2022 Season | Divisional Round Gameday Chatter Thread | Cowboys @ 49ers | 1/22/23

[Simpleton]

We have sucked for 30 years. I’m not afraid of going 4-12.

We were like two bounces away from the NFCC in 2014 and 2016, and you could even argue today.

Losing by 7 on the road in a game swung by just a few plays when 1 of our only 2 offensive playmakers was out is hardly "sucking". If not for Dak's dumbassery we were on track for at least 10 if not 14 points in the first half before Pollard went down, basically leaving us with no running game against the best defense in the league.

 

[Simpleton]

I might have to get two or three Mac Joneses before I find my Pat Mahomes. Worth it.

Better than 30 more years of what we have been doing. This way doesn’t work and isn’t going to work. Dak isn’t good enough. There isn’t any hope.

2-3 Mac Joneses before a Mahomes is going to take literally 8-10 years, if not more, which is what I've been saying.

I know for us fans it's hard to compartmentalize the different eras but just lumping everything in to one big "30 years of sucking" is completely ridiculous.

 

[Smitty]

We were like two bounces away from the NFCC in 2014 and 2016, and you could even argue today.

Losing by 7 on the road in a game swung by just a few plays when 1 of our only 2 offensive playmakers was out is hardly "sucking". If not for Dak's dumbassery we were on track for at least 10 if not 14 points in the first half before Pollard went down, basically leaving us with no running game against the best defense in the league.

So replacing Dak with a QB who doesn’t constantly exhibit such dumbassery might be the difference between ending the season like 2014, 2016, and today, versus actually moving on? And for that matter throw in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2018.

 

[Smitty]

2-3 Mac Joneses before a Mahomes is going to take literally 8-10 years, if not more, which is what I've been saying.

I know for us fans it's hard to compartmentalize the different eras but just lumping everything in to one big "30 years of sucking" is completely ridiculous.

It’s not my goal to take that long but if I miss on a QB what other option is there? You have to try again. And you just said you are ok doing it like the Chiefs.

 

[Simpleton]

Ok then let’s do that, let’s trade until we have enough assets in a future draft, then trade up and get our QB.

And what happens if we spend two years amassing picks then blow half of them on Mac Jones or Justin Fields?

Spend another two years amassing picks to do it again?

And again until we luck into the next Mahomes?

Who may not even develop fully into what Mahomes has because we just spent 7 years being terrible and stripping our roster for parts every other year and the infrastructure around him is shitty?

 

[Simpleton]

So replacing Dak with a QB who doesn’t constantly exhibit such dumbassery might be the difference between ending the season like 2014, 2016, and today, versus actually moving on? And for that matter throw in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2018.

If we could replace Dak without stripping the roster, sure, but that's not a viable scenario unless we strike lightning with a trade up.

 

[Smitty]

And what happens if we spend two years amassing picks then blow half of them on Mac Jones or Justin Fields?

Spend another two years amassing picks to do it again?

And again until we luck into the next Mahomes?

Who may not even develop fully into what Mahomes has because we just spent 7 years being terrible and stripping our roster for parts every other year and the infrastructure around him is shitty?

What happens if the earth crashes into the sun? The fact is that it’s not as hard to find another QB who is at least Dak level as you make it seem. So at worst I’m not that much worse off if at all.

Frankly a player like Justin Fields probably looks functional in Dallas as compared to Chicago, the QB black hole.

You have to trust your scouts to find the right QB.

 

[Smitty]

If we could replace Dak without stripping the roster, sure, but that's not a viable scenario unless we strike lightning with a trade up.

So start with trading Diggs and Pollard, trying to free up money where we can, and go from there. Again, I didn’t say every veteran with a second contract needs to be moved.

I said, I’m not gonna build just for next season anymore, and that if it does happen to result in 4-12 I’m not scared of it.

 

[Clff15701]

You can’t get to the nfc championship with Dak period. Most of the throws tonight weren’t even close.

 

[Simpleton]

It’s not my goal to take that long but if I miss on a QB what other option is there? You have to try again. And you just said you are ok doing it like the Chiefs.

When people go insane over Dak and "needing to find the next Burrow" or whatever, to me it means they want to get rid of him tomorrow in that pursuit because we're never going to be in that position with Dak over the next few years unless he gets hurt.

Obviously we should always be on the lookout for value at QB, which includes the mid rounds, but I think people lusting over Burrow, Herbert and so forth don't really bother thinking about how rare it is for circumstances to come together to where you end up with someone like that.

While at the same time completely undervaluing how close this team actually might be.

 

[Smitty]

When people go insane over Dak and "needing to find the next Burrow" or whatever, to me it means they want to get rid of him tomorrow in that pursuit because we're never going to be in that position with Dak over the next few years unless he gets hurt.

Obviously we should always be on the lookout for value at QB, which includes the mid rounds, but I think people lusting over Burrow, Herbert and so forth don't really bother thinking about how rare it is for circumstances to come together to where you end up with someone like that.

While at the same time completely undervaluing how close this team actually might be.

It’s not as rare as you are making it seem. It requires aggressiveness and willingness to think outside the box. These guys come along every year or three. That’s why there are always 4-5 of them in the league, sometimes more. You gotta be aggressive and strike, and not be asset poor so that you can’t afford a trade up.

Which requires you to first sacrifice some things so you have some extra future assets.

This team isn’t close. It’s QB isn’t good enough, it’s about to lose the coordinator who makes it’s defense special, it’s lead CB needs a massive payday, and it needs a complete skill overhaul on offense.

 

[Simpleton]

So start with trading Diggs and Pollard, trying to free up money where we can, and go from there. Again, I didn’t say every veteran with a second contract needs to be moved.

I said, I’m not gonna build just for next season anymore, and that if it does happen to result in 4-12 I’m not scared of it.

The biggest issue for me is the inability and unwillingness to do anything in free agency.

I'd be fine moving guys around for picks and being more aggressive in FA to target higher priority position groups (OL/front 7 basically) while keeping an eye on QB's in the draft. It also makes us overly reliant on the draft to add talent.

That's just not something this team does sadly.

 

[Smitty]

The biggest issue for me is the inability and unwillingness to do anything in free agency.

I'd be fine moving guys around for picks and being more aggressive in FA to target higher priority position groups (OL/front 7 basically) while keeping an eye on QB's in the draft. It also makes us overly reliant on the draft to add talent.

That's just not something this team does sadly.

Well it’s not gonna trade Diggs or Pollard either, sadly, but they should.

 

[Smitty]

And I like Pollard. But I just can’t give a franchise tag or that level contract to a RB who has to split carries and when my offense needs speed at so many levels. I need two more RBs and like three more WRs. I need a high drafted developmental QB. I need offensive line reinforcements because Tyron and Martin are getting up there. I can’t sink all my capital into Pollard. Conversely if he could fetch some picks, I bet I could replace a lot of his value with a much cheaper rookie. RBs are easy to find.

 

[Simpleton]

It’s not as rare as you are making it seem. It requires aggressiveness and willingness to think outside the box. These guys come along every year or three. That’s why there are always 4-5 of them in the league, sometimes more. You gotta be aggressive and strike, and not be asset poor so that you can’t afford a trade up.

Which requires you to first sacrifice some things so you have some extra future assets.

This team isn’t close. It’s QB isn’t good enough, it’s about to lose the coordinator who makes it’s defense special, it’s lead CB needs a massive payday, and it needs a complete skill overhaul on offense.

It's pretty rare when you only have a few of them in the league at any given time and most of them went in the top 5 or so, which makes a trade up almost impossible by definition.

Like nobody was going to be able to trade up for Burrow or Lawrence, so that's out the window. It would've been almost impossible to move up for Herbert, I think Buffalo traded up a few spots for Allen, and Mahomes is the only guy who I can think of who has turned out to be an elite player where someone got them by making a huge trade up (i.e. 10-15 slots).

So that tells me it's pretty rare, even aside from the fact that it's mostly a crapshoot to begin with.

 

[Sheik]

The argument against drafting a QB high isn’t very strong in our situation.

What’s the worst that could happen? No NFCCG for another 27 years? We’re living the worst case scenario in real time and have been.

I get the argument against it, but as is, you need every break to go your way and a defense that can bail your QB out of two bad games in a 4 game playoff stretch to get it done.

I’m with the crowd that wants to try and find the next Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert. Shit, give me Baltimore Trent Dilfer and we’re headed to Philly next week and probably the SB.

 

[Simpleton]

What I will say is that I think you have to at least make a change either at play-caller or QB.

It's not going to happen at QB obviously so I'd basically just use the last 2 years of Dak's contract to see what he looks like in a completely different system that isn't directly tied to the Garrett bullshit he's been in his entire career.

I have no idea how it'd turn out but it'd allow for a much more informed decision on what to do with him moving forward.

 

[Sheik]

What I will say is that I think you have to at least make a change either at play-caller or QB.

It's not going to happen at QB obviously so I'd basically just use the last 2 years of Dak's contract to see what he looks like in a completely different system that isn't directly tied to the Garrett bullshit he's been in his entire career.

I have no idea how it'd turn out but it'd allow for a much more informed decision on what to do with him moving forward.

I’d be floored if both Dak and Moore aren’t back.

This won’t end well for McCarthy as a result. You may get Payton after next year if he’s still looking for a job.

 

[data]

It’s always something

 

[Simpleton]

The argument against drafting a QB high isn’t very strong in our situation.

What’s the worst that could happen? No NFCCG for another 27 years? We’re living the worst case scenario in real time and have been.

I get the argument against it, but as is, you need every break to go your way and a defense that can bail your QB out of two bad games in a 4 game playoff stretch to get it done.

I’m with the crowd that wants to try and find the next Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert. Shit, give me Baltimore Trent Dilfer and we’re headed to Philly next week and probably the SB.

The problem is Burrow went 1 and Herbert went 6, it would've been impossible to trade up for Burrow and most likely impossible to trade up for Herbert.

If Bryce Young for example fell to like 8 this year I'd be all over trading up for him, but that's obviously never going to happen because he'll probably go 1st and definitely top 3.

Giving up an entire draft to move up for Will Levis or Anthony Richardson has like a 10% chance at turning into Josh Allen and a 90% chance of us being awful for 3+ years at a minimum.