BearFan PHX

this first drive was successful, but I didnt see Fields just stand back there calmly and deliver. It all feels like crisis, like scrambling, and Fields does that very well. He's also the best running QB I've ever seen. His sudden change of direction is Hester-like. But the difference in style from Bagent (pocket passer type) is obvious. I wonder if this is sustainable. Id sure love to see Fields set his feet and throw the ball in rhythm. You cant backyard it all the time, no matter how good Fields and Moore are at doing that. It isnt basketball. Lets see...

thats a big deal actually. we will need his speed out there today against Detroit.

based on his play alone, yes - but when you factor in his huge cap number... he gone.

and probably an upgrade at left tackle too?

nah youre right. How many points a game are we averaging now? I figured I was talking about 24 or 26 points. It feels like we are averaging 16 points a game or something now, but i didnt look it up. What I am saying is that the coaching staff isnt getting anything near the potential of this roster, and add a real QB and coordinator and youve got something. So I guess I mean adding Mahomes and Reid or something like that. I think Fields is probably the 20th best QB in the league when he's playing well. Again, Im using numbers as adjectives, i havent actually looked at the list to see if itd be 18 or 22. Its just about where i think his ceiling is. I do think the RBs are among the leaders in the league now, and so is our OL, although Whitehair and Patrick are not up to it. But Wright, Davis and Jenkins are doing great. But to turn the question around, do you think wed need superstars to add 10 points to how weve been playing? I feel like weve been on the edge of awful in terms of scoring.

I would say we need upgrades at QB, C, LT, WR but a good QB and a good Offensive coordinator would squeeze 10 more points a game out of the existing roster.

honestly, this current roster (injuries aside) should have won at least 8 games, maybe more, if they were coached with a growth mentality. you gotta give players opportunities to step up and grow, and not try to micromanage everything into safe little packets. It's just football. We need new coaches.

ha this is exactly right.

yeah tricky and innovative are definitely two different things. My biggest gripe about the staff is that they don't let the players play, they try to win from the sidelines by limiting exposure for error, and trying to outclever people. If you believe in your roster, let them play. The most complex offense isnt necessarily the hardest one to defend. The hardest offense to defend is when people do their jobs in tempo. You find the right matchup, get the ball out on time and let your players make a play. That's why I say this staff coaches scared.

of course. there is no way to replace him now, and the trade deadline is over, so there is no way to do that even if someone wanted to. he has the next 7 games to show whatever he wants to show. well swinging for homeruns is good, he just needs to do that in tempo too. as for those three games, I think it was as much about the bad defense as Justin. I didnt see him making fast reads and throwing with anticipation. And dont get me wrong if ANY QB on our roster starts to look lik ea top 10 QB thats a good thing. Im not against Justin the person, I just dont believe he has that in him. And I would love to be wrong.

Im not saying a new QB will be better. Im saying you keep trying to find them until you do.

still to the eye test, the ball wasn't coming out fast and confident. at least to my eye. And I promise you, if Fields looks great I will be thrilled. I just dont think its going to happen enough to save him. I would love to be proven wrong, because if we have a great QB and two top ten draft picks that would be amazing. But at the same time I wont try to squint and convince myself Im seeing more than I am?

If Fields can do a better job of reading the defense and playing with tempo he could be a very good quarterback. We should have enough weapons now that someone is open on any given play. So it's up to Justin to find those opportunities and rip the ball out quickly. The Lions will offer opportunities, and the knock on Fields is that he reads to slow. So the way I see it, this is gonna be less about the Lions, or most opponents, and more just about how good Fields is making those choices correctly in rhythm. So really this is gonna be all about Justin week in and week out, with the exception of a few really good defenses that harass all the QBs in the league regularly, he succeeds or fails on his own merits.

And a CAR loss too How good is your arm? We need you.

Whether at Head Coach, or Quarterback you either have a great one or you don't. If you don't you try again. If they aren't great you try again. You keep trying. But in no case is it a good idea to keep a guy you already have tested and found to be not a winner. Even if they're ok. We shouldn't just fire losers. We need to fire anyone who doesn't look like a future Super Bowl winner. The 1 and 2 out of 10 are easy to agree to fire. But what about a 7? If you know they will never be an 8? Theyre nice, competent, decent, better than average. In most professions you promote them, but if you want to win a Super Bowl, in the NFL you fire em and try again. And keep trying until you get a proven winner. And I think Eberflus' defense sucks. I think our defensive roster is a LOT better than it seems. They have been making incremental but small progress because rookies are learning how to play and players are giving a good effort. But the scheme and playcalling has been awful, and I think with a real DC, this roster would be a LOT better and more fearsome. We may even win some games on defense on the strength of the roster alone, but we should be much better by now with this much talent. You cant just call the same cover 2 on 90% of plays. You just can't.

LET'S GO Pix!!! Congratulations dude, I know you've had a VERY long road with all this medical stuff, and good news is extremely welcome. So glad to hear it.

sometimes you have to let the players fall to you. If we thought Trubisky was head and shoulders above the rest, then yeah, you trade up to get him. But if you think they are in the same category, you trade down and let one fall to you. And in that equation you gotta include the fact that you're 50% likely to be wrong. So letting the last guy out of a leading pack fall to you is probably a better idea than trying to get the first choice of them. And again, all that assuming you dont have a clearly superior grade on one player. But given the questions around Trubisky at the time, how could you?

Thank you. I read they were undefeated in an article, which was obviously old news. I appreciate the info.

yep, there are always exceptions, but it cuts both ways: Fields could ball out this year and suck next year, or he could be terrible the rest of the year and be great somewhere else too. you never KNOW the future, but you can make some pretty good guesses at it. For example no one expects Trubisky to suddenly be great, and I dont expect Fields to show me skills he has never shown me in the NFL before. Its not certain, but its a pretty good bet.

well we may not see that the same way, but i will look for what youve said in #3-#6 when I look at film. And if he does get to the playoffs, we will see how he is there too, and if he doesnt, he wont be undefeated anymore LOL

how do you know? LOL He didnt play in the same system as Mitch, has twice as many games and is a different kind of QB. Now I havent watched Maybe enough to endorse him. So if you have some substantive criticisms, Im all ears, and wont even disagree with you. Ill take those and think of them when I start watching film on these guys. But just that he went to NC? Didn't Michael Jordan go there too? LOL that doesnt mean anything either of course.

prototypical size 6' 5", extremely strong arm, fast decisions, ball comes out quick, pocket passer, has increased his level of play every week this year and is undefeated this year - making a run at college playoffs. That's what they say anyway.

exactly

this is where Im at too. Maye, Penix or McCarthy, possibly after a mini trade down. Sure would like MHJ too...

That's a very good observation. Maybe why the Ryan Leaf's of the world flamed out. for sure