Murray admitted 207 wasn’t his playing weight, he just bulked up a little bit for the combine. He said he played around 195.
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At the point that I see him play with a complete team around him, as a gunslinger!
His gunslinger years he spent with Jahvid Best on injured reserve, Nate on injured reserve, nobody behind them, and no line in front of them.
Matt and CJ gave a galant effort, but, it takes 11 to make a team.
Matt (and CJ) could no more make an offense, than Suh could make a Defense.
Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps keeping Schwartz and Linehan in 2014 would have cranked out enough points to carry the weight the elite defense needed. I have often thought about that. But there were those who were calling for Linehan’s head because we lost. No fingers at Stafford for absolutely choking the last 4 games after a 7-5 start.
So, the gunslinger. With the gunslinger comes picks. 17 in 2012 and 19 in 2013. And sub 400 points isn’t much different than what we had in 2007 with Kitna.(346) with a supporting cast that in no way would you swap the 2012 or the 2013 team with.
We purposely chose pass over the run. It’s not that we didn’t get the right back. Even with Best in the lineup, we still passed a lot more than run. Best had 40 targets and 84 carries in 2011 (6 games). That year the offense was prolific, but we only had Best for 6 games. That shows me we can get along without a Best type. The other guys were Maurice Morris (Joey’s old RB in college), Kevin Smith and Keiland Williams. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Best, but he wasn’t the reason for 2011’s success. I think it was CJ in his prime that did it. Pettigrew was money with 126 targets and Burleson and Young were taking advantage of CJ getting double teamed. Of course, Young flipped his lid because he knew he was open a lot more than he was targeted and said so by jumping routes that Stafford was looking at. It was crazy, but not untruthful…
The intent to pass only was evident in the fact that we picked backs (I call them “petite” backs) that were good with hands and were shifty home run hitters. That’s not a run game. that’s a supplemental piece. Petite backs get hurt unless they’re ankle breakers like Barry. We designed the offense to throw throw throw and throw some more.
When Calvin was drawing double and triple teams, it really shouldn’t matter who is #2 or #3. Look what Brady does with nobodies. To an extent, Kitna did too. Calvin was a rookie in 2007 and was #3 in targets, behind Roy and Shaun McDonald and just ahead of Furrey. And that OL, go ahead and let yourself remember the pain of that OL. I only recently can bear to look. I bet you can’t name all 5 starters (due to defense mechanism against emotional pain).
I’m not sure we want the gunslinger back. You think so, but if we do that, more picks.
I think we need to see what he can do in a more conventional offense where he takes an adequate number of snaps under center (unlike his career except 2014 and 2018 where there were above 30% of the snaps under center). Let the OL hit people and wear them down with a more power run game. Play action will be more effective (other than the surprise factor it’s been) when we demonstrate we can run.
Anyway, point is that your excuses are not completely invalid, but if you need a team around a QB, then why do we need this particular QB?
Mark Sanchez wasn’t as good, but he has 4 road playoff wins and he got them in his first 2 years.
Team sport. I’d rather see the cast get built hardcore and stop spending so much on a QB who needs so much help (according to his supporters).
How did Aaron Rodgers do in the play offs this year?
Playoffs?
You need defense for that. (Theirs gave up 400)
I looked at his stat line. 25 TDs, 2 INT. With a totally messed up OL. They knew it. They also bailed on the year pretty early.
Still…
GB’s offense scored 376 points. We scored 324.
We’d have made the playoffs had we scored 376.
If you’re trying to make the point that it’s a team sport, I fully agree. My issue is that people want to say it’s a team sport, but then demand we have STAFFORD as QB. Build the team so that even Mark Sanchez as a rookie could QB it. Lots cheaper.
Stafford isn’t elite (and not particularly consistent even with a governor on), so we need to stop paying him as if he is, or we’re going to continue to be no better than one and done. Trying to build a team around him hasn’t worked for 10 years. Maybe it’s time to stop building a team around a QB and what he needs, and build a team and then get QBs (multiple) that can play in that system?
We should have either stuck with the gunslinger or bailed. Caldwell trying to make him a ball control QB is far too PygmaLion.
No QB is good enough to carry a team.
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Then that is not Staffords fault.
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Right, the exact opposite of Russell Wilson.
Wilson lost weight for the combine. Murray had to gain weight. Meaning Murray will play at least 10 to 15 pounds lighter during the season.
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It is hindsight. At the time, we needed to fix him because 2013 was a nightmare finish. Dude was throwing too many picks, if you don’t remember…
We had a defense.
It’s a team sport!
Bjebees!
Except I’m not talking win/lose, I’m talking “offensive performance”. To that, the defense and the special teams are irrelevant.
Great offense + terrible defense = unsuccessful team.
Great defense + terrible offense = unsuccessful team.
Special teams affect this, of course, but you really need to have good D and good O. Therein lies the problem of allocation of resources. If you spend 25% of the cap on QB/WR (like we did with CJ and Stafford) and then throw in another 10% on Suh, you’re top heavy and you’re going to lose to good teams that can isolate the weak links that necessarily arise becuase you spent too much on the top.
I fully and 100% agree that it’s a team sport.
If a team member is not carrying his weight, you cannot afford to keep paying him.
You win! You have out circle jerked me.
Congrats!
Ok, now where’s my chicken dinner?
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I dont get the weight thing. Why add weight for the combine, and then run around the combine (whilst not participating in said combine) informing the assembled masses that your playing weight will actually be 10-15 pounds less than the weight that you gained for the combine?..that you arent participating in…
Is there a strategy in there somewhere?
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