The Offense!

[SilentThreat]

OK can Pitt beat buffalo?

 

[Bulldog]

No. I think Buffalo beats Pittsburgh.

Buffalo is a complete team and Allen is playing lights out.

 

[Boone]

They would have to be favored, they are putting up eye-popping numbers, but one of these teams has more playoff experience than almost any other team in it this year save maybe the Saints. And it isn't Buffalo.

I also think this is Ben's last great chance for a ring. And that may make a difference.

 

[Bulldog]

The 2017 Eagles and 2019 Chiefs (with Mahomes) didn't have that much playoff experience. They did just fine.

I only buy into the playoff experience argument when I see players close to their primes. I think sometimes we give veterans too much credit when they are on the back end of their careers.

I don't see the Steelers winning the SB this year.

I also don't see Drew Brees as the same player he used to be. I wonder if the Saints will be upset early this year.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

The 2017 Eagles and 2019 Chiefs (with Mahomes) didn't have that much playoff experience. They did just fine.

I only buy into the playoff experience argument when I see players close to their primes. I think sometimes we give veterans too much credit when they are on the back end of their careers.

I don't see the Steelers winning the SB this year.

I also don't see Drew Brees as the same player he used to be. I wonder if the Saints will be upset early this year.

The Saints will be reffed out of the playoffs regardless.

 

[Bulldog]

 

[Boone]

The 2017 Eagles and 2019 Chiefs (with Mahomes) didn't have that much playoff experience. They did just fine.

I only buy into the playoff experience argument when I see players close to their primes. I think sometimes we give veterans too much credit when they are on the back end of their careers.

I don't see the Steelers winning the SB this year.

I also don't see Drew Brees as the same player he used to be. I wonder if the Saints will be upset early this year.

I wasn’t just thinking about Ben - but also the coaching staff (and I think that does matter). Teams with more experience usually get there more often - of course they get that experience because they are great teams, so...

I didn’t say they’d win it, but just have a feeling they are going to make a run at it.

Then again, I think Taylor Heinicke is Sonny Jurgenson

 

[Boone]

While it's tempting to think that Heinicke is like Sonny Jurgensen and is going to come in as a 'fireman' off the bench and provide a spark for a comeback or to enliven the offense when things are flagging, the truth is he played well for ONE quarter against a team in Carolina that lost yesterday 33-7 to New Orleans.

I didn't realize it at the time because I didn't watch the Panthers regularly, but folks here corrected me in that Rivera/Turner had Heinicke in Carolina in 2018 and were in fact familiar with him.

But instead of signing him for nothing to be on the Redskins regular roster heading into the offseason Rivera decided instead to trade a draft pick for Kyle Allen who is the same age.

So, evidently Rivera and Turner didn't necessarily think that Heinicke was a regular NFL quarterback. Even as a backup.

It was the risk of COVID that brought the team to add him to the practice squad.

One quarter does not a quarterback make

How about a playoff game?

 

[SirClintonPortis]

One thing Heinecke has over Kyle Allen is that he is definitely more poised.
The things he has over Alex is a willingness to chuck it and mobility.

Now, he might have tendencies that might get exposed with tape, but damn, he's made a fine first impression.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I'm not going to say that Heinicke is the future, but he needs to be the starter heading into the 2021 season. Regardless of what happens with Alex and whether or not they sign Allen. Heinicke proved in 5 quarters he is the best they have. And that makes me feel pretty good about next season.

 

[SilentThreat]

 

[SilentThreat]

So Terry McLaurin was playing with 2 sprained ankles..

 

[Bulldog]

1,200 yards with the motley assortment of quarterbacks we had here is enough to call Terry's year special.

Seriously, if Terry had played on a team with a functional QB he probably would have finished with 1,500 yards and been a second team all-pro.

 

[Win4us]

No deal as of yet for Scherff, a 2nd tag of $18M would be kinda stupid to do as well. That’s a big cap hit

 

[SilentThreat]

Looks like Rivera said Fitz is QB1 coming into camp but made it a point to say there will be a competition.

This makes a ton of sense. Fitz has the experience and Heinicke / Allen are both young and raw. I don't think this is Fitz's job to lose, as much as I think it's open for any of the 3 (or 4 pending the draft) to win.

 

[Bulldog]

I would be inclined to pay Scherff the $18M for 2021 and then let him go in 2022.

By then he will be almost 31 and I really don't want to be like San Francisco, giving a big contract to an aging player who has had a lot of injuries over the years.

That 6 year $128M contract Trent Williams signed is one the 49ers will come to regret in the coming years.

He's not one of the top 5 tackles in the NFL at 32/33 and I can't think of a less value for dollar deal signed in the last year or two.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Looks like Rivera said Fitz is QB1 coming into camp but made it a point to say there will be a competition.

This makes a ton of sense. Fitz has the experience and Heinicke / Allen are both young and raw. I don't think this is Fitz's job to lose, as much as I think it's open for any of the 3 (or 4 pending the draft) to win.

The Dutchman might win out such a competition. Only concern is his health.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I would be inclined to pay Scherff the $18M for 2021 and then let him go in 2022.

By then he will be almost 31 and I really don't want to be like San Francisco, giving a big contract to an aging player who has had a lot of injuries over the years.

That 6 year $128M contract Trent Williams signed is one the 49ers will come to regret in the coming years.

He's not one of the top 5 tackles in the NFL at 32/33 and I can't think of a less value for dollar deal signed in the last year or two.

It’s not about how valuable a player is to other teams, it’s all about how valuable they are to your team. I agree that Trent Williams contract is a mistake for SF. But if they believe he is important enough to keep, they have to make sure they keep him. It’s the same with Scherff. If the Team thinks he’s important and a key to success, they will do what it takes to sign him. If they think they can replace him either through the draft of free agency, then they will let him walk. It’s always risky to try and play the “we will low ball you because we don’t think anyone else will pay you this much”. You could lose out of you really wanted that player. So it’s all about how much you want them, how easily you can replace them, and do you have the cap room to keep them. What another team would do shouldn’t matter at all.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

I would be inclined to pay Scherff the $18M for 2021 and then let him go in 2022.

By then he will be almost 31 and I really don't want to be like San Francisco, giving a big contract to an aging player who has had a lot of injuries over the years.

That 6 year $128M contract Trent Williams signed is one the 49ers will come to regret in the coming years.

He's not one of the top 5 tackles in the NFL at 32/33 and I can't think of a less value for dollar deal signed in the last year or two.

Sometimes I wonder if teams just throws certain players a few bones to make sure there are no union grievances or as mea culpa for prior "sins" by another former team.

 

[SilentThreat]

It’s not about how valuable a player is to other teams, it’s all about how valuable they are to your team. I agree that Trent Williams contract is a mistake for SF. But if they believe he is important enough to keep, they have to make sure they keep him. It’s the same with Scherff. If the Team thinks he’s important and a key to success, they will do what it takes to sign him. If they think they can replace him either through the draft of free agency, then they will let him walk. It’s always risky to try and play the “we will low ball you because we don’t think anyone else will pay you this much”. You could lose out of you really wanted that player. So it’s all about how much you want them, how easily you can replace them, and do you have the cap room to keep them. What another team would do shouldn’t matter at all.

SO true.. I think this is where we got into trouble with Cousins and it ultimately fell apart. They wanted to 'win' the negotiation and we all remember how that went down.

I ultimately think we let Scherff walk because I think we've eclipsed that number of what he's 'worth' to us. I think he was worth $18mil this year because Rivera and co. believe we can be competitive and they don't want to open another hole in an already struggling offense. I believe his worth to them will be a lot less next year because we will see them address the interior O-line over the course of the next 18 months making it easier to let Scherff walk. That could be via the draft this year or next. It could be an addition via free agency next offseason. For all we know they like Ismael and believe he's a lot closer than we think... but not there yet and keeping Scherff here will give him another year to develop. Wes Martin could possibly fall into that same category.


For the record... at 32/33 I do think Trent is still a top 5 LT... the problem is I don't think he'll be that at 35/36/37 as that contract ages. Looking at his actual contract, it's easy to get out of after 2023 so the reality is that if he's effective the next 3 years, the 49ers made a good decision and they can get out from under it if his play diminishes later on.