01-25-2025, 01:45 PM
(01-24-2025, 02:52 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: We just need a middle of the pack defense to make the playoffs.
That's not the actual goal, though.
We need a good defense to actually win in the playoffs and win a SB.
Our offense has only had more than 2 TDs in a playoff game once out of the 7 (3 against the Bills in '22) and averages just 22.3 points per game. They weren't some massive offensive juggernaut in the playoffs that can carry a mediocre defense.
I keep trying to tell people this about our offense. It is NOT elite. It is mostly predictable, one-dimensional, and finese.Yes, Burrow & Chase put up big numbers, in part because it IS so lopsided.
Truly elite offenses can run and pass and control the line of scrimmage (Baltimore, Buffalo, Philly, Detroit). And while KC struggle at OT nowadays, Thuney, Humphrey, & Smith are probably the best IOL trio in the league, and Mahommes can evade outside rushers if the middle is clean.
Burrow is a better QB than any of the others except Mahommes and Chase the most dangerous weapon.
Our strategy, this year, should be to make the offense elite & make the D decent. Upgrade both G spits, retain Tee, and get a 3rd option somewhere (TE/WR3, Gesicki, another draft pick, whatever).
Restructure Burrow + cut the dead wood (Rankins, Cappa, Volson, Moss, Hubbard) and we are looking at around $100 mil in space.
Justin Jefferson's year 1 cap hit on his deal is $15.1 mil. It baloons in the middle ($39, $43.5, $47.5, $6). There is no way Higgins' deal should be that much more than Jefferson's Y1, even if we flatten it out more. Say a $20 mil hit Y1. Say extensions for Chase & Trey add another $15 mil to the cap. We still have $65 mil to play with.
