Rham has disappointed me quite a bit. Like, we know the OL can get into a QB’s head but is it possible they’re getting into a RB’s head as well? He has looked so tentative running the ball. I’m also wondering what kind of shape he came into the season in. This was his big break and all the team did was line up a cooked Zeke behind him and he hasn’t taken the ball and run with it (bad pun intended).
Oh, there's been plenty of posts ignoring the suck around Mac dating back 2 years now.
That's the most uncharitable reading you could conjure up, huh. I just don't see tackles letting DEs by like that without them generally believing they're driving the rusher past the quarterback. Maybe Trent Brown had a mental screw up and thought it was a 3 step drop when it was 5 and he wasn't just beat like a drum. Maybe Mac dropped deeper. I just don't see that kind of play often. But sure, that question is akin to being in denial over how bad the OL is, that seems like a fair interpretation.
Stevenson is a jag. I know folks don't want to hear that, but he is the kind of guy that will pop for a game or two or even a season, but in reality, he's just not that great in today's game. He's Legarrette Blount 2.0, which can work well if it's 2016, and you have Tom Brady and Edelman and can bring James White in on third down to move the chains. Stevenson is not going to age well either, IMO.
Couldn't agree more. When people list him as their top skill player / a difference maker, that is extremely depressing. I would not offer him another contract. I don't think anyone on offense is part of their next contending team. Maybe possibly Pop.
Sadly, this is all true. Stevenson is going to move on after his rookie contract. We need a more dynamic RB, if we’re going to be a run-dominant team. The only fast guy we have on offense can’t even get on the field.
I wouldn't offer him another contract either. I also agree with your point about not many (if any) of these guys being on their next contending team. I think Pop is terrific though, and I can see Boutte - if he can get out of the doghouse - being another maybe.
I get that you need a fast defense because you can't have slower guys out there trying to chase track stars with skills.
Yeah, the gulf between run play efficiency (yards per play) and pass plays is so vast theres really no realistic way to make up for that gap.
You should have both. 49ers and Eagles have both speed and power for example. It shouldn't be one or the other.
In the old days yes you gained fewer yards per play but you consistently moved the ball and scored lots of points. And if you can do that, what does it matter if it's done with smaller yards per play?
The Pats have very little speed and their "power" isn't breaking any tackles or running over anybody. :-(
Then Curran is a schmuck. Trey Lance was picked before him and cost a king's ransom in draft capital.
Yes, power and speed can stop speed. But just power alone isn't doing anything in today's NFL. You can't have strong guys out there moving like they are carrying a refrigerator on their backs. That's more of an 80s or 90s NFL thing.
I think that the end result is similar to what the Pats' short-passing offense produced, even in Mac's rookie year that was successful compared to today. If you have to churn 75-80 yards downfield four yards at a time, all you need is one holding penalty or one bad block, and the drive stalls. It's too hard to churn 80 yards downfield and put up the number of points required to win in 2023.
It's actually pretty easy to figure. Mac would be looking great in SF.
Curran is probably right tbh. Lance was Shanny trying to get a QB who could create more. When Shanny has to play from behind he has less success in his system. Defenses just crash the QB. Lance was also a unique prospect who was a major projection and has been injured 2/3 years. He never got a chance to develop and he came out raw. Mac would slay in SF's offense. Well, he probably would have slayed.
Yeah, I didn't phrase that quite right. The question he was responding to was more of the "If Mac were on the 49ers and Purdy on the Patriots" how good would they be.
Has he really, or has he just not had an opportunity?
I think there is also the issue of older teams just not being rational. Teams in the old days should have passed the ball more. Its a little bit like asking why old baseball teams were able to win back in the day without prioritizing OBP.
Sure - no disagreements there.
It's not everything. But on this iteration of the Patriots, it's nothing.
I would need to watch the full replay - the answer depends on what the play-call was and how many steps a drop back it was. Watching live it looked like it was not on Mac though. Seems like both OTs got beat cleanly.
Power alone does not exist, and will never exist again in the NFL.
I think Lowe was beat cleanly no doubt, Brown to me looked like he was trying to push the DE past where he thought the QB would be. If that's just a regular beat, that's next level bad. Lowe at least tried and failed, he didn't even try.
Oh, I'm not saying Achane is the second coming of Chris Johnson or anything. I'm just talking about building an offense in today's NFL. How many people even know that Raheem Mostert is nearly 32 years old, and is on his EIGTH NFL team (2nd time with Miami)? He's not a great running back, he's just great for their system.
Yeah, to me Bill gave Zappe two chances to force the issue and allow him to go "oh well, the kid just played better, have to see what it looks like with him starting" and he was awful both times.
Trey Lance looked awful and was dumped for nothing. Mac would likely be looking better, but I doubt very much he would be looking "great" for the 49'ers.
Are you talking about when he came in after the team was getting thoroughly throttled and mostly quit and where he did not take first team reps in practice?
I think they were talking about when he came in after the team was getting thoroughly throttled and mostly quit but got a significant number of first team reps in practice.
Zappe looked terrible but he also came in to games in the 4th quarter while they were getting pounded. Not saying that's an excuse but also not an opitmal situations. He's basically sucked in 3 of his 4 relief appearances but was playable (and won) the 2 weeks he had a full week to prepare to start.
Yes, I'm talking about that. Don't really care about overall effort level when you're overthrowing wide open receivers by 10 yards. Sure, he won't be at his best coming into that situation without repping all week with the starters, but I honestly think a Jimmy G versus the Chiefs in 2014 level drive could have earned him a start next week.
Lance didn't look awful. Lance didn't play because he was hurt. And then SF found Brock(who fit more in the system) and moved on from Lance, which is what smart franchises do.
I think it's both. I mean, it's super easy to point out just how their offense went from really good to historic in EPA/Play with Purdy replacing Jimmy, and Jimmy is an adequate NFL quarterback. He's playing really, really good ball. He's not as good a player as his results have been because that'd mean he's a Dan Marino/Mahomes type phenomenon at the position which isn't really true, but he's playing super well. Don't think the draft status should impact this evaluation, otherwise we're falling into a lot of the same stuff we heard about Brady in the early 2000's. Not saying he's Brady of course, just that he was good in college and has been good in the pros, his main issues were lack of size and arm strength and thus far his quick feet and processing speed have more than made up for those defficiencies (in that system, of course).
Purdy reminds me very, very much of an early-career Tom Brady. His best attributes are his decision-making and incredible accuracy. It's eerie how alike he is to Brady circa-2003.Of all the fan bases, I wouldn't expect Patriots fans to hold Purdy's draft position against him with regard to what his true talent level might be.
But yeah, it's harder to evaluate talent level when a QB is in a really good or really bad offense.
How did Brock Purdy turn into this guy with incredible decision making?
