of easy passes and/or his WRs are catching bad passes. To me, Lamar is a better and different version of Brock Purdy, someone who's success is more about the coaching staff and the team around them than their abilities as a QB. He's racking up mediocre passing stats based on scheme and short passes with YAC, not passing ability, there is a difference. I think Lamar is a picture perfect example of where people conflate and have a hard time separating fantasy output vs real life abilities.

I mean, you still seem to miss the point. It's not about whether he's elite or not, because yes, anyone can see he has an elite level impact on the game when he's in there. But the best ability in the NFL is availability, and he hasn't been able to finish the last 2 seasons. I just don't like his long term potential, solely due to that I don't see his body holding up for more than another year or two before it completely breaks down on him. Think of him like an elite RB in today's game, once they get into their late 20's, their effectiveness starts to seriously wane because they just can't take the pounding their bodies take. Sure, there are the outliers who fight through it, but they're usually built like a tank to withstand the beating. Lamar is no tank, he's more like a motorcycle than even a car, one crash and he's in serious trouble. And there is zero chance in hell that he is able to adapt his game to become an elite pocket passer, he just doesn't have that in his game, once his running game is taken away from him, he'll be an average QB at best.

I don't hate Lamar, I have no feelings towards Lamar. I'm just able to objectively look at a player who is built the way he is, plays the way he does, hasn't been able to finish either of the last two seasons, struggles as a pure passer, and have serious concerns about how he'll hold up long term in this league. We literally watched it happen to our own QB who was actually built to withstand having that type of game. He was fine for a number of years, then once he started to get dinged up, they quickly compounded on top of each other and he went from elite to out of the league in just a few years because his body completely broke down. Lamar couldn't finish his 4th or 5th seasons due to injury, Cam only missed 2 games in his 4th season and then won his MVP in his 5th season. Lamar is already ahead of Cam's pace of his body starting to breakdown, it's not a wild rationale to have serious concerns about how much longer he'll last in this league (and hell, Lamar only started 7 games his rookie year, so he has even less wear and tear on his body than Cam did at this point and has had more injury issues).

No they won't, because if they win a SB, it will be because of their running game, Lamar's running, and their defense. None of that will make questions about his passing or long term durability go away. Sure, it will justify the contract, as pretty much any trade/contract is deemed worth it if it leads to a SB win. The Rams gave up a stupid amount in the trade for Stafford who is falling apart now, but it got them a SB, so it was worth it. Winning a SB and questions remaining aren't mutually exclusive Winning a SB and a contract not being worth it are mutually exclusive Big difference between the two.

He always looks healthy until he gets hurt late in the season due to the accumulation of more hits than his frame can take in a given season before giving way. Look, I just don't like Lamar as a long term franchise QB, he's not a good enough passer and at some point, he won't be able to keep running, he's not a QB who is going to be effective when he gets into his 30's. I'll admit that if he can stay 100% healthy through a postseason run, they of course could win a SB, but I feel like they only have a year or two left on that window before his body really starts to break down. But he hasn't finished either of the last two seasons, played 12 games in each of them, same as he's played this year, I guarantee the Ravens front office is nervous right now.

He said he wants to win another ring, not lose in the first round because Lamar is hurt and can't play in the playoffs, again.

Cmon now, nobody on here is knowledgable enough of up and coming front office members of other teams to be able to speak intelligently on this topic. Closest we could get to it is saying we'd love to steal someone from a team like the Eagles who constantly make great personnel decisions.

We're going to end up hiring Bienemy because nobody else will ever hire him as their HC and in 2 years everyone is going to be complaining about how we have horrible team chemistry because nobody likes playing for him. We'll be the Raiders earlier this year before they fired McDaniels, same thing, the players hate the guy. He couldn't get along with Patrick Mahomes, when getting along with him and playing nice would like likely ended up with him getting a nice HC opportunity. But because everyone knew he couldn't get along with the best player in the game, nobody wanted to see how he is being in charge with less talented players, so he had to move to another OC job.

I think the difference is the Chargers owner was always terrible because he didn't care enough to try to do right by the QBs, while Tepper is trying everything he can, just sometimes doing too much or doing it the wrong way because he cares maybe too much. Just makes me think it isn't a situation the Manning's would pull the same thing as with Eli, I think they'd look at it as an opportunity, knowing Tepper would more than welcome the advice of someone like Peyton (Eli too, but let's be real, it's Peyton) and they could help him make sure they build the team around Arch right.

But wasn't part of it because their owner was known to be cheap at the time and Papa Manning didn't trust them to invest enough to put a winner on the field? It's the exact opposite with Tepper, dude has almost no limit on what he'll spend to win. Plus, you have to think wherever Arch gets drafted, Peyton and Eli would be more than willing to be a sounding board for anyone from the team to help them out. I'd have no problem with Peyton offering Tepper his advice on GM/HC type of decisions, and I think that's the type of person who Tepper would really value and respect their opinion on those matters.

Lamar will not last long term in this league, his style of play with his body type isn't going to hold up. He wasn't even worth the contract the Ravens had to give him, let alone what someone would have needed to trade away on top of it to even get him. I'm quite convinced that his deal will look terrible before this contract is up, he has a year or two left before the hits start adding up and his play drops off dramatically. Hell, let's see if he's even able to finish THIS season healthy, this is about the time of year he has been getting hurt and can't finish the season each of the last couple years.

I'm torn, while I'd love to get him in the end, it's going to get REALLY ugly for that to happen. Next year is already a lost year I think, Bryce isn't the guy. That means we'll either have to suffer through 2 more awful years of Bryce, or we try to replace him after next season and his replacement is so bad that we still end up with the #1 pick in 2026. Honestly, our best path to both getting Manning and still improving the team in 2025 is to get lucky by trying to replicate what the Bears are doing this year. Trade down with our 2025 pick with a team we predict will be terrible in 2025, get their 2025 and 2026 first rounders, and then hope we keep improving in 2025 but end up getting the #1 pick in 2026 from that other team. Basically what the Cardinals were trying to do this year by trading for the Texans 2024 1st in their trade down with them in this past draft for #3. Near impossible to pull off, but I'd be willing to trade down in 2025 if there isn't a clear QB for us to take and attempt it.

The problem is I think the Falcons take a massive step forward next season in this regard. They're going to replace Smith with a real coach, and then maybe trade for someone like Fields. While I don't think Fields is a good passer, putting him with a good offensive coach along with Bijan, Pitts, and London could be very scary team. And even if it's not Fields, with the weapons they have on offense, they just need to find the HC and QB and they're cooking with gas. They should be a very attractive destination for a HC if/when they fire Smith, those weapons aren't something most HC openings have.

Meh I think Williams is a truly elite talent, but I have a feeling he is going to be a head case, and not in the way a Cam Newton was, where he was quirky but it didn't cause locker room problems. That he's already coming out and saying there are only a handful of teams he's interested in playing for and that he wants ownership stake in any team that drafts him. Even if he knows he won't get that and can't pick his team and was just talking pie in the sky stuff, the fact that the consensus #1 pick is even talking about that stuff in jest (if it even is that), is just a concerning state of mind to me. No, I wouldn't pass on him if given the chance to take him without another elite prospect available, but if there was anyone even close (like Maye this year), I might go with the guy who seems to have his head on his shoulders more than Williams.

I put it in a thread last night, but here's what I'd do. First step is there has to be a per year number that he'd agree to, but I won't even guess on that number as pure money alone won't help attract a top candidate, it's the structure of the deal that is needed to entice someone to take on this situation. While the contract will likely be in the 7 year range, there is a 3 year guarantee of his job status so he knows he won't get axed after 1 bad season of Bryce or a follow up bad season with a rookie QB he drafts to replace Bryce. He gets 1 completely free season in year 1 to evaluate and make a decision on if he wants Bryce (which will likely end up being a no in the end). He then gets to select the QB of his choosing with our 2025 pick (or trade for one, whatever he wants to do, and he gets to pick the QB, not Tepper, not a GM). He then gets 2 FULL seasons to show he is building to something and that he can be competitive moving forward. That's the crux of the issue, since all HC contracts are guaranteed anyways, how you provide him an actual guarantee that he will get the 3 full years (which is basically the only way to get a highly qualified candidate to be willing to come here). So there is a poison pill in the contract that if Tepper fires him before the final game of the 3rd season, he not only still gets his full contract paid out, but an immediate $100-200 million payment upon the firing. You could also put something in there that if he gets a certain number of wins in year 3, the same poison pill clause gets extended to guarantee a 4th season (such as if he gets 7 wins or better in year 3, that clause gets extended for another season). No, it couldn't stop him from firing him before that point, but no way in hell is he going to fire him and pay that out, it's an essential guarantee of 3 years to show improvement.

Aside from the question of if Bill has anything left to even be worth trying to get, how has nobody brought up that he's still under contract with the Patriots for a while? Which means we'd have to trade for him... we don't have the draft picks to adequately re-stock the roster, we can't be giving out high draft picks for a soon to be 72 year old coach who may or may not still have what it takes to turn this team into a winner. Even if the Patriots want to move on from him (which in itself would be a sign that it's a bad idea) and they don't demand a 1st for him like the Saints did for Payton, I'm guessing they'd want our 2nd rounder this year for him. There's probably only a small handful of current HC's that I'd be willing to give up that 2nd pick to get, and Bill sure as hell ain't one of them. Shannahan, Siriani, and McDaniel would probably be the extent of my list that I'd trade a draft pick for. Sure, there are plenty of other great HC's out there that I'd love to get, but if we were trading away good picks, you have to factor in things like age (so no to an Andy Reid) and likelihood of still wanting to coach for a long time (so no McVay has he's already been rumored to be wanting to move to the TV studio in the near future).

Patience with someone's job status in the NFL isn't necessarily the same thing as having patience. He pushed the front office and coaches to make moves to win immediately, instead of letting them build up a team the right way over a course of a number of years. I don't even think that's a bad thing to have in an owner, love that he wants to win that badly. But we need to have the staff and coaches in place who can and will push back on him when and where needed to do it right. You don't win in the NFL through quick fixes, just doesn't work that way, too many moving parts. The only way he gets a good HC or GM candidate to come here is if he GUARANTEES 2024 has no impact on his job status and they are allowed to replace Bryce with a QB of their choosing, and then GUARANTEES they get at least 2 seasons to prove themselves. If you can somehow convince them of that, we could get a realistic candidate to come here, maybe some sort of poison pill clause in the contract that if Tepper doesn't hold up his end, the coach gets a $100 million payout on top of an already big contract. It would let the HC/GM know they have 3 years to prove themselves, not to make decisions based on an immediate impact, but a year or two down the line. They could then play Bryce all season to see if they think they can do anything with him and not be concerned about getting fired if they keep losing while ending up with a high draft pick for a new QB.

Just ranking the QB's on who I'd want, compensation aside, it was Richardson, Stroud, Levis, Young. Once we made the trade though, it had to be Stroud or Young because Richardson and Levis were much riskier picks, just higher upside, and you can't take that swing up to #1 to take the risk on either of them. But once I watched more of each of the two, for me it was Stroud without question, solely on that Bryce showed no physical traits that could be even considered above average, let alone elite. Sure, his brain may be next level (which it doesn't appear to be on the field so far), but you can coach up that side of things, elite physical traits are something you either have or don't, the other guys did, Bryce doesn't.

I want whatever is best for this team come the 2025 season, the problem is I have no idea what that will be. Next season is already a waste, Bryce has to be the starter and we're not winning with him there. So I'm already looking at 2025 If winning a few extra games this year somehow convinces a good candidate to actually come here, then I'm all for it. If losing out ensures we get stuck with crap options and Tepper is forced to make change again in 2025 when we have a top draft pick to use to lure a good HC candidate here, then I'm all for that.