Official Depth Chart Released

[justice98]

22 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

On paper it certainly isn't a good look, but there are other teams with seriously sketchy offenses.  Patriots have a receiving group of a 35ish year old Edelman aaannnd...nobody else.

 

I doubt we're going to have a Rams w/McVay type of turn around, but the receiving options they had in their first season looked underwhelming.  Then they wound up having one of the top offenses.  Outside of Davante Adams, the Packers haven't had anybody even decent to throw to for a few seasons now.  Basically ever since Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson suddenly got washed up.  And their passing offense was ranked 10th by DVOA in both 2018 and 2019.

 

Thankfully, a lot can change (both good and bad) from one season to the next.  

 

This offense can go as far as Haskins has developed.  That plus Turner's usage with Gibson/McKissic will let us exploit some poorly coached teams.  But if Haskins hasn't developed enough, Turner's scheme is probably going to trip and stumble against the better defenses due to lack of overall talent.  Weeks 4, 13, 14, 15, and 17 are the ones where I'm thinking the scheme is going to struggle.  But thankfully that's the back end of the schedule, and maybe by then we can rotate Charles/Schweitzer in if Christian/Martin aren't cutting it.

 

I dont know about those examples.  The two QBs in those scenarios were Brady and Rodgers.  Guys with track records of making undermanned receiving corps passable.

 

Frankly, I think we're putting a lot of faith in Turner, and based mostly on who his father is.  He doesnt really have any track record of consequence as an OC.  The Panthers offense in the 4 games Turner was OC wasnt exactly strong when you look at it.  And now there's no CMC to lean on to prop it up.  My expectations are in check on this season's offense.

 

 

16 minutes ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

 

If we go by the official depth chart, it appears Bostic beat out Holcomb, who is no slouch.

Even in his rookie season in a bad scheme, he was making plays.

No doubt he's improved since his rookie season.

 

Holcomb's OK. I think we overrate our people sometimes.  He's fine, but nobody should be shocked that he didn't nail down the job either. 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

4 minutes ago, justice98 said:

 

I dont know about those examples.  The two QBs in those scenarios were Brady and Rodgers.  Guys with track records of making undermanned receiving corps passable.

 

Frankly, I think we're putting a lot of faith in Turner, and based mostly on who his father is.  He doesnt really have any track record of consequence as an OC.  The Panthers offense in the 4 games Turner was OC wasnt exactly strong when you look at it.  And now there's no CMC to lean on to prop it up.  My expectations are in check on this season's offense.

 

For sure.  How much Haskins develops will tell how much we need offensive talent around him in order to have a good offense.  Haskins isn't going to be as good as Rodgers propping up a bad group of receivers (except for 1 guy) and having it be a Top 10 offense.

 

But if Haskins can do things like reliably hitting hole shots in Cover 2 zones?  For things like that it doesn't matter as much who the WR is, as those throws are things that a Cover 2 defense just can't cover well.

[Malapropismic Depository]

23 minutes ago, Master Blaster said:

 

 

Exactly.  These holes will be filled by young players already on the team or free agency IMO.  Can't count on draft.

 

I mean, if you're relying mostly on a draft, to obtain players in order to compete that same year, you're relying on 1) a crapshoot, and 2) rookies who likely won't contribute much that year.

So, you have to solidify needs to a certain degree, with proven players in FA

[FootballZombie]

Yeesh, Love has some digging to do just to see daylight let alone significant play time. They buried that guy deep.

 

Might be a while before we get to see what he can do, unless the unforeseen happens.

 

Prob wont even be active the first couple weeks at this rate.

[Vanguard]

Nobody has seen this offense before.  Not sure how they can prepare for it with some of these new faces.  Seems like it would work in our favor.  The pessimism comes from five years of incompetence.  Coach who didn’t put the time in, purposely hired other coaches that couldn’t threaten his status.  Let his own personal feelings get in the way of putting the best talent on the field.  What didn’t he do wrong?
 

I have hopes.  Not high hopes, but reasonable optimism.

[MartinC]

1 minute ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

 

I mean, if you're relying mostly on a draft, to obtain players in order to compete that same year, you're relying on 1) a crapshoot, and 2) rookies who likely won't contribute much that year.

So, you have to solidify needs to a certain degree, with proven players in FA

You absolutely need to use free agency on specific needs. But every year you look back at the big free agent deals given out and very few of those players really male an impact that lives up the deal they are given.
 

I also agree it’s asking a lot to rely on rookies (outside of maybe the top half of the first round) to fill starting or significant roles in their rookie year.  The key is developing your draft picks and young players to fill those holes in year 2/3 of their rookie deals. This is a rebuilding year for the team in that respect with a lot of unproven young players who are going to get a lot of playing time - especially on offense.

[kingdaddy]

1 minute ago, FootballZombie said:

Yeesh, Love has some digging to do just to see daylight let alone significant play time. They buried that guy deep.

 

Might be a while before we get to see what he can do, unless the unforeseen happens.

 

Prob wont even be active the first couple weeks at this rate.

I read somewhere where the Skins like Love but want to ease him in coming off of the injury. Makes sense to me. Let him continue to learn with the idea that he could be the bell cow by week 10 and beyond. Maybe he even speeds up the curve if he impresses early on in his limited touches? There's also pass protection concerns for younger backs that McKissic and Barber should have a leg up on Gibson and Love but that's just speculation on my part. I can wait for Love to get back into full health/football shape....very excited about his future.

[JSSkinz]

2 minutes ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

So, you have to solidify needs to a certain degree, with proven players in FA

Good luck finding a quality young WR or TE in free agency, teams don't let them hit the market anymore.

 

We are pinned in a corner with our needs at WR and TE and we're gonna have to overpay for an older vet but the team already made a statement last year by dropping out on Cooper and Hooper so I think they are focused on the draft.

[moondog]

30 minutes ago, Master Blaster said:

Of note:

McKissick starting RB

ION a backup

 

The running back thing is interesting but the truest thing you could say about it is that we really don't have a starting RB. They're a package and my guess is that we see relatively equal snaps and touches for McKissic and Gibson early on this season. I think the coaching staff's hope is that somewhere around midseason Bryce Love will really be back to full-go and they're excited about him but he's just not there yet so i wouldn't be surprised to see him inactive for a while and then start jumping up the depth chart and playing around midseason. 

 

ION is not a backup. He is the perfect example of why depth charts are utterly ridiculous in the NFL and don't mean much other than for fans to talk about. It's been highlighted a few times but Ioannidis played more snaps than either Allen or Payne last year. I'm guessing that it will be roughly the same this year. 

 

Both of the above are examples of this team, this year moreso than ever. The coaching staff has prioritized players that fill multiple roles (Gibson, McKissic, Fuller, etc) which makes the depth chart all the more absurd, especially given that most teams in the NFL only play their base defense 25% of the time. Offense is probably a little more stable in personnel and more different formations. But obviously Darby and Fuller are expected to start on the outside but in nickel who knows...Fuller could slide to safety and Apke goes out with Moreau coming on as outside corner and Moreland inside. Is that what we'll do? I don't know. Perhaps Apke stays on and Moreau subs in outside and Fuller moves to cover the slot, which we traditionally think of the #3 corner but is really it's own position now and not every great outside corner can play it. 

[Malapropismic Depository]

McKissic beats Bostic in the first play of these highlights, when both were in different uniforms.

Maybe he owns Bostic, so he also had a good camp against him, which is what elevated McKissic in RR' eyes 😛

Then in the 2nd play of the vid, he rips a 30 yard TD run, so impressive that Al Michaels confused him with Eddie Lacy.

While he may not have the experience of being the primary runner, he looks to have the capability.

Maybe the lack of experience is a good thing, as he doesn't have much wear and tear, and we get him in his prime.

Or maybe that's wishful thinking.

 

 

 

[Conn]

Coaches don’t usually go out of their way to have input on the depth chart we saw today, that’s a marketing thing. Possible they just made the veteran RB the RB1 due to the unclear situation. I think they’ll rotate a ton obviously.

[Vanguard]

28 minutes ago, moondog said:

 

The running back thing is interesting but the truest thing you could say about it is that we really don't have a starting RB. They're a package and my guess is that we see relatively equal snaps and touches for McKissic and Gibson early on this season. I think the coaching staff's hope is that somewhere around midseason Bryce Love will really be back to full-go and they're excited about him but he's just not there yet so i wouldn't be surprised to see him inactive for a while and then start jumping up the depth chart and playing around midseason. 

 

ION is not a backup. He is the perfect example of why depth charts are utterly ridiculous in the NFL and don't mean much other than for fans to talk about. It's been highlighted a few times but Ioannidis played more snaps than either Allen or Payne last year. I'm guessing that it will be roughly the same this year. 

 

Ive been saying since last year Matt should be a starter.  He is our best interior pass rusher.

[moondog]

1 minute ago, Vanguard said:

Ive been saying since last year Matt should be a starter.  He is our best interior pass rusher.

Second part is absolutely true and i don't think many here will argue that point. "Starter" only means they're on the field for the first play and given it's 1st down that's usually going to be Payne/Allen in this defense and that's fine by me. I'll reiterate, starter means nothing - he played a significantly higher number of snaps last year than either Payne or Allen. 

[Est.1974]

So the starting DL is first rounders from the last 4 years, and all DL that made the roster we drafted. Nice.

[Malapropismic Depository]

I hope we can afford to keep almost all of our DL, when it comes time to re-sign them, and don't lose any without compensation, other than a compensatory pick.

1 minute ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

So the starting DL is first rounders from the last 4 years, and all DL that made the roster we drafted. Nice.

 

That's what you call home-grown, farm-raised beef.

[CommanderInTheRye]

2 hours ago, Riggo#44 said:

 

Do I wanna know?

 

Daron “Juicy Fruit” Payne has a 2 pack/day habit. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

I hope we can afford to keep almost all of our DL, when it comes time to re-sign them, and don't lose any without compensation, other than a compensatory pick.

 

That's what you call home-grown, farm-raised beef.

 

 

And our o-line is home grown, farm-raised beef dung.

[TheShredder]

47 minutes ago, Vanguard said:

Ive been saying since last year Matt should be a starter.  He is our best interior pass rusher.

He has been for sure.  The larger issue has been the rushing defense.  WFT was 31st vs the run.  Matt isn't good vs the run where in this 4-3 you now have the two best interior run defenders playing straight ahead.  Matt will get his snaps on 2nd and 10, 3rd and long situations. 

[Darth Tater]

1 hour ago, JSSkinz said:

Good luck finding a quality young WR or TE in free agency, teams don't let them hit the market anymore.

 

We are pinned in a corner with our needs at WR and TE and we're gonna have to overpay for an older vet but the team already made a statement last year by dropping out on Cooper and Hooper so I think they are focused on the draft.

Kittle was a fifth round guy.  Jordan Reed was a 3rd and our best TE since Cooley, also a third.  Meanwhile, our highest TE pick only gave us one quality seasons.  OJ Howard was a number one and has been nothing special. Travis Kelce was a 3rd rounder who was a dud in his rookie year. Hooper was a 3 and didn't look special until the middle of his 3rd year

[WilberMarshall]

Will be interesting to see their Nickel package.

Been hearing that their 'base' package is actually Nickel and not the regular 4-3.

 

Will be looking forward to the snap count as the season wears on. 

[WilberMarshall]

1 hour ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

McKissic beats Bostic in the first play of these highlights, when both were in different uniforms.

Maybe he owns Bostic, so he also had a good camp against him, which is what elevated McKissic in RR' eyes 😛

Then in the 2nd play of the vid, he rips a 30 yard TD run, so impressive that Al Michaels confused him with Eddie Lacy.

While he may not have the experience of being the primary runner, he looks to have the capability.

Maybe the lack of experience is a good thing, as he doesn't have much wear and tear, and we get him in his prime.

Or maybe that's wishful thinking.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the video. Dude is quick. Goes north in a hurry. No dancing around. 

I can see him being motioned out and getting the mismatch.

 

[KDawg]

Not sure why people are surprised Ioan isn’t starting.

 

Hes a guy that can play 1 or 3 tech. 
 

He didn’t “start” last year but still recorded over 700 snaps.

 

People are too intrigued with the phrase “starter”. Ioan will play. A lot. And make an impact doing it. Again.

 

I’m terrified of our linebackers. Like... terrified. SDH has ability... KPL is at least a decent hand... and Bostic is... there. 

[Conn]

6 minutes ago, WilberMarshall said:

Will be interesting to see their Nickel package.

Been hearing that their 'base' package is actually Nickel and not the regular 4-3.

 

Will be looking forward to the snap count as the season wears on. 

The vast majority of the NFL uses nickel   as their base defense now, it’s been that way for a while now given how prolific the passing game has become in general. Most teams spend at least 60+% of their time in nickel.

[Burgundy Yoda]

5 minutes ago, KDawg said:

Not sure why people are surprised Ioan isn’t starting.

 

Hes a guy that can play 1 or 3 tech. 
 

He didn’t “start” last year but still recorded over 700 snaps.

 

People are too intrigued with the phrase “starter”. Ioan will play. A lot. And make an impact doing it. Again.

 

I’m terrified of our linebackers. Like... terrified. SDH has ability... KPL is at least a decent hand... and Bostic is... there. 

I feel a hell of a lot better about this group than I did when we started Compton and Foster, baby steps lol.

[JSSkinz]

25 minutes ago, Darth Tater said:

Kittle was a fifth round guy.  Jordan Reed was a 3rd and our best TE since Cooley, also a third.  Meanwhile, our highest TE pick only gave us one quality seasons.  OJ Howard was a number one and has been nothing special. Travis Kelce was a 3rd rounder who was a dud in his rookie year. Hooper was a 3 and didn't look special until the middle of his 3rd year

My point was that relying on free agency for WR and TE is a scary proposition so we agree.

[KDawg]

6 minutes ago, Burgundy Yoda said:

I feel a hell of a lot better about this group than I did when we started Compton and Foster, baby steps lol.

I feel about the same.