AZ54

I went into this game expecting a total Mel Tuckeresque coverage disaster. Instead they all seemed to know their job. We have to credit Houston-Carson and Jaylon Johnson for keeping the young guys lined up properly during the game. Plus the coaches deserve a ton of credit getting them ready. It's one game so I'm not trying to go overboard but it certainly feels like this rookie group of DBs is giving us a solid depth/foundation for the future. We already know what we have in Brisker and Gordon has been coming along well lately. Now today we see Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell play well along with Elijah Hicks at safety. Earlier in the season Jaylon Jones was playing too soft but he certainly looks more comfortable in the role now. Blackwell might have been the biggest surprise for me playing at NB. There were issues with run defense at times but he didn't get overwhelmed and stayed in contact in coverage all game long. Vildor has struggled so it will be interesting to see if one of these young DBs take his reps when he's healthy. For sure we need to address that starting CB position for next year. If Poles and the coaches want to see more of the youngsters as a potential starter that'd be fine by me. I'd rather know what we have and don't have before the offseason begins. Even if neither Blackwell or Jones are starter level, it feels like they can be good depth for next season.

Arrive very late to training camp in a trade, get injured and miss the first quarter of the season. Add in that ESB is in more or less the same offense he's been in for the last 4 or 5 years. These two WRs both offer run blocking as their first and best asset. Beyond that you have to go with the guy who is most comfortable with the routes, and who Fields has the best rapport with. I hope that changes over the last quarter of the season. I think Harry is more likely to at least box out a DB on a route like what ESB ran leading to the first INT. He certainly showed he's more capable of going up and winning on a contested catch.

Standing strong at #2 after the early games this week. If Tankathon.com is correct, at this point, we have the highest strength of schedule in the entire NFL.

I've seen enough. We have our future QB. This game was perfectly played for 3 quarters and then we just did enough at the end to retain the higher draft pick. Some young DBs really surprised me with how well they played. I was expecting a lot of breakdowns and while there were a few at the end they forced GB into multiple 4th down plays throughout the game. Might be far more depth here than expected going into the offseason. Hicks gave up a TD by hesitating and not closing on the ball to Watson. With more experience and he might be able to time that better because there was no reason he couldn't have defended that pass. Oline was poor today and the Dline was worse. Rodgers had all day to throw. These are all pieces we know about so I don't think there were any surprises to the negative side.

Haven't seen a sack like this before.

It seems clear we are now in a full on tryout mode. Signing a QB to the active roster for 3 weeks means they are going to protect Fields at all cost. Signing a DT means the off-season search for talent has begun. I agree we get leatherwood on the fields now before Fields returns. As far as I’m concerned make the change at OC too. I wouldn’t mind seeing Carter get some reps too but if a new OC is out there I think the best way to evaluate him is keeping whitehair and Jenkins on the field. No need to win the games we need to win the draft.

Maybe a broken bone on the arch of the foot where all the stress is supported. It is odd though because you'd think that would be so obvious that we wouldn't be sitting here still speculating on the severity.

Watching Pickett last night throw numerous passes into the dirt, or nearly so, was almost as enjoyable as watching Pickens dropping them. Ryan Clark afterward calling them perfect passes that only the WR could catch. Sure, because every DB loves seeing a pass so low there is not a chance of any RAC.

Actually leading the NFL in solo tackles since Week 9. Interesting discussion here among former players and HC.

That is the role I see for Velus, 4th/5th WR, occasional jet sweeps, WR screens, work out of the slot where everyone else clears out some space for him and see if he can make the first man miss, and an occasional deep route like Cohen used to get. We know he can contribute big plays on KR. Hopefully he can get back to being a PR in the future.

Agreed. Once DEs knew Borom's weakness and attacked it regularly he lost his rhythm. I'm am miles away from an expert on blocking but when he was in the game Sunday he looked out of sync as in upper body/lower body not in line with each other.

Or he becomes Zach Thomas. Times have changed and with it offenses but we can't so easily dismiss that Sanborn is clearly out performing the veterans on either side of him. This is a small sample size for Sanborn but Morrow played MLB until 4 weeks ago. Morrow had a few good games for us too but Sanborn is already going above and beyond that. We don't have to look a gift horse in the mouth because the eye test says his game speed is better than his timed speed. That wasn't the case with Kwit when he was chasing plays outside the numbers. 2min 34s mark

Maybe it is but usually when you see a lisfranc injury it's because a player's foot was caught and bent downward (i.e. straight). Eddie seemingly had a non-contact injury which means his foot was likely caught and twisted in the turf. If it slipped forward then maybe Lisfranc is a concern. Achilles would have been worse case. Lisfranc or sprain should easily heal before the offseason begins with no long term effect. I found this on Twitter.

I'm not exactly looking forward to writing a little game summary but there are still a few things worth mentioning. Sanborn continues to show well. He had just 1 negative play but with another double digit tackle game he's becoming a mainstay in our D. I'd love to see him play behind a Dline that made the Oline work harder before getting to the 2nd level. Darrynton Evans has better vision and ran much better than Ebner did last week. I think he sticks on the active roster for another week. Borom is not ever going to be the answer at RT. I understand that Siemian could be a bit rusty on the offense but why were so many other players unable to line up properly? All I can think is that we got a glimpse of how good Fields is in the huddle calling the play and making sure guys know where to line up. With little passing threat, and no running threat from Fields, Montgomery ran for 5.6ypc, 79yds, and added 34yds on receptions. That's a good day against a good defense on the road. Evans added 34yd rushing and 33yds receiving. Elijah Hicks is going to give up a lot of yards receiving. He's just not a good enough athlete to play deep. When Brisker returns I expect he'll move to be more FS and leaving Houston-Carson to play more SS. From what I saw with DHC I think that combination will be ok for us. For those fans who want to see us move on from Jackson this will give you a good what-if scenario to evaluate. With Gordon and Brisker out it appeared we stayed out of nickel and used 3 LBs for most of the game. I was optimistic about him when he signed with us but Cruikshank hasn't done much if anything this year. We definitely have to add more depth among the DBs this offseason and if he's kept around, I doubt Vildor makes the roster next year. Armon Watts got a sack. He and Pennell can sometimes make a play too often nobody else can. Taco Charleton didn't even get on the stat line. Matt Adams played a lot of snaps and had just 1 tackle. It seems you'd at least get credit for some assists somewhere in the game if you just got around the ball. Joe Thomas isn't the answer so I'm getting curious to see what Weatherford can do. If he plays poorly at most we'd be giving up 1 tackle.

Some athletes do get it back but it takes far more than a year.

At this point any significant injury is season ending. Ankle sprain that takes 4-6 weeks to heal? Done. Would it matter or even be worth it to have Mooney play in the last game? IMO you use those reps for guys like Claypool, Pringle, even Velus to help him for next year.

Just to be fair here are similar concerns with another prospect I like a lot: Jalen Carter. Starting around 4:30.

There is a very long way to go in the draft evaluation process. Well Anderson is currently listed as the consensus #1 overall prospect but when I watch entire games I see gaps in his performance that concern me. He’s still a terrific prospect but we’re talking to 5 picks so you need a sure thing. I don’t think Anderson will be a bust but I wonder if he’ll struggle a lot more against NFL OTs. He is more of a Khalil Mack style in his rush than Von Miller. This video does a good job capturing some of my concerns starting around the 5 min mark.

Teven Jenkins did go to Flus and told him he didn't think he was good enough to play but that he wanted to be available in case of an injury...he'd play. Because of that Jenkins was active for that game.

I believe 5 juries have already voted no on Charleton: Dallas, Miami, KC, and Pitt. I'd rather see Reyes get some experience and see if he has anything at all to offer than waste snaps on Charleton. Granted Taco at least has a bit of performance on his resume with 46 tackles and 11 sacks so he's better as a drop-in replacement for a few weeks.

Good point. I think there was concern with the gap we have on the roster. Aside from stingers point about Sanborn they may have gotten good news on the injuries of Adam’s and I think there was another LB injured.

Buckner would be a great addition and I'd still add Carter, Bresee, or Anderson alongside him.

He's a good football player but there was no scenario where he was part of the future, and this season is all about evaluating the young players. Poles did him right by letting him go to a winning team.

The issue with Fields playing with that injury is that he will be trying to avoid contact on that shoulder. That’s just b normal but it means he’s more likely to put his throwing shoulder into harms way.

Interesting to see the Bears kicking the tires on FB Rakovich. A knee injury kept him out of the draft/UDFA picture but if healthy he's an intriguing prospect. There's no way he'd be playing this year so this is clearly a 2023 consideration.