method man

I saw a quote where DJ said he is feeling the same level of pain in his neck as a couple years ago when his season was cut short

Stand in line. He is going to be top of list for every HC opening this offseason. The more Howell looks like a franchise QB, the better it will bode for us to be the ones to get him. As of now, if I am him, the Chargers are my #1 choice

Dude was sandbagged by a guy with a low IQ (Jackson) and a guy who could not cover anyone (Collins). Everyone else played well or improved under him. Darby is a case study

What’s going to be telling is how many of these guys get scooped up by other teams when this staff is let go.

Fuller is gone. He is an older corner now and is not a guy you can allocate $10M/yr to. Curl may only be worth an overpay in a JDR scheme. What if the next DC doesn’t have a heavy use of a buffalo nickel in his scheme?

Sheehan said on his pod yday that he has heard that the secondary players really miss Chris Harris. He was the one guy who could have potentially taken over

Separate topic but I am liking someone in the Roseman mold as the FO leader. What I mean by that is a well rounded executive who understands analytics, contracts, cap, strategy, negotiation, scouting, etc. The issue with most NFL GMs is they are one dimensional or limited. A lot of these guys rose in the ranks as personnel people but I feel they haven’t mastered all elements. I would almost rather have a guy who may be weaker on personnel and scouting but has fantastic lieutenants he can fall back on for that element. One crazy idea would be for Josh & co to go outside the box and bring in a well respected powerful agent like Mulugheta. This tactic has paid off in other sports like the NBA - Bob Myers was an agent before coming to the Warriors

While you punt on midseason, the new FO leader and staff you bring in will already be working with other teams and developing files and opinions on prospects. It’s not like they will be starting from a cold start

Unless we finish in the top 5, Howell is going to be part of the pitch to get a hot HC candidate to come here. I think most understand the bust rate even with top 10 QB prospects. Given history, the odds are against a Penix, McCarthy, Nix, etc. What we are seeing is a guy who checks all the boxes except 1) height, 2) time to throw and 3) decisionmaking. You can’t fix #1 but you can fix/work around #2 and #3 with scheme and experience

It may be time for some personnel changes. Hudson deserves a shot to start. Barton is no sacred cow. Forbes needs to sit for a few games to get his mind right and we should let DJ be the nickel with BSJ and Fuller on the outside

Preseason against the Ravens RB in the open field lol

Can someone who understands Forbes's game a bit more explain to me why he can't play in the slot? Historically, slot corners have been the slight of build guys and slot receivers have been the 5-10 190 pound Wes Welker types. Yes, there are now exceptions like London and Kupp to be aware of but I feel this rings true often. Does Forbes just lack the quickness and hip fluidity to play inside?

They are starting George Fant while Howard is out. Fant had a 48 PFF grade last year

Their line at full strength is better than ours but they have missed Howard all season and Tunsil has missed time as well. They are starting Josh Jones at guard

If we are going to pass 70%+ of the time, Lucas over Wylie is a no brainer.

I get the sense he doesn’t like Ron and his tenure here was not pleasant (ignoring the injury). What is telling is that once he got injured, I believe he just went home vs sticking around the facility

They really can’t fire JDR either. There is no one on this defensive coaching staff who can step up and call plays. Visselmeyer is in his first year as the lead secondary coach, Zgonina is a career DL coach and Steve Russ’s DC experience was a year at Syracuse and a few years at Air Force. If he wanted to keep his job and work harder, Ron would fire Jack himself and take over DC duties but he is not going to do that and jeopardize their personal relationship when he is getting axed anyway

Ownership is not going to do anything. I believe they are legitimately taking the year to watch and learn. Furthermore, they are new to the league and a strong first impression is going to matter. Letting Rivera and the Martys go with grace is one of the things that is going to help them attract top talent here

The “Ron getting fired/EB getting promoted” scenario is totally in play in my mind. Not only would you retain EB under this scenario, you would also have the flexibility to rebuild the front office. If you pair EB with a FO guy he is familiar with whether internally (like Stokes) or externally (like Borgonzi from KC), it could work

Kafka is getting exposed bad as an OC. I thought of him as a HC candidate with another solid year given the job be did last year. So far, it is looking like we got the better ex KC assistant as OC

I think the bar is probably lower for Arthur Smith to stick around. He probably needs to make the playoffs and he is ok is my guess

I don’t think they think Forbes can play the slot. They gave him a few reps there in minicamp and TC but seemed like more to prep him for an emergency. Keim has said they view him as a third corner - typically that guy plays the slot. I was actually texting a friend during the game that they should give DJ some run but I get why you wouldn’t want to bench your first round CB this early in the season

Ben Johnson is easily the best HC candidate on the market. He is going to have his pick of jobs and, all things being equal, the Chargers are the easy choice for him. We are probably #2 if Howell continues to show something. BJ also played QB at UNC and is from NC. It may end up being one of those things where he and an emerging Lions FO guy are a package deal.

Sure but again who is going to play the slot when only one of the three can still play it at a competent level?

Who plays the slot then if you insist on having Forbes out there? Fuller can’t play it anymore and Forbes is not a slot either