I heard multiple times that Flores wanted Herbert over Tua, but never once heard him associated with Love. Whether either is true or not, we won’t know for sure unless the principals actually come out and say it, which won’t happen.
That game plan McDaniel had against kc was bad. Where is the third option in this offense?, I mean we’re on the way low end for our backs getting targets and catches..
Tua in weeks 1 through 13 of the regular season: 3rd-best QB in the league statistically of the 37 QBs with at least 150 pass attempts. Tua in weeks 14 through 18 of the regular season and the wildcard: 17th-best QB in the league statistically of the 23 QBs with at least 150 pass attempts. That game was expected when you combine the above with a playoff game on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions who have a good defense, under the weather conditions.
I don't care who Flores wanted, his offensive ineptitude and bad attitude likely would have sunk them too.
I like moving to McDaniel, because I think this is an offensive league and you need an offensive mind. That said, I think saying it would have sunk them isn't right. Flores had the same record as McDaniel last year, and that was without all the great roster upgrades on offense. It would have sunk Tua if they stuck with Flores, and perhaps that was the better move than what we are going to experience.
Flores' record came through defense. Offensively he had no plan or cohesion and his staff building was horrendous. There were apparently multiple personality clashes (Minkah Fitzpatrick being the most famous/egregious). In the end, he was yet another in a long line of failed Belichick guys. He's a really good defensive coordinator but anyone hiring him for head coaching ... no thanks.
We're seeing something analogous happening here, however -- a skilled and innovative coordinator whose personality isn't consistent with being a winning head coach. Flores and McDaniel are polar opposites personality-wise, but neither has what it takes to lead a team of men in the capacity of head coach.
Or it could be that this is only his second year as a head coach and he's learning how to win. Or his goofballiness is getting in the way. Could be either. Could be both. Could be neither.
McDaniel has his team in the playoffs for his first two seasons as a head coach. He's a winning head coach even with all the limitations that people believe this team has. If McDaniel was 6'4 and 240 pounds what would you think of him?
44% of the teams in the NFL make the playoffs. Making the playoffs in the NFL is virtually a coin flip.
Why would McDaniels size matter? If he was bigger and acted this way he would seem even more of a ***** lol
However, making the playoffs two years in a row is 19% probability. So McD is in the top 1/5th from that perspective.
It's just a gestalt impression of Crash based on disparate sources of information that converge in that direction.
In Ross's defense, he wanted Lamar Jackson. Then the pervert Watson. Then Brady. He wanted two of them after we got Tua. So that doesn't sing Tua's praises from Ross's perspective either.
I'm watching the Eagles/TB game right now. What I see from Philly (a team that went to the Super Bowl last year) is the same exact look that we had Saturday night in Kansas City. They don't want to be there. We didn't want to be there. That's the difference. Jalen Hurts suddenly looks every bit as bad as Tua has lately and a lot of you have remained silent about that. There were a big group of you just last year singing the praises of Hurts, screaming about how you wanted us to draft him. Where are you now? I'm not trying to start an argument about Tua, but right now Hurts and the Eagles have the same exact body language that we had the other night and they were a score away from Super Bowl champs last year. Philly fans are scorching Jalen Hurts as we speak and yet he was touted as the league MVP last year and for a good portion of this season up until their collapse. Now they're in the middle of getting smacked by the Bucs. Everyone is blaming the defense, but the offense has been trash. My point is that it takes an entire team to collapse. Yes Tua played like hot garbage. Yes there are some MAJOR questions surrounding him going forward. But that's always going to be the case when a team loses. Right now Dallas fans are crying about Dak and Mike McCarthy. The point is, we're not alone.
Personally after taking a couple of days away to digest this particularly painful end to what seemed to be an extremely promising season I've had some time to think things over. I was on the fence with Tua going into it last year... what we saw before his injuries was encouraging. The physical limitations and injury concerns hold me back from being all in. Then came this year, as this season progressed I was no longer on the fence, I was piling up the chips and getting ready to push them all in. His accuracy, he showed he could look off defenders, throw guys open, and showed great anticipation. Showed alot of what you'd want to see, but he still made some bonehead throws into coverage, and some really poor throws that should have been easy like little dumpoffs and checkdowns that he missed and then the INT's from some poor awareness and poor decisions drifting back in the pocket alot. It seemed all the good we saw in him at the start of the year, working in the pocket, moving to find lanes for throws etc all went away but I was writing that off as a young QB with still not a ton of experience due to benchings and injuries etc. Then came the games on our schedule against good teams and good defenses and all of that good went right out the window and the bad got magnified. Yes, injuries happened. They always do and they always will. You have to find a way. You have to look like you care. You have to have that spark and fire. You have to be able to elevate your game to win in December and win in the playoffs, it feels like we saw the complete opposite though. To make it worse, it was the whole team though too, not just the QB. For those reasons I'm right back where I was at the start of the year. Undecided, but I firmly believe you can't sign him to a long term, big money deal yet. That would be irresponsible at this point especially given the current cap situation and holes to fill.
I agree with everything you said. Especially the part about the whole team. I'm highlighting that part because all of this seems to have been dumped on Tua. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, but this was a team effort. Whatever vibes they were working with ended with the Titans loss in my opinion. That game, that loss was the turning point of the season and I didn't even watch that game. But after that loss, things were different and they went from bad to worse. We snuck by a Dallas team who was reeling in the same fashion that we were. They (like us) got exposed against the better teams and once more in the playoffs. Sad part about that is they lost to team that they should have beat. Got smoked as a matter of fact. I'm watching the Eagles lose right now to the Bucs. Looking at the matchup, you have to assume that Philly should beat them. The game isn't over yet, but man the Eagles look ugly outside of a few plays here and there that they've made. So yes, the end of the season collapse falls on the entire team. The injuries were just way too much to handle in my opinion and that's what killed the vibe. Tua is human, he's not a generational talent at the QB position. I think we all know this by now. Can we win with him? So far he's proven that we can't. Like it or not though, we're getting at least one more run in with him before the final decision is made. I agree, there should be no rush to extend him to some massive contract that ties our pulse to him. It's always a risk with quarterbacks in this league. They have a long long shelf life, but the ones that aren't elite are going to have hit or miss seasons throughout their careers. I can name a hundred of them that have had long careers of sporadic play. The last thing we need is a Daniel Jones situation. That's my biggest fear. If we are meant to extend Tua long term, it'll happen when the universe allows it and even then...It'll be a big time gamble that will determine the fate of Grier, McDaniels, and Tua himself. That's how these things work.
At least now the Cowboys and Eagles will be seen as the biggest disappointment in the NFL this season instead of the Dolphins.
For those that watched the Philly game, Tampa's defense was DOMINANT and lit up Hurts all night long. The big difference from last season to this year is that they're trying to keep Hurts in the pocket....much like we did with Tannehill....and that's a bad move with a natural running QB. Tampa had no reason to set the edge and they were all over him. No idea what happened to Philly's offensive or defensive lines, they were both elite last year. Last night they were trash and Hurts is not a pure pocket passer. I was so impressed with Tampa's corners as well consistently making 1:1 tackles on screen passes. The Bucs wanted it more and took the game.
I believe Tua is first read not open, check down... there are 3rd options, Tua just not looking for them as he wants to get rid of the ball.
I'm out on Tua. Love the personality and the character, just not his ability on the football field. I see many QB's in the playoffs throwing off their backfoot, falling backwards and making nice throws for completions. Tua has to set his feet and wind up to be able to make a throw. Either his arm is injured or he has lost strength in his arm. It could be from being more out of shape and his core not supporting the motion, but something is off. I'm not convinced he does anything more then just throw to the first progression. On Hard Knocks coach says "I'm going to get Waddle the ball more", I was like wait, so how do you know the ball will go to Waddle? Answer is, because that is who Tua throws to, the 1 in the progression. On coach love him, would love playing for him, but his play calling has left me screaming at the TV all season. Coach thinks we can't run it for 2 yards, but lets throw a 4 yard behind the line of scrimmage screen so the back now has to get 6 yards for the first down, that is just stupid. And, he does the same thing over and over game after game. Line it up spread and run it twice if you have to.
I think the biggest injury on the offense was Williams, as the center is the most underrated position on the line. When he (and the rest of the) OL was healthy early in the season, they played well and gave Tua more time to see the field and throw. Once Williams went out, they moved yet another non C to the middle, and things started to break down. Then the injuries started to pile up, and Tua HAD to get the ball out quicker. I’m not saying that Tua played great down the stretch by any means, but the drop off was not only at the qb position. FWIW, I’m not sure what they should do about next year. Not seeing any great options for improvement at the moment.
The dropoff had more to do with not playing pumpkin teams and weather. Nothing is perfect around QBs. Joe Burrow took team to Super Bowl with a historically terrible line. Tua needs everything around him to be perfect to succeed, and nothing will ever be perfect enough.
Imo and said this during the off-season, “Jalen hurts is infected, and it’s a matter of time before his team turns on him “ Said the same thing once I saw it go down in Seattle with Wilson Imo I’m 2 for 2
Well I never root for things like that. The only players I openly can absolutely not stand in this league are Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Josh Allen. Maybe they can become infected. Philly quit after week 13. We quit after the beat down at Baltimore. Things change quickly in the NFL.
I saw it differently, it’s playing out as I said..but there could be validity to your opinion as well. I just think it’s more than that, I don’t see the Qb struggling while the team is playing hard, I see a systemic crash
It doesn’t mean he can’t play well.. it’s a matter of what his teammates think and how they are responding, jmo..but I saw and said the same about Wilson and that came crashing down
I thought he was overrated back at Oklahoma. The Eagles mistake this year was trying to keep him healthy by keeping him in the pocket, which he’s not that good at. If he can’t or won’t run, he’s much easier to defend.
Hurts wasn’t hurt last year, why they would take that approach with a dual threat Qb is stupidity at its finest if true
He played very well in the playoffs and Super Bowl, I dont think missing two games should be the ok to having a dual threat Qb who lacks some skills from the pocket into a more pocket Qb because they wanna protect him from injury. Anyways, I said what I said when I said it and it’s a bit too ironic for me to see what’s happened to them .
