Mr.TaterSalad

I agree with what you put here about how each back will be used. Montgomery is definitely your go to back when you have a second half lead and you want to wear a team down and grind out the clock. It seems likely that Gibbs just had fewer carries and less catches/touches/targets overall early on in the season because he was a rookie, getting acclimated and worked into this offense. I want Gibbs to be able to get direct carries with the football too though and not just be the bubble screen guy. I don't want Montgomery taking too much of that away. He's an Alvin Kamara-like player with skills to be a screen pass option, a receiver lined up outside, and a direct snap-to-hand off style of running back. For as flashy a player as Kamara is, he still managed 16/17/18 touches a game carrying the ball on top of the 6-8 receiving targets he'll get.

Is Montgomery going to get the RB1 role back automatically over Gibbs now given how well Gibbs played against the Raiders? I'd hate to see Gibbs usage have a precipitous drop off this week. I do think that Montgomery should take back the mantle of being the bell cow back, but Gibbs looked like the player we drafted him to be last week against the Raiders. The Chargers have a bottom five-ten defense I believe and I would hate to see Gibbs usage regress against such a poorly coached defense.

When I throw the ball at you that means catch it.

If you listen to 97.1 every day like I do you end up with a different take on this. They're talking about it like this is a scandal for the ages and gining up that level of concern. Valenti and Rico most especially. I think if it ends up being proven that Harbaugh directed Connor Stalions to do this or knew about it and actively turned a blind eye that will be a serious issue for the program and one that could result in a long-term suspension for Harbaugh. It may also cost Michigan Big Ten Championship and playoff eligibility and force vacating games. It seems most everyone else in the Big Ten wants a stiff penalty brought down against the program. And I don't think it's fair to dismiss that as simply their bias against not wanting to play a Harbaugh-coached Michigan team.

Depending on how far this scandal reaches, could it reach a level that it would justify giving Michigan football the death penalty ala SMU in the 1980s?

Netanyahu's map be displayed at the UN a month or so ago was and is ****ed up. The head of state for a country literally displayed a map that shows Palestine and Palestinians eradicated from it. We need a man like Yitzhak Rabin for a moment like this and instead we're dealing with the IsraelI version of Donald Trump.

RIP Bob Knight. Hopefully they buried him upside down. He was a great coach and a dirtbag of a human being. "All of us learned to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things." - Bob Knight

Ha! When you're finally a really good team though, you raise the bar and expectations for what you expect from them and from the front office. For years the thing I, and many Lions fans, looked forward to the most was the NFL draft and the promise of a new day that it would bring for us. We would be let down of course because the front office in charge of running the draft would make bad decisions. But for years, we would sit around and hope they tanked the season to increase their draft positioning. Now, we don't have to do any of that because we have a good team, with a smart front office in place. So we can raise our standards and expectations of the front office. We can hope they do more to put this team over the top and be a force in the playoffs. We can actually, legitimately have Super Bowl talk for only the second time in my life. The other time was in 1991 and I was all of 4 years old then. I think its exciting to be able to bitch about not making a bigger move for Montez Sweat or Chase Young or Patrick Surtain or whoever as opposed t hoping they just tank from here on out for draft capital. I'm enjoying the heck out of these debates.

I agree with this. A 3rd round pick is a small price to pay for someone with the upside of Chase Young. We're also a team that needs help getting after the QBs and when healthy, that is what Young specializes in doing. He's the type of dynamic talent that would have prevent Hutch from getting double teamed had we brought him in. From a culture fit, I'm not there in the Commanders locker room or on the practice field, so I have no clue how he would have actually translated to ours. However, I think we have a strong, well established culture and locker room presence that they could have absorbed Young into it. Maybe I am wrong there though. It's not like we were asking them to acquire Antonio Brown, Aldon Smith, or Vontez Burfict here. Oh well, it is what it is. The season will carry on and I hope San Francisco doesn't make the Super Bowl. 🙂

Thank you for agreeing with the bold part first off, haha. I have nothing to back this claim up other than Campbell and Holmes discussions about scheme fit, culture fit, and the right price prior to the deadline closing out. I think it's smartest guy in the room in that they are looking for flaws where others are just betting on the talent of the player. I think John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, two individuals who have made the Super Bowl together as a GM/Coach duo, looked at Chase Young and saw raw talent that they could work with. I think Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell looked at Chase Young and almost looked for reasons not to acquire him. Attitude, injuries, scheme fit, whatever, and decided they didn't want the guy. Chase Young has so much raw and natural talent that I think you go grab the guy and find a way to make him fit what you're doing. If we were talking a 1st round pick, that would be a different story. But for a 3rd rounder, that you will likely get back as a comp pick if he doesn't get resigned, I think you take that gamble all day everyday. FYI, Lynch and Shanahan made the Super Bowl in year 3 of their rebuild, so no reason we can't make it this year given where the NFC is at right now.

I can play this game too. Whose more valuable Levi and Josh Paschal or Montez Sweat? Whose more valuable Iffy Melifonwu or Chase Young? Also, if Alim is more valuable than Chase Young then presumably he has a good agent who will recognize that and negotiate a deal for him at or above whatever San Francisco ends up paying Young. Howie Roseman is a better GM than Brad Holmes and he's made multiple Super Bowl appearances as a GM and he made moves. I doubt the future success of the Eagles will be jeopardized or compromised by the moves Roseman made over the last couple of days. Let's stop acting like trading one draft pick for an established player is going to derail the plan this front office has.

Lack of opportunity and dispar will breed future Hamas fighters that Israel will have to fight. The higher the Palestinian death toll gets the more hatred, contempt, and antisemitism this will breed too. Israel's ground invasion will solve little and possibly escalate the situation.

San Francisco is in a tailspin and lost 3 in a row. Their offense hasn't scored above 14 points in 3 weeks either and they have a QB whose play is sputtering. Goff is better than Purdy at this point. I did believe the 49ers were in a class above us, but not after losing 3 in a row and not with the way Purdy and their offense is playing as of late.

Since I have to reiterate it, let me say that I very much like what Holmes has done on the whole. I don't like the inactivity and lack of a move on defense today. Chase Young for a 3rd is an incredible steal, if he can stay healthy. Even if he can't, it's a 3rd round pick that we'd have given up. You yourself said you would have made that deal. Do you at all worry that teams we might have to face in the playoffs like Philly, SanFran or Seattle got better today while we didn't? Do you worry that Seattle and Baltimore exposed our pass rush and that without an upgrade it could come back to hurt us in the playoffs? I have those worries and I don't think I'm alone.

Brad Holmes drafted a 300lb. defensive lineman with a bad back and a spinal problem. In fact, he had to be talked out of trading up for him, allegedly. He drafted a WR with a blown out ACL. Injuries can't be an excuse for Holmes to pass on Young. You can still like Holmes and feel good about his regime and the direction of this franchise whilst criticizing individual things he does or doesn't do. I still like Holmes very much but feel disappointed by our inaction today. It feels like a very smartest guy in the room mentality. The 49ers, Eagles, and Seahawks all made significant moves to get better. We kept the car in neutral and didn't. We are going to have to compete against and beat one or more of those teams in the playoffs in order to get to the Super Bowl. Given how weak the NFC is there is no reason we can't be a Super Bowl contending team this year. We should have made a move to reflect that imo.

Ashley McBryde's new album The Devil I Know features some really good, traditional country-style songwriting. My favorite song on the album is the wholesome and feelgood song Light on in the Kitchen.

None of us know what they actually think or how they feel. That likely won't ever come out. However, I think this is the answer I believe the most as well. I mocked Brad Holmes for being Ken Holland with the whole "we like our team and the player we have here" approach he took today. I agree with what you're saying here though in that they feel confident and comfortable with who they have now and who will be returning later on today.

Connor Stallions on the sidelines, actually pretending to be apart of another program as a Grad Assistant or whatever, is a really bad look for Michigan.

The NFC is never, in all likelihood, going to be a worse conference than it is now. The same thing with the NFC North as a division. It has a bevy of teams of are bottom feeders or very mediocre. There are what, 2-3 very good QBs at most in the NFC, with Goff, Prescott, Hurts, and maybe, maybe Geno Smith. Our schedule down the stretch will never be easier than it is now either. I feel like we should be taking advantage of that by making a move of some significance on defense.

Great question by Valenti. Campbell was talking earlier about making a deal if it was the right price for the team. How is a 3rd round pick for a player with the talent-level of Young not the right price? Especially if you get a comp pick back in return.

The 49'ers apparently get a compensatory 3rd round pick back if Young doesn't resign with them. What a freaking steal. Why the hell wouldn't we be in a bidding war for that type of deal for Young?

Does Bye have a mobile QB?

Why are the Eagles and 49'ers in a position to make moves to attempt to improve their teams at the deadline but we aren't. What separates them from us?

Ken Holland, it's the whole we like our team, we have a great culture approach. I only kid. I'm just having a little fun. I still love Brad Holmes and believe in him very much. I still like the direction of this franchise and what the front office is doing. I just get a bit frustrated when all the other players of the NFC are making moves and we aren't keeping up with them when our window is open to win now and make a Super Bowl.