Stinger226

I remember after the first two games on X people were saying Byard was slowing down and people complaining about his play and our S choices in him and Brisker coming off an injury. Then brought up how we should have drafted one high. People just have to let the season play out when judging players. You cant go by one or two games. Poles will make him an offer after the season and why would he not want to stay on a up and coming team and play for DA. At 31 I dont see anyone offering a big contact to him.

Playing Pitt will be a physical game and will take advantage of mistakes much like we do. They have been Minny-NE-Colts which arent considered bad teams. Only two teams have went over 120 rushing against them this year. Their defense is much like ours, bad stats and make big plays. Offensively they (if Rundolph) will be throwing a lot to RBs and their TEs. All under stuff like we seen against Minny. We need a better game from Caleb and we will be in the drivers seat.

I predict right now, every game is going to be close and we have not seen the last of the late game win scenario.

I think you are speaking to his need to be the hero, ego drives him. In college they called it hero ball. If you look at him at the end of the game, he seemed mad and not excited when Santos won the game. At this point in the season when his inaccuracy should be getting better, a lot of misses. He had some drops but on several of those it looks like he threw fast balls when he should have thrown change ups. Last week we won because of Caleb, this week he was just along for the ride. He has some outstanding traits but if he doesnt start being more consistent all of those great traits will not matter. He's not going anywhere anytime soon but at what point does BJ quit trusting him? Half way into the season next year is my guess.

https://youtube.com/shorts/PkuwI2SB9eQ?si=TffqoT1w2LcnZmbi

We have the chance to have JJ, TJ Edwards and Kyle Gordon all back in a couple of weeks. We may be able to play better defense and Aaron Rodgers got hurt today.

I'll take ugly but we didnt play well on the road again. They keep winnings so I am not going to complain at this time.

ICEMAN

Another thing I forgot to mention. Our LT (Theo) is now third in the league (all Ts) at win rate at run blocking. We are now the 7th ranked OL in the league, third in pass blocking efficiency. As much as there are legitimate arguments that we should have drafted a first round LT but a UDFA may be our LT of the future. We have given up 14 sacks this year compared to leading the league in sacks last year 68. As much as 1/3 of the sacks were because Caleb was holding the ball to long last year, his pocket awareness has helped him avoid sacks this year. Everything appears to working.

I agree with the C+ grade on Poles. All GMs have hits and misses but the key to any organization, are they winning ? Poles said he needed 5 yrs to rebuild this into a consistent winner, we are in year 4. He will be remembered for drafting Caleb and hiring BJ, not all the third round misses. Shanahan traded a bunch of picks to draft Trey Lance in 2021 which would have got a lot of people fired. He didnt get fired because he is a consistent winner. Belechek is known for being the best coach ever and his history is littered with mistakes but always won. BJ has influenced Poles picks , just look at the Loveland and Burden picks but it still falls on Poles shoulders. You build a team successfully thru the draft, free agency, and C G-Johnson type pickups. The only important question , are we winning? It appears to be right on Poles schedule in a 5 yr rebuilding plan. He came in here with a terrible Cap situation, and a bunch of expensive older players without many good ones. Condemn Poles all you want on his mistakes but do we have a team now that can win the North (tied for first place) and become a playoff contender? So far so good.

I never really like Phil Simms but I agree with his ranking.

I like that. Hearing a few podcasts, they stated how strong his lower body must be to not be taken down very easy. Has that 6th sense when players around him.

We can have discussions about the progress of Caleb in his second year but he is golden at the end of games when it matters. The great ones have that. (not saying he's great) but his floor is rising rapidly.

Edmunds is playing better because DA is using him properly. Last year when the team gave up on Flus, I suspect several players didnt have their heart in the game week to week. Winning changes culture and now he is excelling as a off LBer. Edwards not being there probably enhances his stats a little also.

He had potential that needed some growing. We are seeing that happen in real time.

Do you think that Caleb is making a bad decision sometimes or just didnt see a player that got open? With 2 or 3 guys putting pressure on him, I suspect he cant always have his eyes down field.

We cant pick our opponents. I would rather be a 6-3 mediocre team than a 3-6 bad team. I am enjoying the entertainment part of watching my team win. Does it give me a false sense of security, of course but that doesnt mean I should not enjoy it. Winning 6 of 7 games is never easy, more so, as being a flawed team. I would say that our confidence is growing not playing the best teams in the league which is always a good thing. As we eliminate mistakes we will preform better when we play the good teams. Before the season started we looked at Minny-Detroit-Dallas-Washington-Baltimore- Cincinnati to all be winning teams. Im not going to feel bad because it didnt turn out that way. I'm an optimist , I always try to look at the good part of anything. when I broke my neck, I didnt feel oh poor me, I still work some at 73 with a broken body. When I had two knee replacements and 3 hip replacements, I didnt think I cant do anything anymore, I just got up and went and did it with a little pain and discomfort. Now when the cold hurts my body, I just go to warm weather for 4 or 5 months and enjoy my life. I am going to look at my football team the same way. My first impression when we win a game is we shouldnt have won. I dont feel bad, I feel elated. Look at a team anyway you like but because I see a glass half full doesnt mean I dont notice it half empty, I just dont dwell on that.

I love this guy go bears.

I like Case Keenum a lot more after this video.

Montez Sweat is back. Has 5.5 sacks, 2 FFs, 4 PDs, 8 TFL, 9 QB hits. 26 pressures so far this year. Should be able to reach double digit sacks.

As much as I agree with NahShon Wright giving up some big plays, he has also made some big plays. 3 ints, game saving fumble recovery. 8 PDs and a pick six.

He overall is getting better. He's been lucky on a few dropped INTs.

I agree with your assessment of the remaining schedule. I think we beat GB here and lose in GB. Playing in SF will tell a lot about how good we are. They will still be in the playoff hunt. 10-7 record as it plays out now.