We cannot run the football, and we cannot protect the passer. We also cannot rush the passer, and we cannot cause disruptive plays on defense.
So here's what I mean by no margin of error, if you're sitting in 2nd and long and 3rd and long all night, bad things are going to happen to your offense. Now, if things do happen to align correctly, and your new 1st round star back does mention to get down the sidelines to the 4 yard line, then of course, on the next play, you run a toss and get a holding penalty on a six yard loss.
A further example, if you can't get pressure on the QB, then eventually your CB is going to lose his balance and you are going to get beat over the top for a touchdown.
Good teams don't have this problem, because they are not weak in the trenches/front 7 of defense. We will not be a good football team until we get better up front. Doesn't matter if we have Barkley, Beckham, Engram, Shepherd, Jenkins, etc. etc. etc. Football is a basic game, and we stink at the two most vital parts of it right now -- blocking and being disruptive on defense.
It's win now, sure, but only if you look at it on paper.
On paper, you have skill position stars like OBJ, Barkley, Jenkins, and a 2 time SB MVP in Eli.
In real life, your 2 time SB MVP can't get the ball to the first guy, because he's busy getting his ass kicked. The second guy has to make 2 guys miss to make 2 yards on a run. And the third guy misses one jam and it's 7-0 Dallas.
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I heard it all offseason and pre-season from top to bottom of the franchise.
It's win now, sure, but only if you look at it on paper.
On paper, you have skill position stars like OBJ, Barkley, Jenkins, and a 2 time SB MVP in Eli.
In real life, your 2 time SB MVP can't get the ball to the first guy, because he's busy getting his ass kicked. The second guy has to make 2 guys miss to make 2 yards on a run. And the third guy misses one jam and it's 7-0 Dallas.
It's a 'win now' team as long as Eli is on the team. That's the problem. This team is going nowhere with him (now loads of evidence/sample size that supports this) and likely will take a few years to find a good replacement and then time to groom. It could be a monumental waste of the skill position player's primes.
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In comment 14079932 Dave in Hoboken said:
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I heard it all offseason and pre-season from top to bottom of the franchise.
It's win now, sure, but only if you look at it on paper.
On paper, you have skill position stars like OBJ, Barkley, Jenkins, and a 2 time SB MVP in Eli.
In real life, your 2 time SB MVP can't get the ball to the first guy, because he's busy getting his ass kicked. The second guy has to make 2 guys miss to make 2 yards on a run. And the third guy misses one jam and it's 7-0 Dallas.
It's a 'win now' team as long as Eli is on the team. That's the problem. This team is going nowhere with him (now loads of evidence/sample size that supports this) and likely will take a few years to find a good replacement and then time to groom. It could be a monumental waste of the skill position player's primes.
Hypothetically, even if I agree Eli is done, a shiny new QB is still staring at a team that is subpar in the trenches on both sides. Let's say we picked Darnold at 2. Let's say we started him from week 1 -- there's no way that's a good situation for him either because this team cannot execute the basics of successful football up front. If you fix it from inside-out, you at least give Eli's successor a fighting chance.
And yes, it would be a good thing if Eli's successor had good weapons on offense, but it's not going to translate to meaningful wins without fixing the trenches.
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In comment 14079940 PetesHereNow said:
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In comment 14079932 Dave in Hoboken said:
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I heard it all offseason and pre-season from top to bottom of the franchise.
It's win now, sure, but only if you look at it on paper.
On paper, you have skill position stars like OBJ, Barkley, Jenkins, and a 2 time SB MVP in Eli.
In real life, your 2 time SB MVP can't get the ball to the first guy, because he's busy getting his ass kicked. The second guy has to make 2 guys miss to make 2 yards on a run. And the third guy misses one jam and it's 7-0 Dallas.
It's a 'win now' team as long as Eli is on the team. That's the problem. This team is going nowhere with him (now loads of evidence/sample size that supports this) and likely will take a few years to find a good replacement and then time to groom. It could be a monumental waste of the skill position player's primes.
Hypothetically, even if I agree Eli is done, a shiny new QB is still staring at a team that is subpar in the trenches on both sides. Let's say we picked Darnold at 2. Let's say we started him from week 1 -- there's no way that's a good situation for him either because this team cannot execute the basics of successful football up front. If you fix it from inside-out, you at least give Eli's successor a fighting chance.
And yes, it would be a good thing if Eli's successor had good weapons on offense, but it's not going to translate to meaningful wins without fixing the trenches.
At some point, you have to start trying with a new QB. It's only going to get worse from here on out. A complete waste of guys like Beckham, Barkley, Sheppard, and Engram's time right now.
But, by all means lets keep doing the same thing over and over again. It's working.
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In comment 14079942 Dave in Hoboken said:
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In comment 14079940 PetesHereNow said:
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In comment 14079932 Dave in Hoboken said:
Quote:
I heard it all offseason and pre-season from top to bottom of the franchise.
It's win now, sure, but only if you look at it on paper.
On paper, you have skill position stars like OBJ, Barkley, Jenkins, and a 2 time SB MVP in Eli.
In real life, your 2 time SB MVP can't get the ball to the first guy, because he's busy getting his ass kicked. The second guy has to make 2 guys miss to make 2 yards on a run. And the third guy misses one jam and it's 7-0 Dallas.
It's a 'win now' team as long as Eli is on the team. That's the problem. This team is going nowhere with him (now loads of evidence/sample size that supports this) and likely will take a few years to find a good replacement and then time to groom. It could be a monumental waste of the skill position player's primes.
Hypothetically, even if I agree Eli is done, a shiny new QB is still staring at a team that is subpar in the trenches on both sides. Let's say we picked Darnold at 2. Let's say we started him from week 1 -- there's no way that's a good situation for him either because this team cannot execute the basics of successful football up front. If you fix it from inside-out, you at least give Eli's successor a fighting chance.
And yes, it would be a good thing if Eli's successor had good weapons on offense, but it's not going to translate to meaningful wins without fixing the trenches.
At some point, you have to start trying with a new QB. It's only going to get worse from here on out. A complete waste of guys like Beckham, Barkley, Sheppard, and Engram's time right now.
But, by all means lets keep doing the same thing over and over again. It's working.
But put a new QB behind this line and all you are doing is making David Carr Houston Texans version 2.0. As I said last year, let Eli's last gift to this franchise be the next two years of getting his ass kicked, and hopefully the line gets fixed by the time Eli's successor is ready.
It's not mutually exclusive. It can be a bit of both, and in this case, it absolutely is.
Because we don't have any other choice now. 20m per year is the going rate for franchise quarterbacks, and yes, Eli is getting paid for his 2007-2011 work.
It's not mutually exclusive. It can be a bit of both, and in this case, it absolutely is.
I'm in the third group -- "the OL sucks, Eli is who Eli has always been, and even if Eli was magically transformed into Russell Wilson, this is still a 4-6 win team as currently constituted which sure as hell isn't winning shit in January"
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I'm getting a kick out of people fighting over "It's more Eli's fault!" or "It's more the OLine's fault!".
It's not mutually exclusive. It can be a bit of both, and in this case, it absolutely is.
I'm in the third group -- "the OL sucks, Eli is who Eli has always been, and even if Eli was magically transformed into Russell Wilson, this is still a 4-6 win team as currently constituted which sure as hell isn't winning shit in January"
Wait. You think this is the same QB as prime Eli?
I...I....can't anymore.
This is actually getting uncomfortable at this point. I'm out.
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In comment 14079971 Dave in Hoboken said:
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I'm getting a kick out of people fighting over "It's more Eli's fault!" or "It's more the OLine's fault!".
It's not mutually exclusive. It can be a bit of both, and in this case, it absolutely is.
I'm in the third group -- "the OL sucks, Eli is who Eli has always been, and even if Eli was magically transformed into Russell Wilson, this is still a 4-6 win team as currently constituted which sure as hell isn't winning shit in January"
Wait. You think this is the same QB as prime Eli?
I...I....can't anymore.
This is actually getting uncomfortable at this point. I'm out.
Not what I said. I said, he is who he's always been.
He's obviously not in his prime, as I think he's a little more eager to check down. After all, he's now the guy with the pretty family and the 2 SB rings. What more does he have to prove?
But, on the whole, his scouting report is still the same to me:
Smart guy who'll get your team in the right play. Can make the throws if he's given the time to throw. Tough guy, resilient, always going to be a good teammate.
Prone to costly mistakes because he does force it. Can't avoid a free rusher. Not a good scrambler.
Is that not the same guy he was in September 2004?