Always A Commander Never A Captain

10 hours ago, Ball Security said:

Things with pitching have been really nice. But it’s also been good at the minor leagues with a bunch of guys. So hopefully the days of not developing guys are in the rearview.

 

Cavalli struck out five in 2.2 for Wilmington tonight, btw.

What is that stat line? O hits, 3 walks, but 2 ER given up. How is that even possible?

28 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

Those are the only homers he’s given up this season. And the last one was in the seventh after tossing six scoreless against Atlanta. 
 

Getting an ERA+ of 114 out of Parker is a homerun. I don’t get too caught up in what’s a “1”, “2”, etc. If they get above average starts 1-5, you can rack up a bunch of wins. And we potentially have five pre-arb/early arb guys that can get there with a few in AA-AAA progressing.

Yup. 1's and 2's vs 3's and later mean nothing until the playoffs where you tighten up the rotation and plan for who can go twice.

Fangraphs has updated our Top Prospects list. He downgraded Yohandy Morales. Still doesn't think much of Mitchell Parker, Brad Lord, or Andry Lara.

It did speak favorably of a 2B in Low A, Everett Cooper.

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

I just wish we could find an explosive game breaking type RB. Did you know that our last RB to break a 40+ yard run was Derrius Guice? 

Explosive backs in the NFL aren't what matches the hype. They're often guys with good vision, good contact balance, and just enough wiggle to force poor tackle attempts.

If we check the prospects scouting reports from college, a lot of the runners who have broken longer runs regularly were listed as "not a gamebreaker". Nick Chubb, Alfred Morris, Arian Foster, Derrick Henry, Maurice Jones Drew, DeMarco Murray.

Rarely do we see the speedster with moves actually be a more frequent game breaker than the above listed guys. Saquon Barkley is a good back, but he's not the game breaker he was hyped to be. Chris Johnson was an anomaly. The rest aren't guys who can carry a load and usually break runs from being on a stacked roster to begin with.

Our own Antonio Gibson was billed as a gamebreaker. But he lacked the tools the slower and less athletic guys had.

16 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

Nothing makes me get a feel at least in my own mind about this roster more than rooting against them like i did for the 2nd half of the season and Chris Rodriguez was a pain in the butt when he came into the game.  I was actually glad he got hurt -- considering it wasn't serious enough for surgery but bad enough to keep him out for the home stretch.

 

Even if someone doesn't want to believe it or didn't feel that way.  It's not like its some position from Mars.  He also had a good PFF score.   

 

He was top 10 in yards after contact -- top 10 in the league.  He also had almost 5 YPC.  For those here (me included) who like to watch these players college games, he was a baller in college -- tough runner, who ran over dudes.  Tone setter.  And yeah in his limited snaps he was the same guy in the NFL.

 

Looks there is a shot he might be the kick returner this year based on some camp reports so far. 

 

 

He flashed for sure...but is that Fumble stat right? For some reason I thought he had more than 1. I must be misremembering then.

13 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

I know it ultimately may not matter, but I'd rather he look good than look bad. Too many times we hear about young guys struggling early and we say "oh it doesn't matter its just XYZ" and it ends up mattering big time. 

 

If you're good, you show it early. And if you suck, you show that early too.

Classic example for our franchise is our former #4 overall pick in 1992, Desmond Howard. How long did it take for his teammates to realize he couldn't be a WR in the NFL? The 2nd day of training camp. Sometimes people just don't have what it takes to adjust to the next level of competition.

Thanks Charlie Casserly. Took over for Bobby Beathard and drafted worse than Ron Rivera did.

Lane Thomas coming back with a hot bat is just what the doctor ordered.

6 hours ago, oraphus said:

Except for he cant cover worth a damn, his coverage grades are below average

Different coverage responsibilities as an Edge who drops vs an off-ball LB that needs to be more aware of seams and crossers through their zone and then also be aware of the RB leaking out.

He'll have less to worry about.

1 hour ago, Going Commando said:

Saw the clips of Jamin working out with the DLs.  He was running drills from a three point stance.

 

 

Jamin's change of direction agility and closing speed are elite, and he's got the size to play edge.  It's an interesting change for him.  On the one hand, he can offer unique talent for covering the flats and carrying TEs and receivers out of the backfield deep for an edge.  His blitzes were one of the better parts of his game, and playing edge will simplify his pre and post snap reads.  On the other hand, Jamin is not that good at playing with anticipation and timing snaps.  He's a very reactive player, and I can see him being the last one off the line of scrimmage a lot.  And even though he is strong and has good length, he's not that physical.  As a tackler he has never been a striker.  Just catches ball carriers and wrestles them down.  I wonder how he'll fare in a much more physical role of having to rush the passer full time from the edge.  To his credit, he's not soft at taking on blocks, and he is difficult to sustain blocks against.  The natural speed and strength are there.  He doesn't have Josh Allen's skill level as a rusher, but I think he's a very similar athlete with a similar style of play.

I like the idea of speed/agility threatening the Edge. It pressures that side of the OL to want to move more than normal. But it needs to be married with other pass rushers attacking gaps that should now be wider. So blitzes, stunts, etc forcing the Guard to cover more ground and stress what's likely worse interior agility.

I think if done well great speed off one Edge can let us attack and exploit the Guard on that side.

I feel like Dallas has done this well for years so I'm excited.

7 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

I think if it was Belichick he may very well have gone McCarthy as it seems like his sort of QB. But IMO Mayo is a different breed and probably decided to go with traits and upside vs super refined mechanics and footwork, so they went with Maye instead.

I don't think any of the QB's are super refined. They're all still mostly traits and upside right now.

8 hours ago, CRobi21 said:

Ruiz's best game of the year. Noticed he ditched his high leg kick before his swing. Just a little toe tap load. Let him keep his weight back instead of lunging at the ball like usual.

 

A solid line drive single, and that bomb late.

 

He credited the asst hitting coach (Not Coles) for coaching him up with that approach.. 🤔

I heard his bat speed was faster than usual too.

30 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

I’m trying to get the best bats on the field. Very similar to how the Angels moved Darin Erstad to first to accommodate their OFers.

 

Hassell would be the best CFer prospect for most clubs. He can definitely play OF. In this organization though he is likely the fourth best CFer. Of all the OF prospects, he would be the best one to make that move to first.

 

Of the guys in Harrisburg, Morales is probably the furthest away. I don’t think he’ll be ready in April.

 

In 2026, with Thomas gone, you could easily slide Hassell back into the OF rotation. But then you’d also have Lile and possibly Pickney and De La Rosa waiting in the wings.

Morales has had a better May than Hassell. Lower strikeout percentage and higher OPS. Neither are lighting it on fire lately.

4 hours ago, KDawg said:

Disagree. Davis can function as a 3-4 OLB and be really, really good. I’m not sure we have anyone better to fit that role, either. The other edge guys are athletic enough (not Armstrong) to play the other OLB but you’d want to limit them In coverage. We also have Forrest and Quan who can roll up as a safety/LB in the coverage role. 

Hmm, shades of Bruce Irvin?

I seriously doubt we run much actual 3-4. But I do wonder about a lineup featuring a DT (Newton) lined up as a DE with the undersized Jamin Davis on the other side just attacking whatever he can opposite.

You guys see the rumor about Corbin being moved to the bullpen when Gray comes back, does it actually have legs?

1 hour ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

I'm still confused.  People are referencing Quinn, what he did in Dallas and how his defense could do that again in Washington. Only he is not the Defensive Coordinator he is the Head Coach and with that comes a lot of responsibility outside of the defense. He is not sitting in a room game planning or is he?   Are we even going to run his defense?  

That's a fair question and now I realize I don't even know who would call the defensive plays.

At least Crews and House had a good Double A game.

2 hours ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Something to add on Kingsbury, I’ve read numerous reports that indicate Murray as a problem child.  Only made worse by Kingsbury because he was too busy to face it head on, and likely just not in his DNA to be a hardass to a big ego like Murray.

 

From all I’ve read and heard regarding Jaylen, both in college and his few days as a pro - ego and entitlement will not be an issue that Kliff needs to manage.

 

He may never pan out as a play caller, but if he was ever going to- this is the perfect spot for him to do it.

We should be clear that those reports weren't speculative. They put a video game timeout and study clause into his contract.

10 hours ago, Going Commando said:

 

Often you don't know if the guy is elite during his rookie season, even with the ones who end up becoming elite players.  Joe Burrow and CJ Stroud have warped rookie year expectations.  Most great QBs either sucked as rookies or sat the bench.  In hindsight, the Bengals and Texans had way more talented teams than anyone realized.

 

Take a look at Josh Allen and Andrew Luck's rookie year stats to see what I mean about setting expectations.  Even the QBs who still managed to tread water and be carried to wins by their teams like Roethlisberger weren't good passers until their third or fourth seasons.  It takes a huge amount of reps for almost all QBs to master the passing game.  You have to see so many situations and coverages before the instinct of how to respond becomes ingrained, and your career is in a really vulnerable state while you go through that growing pain.  That's why QBs who get drafted into quicksand organizational situations are almost always doomed.

 

We now have reasonable hope that that's not us any more.  But things might still be pretty ugly this year for both Jayden and our team.  The defense looks way better on paper, but the offense still only has five players in it that you could even call average based on their play last season.

I'll add that even though a lot of work has been done overhauling the roster...it sucked to begin with.

Good chance Daniels has added pressure from trying to make up lost ground in the score column and that leads to mistakes.

I like a lot of the changes on defense. But the coverage unit could still be ugly. Our pass rush is unbalanced with a fair chance of good against some teams but stalled out vs others with more IOL talent and a pass blocking RB.

Dorance Armstrong seems best at cleaning up other people's pressures. Not actually causing the pressure himself. We have nobody on the Edge that will force the RB into thinking he also has to help out the OT at times.

I'm excited for the season. But I'm expecting a lot of growing pains.

There's a lot to like about Luke. His late dominator score is odd as he changed positions from QB. But once he was a WR at Rice he immediately crossed the dominator threshold.

I liked at the Senior Bowl 1on1's that he had some natural looking hand fighting for separation going on. Did not look awkward.

I don't think he's as ready as Tank Dell was with having successful juke moves in his route breaks. But you can see enough to think he could develop it.

We're in the middle of tank time mode.

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

Listening to Keim, playing up the leaders now on this team which was missing previously.

 

I've heard others around the team that Jonathan Allen is a good dude but not a traditional leader type -- he's more a set an example and gets angry when things go awry.  Terry is more of a leader by example on and off the field.

 

But been missing that London Fletcher type.  Mitch Tischler who has been around the team for a decade plus really emphasized over the years the lack of leaders.

 

Keim talked up Bobby Wagner on this front who is already a mentor to some players and helping the O line, etc.   Ertz and Ekeler.

 

I know among the draftees -- Sainstrill known as a vocal leader and mentor.  Coleman is vocal.   McCaffrey comes off as polished already as Terry.

 

Listening to his colllege coach, Sinnott, comes off a bit of a character, prankster, etc -- so his similarities to Cooley might transcend just his ply

 

 

I feel like a lot of good TE's are either quirky characters or more straight laced do the job. It's an odd duck position. So

Tony G was kind of both. But Gates (I think) and Witten were straight laced.

Kelce, Kittle, and Gronk were a bit more odd ducks. Old school but Jeremy Shockey was an odd duck.

At a certain point shifting from the hyper physical blocking in the mix to juking LB's and trying to out run safeties requires an unusual mindset.

21 hours ago, oraphus said:

I refuse to believe that Doctson went from pretty good rookie year to be being below average overnight. much more apt to blame Bienimes idiotic Offensive scheme/ game plan and general teams ineptitude under Rivera. The team pretty much gave up.

I am looking for a big time rebound from Doctson. Forbes i am less optimistic about.. but i hope Quinn can. at least make his serviceable.

Wiley was a below average starter in KC.. and has gotten worse here with less talented players around him. I'd move him to guard maybe or promote him to towel boy 

Doctson vs Dotson. Both 1st rounders. One was a bust and out of the league, the other we hope is not.

2 hours ago, ixcuincle said:

no need to rush him 

He has a 1.000+ OPS, at this point we can't say he's being rushed. This isn't a Jackson Holliday thing where he gets moved up after his first 10 or so days of the season. Wood has played 38 games in AAA this season.

As the last line of that blurb says, do we really expect to get any trade value from Gallo, Rosario, or Robles? They're all DFA candidates instead of trade bait.

3 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

I was afraid that Daniels might be a bit too obsessed with social media presence and all that but it seems like he's actually more of a workaholic nerd that is obsessed with football. Traits you want in your QB.

He's certainly not RG3 trying to promote a (harmless) side hustle immediately of selling novelty socks.

10 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

Is this chart career or just 2024?

I'll post the past 3 years where they think he had a large enough sample size:

5 minutes ago, Dan T. said:

 

Uggghhh.

At least today Riley Adams is catching (with Ruiz as DH)

15 hours ago, CRobi21 said:

Ugh. Don't think we can rely on Ruiz being the catcher of the future. Seems like what he provides behind the plate has decreased every year since the trade here.
 

His constant giving up on pitches on the edge of the zone drives me crazy. Ball is in the zone on pitch track and he doesn't bother to even frame it...

 

His arm strength looks no where near MLB level either

I really hope Rizzo and Davey acknowledge the sunk cost and move on.

In 2023, 96% of MLB catchers were faster in pop time than he was. That's awful, they made changes and...

In 2024, now 99% of MLB catchers are faster in pop time. This is who he is. He's slow at everything he does.

For reference, pop time is: "How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out of his glove and to the base on a stolen base or pickoff attempt."

He's not an MLB level athlete.

• 99% of hitters have a faster bat speed than him. If he was on the qualified hitter list, he'd have the 4th slowest bat speed in all of baseball.
• 99% of catchers have a faster pop time.
• 97% of baserunners have a faster sprint speed than him.

Here's his 2024 statcast page. He swings so slowly that he's better at making contact with the ball. But that contact is terrible contact. So he doesn't strike out. Yay.