NorthTryon

Nobody is listening to or observing the obvious. They dislike the kid at this point and he is going to have to have a 1500yd receiving season for them to just be quiet. XL nor any of our other WRs can truly be evaluated with the current QB play. I know you guys wanted Ladd, but the ALL 22 and anybody without an agenda can see that XL is running buck naked wide open a lot and not getting the throws. In the Green Bay game, he out ran the coverage 2-3 times and Bryce didn't even think to try to make the throw. I admit Ladd may have been better for Bryce as he does well in short spaces, but acting like XL is dumb, doesn't want to play football, hasn't been working, and doesn't care is nonsense! Remember when Dalton came in at the end of the Jets game and XL magically looked better? That change magically addressed a lot of XL's issues that day didn't it. Imagine someone better than Dalton.

It is hard to call him a bust with the issues at QB. Seeing a guy running open and being missed over and over doesn't make him a bust. He has made some tough catches and made some routine catches that were on target. He has also flubbed some routine plays as well. He is an inconsistent second year WR, but he is also playing with a wildly inconsistent and at times underperforming QB.

I'm confused. So coaches should be super forth coming with their injury information so fans shouldn't be angry? I haven't went back and forth with you in a while. Some of the hills you choose man.

Shoutout to Coach Gilbert!

As he should. Belicheat tried to fool the other coaches so hard, he had people filming other coach's practices and attending other team functions. And he did it to the tune of six championships. Whenever it is brought up, people say things like "you do everything you can to win" or "if you aren't pushing the envelope you aren't trying to win". These things make a difference. There is an advantage to your opponent not knowing who will and won't be on the field.

Joe Gilbert has done an amazing job with Ickey, Mays, and the shuffling of bodies. I remember, we fought so hard to keep Campen and Gilbert's group has looked way more prepared since he took over.

What's crazy is that his spinal issues weren't his reason for only playing four games last year. That was to correct an issue he has had and been playing with since childhood. He was having shoulder stingers, so I don't know if he'll fit here. Our corners are asked to be physical and tackle.

It is so weird that the league now has so many injuries since they've cut out two-a-days, playing starters in to the the third quarter in preseason at least one game, and removed a preseason game. It's like the players fighting to keep it at 16 games with four preseason games knew what they were talking about.

After MLB and pass rusher, I would like to see an upgrade at corner. Thornton has looked pretty good in spot duty at outside and slot corner. I wonder if he could be part of the solution, or deserves a spot at the opposite corner down the road.

That is my thought. If you are a young guy or emerge with some really good plays in rotation, what is your morale when you see a guy like Rico do transcendent stuff and get relegated to rotational carries.

Mitchell Evans is continuously grading out very high week to week. He makes all the easy plays and blocks like his hair is on fire. He was working with a first to second round grade before being down graded by draft pundits for past injuries. He was a semi-finalist for the Mackey award. I believe we got a great late draft pick up. Tremble when healthy is an excellent blocker and has become more of a sure handed catcher. Sanders has to stay healthy and catch better. We have depth and if Bryce could be more consistent, maybe the stats would look better. Upgrading is not a priority right now.

He is the best, most consistent guy on the team. Family man, locker room leader, he has turned out to be better than imagined.

This reminds me on Madden where you create an alternate uniform and the pre-recorded voice overs talk about how hideous your uniform looks.

I told somebody that today, the old QB adage. If you have two you don't have one. People forget when we had Double Trouble, there still was a clear edge of carry volume going to D-Lo until his departure. NFL is cut throat and if it takes us eventually bailing on Chuba to feature Rico, that decision may have to be made.

Fingers crossed on a Dalton vs. Raiders last year type game against Buffalo. With a healthy dose of Rico against that vaunted 4-2-5 weak run defense we do have a shot!