Oh hell yeah......but going from Clowney, Elliot and Togiai starting on the line to Tomlinson, Harris and Z. Smith (as well as backups Okoronkwo and Hurts) is huge. As his having Walker, JOK and Takitaki healthy.
Bengals decision making on the OL has been poor. They’ve struggled to both protect Burrow and run the football because of it.
The Eagles have really benefited from the presentation of the schedule this year. It’s appreciably tougher than last year but all of the tough games are packed into weeks 7-15. In that stretch, that don’t have any “layups”. They have these first 6 games where they can bring a B or C effort and get wins. They absolutely need to take advantage of this window though to create continuity between this OC’s vision and Hurts. Hurts is holding on to the ball longer than he did last year. That suggests that he’s not seeing what he should be seeing. This is where you’re glad that Hurts is the gym rat and dedicated worker that he is. I have faith that he and Brian Johnson are gonna figure it out together. It is frustrating watching them get there. Eagles are 3-0 and one of only 3 undefeateds left in the league and I’ve been disappointed after all 3 games reflecting on mistakes made and the fact that they can’t get the pass game nor the pass rush on the defensive side unlocked to its potential yet. I am not a patient man, haha.
I think the Bears are now officially done with Fields. With their first pick and Carolina's first pick in 2024, they are highly likely to have a top 3 pick, and may have two top 3 picks in the next draft. I could see them just phoning it in the rest of the season and drafting Caleb Williams.
The secret sauce in Philly is their line play. In most contests, they show up and have a line of scrimmage advantage. The Eagles lead the league in net rushing differential (rush yards vs rush yards given up). If you can win in the trenches, you can hide a lot of warts.
If Chicago can get Caleb and Harrison Jr there is no way they would trade back. I would hope they would fire the FO and coaching staff before making these picks or it’s a never-ending shitshow
Yep, looking like Chicago could end up with 2 top 3 picks. I tend to agree with your take as Williams is the obvious choice and Harrison is a great prospect in his own right--one of the best WRs to come out in a long time--, but that Chicago Oline is bad. I think that will be the balance that the Bears front office has to make. Do they take the generational WR or do they improve the Oline with a blue-chip Tackle (as the free agent Oline class doesn't look all that good)?
I don't think I can put much, if any blame on Payton. This is a team that hasn't had a winning season since 2016. The last time they had a winning season, Obama was still president.
Yeah, generally you dont want to be the team that peaks early. It takes awhile to get things together. I mentioned the Bengals and I think they're a team that could certainly win a Super Bowl if things come together again. Lord knows if the Chiefs have to rely on Blaine Gabbert we might go 5-12.
No blame on Payton? Hard to leave him out after his comments about Hackett.
