MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Cool analogy. I like this a lot. In my opinion it would be the best, most efficient way, to utilize a QB like Jacksons skill set. It also would have the potential to be a nightmare for defenses to cover.

First thing that popped into my mind when I read the article was, why? Whats the advantage to having Lamar under center? Is it just the play-action, or is the OC nervous about the critisism he has been under?

Another issue would possibly be drafting and training O-Linemen to be more mobile so the could run-block on the move laterally. With the 5 wide, im thinking there must be a complimentary set of lineman also, but I really like the 5 wide-out approach with options to run all built into something very mobile, but yet unpredictable... keeping a defense guessing and back on their heals is ideal.

Interesting stuff.

 

This is key.

Time after time you see a game where offenses are struggling, find themselves down 3 or 7, time running out and they go 4 and 5 wide in a hurry up style and then all of a sudden they can move the football and the chains. Would be fun to see a team try that on a more consistent basis right off the git-go. Lots of motion, different sets... oh wait, thats the CFL, but hell, it could work here to, lol.

 

That's pretty interesting. Not sure I agree because 1) Lamar can't throw the 10 yard out consistently and it allows the DBs to play off coverage (eyes in the backfield) and 2) the offense now is designed to pull the linebackers to the line of scrimmage and open up the middle of the field. That's where Lamar has most of his success. Big targets (TEs) with large catch radiuses running crossers and seams. I think in 5-wide it allows those LBs to clog that area of the field.

I honesty think the Ravens are kind of stuck unless Lamar can improve in a couple areas. The Roman offense is formidable and it chews up most teams. But when they run into a team that can stop the run, cover the middle of the field and force 3rd and longs they just can't convert. What's the answer? I don't think it helps them to throw more because then they face more 2nd and 10, 3rd and longs and the running game is successful most of the time.

As Roman said this week, anyone that suggests they shouldn't run the ball like they do now belongs in a rubber room. They create 3rd and short situations almost at will and when they don't convert on 3rd they just go for it on 4th. But there is a definite formula out there to beat Lamar and 12-13 wins means nothing if you can't beat playoff teams that know how to stop your offense.

Plus the clock is ticking on that rookie contract.

 

The idea of it being a full time empty opportunity really comes from the ability to motion or reset out of the base pistol pro.

I was looking for ways to maximize a player like Lamar who can do so much damage with his legs, but what you stated does create issues for when the down and distance becomes less than manageable.

Keeping everything on first and second down at a 4 yard average or greater would go a long way to minimizing the issues with forcing the ball repeatedly outside. No small feat in itself.

Forcing the defense to bring the LBs up and dedicate one to the spy is definitely part of what would make this work as it creates more isolated opportunities to get a McCaffrey type one on one with a LB in space, or a guy like Pitts into that same situation. Having the ability to fallback on Jackson trying to beat a LB one on one in a scramble is one of the bigger upsides but the threat of completing passes has to be real to get that on more downs than not.

Still, that hybrid FB position is the key for making this thing move and it’s the cog for starting every down from the vantage point of the base pistol pro set.

 

Source: Bears told Andy Dalton he’ll be the Week One starter



The answer has been hiding in plain sight. And we’ve confirmed that the thing hiding in plain sight is true.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bears already have promised quarterback Andy Dalton that he will start the season as the starting quarterback.

The clue comes from this statement from Dalton: “I knew the situation I was going into, regardless of if they drafted somebody or they didn’t. I was on a one-year deal, and I was going to be the starter.”

He stopped short of saying that’s what he was told by the team. But we’re told that’s what he was told by the team.

So he really is, as the team’s Twitter account declared on March 24, QB1. Thus, in Week One against the Rams on Sunday Night Football, the Chicago quarterback won’t be the QB who wears No. 1 — rookie Justin Fields.

That meshes with coach Matt Nagy’s personal experience. Prior to his final season in Kansas City, the Chiefs traded up to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes sat and learned the game for all of his first season, eventually playing in a meaningless Week 17 game against the Broncos.

The same approach is likely for Fields, sitting and watching and learning before being thrust into action. The fans may clamor for the rookie, but the team’s long-term best interests arguably are best served by waiting.

Regardless, Dalton’s status for Week One was set when he signed. He was told he’ll be the starter to start the season. It’s no guarantee he’ll be the starter at the end of the season. The bye week comes in Week 10, after a tough four-game stretch against the Packers, Buccaneers, 49ers, and Steelers. That could be the time to make the change, if the change is going to be made in 2021.

Or maybe Nagy really is committed to playing Dalton all year long. Although Alex Smith had far more equity with the Chiefs (and the 2017 Chiefs started fast), Nagy and G.M. Ryan Pace have tied their careers to Fields. Given that Nagy served as offensive coordinator for the team that drafted Mahomes and sat him for most of a season, it could be that Dalton is the starter not only for Week One of the 2021 season, but for a lot longer than that.

NBC

 

Great stuff one and all on this subject. Totally agree about the HB/FB point, and what im about to say may sound silly given its a pro bowler im about to talk about, but....

Playing off your point, i just think a TE like you were talking about would be absolutely devastating in that Offense. I mean who wouldn't want a Waller/Pitts right? And i like Mark Andrews, he's a good player and has been a great return on a 3rd round pick. But he's a player who landed in the perfect spot and gets a ton of targets. He feels like someone who has been at his ceiling a while. He's not a dynamic athlete and while i havent been arsed looking this up, whenever i've watched him play there always seems to be balls going off his hands. Not easy drops per se that would go down in the drop column, but just misses. Comparing his catch % to his peers might be interesting.

Anyway its obvs not a need like the HB or say a legit ARob type WR, but you made me think of it. Jackson loves throwing to TE's, and the Ravens have tried hard at the position over the years.

How galling for them that they even drafted the perfect player for this, but he wasn't in the right place mentally at the time they took him and now they have to watch him be a top 2-3 TE in the league on another team.

 

Bill Belichick: Mac Jones has a pretty good understanding of what we do



While Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are likely to be immediate starters, that’s probably not the case at this point for the other 2021 first-round picks at quarterback.

New England selected Mac Jones at No. 15 overall but have Cam Newton, who could, in theory, hold the starting job throughout 2021.

Still, head coach Bill Belichick said Friday that Jones is picking up the offense as the team goes through the offseason program.

“I think Mac has a pretty good understanding of the things that we do,” Belichick said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “He has to go out there and do them and get comfortable with them, so it’s a process. We’ve had a number of other players at that quarterback position come in and go through that. Some, it starts a little slower and then picks up. Sometimes it starts a little higher and slows down. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

“He’s working hard and he puts in a lot of time. Certainly giving his very best effort to do everything we’ve asked him to do and do it the way we’ve asked him to do it, which is a great place to start. He’s earned a lot of respect for that. But he has a long way to go. We’ll see how it goes.”

With Newton on the roster, Jones won’t have to play until he’s ready. The rookie signal-caller may be earning Belichick’s respect, but that’s far from earning the full-time role as QB1.

NBC

Such a smart pick for the Patriots.

 

Patrick Mahomes on 20-0 goal: The mindset every week is to win



Patrick Mahomes didn’t predict the Chiefs would go 20-0. The star quarterback simply answered a question about which record he would like to break.

What NFL player wouldn’t want to go undefeated, especially considering so few have accomplished that during the Super Bowl era?

“To me, records don’t mean anything unless you’re winning that last game at the end of the season,” Mahomes said Thursday. “To me, it’s about going in every single week with the mindset that we’re trying to win; we’re going to win. At the end of the day, whatever the record is, whether it’s 20-0 or whatever it is, [if] you’re winning the last game of the season, then you’re going to be happy with whatever happened earlier in the season.”

Only the 1972 Dolphins have completed a perfect season in the Super Bowl era, going 17-0 in 1972. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season and won their first two playoff games before losing to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

The NFL has added three regular-season games since the Dolphins made history. The 2021 season marks the first 17-game regular season in league history.

Mahomes has no problem with his comment blowing up, saying that as the team’s quarterback “I know I’m going to have to answer questions either way, so may as well answer questions about us winning football games.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid appreciates Mahomes’ goal for perfection.

“Listen, there’s nobody that’s more competitive and wants new challenges than he does,” Reid said. “That’s a great one. I mean, it hasn’t been done with that many games, so OK. But he didn’t mean it in any way where he was [predicting] that. I have full trust in him that way. That’s just not how he’s wired. But it’s a good challenge for sure.”

Mahomes is 44-10 in his career, including the postseason.

NBC

 

Ben Roethlisberger: Steelers’ new offense means extra studying and a fun challenge



Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been on the field for voluntary Organized Team Activities, and he’s been in the classroom as well, learning a new offense that Matt Canada is installing in his first year as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator.

Canada arrived in Pittsburgh as the Steelers’ quarterbacks coach last year, so he and Roethlisberger aren’t completely starting from scratch, but Roethlisberger said Canada is revamping the offense that Roethlisberger has grown accustomed to, and that means a lot of work.

“There is a lot of new,” Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “For someone who has had a very similar offense for a very long time, verbiage-wise, it’s taking some extra studying. It’s a fun, new challenge. Guys are getting it, and hopefully it translates into winning football.”

Roethlisberger said he is giving himself over to Canada’s way of doing things.

“We’ve had quite a few communications,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s come over. We’ve talked. I told him that I know this is your offense, and he’s like, ‘No, no, this is our offense.’ But I’m like, ‘No, it’s yours.’ And I’m just really trying to do everything I can to be open to the new challenge and say, ‘OK, I’m learning. OK, got it, got it.’ If something is confusing or something doesn’t quite make sense, I say, ‘Talk to me, tell me how I can better understand this or how I can learn this or learn the formation names or what is your trick to learning things.’”

The 39-year-old Roethlisberger doesn’t have many years left running the offense in Pittsburgh, and he’s doing what he can to make sure he’s up to speed quickly.

NBC

 

Washington WR Terry McLaurin already building chemistry with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick: 'Fitz is fun'

Terry McLaurin was able to get a feel for new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick over the past two weeks during OTAs, and the Washington wideout is already liking the chemistry.

"Fitz is fun," McLaurin said, via NBC Sports Washington. "The first thing that struck me about him is just that he has a [really] cool, calm demeanor about him. When he's in the huddle, it's just really collected."

McLaurin, 25, enters his third season having caught passes from six different Washington QBs. Despite the lack of continuity, McLaurin has been productive, catching 145 balls for 2,037 yards and eleven touchdowns in 29 games.

Washington signed Fitzpatrick to a one-year, $10 million deal this offseason. Although the 38-year-old QB isn't considered a long-term solution, McLaurin is picking the brain of a 16-year veteran in order to not only prepare for the upcoming season but elevate his own game coming off his first 1,000-yard season.

"He's also a student of the game. He's super smart," McLaurin said. "It helps me out because I get to try and see the game through his eyes."

McLaurin is expected to see more opportunity in 2021 thanks to Washington's biggest offensive upgrade this offseason. Fellow WR Curtis Samuel, who signed a three-year, $34.5 million deal, is an ideal addition for McLaurin's sake and should provide opportunity for one-on-one matchups he can exploit. McLaurin also sees Fitzpatrick's wisdom as something that can improve the entire receiving corps.

"He puts an emphasis on really being in communication with the receivers. That's not just me," McLaurin said. "I've seen him communicate with just about every receiver on the roster right now, just about what they're thinking with this route, what they're thinking about with this leverage. I think that is very important to do at this part in the season because you want to try to start making that connection early."


Fitzpatrick's ability to throw the deep ball is a welcomed aspect for a Washington offense that averaged 216.6 passing yards and 20.9 points per game in 2020, which ranked WFT 24th in the NFL in each category. The additions are expected to make for a more explosive offense in Washington, which would greatly compliment a budding defense that carried the team to an NFC East title. Should Fitzpatrick's veteran presence elevate the entire offense, Washington can set their sights on winning consecutive division titles for the first time since 1984.

"We've definitely been able to iron out some things early and made some connection over the past few days," McLaurin said. "It's starting to feel a lot more natural and being able to get that head start before camp is [really] good."

NFL.com

 

Russell Wilson heads to Seattle for OTAs



As the football-following world waits to see whether Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will show up for this week’s mandatory minicamp, another disgruntled quarterback is preparing to show up for ongoing voluntary workouts.

Jake Heaps of 710 ESPN spotted a video from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson showing that he’s returning to Seattle.

Coach Pete Carroll has said that he believes more players will show up for OTAs as mandatory minicamp approaches. Wilson had been working out in San Diego, away from the team.

The days following the Super Bowl included plenty of chatter regarding Wilson potentially leaving the Seahawks. The team held firm, however, and Wilson seems to have accepted that he has no viable alternative to playing for the team that drafted him in 2012.

Whether that changes after the 2021 season remains to be seen. For now, Wilson appears to be willing and able to set aside his broader concerns and to accept that the Seahawks still want him, and that they aren’t going to be trading him.

Wilson’s return comes on the same day that the Titans, not the Seahawks, landed former Falcons receiver Julio Jones. The Seahawks reportedly had talks with Atlanta about a potential deal. It’s entirely possible that the Seahawks did so for one reason: So that they could tell Wilson they tried.

NBC

 

Ryan Tannehill: Julio Jones gives us a dynamic duo at wide receiver



Ryan Tannehill couldn’t wipe the smile off his face Sunday night.

The Titans quarterback has a new weapon, one of the best to play the position over the past decade. Julio Jones will pair with A.J. Brown, and the Titans also signed Josh Reynolds in the offseason. They also have the NFL rushing champion Derrick Henry.

“Wow! I’m excited. I’m fired up,” Tannehill said, via video from Jim Wyatt of the team website. “It’s been a little bit of an up and down. I didn’t know if it was going to happen. Just kind of along for the ride like everybody else. My agent called me today and said it was going to happen, so excited. Excited to bring Julio on board. To pair him across from A.J. on the other side, it’s really a dynamic duo for our wide receivers. Looking forward to what he can bring to the table. Obviously, a lot of work in front of us. We’re going to have to feel each other out and get on the same page. But looking forward to the work and then looking forward to good things.

“I’m fired up. I’m excited. How can you not be excited to play with a guy with the caliber of talent that Julio is and has been for his whole career. So excited to get to know him as a person. Just welcome him to the team and get him acclimated to how we do things.”

The Titans agreed Sunday to trade a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round selection to Atlanta in exchange for Jones and a sixth-round pick in 2023. Arguably no player in the NFL faces more pressure than Tannehill this season.

With the weapons the Titans have, they will become a favorite in the AFC. That puts the onus on Tannehill to deliver.

Tannehill, who turns 33 next month, threw 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season as the Titans went 11-5 in the regular season before losing to the Ravens in the wild-card round.

NBC

 

so Julio Jones is a Titans now at least he did not end up with the Packers and he's out of the NFC he's the AFC headache now

 

Badd............AFC Headache.............???.........Jones will help the Titans for sure.

 

he's another weapon for Ryan Tannehill they were already tough enough as long as they stay healthy with Julio Jones and AJ Brown Derrick Henry they looks pretty awesome IMO and JJ stil has some gas left in the tank so he can be a headache IMO

 

Kirk Cousins promises to be an “open book” for Kellen Mond



Kirk Cousins remains the starter in Minnesota, but for the first time since he arrived in 2018, the Vikings have a potential replacement behind him.

Cousins appears unbothered by the Vikings’ third-round selection of Kellen Mond. It surely helped that the team kept the starting quarterback in the loop about its plans.

“There was good communication through the process, and Kellen’s been great, working hard and picking up our offense quickly,” Cousins said Wednesday in his first comments since Mond joined the team, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “So, it’s been a good process.”

Cousins vows to help Mond, something Rex Grossman did for him in Washington in 2012. Cousins previously has done the same for Nate Stanley and Jake Browning, though neither was going to take Cousins’ job. Mond one day could.

“You’re an open book,” Cousins said. “You’re helpful, and you’re there and make yourself available.

“It was great to be able to learn from [Grossman], and he was a big part of my early development as a football player. I really took every word he said to heart because I felt he’d been there, done that and he should know what it looked like. I hung on his every word. I’ve been there and want to certainly be that same resource whenever possible.”

Cousins’ contract runs through 2022, and he has a $45 million cap number for the last season of his deal. The Vikings then will have a decision to make about Cousins’ future, if not sooner.

Cousins’ future surely depends on what the team does as he has led the Vikings to one playoff appearance and a 1-1 postseason record in three seasons. For now, though, the Vikings are Cousins’ team.

The plan is for Mond to redshirt his rookie season. Cousins played three games with one start as a rookie backup to rookie Robert Griffin III in Washington in 2012.

“The big piece right now, and I lived it back in 2012, is just being able to take in the volume of offense that’s thrown at you,” Cousins said. “The terminology is likely new, the plays at times are likely new.”

NBC

 

glad to see this Kirk Cousins is willing to help and Kellen Mond is ready to listen and learn,there's no rush just be happy holding the clipboard on sidelines the NFL is as brand new world

 

Yep, i feel the same. And another idiotic mistake from the Packers. Jones would've been at least as terrifying on the Packers as the Titans. Possibly even more so as the Packers are largely a match for the Titans at the skill positions except they are also better at TE. I dont know how you stop that.

They would've needed to run it by Erin first, because there's no point making this move if he's not back there. But i suspect that would've had a double positive effect. You give him the second legit WR he's long wanted(actually i'd call it two 1's myself) instantly virtually guaranteeing a top3 Offense in the league and showing a tangible move to get you over the hump into a SB. You also would effectively be giving Rodgers the final say over a huge personnel move which would be exactly the kind of respect/valuing of opinion that i think goes to the heart of this. That is a huge huge olive branch.

For the mere price of a 2nd rounder and change the Packers could've dramatically changed the whole dynamic of this internal conflict. And if they'd asked him i think he would've said yes, which means they prob didnt ask him.

Stupid Packers, heh.

 

Rams HC Sean McVay: Matthew Stafford will 'raise the level of play of everyone around him'

Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay are all of two years apart. Both are entering their 13th seasons in the NFL. They were also starting quarterbacks for state champions in high school, with McVay earning a player-of-the-year award in Georgia over eventual Stafford teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson.

Their primary commonality now, of course, concerns their respective roles with the Rams. Stafford is the franchise quarterback tasked to take Los Angeles back to the Super Bowl, a game in which McVay has reached before but ultimately fell short of winning. Two years outside serious contention prompted the Rams to trade for Stafford, who did just about everything but win in Detroit over the last decade-plus.

In short, McVay and Stafford could be exactly what the other needs. After just a few months of collaboration, the offensive mastermind said his new QB has already made him "a better coach."

"I think (because of) his experiences," McVay told NFL Network's Omar Ruiz on Thursday as the Rams held their first open practice at SoFi Stadium. "When you listen to the different, great coaches he's been around, experiences he can draw on, he's just a wealth of knowledge. And being able to get his perspective with so much that goes on at the quarterback position. It's been really enlightening, he's got a great, consistent energy day in and day out."

Stafford has been a model of consistency throughout his career, in ways both good and bad. He's started 16 games in nine of the past 10 seasons, eclipsing 4,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in eight of them. But he boasts a sub-.500 mark as a starter (74-90-1) and is still seeking his first playoff victory through a modest three appearances.

Expectations are much greater for the Rams with Stafford succeeding Jared Goff, whose play regressed after making a pair of Pro Bowls following McVay's 2017 hire. Stafford, interestingly, has been selected to just one Pro Bowl. Being chosen to lead a title contender while still presumably in his prime is an even bigger honor. And it casts a brighter spotlight on the 33-year-old than what he's used to.

His new coach believes the whole team will be better for it.


"I think the first thing you can tell, anybody that knows Matthew knows that it's not too big for him," McVay said. "He expects a lot of himself. I think he also understands how difficult this game is. In order to do things the right way, it's one week at a time. But it's not too big for him. He's played at a high level for a long, long time. He's going to raise the level of play of everyone around him. Guys are going to play well around him, and our jobs as coaches is going to be able to help bring out the best in these guys as well."

Getting the best out of Stafford alone might make this Rams team one of the best in the NFL.

NFL.com

 

Or the Falcons turned them down assuming the Packers 2nd would be lower than the Titans 2nd, with the added caveat of it gets him out of the Falcons conference.