Glass Half Full 2020

[soulman]

6 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Few teams have good OTs.

 

True but we still need to keep finding them hoping one will turn out.

[soulman]

Glass half full cont'd.........

I'm actually fairly content with the rest of the offense.   Montgomery appears to be the right RB for Nagy's scheme.  He's almost "Paytonesque" but he needs to be used more often whereas Cohen as a RB for an IZ needs to be used less in that way and more in others as a receiver and gadget guy if we plan to keep him around after this season.  The question is who does Nagy want as a backup to Montgomery because it should not be Cohen.  I'd like to see what we have in the two rookie UDFAs before we jump into the vet UFA pond and I like Nall better than others I just don't get how Nagy would use him.  He's kind of a Mike Alstott hybrid RB who should be a good power back but he also needs blocking to be effective.

ARob can easily be a Chicago Bears GOAT and the receivers have talent but they all need more efficient play at QB.  If they can get Miller going and keep his confidence up he has some real upside and I like the addition of Ginn both as a current deep threat and as a mentor to Mooney who I believe has the potential to be one of those late round finds Pace has developed a rep for uncovering.  This year I believe Ridley will pass up Wims on the depth chart.  Three TE positions are all but set in stone with two up for grabs.  I like Horsted for one of them as Nagy's future "U" type guy.  The others will battle for the remaining "Y" spot and a couple will end up on the PS.  Not great yet but we did improve the position significantly.

 

We're gonna miss a couple of our depth guys on defense so this is where those 1 and 2 year vets need to step up.  Nichols now healthy again needs to be what Nick Williams was and could easily be better.  Josh Woods and Iggy or someone else need to step into roles Kwit and KP-L held.  I'm also curious to see if "Brother Mack" can be converted into an ILB although that's a long shot and it won't happen this year.  Quinn was a great signing for the pass rush but can't cover so Mingo gives us a guy more like Floyd who can cover and play the run but isn't a great pass rusher.  And I like the Trevis Gipson pick.  He's raw but he gets to apprentice with two of the best rushers in the NFL so he could be another "find" eventually.

On paper the secondary actually looks better to me. We would have taken Gipson over HHC-D last had he not opted to take a better deal with Houston.  He's not a pure "Box Safety" but close enough to believe we can put Eddie Jackson back on the deep end at FS where he belongs.  Bush is an adequate backup option for a "Box Type" and plays ST well.  I'm curious to see if Denmark can be turned into a SS and McManis is still hanging around too.  Jay Johnson should become a younger better version of Amukamara and Tolliver is vet depth on the outside along with who ever wins the other CB and NB spots behind Fuller and Skrine.  So there is talent and there is also decent depth IMHO.

What it all comes down to IMHO is staying healthy for 16 games and not losing any key vets again like Hicks and DT or others where the drop off in talent and experience would show more than could be compensated for.  That part is gonna take some luck. Because of the shut down due to the COVID we don't know how much offseason conditioning these guys have been able to do or have done.  So quality depth may be even more important this year than last and we lost some.  Of course other teams are facing this same issue and the NFCN looks pretty tightly packed so winning it may well end up being a war of attrition with whoever stays healthiest coming out on top.  Gotta win that ring first in order to go on.

 

So that's it for me and in my mind a half full glass equates to another half full 8-8 season and I believe we're better than that.  But I also believe that unless Nagy can get the kinks worked out of his offense we may not finish better than that despite our upgrades.  I know Pace would hate to lose him as a HC but he's also in a position where he can't keep spending on talent to give his HC what he needs to win and then see us walk away with sub par results.  At some point in time you just have to coach the talent you have better than the other guys coach theirs and it's mostly the QB coaching and play that is gonna end up being what this season turns on.  It has to be far better than it has been and it needs to be better now.

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by soulman

[JAF-N72EX]

3 minutes ago, soulman said:

What it all comes down to IMHO is staying healthy for 16 games and not losing any key vets again like Hicks and DT or others where the drop off in talent and experience would show more than could be compensated for.  That part is gonna take some luck because of the shut down due to the COVID we don't know how much offseason conditioning these guys have been able to do or have done.  So quality depth may be even more important this year than last and we lost some.  Of course other teams are facing this same issue and the NFCN looks pretty tightly packed so winning it may well end up being a war of attrition with whoever stays healthiest coming out on top.  Gotta win that ring first in order to go on.

This right here cannot be stated enough. And just to add to this, one of my concerns with the COVID shutdown has been that we don't know which players have been staying in shape and still studying film and which players haven't. 

People forget that these players are humans too and can tend to get lazy if given the chance. These COVID restrictions are really going to show which players are more dedicated than others.  

[MonserinNC]

1 hour ago, soulman said:

 

On paper the secondary actually looks better to me. We would have taken Gipson over HHC-D last had he not opted to take a better deal with Houston.  He's not a pure "Box Safety" but close enough to believe we can put Eddie Jackson back on the deep end at FS where he belongs.  Bush is an adequate backup option for a "Box Type" and plays ST well.  I'm curious to see if Denmark can be turned into a SS and McManis is still hanging around too.  Jay Johnson should become a younger better version of Amukamara and Tolliver is vet depth on the outside along with who ever wins the other CB and NB spots behind Fuller and Skrine.  So there is talent and there is also decent depth IMHO.

 

 

 

I sort of hated Prince last year, I know somebody posted his numbers and they were good but he looked bad as far as the eye test. Dont forget Shelly also.....we have the players....just curious how it turns out

[soulman]

2 minutes ago, MonserinNC said:

I sort of hated Prince last year, I know somebody posted his numbers and they were good but he looked bad as far as the eye test. Dont forget Shelly also.....we have the players....just curious how it turns out

Prince played a lot of physical press man coverage and when you do that sometimes you get burned.

Jay Johnson plays a similar style game which is why I believe Pace was thrilled to get him.  Guys who can do that well are far more scarce than zone CBs.

Like Fangio before him Pagano likes Fuller playing off his guy even in man coverage so he can look in at the QB and jump routes.  Price played just the opposite and I believe it's how Johnson will play as well.  He should be a younger and better version of Prince.

If Vildor aces him as a NB it's possible Shelley could see time at CB but I think that only happens if we have a ton of injuries. His smaller stature works against him as a CB.

[Sugashane]

4 hours ago, soulman said:

Prince played a lot of physical press man coverage and when you do that sometimes you get burned.

Jay Johnson plays a similar style game which is why I believe Pace was thrilled to get him.  Guys who can do that well are far more scarce than zone CBs.

Like Fangio before him Pagano likes Fuller playing off his guy even in man coverage so he can look in at the QB and jump routes.  Price played just the opposite and I believe it's how Johnson will play as well.  He should be a younger and better version of Prince.

If Vildor aces him as a NB it's possible Shelley could see time at CB but I think that only happens if we have a ton of injuries. His smaller stature works against him as a CB.

Especially since the part of that we were missing was EJax sitting behind him. That was the major missing link, because Prince was super aggressive and could really reroute a WR and EJax would capitalize on overthrows. For some reason Pagano wanted EJax to have to limit his effectiveness rather than HHCD limit his own (as both were better suited to being deep coverage guys). Prince fit well within that spectrum,  it isn't a guy that has the elite speed to catch up on those poor press reps. He needed that back up. 

 

Fuller is also a pretty good tackler for a CB, so with him being in off-man he usually can limit YAC, so Prince and EJax was usually a damn good combo. Hopefully Johnson shows some serious aggressiveness and takes Princes role over soundly. 

[JAF-N72EX]

On 6/5/2020 at 2:30 AM, soulman said:

Prince played a lot of physical press man coverage and when you do that sometimes you get burned.

Jay Johnson plays a similar style game which is why I believe Pace was thrilled to get him.  Guys who can do that well are far more scarce than zone CBs.

Like Fangio before him Pagano likes Fuller playing off his guy even in man coverage so he can look in at the QB and jump routes.  Price played just the opposite and I believe it's how Johnson will play as well.  He should be a younger and better version of Prince.

If Vildor aces him as a NB it's possible Shelley could see time at CB but I think that only happens if we have a ton of injuries. His smaller stature works against him as a CB.

I feel like Shelley is being more groomed to take over McManis' role as a ST specialist than he is to be a depth corner. People underestimate the importance of ST"s and McManis has been a solid gunner for years but he is also 33 years old.  Shelley lacks the size but he was a solid tackler in college and also a specialist as a returner in college. 

[The_Romen]

On 6/6/2020 at 1:53 AM, JustAnotherFan said:

 

Shelley seems like he can be that scrappy, Casey Hayward type player. Get him in the right spot and he'll make plays. Hopefully he can play bigger than he is, but for now I think he's a special teams guy/punt returner.

[dll2000]

I think we don’t know what Shelley is yet.  It is too early. I like him as a potential starting nickel back still based on college tape, but obviously he has to prove that at NFL level.  

Buster Skrine is a long time veteran who was just better than him last year.

 Guessing that continues this year, but who knows.

[dll2000]

 

[dll2000]

RANK

3

 

Robert Quinn

Dallas Cowboys · DE

Disruption rate: 17.2%. Sack rate: 3.3%. Total disruptions: 60. Sacks: 11.5.

Robert Quinn was well worth the price Dallas paid to acquire him last offseason, even if it was only as a one-year rental, and he's set to make the money he deserves after signing a five-year deal with the Chicago Bears in March. Quinn enjoyed great success with the Cowboys while operating opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, pressuring the QB on 14 percent of pass rushes, the third-best rate in the NFL (minimum 250 pass rushes) in 2019. His ability to bend while maintaining speed and power around the edge can be a nightmare for opposing tackles, and he'll likely enjoy similar success as part of another excellent tandem in Chicago in 2020. Quinn registered 49 QB pressures in 2019, which is the same number his new Bears teammate Khalil Mack posted, but Quinn did it on 116 fewer pass rushes. Watch out for that duo.

 

 

[dll2000]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27584726/nfl-pass-blocking-pass-rushing-rankings-2019-pbwr-prwr-leaderboard

Team Pass Rush Win Rate

1. Dallas Cowboys, 53%
2. Atlanta Falcons, 53%
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 51%
4. Philadelphia Eagles, 50%
5. Los Angeles Rams, 50%
6. Pittsburgh Steelers, 50%
7. Jacksonville Jaguars, 48%
8. Buffalo Bills, 47%
9. Green Bay Packers, 47%
10. Arizona Cardinals, 46%
11. Los Angeles Chargers, 45%
12. New York Jets, 45%
13. San Francisco 49ers, 45%
14. Baltimore Ravens, 45%
15. Indianapolis Colts, 43%
16. Seattle Seahawks, 43%
17. New York Giants, 41%
18. Cleveland Browns, 41%
19. Kansas City Chiefs, 41%
20. Tennessee Titans, 41%
21. Carolina Panthers, 40%
22. Chicago Bears, 40%
22. New England Patriots, 40%
24. New Orleans Saints, 38%
25. Washington Redskins, 37%
26. Minnesota Vikings, 37%
27. Cincinnati Bengals, 35%
28. Houston Texans, 35%
29. Oakland Raiders, 34%
30. Denver Broncos, 33%
31. Miami Dolphins, 28%
32. Detroit Lions, 24%

[beardown3231]

I hope Quinn wasn't just that good because it was a contract year because I know he wasn't as good in 2018, because if he is that good again in 2020, the Bears could kill some QB's.

[The_Romen]

1 hour ago, beardown3231 said:

I hope Quinn wasn't just that good because it was a contract year because I know he wasn't as good in 2018, because if he is that good again in 2020, the Bears could kill some QB's.

He's always been good/great since he came into the league. Had some injury concerns some years but I don't think it's anything to worry about.

[MonserinNC]

4 hours ago, The_Romen said:

He's always been good/great since he came into the league. Had some injury concerns some years but I don't think it's anything to worry about.

I made a similar point on Graham.....his season that is considered a total failure is still 450 yards. If he gets 500-600 for us paired with Kmet I pretty much would consider that a win.

Quinn having a BAD season would still  basically look like 6 sacks.....that would be close to the TOP season of Floyds. If he gets 8 sacks across from Mack I would consider that a win. And if he has a GOOD season we could be looking at 10-12.....across from Mack....thats sick.