u/PhilosophyNo5165

Right now we're solid with Spoon and Jobe but we also know that CB3 matters in any D and a lot in our D. I think the combo of 1) Neal's injury preventing him doing much in training camp 2) Noah I's play/overall history 3) Pritchett's inconsistency and still-developing capabilities (he's got the traits just not always the mentals) 4) Two 7th round rookies as our other depth - and all that combined to create this push to shore up depth at CB spots 3 and 4+. I also don't think they were pleased with what they saw on film after the first game.

"If only they'd tagged K9, then we could've taken a CB in round 1." Was Ken crazy talented? Yes. Was he also rather mercurial and not necessarily in the long-term plans at the tagged price, never mind his preferred price? Yup. I personally (just my opinion) don't think there was any serious intention to re-sign K9. And without Charbs injury, we're not even spending much time on this topic. But Charbs did get injured, K9 wasn't tagged and we picked a RB and not a CB in the 1st. It is what it is.

Am I panicking? No - not at all, and I don't think anyone should be either. The team is playing the long game regarding Arnold and shoring up things in the here and now with Diggs for competition at the 3rd or 4th CB spot.

What all of this does say, however, is they have far more developmental time ahead for Neal, Fuller and Dansby, and Neal has to get and stay healthy first.

Knowing that no starters were playing this game, I was looking forward to watching individual players and getting a small taste of Fleury's play-calling. However, outside the first two offensive and defensive series from the 2's, the persistent sloppiness made for some grim viewing. That said, I'm hopeful Mike will take this as grist for the mill and a clear wake-up call for anyone who wants to actually be on this team. That is not the standard, even in a preseason game.

Play-calling: I saw some solid things on that first series, including some nice motion looks with hand-offs that later set up a nice pass play. I saw persistence with the run game despite injuries, and Holani looked solid including making a fabulous rush pick-up later as well. We know who George is and he's rather valuable as a result. We also knew they weren't going to show much more for multiple reasons. It seemed the play-calling differed some when Milroe entered and I'm curious if anyone else noted similar? Maybe a bit more "streamlined"?

Defensively, I also thought the initial two series were solid enough. And overall, I thought the 2's played well in their limited time.

Initial player thoughts (nothing revolutionary):

TKnight - he was all over the entire game, you could see his improvement in coverage plus his versatility and I'm excited to see how Mike is going to utilize him this year.
Noah I - I was pleasantly surprised - solid and sticky in a small sample size.
Mike Morris - he actually had some solid plays in his few snaps, had some juice.
Rylie Mills - he's got to tighten some things up, but he is going to be a menace and I can't wait.
Jared Ivey - I like him and he's also confounding to me at times. I'm not sure he makes the initial roster out of camp. Has he shown enough to get signed to someone else's 53 or will he make it to the PS?
Jalen Gaines - he's the only edge who I saw have impact both setting the edge and in the rush. He's got bend and quickness and he's pushing for a 5th rush spot, especially if Jamie Sherriff can't stay healthy enough to get on the field.
Holani - already spoke about him earlier, we need guys like him on the squad
Montorie Foster Jr - he's got something, a feel for space, quickness, tenacity and good hands despite that drop and the one penalty. I want to see more ST's play from him as that will be his way onto the roster initially. I could see him making the final with Cody White going to the PS initially (and I'm a Cody fan), especially if he keeps putting good stuff on tape.
Jalen Milroe - I'm not super reactionary about him as he's so very developmental. He will need likely a year three to really see if he can be a solid back-up or more. I'm glad they aren't rushing him and yes, we're impatient as fans, which is the last thing a young QB needs. Just look at our current starting QB. It does sting keeping a very precious roster spot for a 3rd QB and that is where the conundrum and timeline lies.

Overall, I'm not upset about the game - I expected inconsistency knowing that mostly 3's and 4's were playing, but the level of slop still proved surprising.

Players I had hoped to see more from this training camp and pre-season:

Connor O'Toole
Ricky White III
J'Cardia Wright (inured)
Jamie Sheriff (injured)

I attached my first run at an early 53 which will obviously shift and change the next couple of weeks as more declares itself.

I think they put Lampe on the PS for roster maneuvers as he's likely "easier" to get there and then call up.
We likely move on from both Christian Haynes and Olu and have Richman as back-up C/G (I'm still a bit back and forth on this one regarding Olu).
I like Michael Dansby and also think a year on the PS would pay great dividends (edit to add: same with Fuller).
I'm okay with Pritchett and Noah I as our third and fourth corners with Julian Neal also available.
I'm presuming Terrion Arnold will start off on the commissioner's exempt list while his situation is sorted

CB situation - the sky isn't falling but it's a tad overcast

Game Thoughts and Initial 53 Projection

Local "whale" waiting to step forward and make a bid per King5 and Gregg Bell?