He should have been "blown away" with Stroud, wouldn't you agree? Guy threw for 4000 yards and won OROY w/o much talent around him. Keep in mind Houston won only 3 games in 2022, just like us.
If he passes again, Fields better absolutely set the league on fire or Ryan Poles career as a GM is over.
He will never be forgiven for having two #1 picks in a row and still not getting the QB right. Death sentence
Hindsight is 20/20. I never thought Stroud would be this good, this fast. Statistically, his rookie stats are there with Montana and Brady.
I didn't either. That's Poles job.
He said he needed to be blown away. Obviously he wasn't. He should have been.
We all understand why it would have been tough to move on from Fields a year ago. No one blames him for the choice he made to trade the pick and get Fields an elite receiving weapon.
I don't think he's gonna get another pass this year. Different circumstances.
How many Bear QBs have 4k passing yards and 30+ TDs a season?
Do Ravens fans give a rat’s ass whether Flacco, Dilfer, Jackson throw 4000/30? The idea is to WIN the game!
When Baltimore last won the SB, Flacco went off like a rocketship to get them there along with that defense.
That postseason run by him was epic. IIRC, he threw for 9 TDs and only 1 INT. They wouldn't have won it w/o him even with that great D that had that year.
If the Ravens were asked if they could get Allen or Mahomes over Jackson. Do you think they wouldn't do it?
Running Qb's barely have successful careers outside of a small window. 1-5 years.
Heck there are stories of Hurts getting traded. The QB that lead the Eagles to the super bowl and already post about a possible trade.
Also Fields isn't a Jackson either... He's a subpar QB.
It is like golf. The final total score is all that matters. It doesn’t matter how you get there.
You "get there" vast majority of time with high level QB play. Yes, I know you can cite a few SBs that were won by teams with mediocre QBs like Dilfer.
The NBA is a simple analogy. Today the league is a 3-point and DEF league. Is it possible for a team that is not league average or better at 3s and DEF to win a title? Yes. But, and this is the rub, if you aren't good at 3s and DEF its very difficult. The exception is not the rule. As fans we say "There is a chance" rather than saying "Why are we aiming to be the outlier?" Pointing to the Dilfer Bucs (like what 25 years ago?) and the FLacco Ravens (10 years ago) would be like pointing to the Cowboys of 1993 and saying "Look you can win SBs with a QB who only throws for 3100 yards and 15 TDs." um...no you can't.
There aren't currently any unexploited areas that teams can leverage to become winners like the Oakland As of Billy Beane.
There was talk a few years about that because DEFs were becoming "lighter" and playing more nickel and dime as their base that OFFs would go heavy and beat the DEFs to death with running game. Yet, we haven't seen that, except in a few teams (Titans and Ravens) who didn't win titles.
There was talk that 12-personnel (1 RB, 2 WR, 2 TEs) would become the norm on OFF, and while more teams are running that package more often, its still not the dominant scheme (I believe 11 personnel is --1 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE).
There was talk that teams would start to employ FBs more often, hasn't happened.
You can point to exceptions, but they are outliers. Teams that win during the regular season, that go on playoff runs and get to SBs employ a 60-40 pass-run ratio. You can check the math.
I find it interesting that we starting by discussing total yards (6000 I believe was the number thrown around) and suddenly we jumped to points. Don't move the goal posts.
It is like golf. The final total score is all that matters. It doesn’t matter how you get there.
You "get there" vast majority of time with high level QB play. Yes, I know you can cite a few SBs that were won by teams with mediocre QBs like Dilfer.
Far less common
As I have told motm a few times, it’s a personal thing with me. At age 77, I only want one more Super Bowl before I am dead. Anything beyond that is pure gravy. I am a super fan of Harrison. Nabers and Odunze are going to be very good WRs, and I’m not betting they won’t both be gone before #9. In any case, I see Harrison as Randy Moss 2.0. Add him to Moore, Kmet, and a good slot WR3 guy, and that’s going that’s going to be an effective WR group. I don’t need Williams (and his 30% failure rate) in order to be Super Bowl ready by 2025. We just need to add 4 guys to the trenches in 2024-25.
Super Bowl ready 2025. That’s the target for me. Nothing else. If we are not there, then retool and move on. I won’t be happy, but I know there are no guarantees in this business.
It is like golf. The final total score is all that matters. It doesn’t matter how you get there.
You "get there" vast majority of time with high level QB play. Yes, I know you can cite a few SBs that were won by teams with mediocre QBs like Dilfer.
Far less common
+1,000 If a team gets a top-tier QB1 it makes sustained winning so much more doable. Sustained winning. The teams with great QBs watch pretty darned good football every year. That's what we need here in Chicago, at least that is what I want. Fields, Caleb, Maye or whomever they end up rolling with this year, I am hoping they get a guy who can do this. I don't want a Dilfer level QB. Yes you can win a SB with a QB like that. It's the exception not the rule though. Look through that list of SB winning QBs over the past decades. By and large those QBs were top-tier guys and also you notice their names often appear in multiple years of starting SB quarterbacks. That's what we need here.
