NoCalMike

Ron also said that the doctors haven't even cleared Wentz to practice yet, so it looks like on a short week, where they have today off, practicing doesn't even begin until Wednesday, it would have taken a significant pace by Wentz to be ready for this Sunday anyway. I am more talking about the plan once Wentz is actually cleared, healthy, and a full participant in practice. Also, because Heinicke is.....Heinicke, what exactly are we going to say his leash is once Wentz actually is ready and able to return? If Wentz is healthy and on the sidelines and the team ends up losing to Houston or Atlanta, is that the time? On paper this team should wreck the Texans, they are on a damn near record pace for giving up rush yards, so part of me thinks the run heavy time of possession scheme will work again this Sunday, but are we looking at another game where it ends up 17-14 because the offense can't score TDs? This is a 1 win team coming up and if Heinicke goes out there and has another 17/29 211 1INT type game, but the team wins.....? The coaches are in a predicament because this isn't a 7-3 team that can afford to take a loss or two to figure things out. At 5-5, trying to compete for that last wild card spot, basically every single game for the remainder of the season is huge, because unless they get a 2-3 cushion in the win column, any game that results in falling under .500 is devastating. This "hot hand" stuff needs to be sort of checked, Heinicke's hand is not really that hot, if the team was losing these close games you'd be very justified looking at his performance as a big reason why and probably asking for a change at QB (assuming there was a valid option to go to). For now I am trusting the coaches to make the right decision, I just find it difficult to believe that they feel a QB they have basically rejected as a potential starter twice, is now suddenly the QB they think gives the team the best chance to win. If they do in fact believe that, I think it is way more of an indictment on Wentz than it is an endorsement of Heinicke.

Run the rock against the Eagles and do everything to keep Hurts inside the pocket as a pure passer and he looks very different.

I like the time of possession domination approach, I just want to see another couple of drives end with a TD. Put some of these games away before the final drive of the game. It cost them against Minnesota, and allowed the Eagles to hang around at the end longer than they had any right to be.

But it is, statistically. It isn't flashy, but if you get 3 yards on 1st and 2nd down over and over, you are setup with 3rd & shortish. If they were instead rushing for 3 on 1st down, then incomplete pass on 2nd down or a sack.....changes everything.

While I agree the O-line hasn't improved a ton at pass blocking, I think the run game working more and/or the emphasizing of it, the commitment to it has helped the passing game immensely in both how defenses are scheming and how it sets up opportunities in the passing game. The fact that the defense doesn't know if a run or pass is coming on a 3rd & 4 is a big advantage. That is why I am saying that if Wentz returns, I wouldn't expect Turner to suddenly decide to go away from the run game, on the contrary I think the run game will set up even more opportunities for play action where the big play potential is there and is likely there with Heinicke, but not capitalized on enough.

I agree that I think Heinicke (as a back up, or otherwise) is probably tied to Ron/Turner. They brought him in because of his knowledge in that offense, knowing his weaknesses and the ability to scheme around them. I am not sure how well it would work out for Heinicke trying to learn a new offense.

I've been saying for two months now that Jalen Hurts was overrated as a passer. He has a lot of abilities that help his game, but when push comes to shove, as a pure passer he is not top tier. The biggest difference between this game and the first meeting was that a lot of his 50/50 balls were broken up, intercepted, or stopped immediately after the catch, versus the first game where it seemed like any pass he threw, no matter how well covered, ended up a catch. That is life as a QB when your passing ability leads to a ton of will it or won't it passes, which is why I remain having the same opinion about Heinicke overall. I think Heinicke is really good on the short passes, and his biggest improvement over last season is being able to hit guys in stride on the shallow crossing routes instead of them having to stop and make the catch stationary.....and then try to start running again. I still think that the skill position players on this team are too good and too fast for a QB like Heinicke to see their potential realized and it is going to handcuff the offense as long as he is the QB. Does that mean Wentz is the right guy to see their potential met and possibly exceeded? It is hard to say. I don't think Wentz was particularly great before the injury, but I also don't think he was nearly as bad as some people are remembering. I think other parts of the team have gradually become better and it is resulting in very close wins (or losses) when for two weeks in a row it seems like there were ample opportunities for the game(s) to be unwinnable by the opponent, yet here we were in the 4th quarter holding our breath again. This isn't an indictment on Heinicke so much as it is just stating the reality that he has to hit his ceiling as a QB every week for the team to have a chance.

The game last night was the first where the secondary really seemed to take the lead. The D-line wasn't bad, they stopped what little of the run the Eagles attempted, but I also wouldn't say Hurts was under much duress during his pass attempts until the 4th quarter. Up until then he was mostly throwing in a clean pocket, and the secondary was either breaking up passes or making tackles to keep the shorter passes from gaining YAC. I said after the first match up between these two teams that I felt Hurts was capable, but being overrated by the national media due to the team built around him. He threw a lot of passes into traffic (the 50/50 balls) in the first game and his WRs made him look very good for doing so, but in this game a lot of those same kinds of passes were instead break ups, or INTs instead of catches.

I think when comparing D-Jax to McLaurin what we have to remember is by the time D-Jax got to DC he wasn't the same WR as he was in Philly. He is a smaller WR that had taken enough of a beating that his days as that all purpose jack of all trades WR were over and he was primarily a deep threat. McLaurin doesn't have the quickness of D-Jax which was really once in a generation, but he is stronger and seems to be better at making contested catches. McLaurin's overall game is likely more suited for a long career as he will still have many elements to his game after he loses a step or two of speed, sort of like a Fitzgerald who was productive long after he was done blowing the top off a defense.

Ok how about this scenario: A healthy Wentz is the back up on the sideline and Heinicke has a terrible 1st half against the Texans (or maybe Falcons if Wentz isn't even healthy enough for Texans game). Do you make the switch at halftime back to Wentz if the game is still looking winnable or do you roll the dice and let Heinicke try to work his way out of the funk?

Oh for sure, I just think the 49ers have sort of been forgotten about due to their slow start out of the gate, but a lot of analysts thought they had a Super Bowl capable roster that could baby Trey Lance along enough to make a deep playoff run. That didn't turn out to be so, but since unloading Jimmy G never materialized they were able to right the ship.

If they decide to stick with Heinicke, the question becomes how long is his leash? The way he is playing, it feels like every game is as close to being a loss as it is a win and vice versa. The Vikings & Eagles games are both microcosms of what you get with Heinicke. I think through 10 weeks it is fair to see that regardless of the QB under center this season, the sheer amount of playmaking skill position players on this team are too plentiful to only be scoring the amount of points they are every week. So taking that into account, it doesn't seem like Heinicke is doing much to progress the offense, in contrast, it seems more that Scott Turner realizes that behind this O-line, the run game is needed and heavily, to anchor the offense (along with the defense and no mistakes on special teams) and even if Wentz returns next week or the following week (or at any point) I don't see any reason to deviate much off the run-heavy time of possession offense, but Wentz would also add some other elements there to be used when appropriate.

Entertaining the playoffs talk, I think their biggest obstacle, assuming we keep winning, is the 49ers. They got off to a rough start with Trey Lance, and the Jimmy G potential trade stuff, and it took a few games for Jimmy G to get back to doing what he does, which is.....enough, for a team built like that. Their arrow right now is also pointed up.

Yeah, and of course this is assuming Wentz is healthy and all, he might not be? However, you got to look at like this, there is nothing about the game plan that needs to change when Wentz comes back, the main difference is Wentz is a QB who can hit those bigger passes that are being left on the field. That first deep throw to Terry was underthrown, but he's Terry so it turned out ok, however if the throw leads Terry then he is running to it instead of pulling up for it. The second throw, Terry is wide open and if you throw a dart instead of a duck he is likely going for a TD there. This isn't me being anti-Heinicke, just have to deal with the fact that he is limited and it is likely keeping points off the board. Just because Wentz returns, it doesn't mean we have to stop running the rock a majority of the time, but it will also open up more of the field for play action.

I don't want to damper the Hive tonight because of this big win, but.......(they're going back to Wentz).

ONE FIRST DOWN. ONE. RUN THE BALL.

This just in Dotson is not allowed to run a route.

Offense seemed so undisciplined and erratic after that turnover, like they weren't even prepared to be running plays. Defense has to prevent a TD here. There is just no way around it, Eagles cannot get into the endzone or it is pretty much game over.

Call on the field was a fumble recovery for TD, so the evidence to overturn has to be CLEAR.

If they're calling Davis down by contact there, then it is baaaaaaaaaarely, because he does not fall onto the ball and get possession. He doesn't have clear possession until he is starting to get up and I have no idea if he is touched there.

Turner with too much faith in the noodle-arm QB. That pass should not be floated like a rainbow. Throw a dart and McLaurin is going to the house.

Scott Turner better have something up his sleeve because I have a feeling the Eagles are going to sell out to stop the run and put the pressure on Heinicke on this drive.

I just don't understand how the defense goes from playing very solid fundamental defense, to missing tackles on every single play. Once or twice a drive maybe, but the last 5 plays they had the ball carrier dead to rights and just either whiff or don't wrap up. How does this happen every game.

This is why TD's over FG's when you are inside the 10 matter.

Hey it's our favorite part of the game, when the defense decides it is a good time to start missing tackles on every run play. They really have to hold them to a FG here, or else it puts so much pressure back on the offense immediately.