I understand why you feel this way and I was sad to see him go too. However, I don't think "replacing Howard" is gonna be all that tough.
It isn't Davis vs Howard. Its going to be Davis + Patterson + a draft pick. Yeah I think replacing those 900 yards won'e be all that difficult. Keep in mind that Howard was pretty much a non-factor in the offense until about week 12 last year.
I hope Nall is part of the plan to replace him. I like his running style a lot. I’d honestly be fine if we used our picks to restock the DBs, EDGE, OL and K.
Thinking of the RB/FB portion of the upcoming roster, I think we can all agree that Cunningham is a goner and that Mizzell sucked. Why we kept Burton last year I have no idea.
Obviously Cohen and Davis are locks. Patterson will get some carries but I'm gonna include him at his primary position of WR. I think there's now a 95% chance we are drafting a RB somewhere in rounds 3-5, who will occupy a 3rd roster spot. That would leave a 4th and final position for Nall assuming he can demonstrate value on STs.
Post by weneedmorelinemen on Mar 29, 2019 23:30:42 GMT -6
Okay, are the Eagles planning to sign Howard to a long term deal? It doesn't sound like they are. It sounds like this is a one year rental.
I hope they give Howard a new deal this year because he really has done well and not gotten paid. But it does makes sense the low value of the pick as compared to the last year of his rookie deal and that it's still 2 million for the year.
Also, I think there were signs of this being an issue last year when Nagy was made the head coach and Howard took all his Bears pictures off his Instagram account. If Howards not a fit, then hes not a fit. No need to force it.
Nagy had incredible success as a first year head coach. He's earned more leeway in improving his offense. If getting Patterson, Davis, and possibly a draft pick makes his offense better and more unpredictable, great. A modern NFL offense is what we have only watched other teams use against the Bears.
oppertunities matter. Notice how you didn't say a peep about howard...
Talent finds a way to get opportunities.
does it? sometimes it takes an injury, see Howard sitting behind Langford until he got hurt. Steve Young had to be traded to have an oppertunity, same w/Farve.
I hope Nall is part of the plan to replace him. I like his running style a lot. I’d honestly be fine if we used our picks to restock the DBs, EDGE, OL and K.
Thinking of the RB/FB portion of the upcoming roster, I think we can all agree that Cunningham is a goner and that Mizzell sucked. Why we kept Burton last year I have no idea.
Obviously Cohen and Davis are locks. Patterson will get some carries but I'm gonna include him at his primary position of WR. I think there's now a 95% chance we are drafting a RB somewhere in rounds 3-5, who will occupy a 3rd roster spot. That would leave a 4th and final position for Nall assuming he can demonstrate value on STs.
We kept Burton b/c of his dead cap hits last year and this year. Patterson will play a role similar to Cohen and be all over the field at WR and RB, I'm guessing he and Cohen will be more 1/2 back then RB/WR. I've thought there was a 100% chance they drafted a rb this year for awhile. According to some reports they've had in for meetings at the combine and personal meetings about 10 different rb's. It was always in their plan.
Yes, I realize he didn't "fit" the system but both parties should have found a middle ground here. They could've asked Howard to lose some weight and improve his receiving skills (something he did last season) and Nagy, who's still considered an offensive genius by most, could have found a way to use him in a more effective way.
I've said it many times on this board, great coaches can sometimes adapt the playbook or even improvise. Belichick does it all the time. He's always been able to get the most out of players whether they fit the system or not, that's why he's been so successful.
Like him or not, Howard is an extremely talented player which is why they shouldn't have given up on him so quickly. IMO you don't get rid of great players just because they're not 100% what you're looking for. And yes, this created a hole. We went from having one of the best RB duos in the league to a big question mark. I sure hope we draft a good replacement because Cohen and Davis (who's got six TDs in four years) are not gonna cut it.
Am I surprised by the move? No. Am I disappointed? You bet.
W/ that being said, nothing we can do here so I think it's best to just move on and look forward.
Post by GrizzlyBear on Mar 30, 2019 10:01:40 GMT -6
And I know it's off-topic, but while I was lookin up Payton's stats, I realized that during his 13 seasons w/ the Bears, he never fumbled ONCE.
3,838 rush ATT for 16,726 yards and 492 rec for 4,538 yds w/o a single fumble! I think football fans forget how AMAZING Sweetness really was. Such a shame I never got to see him play live. :/
does it? sometimes it takes an injury, see Howard sitting behind Langford until he got hurt. Steve Young had to be traded to have an oppertunity, same w/Farve.
Thanks for helping my point by forgetting history. Howard was already working his way into the rotation and pushing the higher picked sophomore Langford by the end of the preseason and would have inevitably overtaken him anyway. Regardless, he still totaled more yards his rookie season after two games than Davis did his entire rookie season despite being part of a very injured backfield. The opportunity was very much there both his rookie and sophomore season and he did jack shit with it.
does it? sometimes it takes an injury, see Howard sitting behind Langford until he got hurt. Steve Young had to be traded to have an oppertunity, same w/Farve.
Thanks for helping my point by forgetting history. Howard was already working his way into the rotation and pushing the higher picked sophomore Langford by the end of the preseason and would have inevitably overtaken him anyway. Regardless, he still totaled more yards his rookie season after two games than Davis did his entire rookie season despite being part of a very injured backfield. The opportunity was very much there both his rookie and sophomore season and he did jack shit with it.
Wow that is a hell of revisionist history. He wasn't working his way into a starter and he wasn't taking touches away from Langford until he got hurt in the season, up until then all he was doing was pushing Carey as the backup. 0 touches game 1(1 less then Carey), 3 touches game 2(1 more then Carey), 3rd game Langford goes down Howard gets his shot to take the role from him.