What hath Ballard wrought…a look at the rost

[Kray007]

QB…By any measure, Daniel Jones is an above average NFL Quarterback. His NFL rating was 102, good for 9th in the league. His Qbr was a solid 63.3, good for 9th as well.

Behind him, Richardson is a question mark. It would have been nice to see him get some playing time after Jones went down, but I guess they don’t make lockers the way they used to. At any rate, even if they do keep him, he might be locked into a battle with Leonard for the two slot.

RB…Jonathan Taylor might well be the best pure RB in the league , but he doesn’t put up extreme numbers when Defenses are able to stack the box. After Jones went down, they lost the ability to challenge the third level. The field contracted, and defending the run vs the Colts became exponentially easier.

TE…Tyler Warren ended up with 791 receiving yards, good for 5th in the league. He seems poised to become a major weapon going forward.

WR…Pierce, Pittman and Downs are as good a combo as there is in the league. Pittman excels in the second level , Pierce has become a threat anywhere on the field, and Downs has a talent for picking up tough yards for first downs.

OL…Personally, I think that they’ve done a nice job of maintaining the play of the line after the departure of Kelly and Fries and the imminent departure of Braden Smith. Raimann is a solid bookend on the left side, Nelson is all pro, and Bortoloni, Goncalves and Travis are solid. I can only see them getting better with more time playing together. That having been said, the entire right side of the line wouldn’t be hurt by a couple of seasons hard work in the weight room.

DE…The team says that Latu is on schedule…for something good, I hope. On the other side, Paye has been a disappointment. He’s a free agent, and while I wouldn’t be surprised if he came back, I’d be surprised if he gets much of a contract. Tuimoloau, has flashed pass rushing potential on occasion, but it goes without saying that a pass rush threat might be this team’s biggest need.

DT… When both Stewart and Buckner are on the field, we’re good. But when Stewart is gone, we get exposed. When Buckner goes down, it’s a gaping wound. The weakest link is Stewart. He isn’t exactly a monster of the midway, Hold The door, dominate the middle of the line kind of player. The biggest problem, though, is age. Both of those guys are on the wrong side of 30, and both are entering the final year of their contracts. We might be able to get by another year with them manning the line, but a 32 year old Grover Stewart doesn’t seem like a great candidate for a new contract.

LB…A couple of years ago, Zaire Franklin was a tackling machine. He was never nifty in coverage, but he made up for it in a lot of other ways. Germaine Pratt, at his best, is Zaire Franklin light, nice tackler, but a black hole in coverage. Jaylon Carlies holds potential, he received high grades for his coverage from PFF. The position cries for someone like Devin Lloyd.

CB…Gardner and Ward are true difference makers. If they can stay on the field, it unlocks Anarumo’s playbook and makes every other player on D just a little better. Kenny Moore had an off season, and you can only hope that it was because injuries at the position forced him to play outside his skil set rather than the hard of father time. Justin Walley showed a lot in training camp, and the hope is that his talent survived the torn ACL.

S…On paper, Bynum and Cross have a lot to offer. This year, though, performance didn’t live up to expectation. As with other positions, you have to wonder if injuries had an impact. In 2026, with healthy Corners, Lou Anarumo ought to be able to find ways to better utilize those guys.

[Mr. Session]

Pierce needs to go get JT's agent so he can fuck our FO on that contract negotiation.

If I'm Pierce I want to get TF out.

[Hoopsdoc]

Carlies has played in 12 out of 34 games since we drafted him. The dude can’t stay on the field.

I get that it may be a fluke and he’s a cheap option, but we shouldn’t be relying on him.