luv_pony_express

We should probably be prepared to see some of the same from AR. Texans OL was depleted - and it showed.

I agree, I don't get the impression anybody expects that -- even if they might hope AR bucks the trend. I'm trying to downplay early, non-competition impressions of anybody. We're so used to instant gratification these days that we tend to get impatient and forget that some things take time. One of those is a player assimilating into the NFL.

Of course. It's rare for rookie QBs -- even ones who eventually turn out great -- to have home-run seasons. Anybody expecting any rookie to go in and play like Allen or Burrow (or whomever) is setting themselves up for disappointment.

At least Fries actually is an OG. I’ll never understand the decision last year to start a backup OG at LT. Many people saw that disaster coming from a mile away.

My son is a newly minted D1 football player. He said that I'd be blown away by how much sports gambling goes on among the players -- and that he knows first hand of a few guys who have bet on their team. I told him in no uncertain terms that, if I ever learn of him betting on their games, that he would not be very happy by how I responded. I've tried like hell to keep him away from gambling of any kind -- which I consider to be a very reckless use of money. But with these bookie apps, it's just ubiquitous these days.

Rock will end up a GM sooner rather than later. So will Dodds. We need to enjoy them while we can.

So what slogan do we use if we’re out of playoff contention and phoning it in the last weeks of the season for draft position? Starvin’ for Marvin?

If I’m Ran Carthon, I think I’d at least try to force the Colts to trade up. But obviously, what happens at 3 will be heavily influenced by what the Texans do.

I’m not crazy about either one of them. But I think I’d take Levis over Richardson, too. I just have this sneaky feeling that Richardson is fool’s gold. In fact, I’d probably prefer Hooker over him as well.

Yeah, huge gap between expectations and reality.

The roster buck has to stop somewhere. If it does stop with him, then he’s obviously blown it. If it doesn’t stop with him, he has no business being a GM.

Can you imagine the furor if he hadn’t? That’s not on Ballard. Any GM would’ve done that. But the rest of the circus that is our offensive line is very much on Ballard.

How embarrassing must it be for the Broncos to lose to us?

I would. Ties are for wimps

Our good o-line window got smashed into pieces.

And I will keep repeating that a lot of us were pointing this out this spring and summer. We’re only fans - how is it we could know this was coming and professional NFL FO people couldn’t? Over and over….the OL is going to suck. What’s the plan? It seems clear they didn’t really have one.

Ehlinger isn’t active

They ought to consider calling Fisher. never thought I’d say that. But there has to be better options who are FAs.

He’s clearly overpaid. At least Pryor and Pinter are cheap.

Hines isn’t the problem. We’re getting whipped up front, on both sides of the ball. That’s the major problem. Our pass protection is awful. Our run-blocking isn’t much better. We’re getting little pressure on opposing QBs. And our run stopping has been below average. Winning the line of scrimmage is the singlemost important indicator of winning or losing football games.

This wasn’t hard to predict. There’s a reason that good LTs command big salaries. It’s an incredibly important position and there aren’t that many good ones out there. Our 2 options this year are a rookie and a middling OL on a 1 year deal who doesn’t play the position. A lot of us have been screaming about this going back to last season (2 seasons, really). But the resources have simply gone elsewhere.

I’m not saying play-calling is the only problem. I’m saying that it is - and long has been - a problem. And it’s among the easiest ones to try to fix. Maybe we will be needing a coaching change. But, for the time being, I think the brass needs to at least consider having Brady call the plays.

At the very least, Irsay needs to talk to Reich about play-calling duties. It’s an ongoing problem. And I think Frank has proved that it’s not his strong suit. Let somebody else give it a try.

Another constant frustration. Happened most of the game last week, too.

I was worried sick all off-season about our OL. And my fears have been realized. Ballard did not plan or prepare for Castonzo’s retirement. We’ve been using band-aids at LT - the 2nd most important position on the offense. And it’s manifesting as you would expect. I’m glad we drafted Raimann. But this should’ve been dealt with several years ago. As it is, we have two bad options at the position.