09-03-2020, 01:00 PM
So, my biggest worry is that you're taking a notorius check down QB, who can also move around extremely well, and pairing him with Austin Ekeler, who rated as the best receiving back in the league last year. Add to that, you have Hunter Henry to worry about as well.
Why is the such a worry for me? Because this is going to require our LB's to really play well in coverage, and getting to the outside to pick up dumps offs.
We have a career backup in Josh Bynes as our most experienced LB. The good news here though is he's been pretty stong in coverage when he's had the opportunity to play. The bad news is teams have elected to play him primarily only when people ahead of him have gone down. My best hope for him is he can be an average starter here. Middle of the road. And that would be ok, expect for the fact that he may be our best LB in 2020.
Then you have Germaine Pratt. Pratt flashed at times, but he's still a guy who graded out terribly poor last season (50.2 PFF rating). He's only got 9 career starts. The good news is that being a converted safety he should fare well in coverage. The bad news is we really don't know what to expect as a full time starter. He could take that next step and shows he's a legitimate starter, or he could prove to be well below average, and a liability until he can progress more.
And our last spot of course is a complete unknown. We don't even know who will be starting there yet. I know people are hyped about some of the young guys, but 3rd and 4th round picks don't generally excel in year 1. But who knows? I have no idea what to expect here. That, in and of itself, is concerning.
So, yeah, that's my fear with Taylor and his weapons. That he can completely exploit our LB's.
I know people are hyped about the new faces there, and for the future, but this group could prove to be a huge weakness this season. And this isn't exactly the best matchup for them week 1.
Hopefully they step it up. With everything I just said, Tyrod Taylor is still Tyrod Taylor. He's not going to kill you deep. And there is no reason we shouldn't expect to win this game. This is extremely winnable, being at home, against another last place team from 2019.
Why is the such a worry for me? Because this is going to require our LB's to really play well in coverage, and getting to the outside to pick up dumps offs.
We have a career backup in Josh Bynes as our most experienced LB. The good news here though is he's been pretty stong in coverage when he's had the opportunity to play. The bad news is teams have elected to play him primarily only when people ahead of him have gone down. My best hope for him is he can be an average starter here. Middle of the road. And that would be ok, expect for the fact that he may be our best LB in 2020.
Then you have Germaine Pratt. Pratt flashed at times, but he's still a guy who graded out terribly poor last season (50.2 PFF rating). He's only got 9 career starts. The good news is that being a converted safety he should fare well in coverage. The bad news is we really don't know what to expect as a full time starter. He could take that next step and shows he's a legitimate starter, or he could prove to be well below average, and a liability until he can progress more.
And our last spot of course is a complete unknown. We don't even know who will be starting there yet. I know people are hyped about some of the young guys, but 3rd and 4th round picks don't generally excel in year 1. But who knows? I have no idea what to expect here. That, in and of itself, is concerning.
So, yeah, that's my fear with Taylor and his weapons. That he can completely exploit our LB's.
I know people are hyped about the new faces there, and for the future, but this group could prove to be a huge weakness this season. And this isn't exactly the best matchup for them week 1.
Hopefully they step it up. With everything I just said, Tyrod Taylor is still Tyrod Taylor. He's not going to kill you deep. And there is no reason we shouldn't expect to win this game. This is extremely winnable, being at home, against another last place team from 2019.
