With the way Curtis Samuel’s career has gone, I fully expect Ron Riviera to join the Bills’ coaching staff and continue to fail to use Samuel properly. He is a smaller version of Christian McCaffrey and has never been used properly
Josh, you're sounding like his agent. Samuel is no more a "smaller version of Christian McCaffrey" than a dozen other slot receivers who run the periodic jet sweep. And "never" now includes a whole lot of head coaches and offensive coordinators, each of whom you're saying is nowhere near as smart as you.
Those dozen other slot receivers can’t take handoffs out of the backfield. Samuel can, effectively. As for your second point, it is basically the point I was trying to make, though more tongue in cheek - riviera has been everywhere Samuel has been so far. So that is why I was jokingly saying Riviera would now join this coaching staff. I said nothing at all about the new staff and I am hoping they make better use of his skills.
I am glad you at least got to the point where you admit he could be a third down back, not just a slot receiver. You don’t see those other dozen slots receivers being down backs. That is a step forward. Samuel was the best player on the field in his time at college and showed flashes of the same early on in NFL career. Then, for whatever reason, they started using him more as a gadget than a tool. This is my entire point - he has the potential to be so much more
Well, your initial point, Josh, was that he could become another Christian McCaffrey.
Yes, Samuel could be a third down back. In fact, has been, some. I believe that's why the then-Skins gave him that big contract, so he could line up in the slot on 1st+2nd down, then in the backfield on passing 3rd downs.
My understanding is that the now-Commanders stopped doing that due to injury concerns. Which Samuel has dealt with. The dual job was too much for him health-wise.
The injury thing could also be set up McCaffrey. It is funny how both of them have been relatively healthy – you know, for NFL players – as soon as they left the Panthers. I think that says a lot about the Panthers training staff. my total point here is that I believe Samuel could be used effectively in a McCaffrey sort of role. I am not saying he would be a Hall of Famer like McCaffrey clearly is going to be but he could be very much more than he is right now. He just has not had the opportunity
The funniest part of the Ravens is that Mala isn't even the person penciled in at LG, it's 7th round redshirt rookie Andrew Vorhees, who has yet to see the practice field.
Filling out the O-Line with Faalele, Cleveland and Vorhees is terrifying, but as Mike noted -- that's the game the Ravens play.
Had to read the Packer section at work here; I'll read the rest this evening. Josh Jacobs was a great grab for the Packers. He's a higher carry guy than Aaron Jones and may avoid the injuries that nagged Jones. Watching Jacobs' highlights, he's certainly more a Jones-type runner than another AJ Dillon. I'm excited to see Jacobs fit the LaFleur offense. The Packers will assuredly take an RB in the draft. I'm thinking a flier on Texas RB Jonathan Brooks in 4th or 5th round. The talent gab between Jacobs and backups Dillon/Wilson is too great to not draft another back.
I would be higher on Jacobs if Aaron Jones didn't play at a high level at the end of last season, while Jacobs took a step back from his rushing title.
I think Jones' biggest contribution during his 6 healthy games last year was demonstrating how a top back supercharged LaFleur's offense. Gutey jumped in the RB sweepstakes early to get the 26-year-old with some upside remaining. We've got to find our Gibbs as Detroit did as a solid RB2. Dillon and Wilson aren't the guys and Dillon's bulk was too tempting too often to LaFleur to pack the LOS on 3rd and 1 to get stuffed anyway.
Each evening I pray that with 6 young WRs and a pair of talented TEs that LaFleur starts running his 3rd and 4 offense on 3rd and 1.
You should've done some more research on the Bengals, man.
1. Tee Higgins isn't going anywhere. He's on the tag. He either plays or he doesn't get paid (and stays on the tag). Nobody wants to be Le'Veon Bell. So count him in, and re-do the analysis.
2. Think of Mike Gesicki as Tyler Boyd's replacement. Whether they run more 12 personnel or just line Gesicki up in the slot, they know he can't block and aren't counting on it. Drew Sample was resigned to do that.
3. Joe Mixon was a terrible fit for the Bengals' post-2021 run scheme. Zack Moss is a great fit, and Chase Brown needs more carries. Mixon, despite all the mileage, fits much better in Houston's scheme.
4. DJ Reader (if healthy) is a better player than Shedon Rankins. But they don't play the same position. If you wanted to ding the Bengals, you would have pointed out that while they've improved their interior pass rush (a big weakness) they went backward on one of their biggest defensive weaknesses (run defense).
5. "And a 9-8 team that wasn’t playing all that well when Burrow was available..." Joe Burrow was healthy for five full games (weeks 5-10). During that stretch, they went 4-1, beating SF, BUF, SEA, and AZ, by a combined score of 106- 68, and lost to HOU by 3. In the rare cases where Burrow, Chase, and Higgins were all on the field, they had (by far) the most productive offense in the game.
The Ravens lost 800 guys and signed Derek Henry: "C-plus, because they do other things well."
The Bengals address several key weaknesses and tread water in other places: "C-minus, because Tee Higgins might get hit by a bus."
I think a lot of things can be true at once with Fields.
1) Ryan Poles might well have misplayed the market. If another team offered a 2nd or 3rd prior to going in another direction, and Poles turned it down, that’s a big red mark on his record. We don’t know that.
2) He certainly devalued Fields by saddling him with Eberflus and Getsy for two years. Even working from the assumption that there was no scenario where Fields would have excelled enough to get them to pass up Caleb Williams, if he’d been better it’s entirely possible the trade market would have been significantly better. I blame him for that more than anything (and I think he has gone a long way down the path of ruining Williams already by retaining Eberflus).
3) I don’t think anyone is arguing that Poles “doing right by Fields” meant that he passed up a significantly bigger offer. It’s been reported that Fields thought Pittsburgh was a good landing spot for him and wanted to go there. Let’s say that there was another team interested in Fields and they were willing to give up a 6th this year, or a 5th next year that could turn into a 4th. Those would technically be better offers, but not significantly, and in that case I think it’s plausible for Poles to feel like the goodwill with other players and agents might be worth more than the difference between two late round picks.
I'm not a fan of Poles and my question is "what, if any, were the offers the Bears were getting before Mar 3, when Russell Wilson was released?" The two teams most frequently mentioned as trading partners in the offseason were Atlanta and Pittsburgh and the latter clearly had interest in bringing him in. A lot of talk about his trade value from league personnel before the combine was a third-rounder, which seems reasonable for a one-year look-see for a player of his raw talent.
To me, as soon as they hired Waldron as OC, whose previous stops as a passing game coordinator were with the Rams and Seahawks (three years of Goff and two years of Geno Smith), it was confirmed they were moving on from Fields. I understand that coaching hire hurting Fields' trade value, in addition to his work to date as a passer and slow development/improvement.
I also understand the Bears wanting something of at least moderate significance back for a player whose cap hit (just above $6 million) was the same whether he was on the roster or not (for about half the cash).
I couldn't stay for the podcast stream today, but wanted to ask how much Tepper is likely controlling things in Carolina. The one move Poles has made with the Bears that can't be questioned is the DJ Moore trade. And with what the Panthers have done this offseason, Poles making a positive move of that magnitude seems like an aberration compared to most of his record.
Dudes, dudes. Fields sucked. And if he does shockingly now somehow, some way get it together, he's immediately in line for beaucoup $$$, so there's practically no upside for a team that does give anything of value for him. And a GM who does give anything of value for him and Fields continues sucking, he's just about throwing his job away. "How could you give THAT! for Fields?!? Weren't you paying any attention for three full years?? Why in the world should we keep an idiot like you as our GM???"
Terrific stuff Mike, thanks. Presumably Dan Morgan’s inner monologue continues “AM I RIGHT OR AM I WRONG? MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?”
LOL. Was thinking of adding that.
With the way Curtis Samuel’s career has gone, I fully expect Ron Riviera to join the Bills’ coaching staff and continue to fail to use Samuel properly. He is a smaller version of Christian McCaffrey and has never been used properly
Josh, you're sounding like his agent. Samuel is no more a "smaller version of Christian McCaffrey" than a dozen other slot receivers who run the periodic jet sweep. And "never" now includes a whole lot of head coaches and offensive coordinators, each of whom you're saying is nowhere near as smart as you.
Those dozen other slot receivers can’t take handoffs out of the backfield. Samuel can, effectively. As for your second point, it is basically the point I was trying to make, though more tongue in cheek - riviera has been everywhere Samuel has been so far. So that is why I was jokingly saying Riviera would now join this coaching staff. I said nothing at all about the new staff and I am hoping they make better use of his skills.
Every 3rd down back takes handoffs out of the backfield, Josh. Makes not a one of them a Christian McCaffrey. Or anything close.
I am glad you at least got to the point where you admit he could be a third down back, not just a slot receiver. You don’t see those other dozen slots receivers being down backs. That is a step forward. Samuel was the best player on the field in his time at college and showed flashes of the same early on in NFL career. Then, for whatever reason, they started using him more as a gadget than a tool. This is my entire point - he has the potential to be so much more
Well, your initial point, Josh, was that he could become another Christian McCaffrey.
Yes, Samuel could be a third down back. In fact, has been, some. I believe that's why the then-Skins gave him that big contract, so he could line up in the slot on 1st+2nd down, then in the backfield on passing 3rd downs.
My understanding is that the now-Commanders stopped doing that due to injury concerns. Which Samuel has dealt with. The dual job was too much for him health-wise.
The injury thing could also be set up McCaffrey. It is funny how both of them have been relatively healthy – you know, for NFL players – as soon as they left the Panthers. I think that says a lot about the Panthers training staff. my total point here is that I believe Samuel could be used effectively in a McCaffrey sort of role. I am not saying he would be a Hall of Famer like McCaffrey clearly is going to be but he could be very much more than he is right now. He just has not had the opportunity
The funniest part of the Ravens is that Mala isn't even the person penciled in at LG, it's 7th round redshirt rookie Andrew Vorhees, who has yet to see the practice field.
Filling out the O-Line with Faalele, Cleveland and Vorhees is terrifying, but as Mike noted -- that's the game the Ravens play.
Did Denver get Asante Samuel? Online it says he’s still on the Chargers.
Thanks! I get him and Surtain Jr. flip-flopped. Will fix.
Tracking the sons of former all-pro players now in the NFL could be some fun off-season content.
Ah yes that makes much more sense
Had to read the Packer section at work here; I'll read the rest this evening. Josh Jacobs was a great grab for the Packers. He's a higher carry guy than Aaron Jones and may avoid the injuries that nagged Jones. Watching Jacobs' highlights, he's certainly more a Jones-type runner than another AJ Dillon. I'm excited to see Jacobs fit the LaFleur offense. The Packers will assuredly take an RB in the draft. I'm thinking a flier on Texas RB Jonathan Brooks in 4th or 5th round. The talent gab between Jacobs and backups Dillon/Wilson is too great to not draft another back.
I would be higher on Jacobs if Aaron Jones didn't play at a high level at the end of last season, while Jacobs took a step back from his rushing title.
I think Jones' biggest contribution during his 6 healthy games last year was demonstrating how a top back supercharged LaFleur's offense. Gutey jumped in the RB sweepstakes early to get the 26-year-old with some upside remaining. We've got to find our Gibbs as Detroit did as a solid RB2. Dillon and Wilson aren't the guys and Dillon's bulk was too tempting too often to LaFleur to pack the LOS on 3rd and 1 to get stuffed anyway.
Each evening I pray that with 6 young WRs and a pair of talented TEs that LaFleur starts running his 3rd and 4 offense on 3rd and 1.
You should've done some more research on the Bengals, man.
1. Tee Higgins isn't going anywhere. He's on the tag. He either plays or he doesn't get paid (and stays on the tag). Nobody wants to be Le'Veon Bell. So count him in, and re-do the analysis.
2. Think of Mike Gesicki as Tyler Boyd's replacement. Whether they run more 12 personnel or just line Gesicki up in the slot, they know he can't block and aren't counting on it. Drew Sample was resigned to do that.
3. Joe Mixon was a terrible fit for the Bengals' post-2021 run scheme. Zack Moss is a great fit, and Chase Brown needs more carries. Mixon, despite all the mileage, fits much better in Houston's scheme.
4. DJ Reader (if healthy) is a better player than Shedon Rankins. But they don't play the same position. If you wanted to ding the Bengals, you would have pointed out that while they've improved their interior pass rush (a big weakness) they went backward on one of their biggest defensive weaknesses (run defense).
5. "And a 9-8 team that wasn’t playing all that well when Burrow was available..." Joe Burrow was healthy for five full games (weeks 5-10). During that stretch, they went 4-1, beating SF, BUF, SEA, and AZ, by a combined score of 106- 68, and lost to HOU by 3. In the rare cases where Burrow, Chase, and Higgins were all on the field, they had (by far) the most productive offense in the game.
The Ravens lost 800 guys and signed Derek Henry: "C-plus, because they do other things well."
The Bengals address several key weaknesses and tread water in other places: "C-minus, because Tee Higgins might get hit by a bus."
Gabe Davis wasn't cut, he just became a free agent when his rookie contract expired.
I think a lot of things can be true at once with Fields.
1) Ryan Poles might well have misplayed the market. If another team offered a 2nd or 3rd prior to going in another direction, and Poles turned it down, that’s a big red mark on his record. We don’t know that.
2) He certainly devalued Fields by saddling him with Eberflus and Getsy for two years. Even working from the assumption that there was no scenario where Fields would have excelled enough to get them to pass up Caleb Williams, if he’d been better it’s entirely possible the trade market would have been significantly better. I blame him for that more than anything (and I think he has gone a long way down the path of ruining Williams already by retaining Eberflus).
3) I don’t think anyone is arguing that Poles “doing right by Fields” meant that he passed up a significantly bigger offer. It’s been reported that Fields thought Pittsburgh was a good landing spot for him and wanted to go there. Let’s say that there was another team interested in Fields and they were willing to give up a 6th this year, or a 5th next year that could turn into a 4th. Those would technically be better offers, but not significantly, and in that case I think it’s plausible for Poles to feel like the goodwill with other players and agents might be worth more than the difference between two late round picks.
I'm not a fan of Poles and my question is "what, if any, were the offers the Bears were getting before Mar 3, when Russell Wilson was released?" The two teams most frequently mentioned as trading partners in the offseason were Atlanta and Pittsburgh and the latter clearly had interest in bringing him in. A lot of talk about his trade value from league personnel before the combine was a third-rounder, which seems reasonable for a one-year look-see for a player of his raw talent.
To me, as soon as they hired Waldron as OC, whose previous stops as a passing game coordinator were with the Rams and Seahawks (three years of Goff and two years of Geno Smith), it was confirmed they were moving on from Fields. I understand that coaching hire hurting Fields' trade value, in addition to his work to date as a passer and slow development/improvement.
I also understand the Bears wanting something of at least moderate significance back for a player whose cap hit (just above $6 million) was the same whether he was on the roster or not (for about half the cash).
I couldn't stay for the podcast stream today, but wanted to ask how much Tepper is likely controlling things in Carolina. The one move Poles has made with the Bears that can't be questioned is the DJ Moore trade. And with what the Panthers have done this offseason, Poles making a positive move of that magnitude seems like an aberration compared to most of his record.
Dudes, dudes. Fields sucked. And if he does shockingly now somehow, some way get it together, he's immediately in line for beaucoup $$$, so there's practically no upside for a team that does give anything of value for him. And a GM who does give anything of value for him and Fields continues sucking, he's just about throwing his job away. "How could you give THAT! for Fields?!? Weren't you paying any attention for three full years?? Why in the world should we keep an idiot like you as our GM???"
Guys, say it with me.
Fields. Had. No. Value.