NFL - Random Opinions

I think it's a tribute to Eddie Van Halen. Looks like the artwork featured on his guitar.

 

You’re correct. Didn’t think about Eddie when I wrote this. Knew he was passed away but forgot about the guitar art. And Tim had posted about how much he was mourning Eddie.

 

Security, we have an escaped bear from the zoo!!!

 

Watching the game last night, one of the easier things to do is try to imagine switching the quarterbacks between teams to see if you can notice any clear advantage being gained. I do this little bit of mental gymnastics for every game, even it it's clearly obvious that there is a huge discrepancy in play from the two passers in any given game.

Last night, the difference was probably more about steady hands compared to hot and cold runs, but all in all it was likely closer than what most would think. I still give the nod to Brady because his approach and overall consistency is higher than Foles (not really debatable) but his age is showing through in spurts. By the end of his contract in Tampa, I expect Tom to look like a quarterback that probably hung around one season too many.

With Foles, when it's clicking he can make some things happen, but he has issues with being locked in rhythm for long enough stretches to turn the Bears offense into the clock eater it needs to be in order to keep the defense fresh for all 60 minutes, all 16 games. He's a short term fix for a head coach/management combo that needs to be removed in Chicago.

And that is really the rub with both of these teams. There is enough talent on either roster for them to remain competitive but the coaching staffs hamstring the on field play, and both teams need to move on from the current general managers as they have had more than one shot to get it right at quarterback, and failed. Both Pace and Nagy need to go, and Arians and Licht's run in Tampa should only last as long as Tom's.

Both teams have enough on the roster to build towards the future with, both need to find long term answers at quarterback, and both need to identify and target their long term answer at both general manager and head coach.

Should be an easy lift, right? < (this is sarcasm, for those that don't get it)

 

Bears have been trying to the GM, Coach, and QB correct for......ever.

 

• Shashi Brown and John Dorsey are available.
• Hue Jackson and Todd Haley are available.
• Johnny Manziel and Deshone Kizer are available.

Hold my beer. I could go on for ........ever.

 

It's not going to get any easier this off-season as I expect to see at least 4 other teams fighting to get the best available options to fill those holes.

It will be Chicago vying against:

Houston
New York (Jets)
Los Angeles (Chargers)
Atlanta

And there could be 4 more:

Jacksonville
Detroit
Minnesota
Denver

If I'm a head coaching candidate, I'd likely want to see who the GM will be before signing on. If that's not a possibility, I'd probably have a preference list that goes:

Texans
Falcons
Chargers
Vikings
Jaguars
Bears
Lions
Broncos
Jets

If I'm a candidate for general manager, it would be all about who would give me autonomous control, but the preference list would change slightly:

Texans
Falcons
Chargers
Vikings
Jaguars
Bears
Broncos
Jets
Lions

I think the Lions may be the most difficult rebuild, even though they are slightly better to win with now, IMO.

Chicago may need to get creative with how they put together a new front office.

 

I've been a very vocal critic of Pace for years, but I don't see him being fired unless this team misses the playoffs / otherwise implodes in a catastrophic way. Same for Nagy. Still a long way to go to see if either of those happen.

 

Knowing the Bears....I don't see a scenario now where they dump Pace and Nagy. I agree they should have done it a year ago. But I think they won't do it until after the 2021 season honestly. And when they do...they will get it wrong.

Why do you ranks the Jets so low in preference?

 

True, but the way the schedule is set up they could easily go 4-7 over the next 11 games. That would be enough for them to end it out with a .500 record, so 5-6 would get them the 9 that will be necessary to secure a playoff spot (most likely scenario).

Anything less than a 9 win season should be viewed as a total failure for Nagy/Pace and the hammer should drop, IMO.

I'm not suggesting ownership sees it that way, but that is how I view it.

 

Ownership is one factor. It's one of the reasons why the Bears don't move up the list.

Their overall roster has some obvious issues that I'm not sure you can address in a quick manner. They may have the weakest receiving group in the NFL. There offensive line could have been put together by Gene Wilder's version of Frankenstein. I think you would have to consider dumping Bell to recoup $9.5mil on the books and look to rebuild the running back room. I think Sam Darnold can still be the answer at quarterback for the Jets, but he is going to need completely reprogrammed after going through his time with Gase.

The defense has some talented players mixed in among guys that are basically duct tape over various cracks. Quinnen Williams and Marcus Maye may be the only two foundational pieces that you would want to look at as having for the entire rebuild.

Years and years of bad management have really taken it's toll on that roster.

 

I can attest to this.

Al Lerner's group had the Browns in the playoffs in only the 4th year after returning to the NFL starting from scratch. Then he passed away and left the team to his son, Randy Lerner. Randy (allegedly) had a 10 year commitment to owning the Browns in the will. In those 10 years, ignorance an neglect put the Browns back 20 years.

Enter - Jimmy Haslam. He made more than his fair share of shitty decisions in his first 4-5 years. The jury is still out on him.

 

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I think it's a tribute to Eddie Van Halen. Looks like the artwork featured on his guitar.


You’re correct. Didn’t think about Eddie when I wrote this. Knew he was passed away but forgot about the guitar art. And Tim had posted about how much he was mourning Eddie.


Rest in Peace Eddie........a True Legend.

 

If you were a GM would you rather inherit...

A team with a lot holes but with a QB, you think, is the long term answer.

Or..

A pretty solid roster, maybe a few holes here and there, and that doesn't have their guy yet at QB.


QB is probably the position that gets coaches and GMs fired more than any other. So accepting or seeking a job where that position is theoretically settled is extremely tempting in my mind. Though as I type this the fear of not fixing the other positions and wasting your young QBs talent comes to mind.

 

I read this question and an uncontrollable grin fixated itself on my mug. lol

The short answer is - depends?

Generally speaking, if you're getting an offer to take over for the guy that just got shit canned then you're likely stepping into a situation that has several issues, with the roster probably the biggest problem to be considered. With that in mind, I'm going to try and condense my thoughts on this some but I'm more than happy to elaborate for anyone that has any questions.

Since the Texans job is on the table, we could use that as a starting reference - All the key elements for a GM to be immediately successful are present in Houston, to the extent that the opportunity to take over a franchise that is playoff ready almost never exists. They have the quarterback, solid enough receivers, decent rusher, workable line and a defense that has enough talent to keep them in competition on a weekly basis, when the coaching is above adequate. This is about as ideal a situation as a GM could hope for and if the new hire is given the opportunity to choose the next head coach I expect this to be the most coveted general manager position to come around in a very, very long time.

Now, more to your question...

If a team has the young quarterback with the potential to be a franchise passer, he also needs a good enough offensive line not to get murdered before he can fulfill his potential. So, the line goes hand in hand with the passer. If the OL has at least two solid pieces to base the unit around, then it would be dependent on what will be available in FA, what spot that team will be selecting in the draft and how many picks we have available. If the ability to sign another quality starter aligns with the additional opportunity to go after more than one lineman in the draft, my comfort level for going with the team that has many holes but a quality passer goes up a great deal.

However, if a team has quality bookend tackles on the OL, a high quality DL (with an impact rusher), a solid LB group (doesn't have to be stars, just not a liability) and a secondary that can cover long enough for the rush to get home, I would feel comfortable with the idea that there is enough to build off of. Now, take that same situation and add in the ability to either sign a decent arm in the off-season or having a spot in the draft to take whichever passer I prefer for the offense I intend to run (or, potentially a combination to increase the odds of success at QB), then my comfort level goes way up.

Each situation is so unique that it's very difficult to give you a simple A or B answer, because there is so much more information I would need to know about both teams.

Talking about, thinking about, and reasoning out this very equation is something that I spend a lot of time on every year. The front office and coaching aspect of the NFL is extremely appealing to me and my interest for it is one of the bigger reasons why I have so much interest in the draft.

 

That defensive lineman smacked the QB in the head about ten minutes after he threw the ball. Just aiming to abuse him.

 

Dan Quinn about 2 quarters from being fired.