I'm not sure it's gravy if you're talking 'buzzsaw mode'

The rushing offense has fallen back a bit and I think Caliendo at RG has a lot to do with that. And the passing game works better when the threat of the run exists. More critically, with our passing game not being as explosive as it was, our ability to stay ahead of the sticks and/or convert short yardage plays, is pretty massive.

If we're talking about winning a championship -- Humphries may not be critical to that.

But if we're talking about playing Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Philly or even Minnesota and having a 4th quarter where we can all breath a little bit, I do think getting Humphries at/near his 2023 level so we can get Thuney back to guard will help a great deal there.

Exactly.

The return of Watson is more important in that it allows McDuffie to play inside more. Especially when paired with Williams seemingly back to where he was most of last season (i.e. prone to mistakes but really good when he has his assignment right).

McDuffie being able to follow Flowers and Shakir in critical situations could be massive. Then you just need to avoid the shot plays and Watson is particularly good at preventing those because of his length.

Color me wrong and ashamed… Forgive me CP.. Excited at the prospect of getting him back..

Gotta see how the ankle responds to multiple days of practice first.

Like I said - recovery is the last critical step.

But honestly, if he goes out there this week and practices 3 days and on the 4th it swells up on him, I just rest him and then use him in the game.

If it's a question of getting the swelling out of it, well that shows up the day AFTER the game, not during. And Watson, if he's nothing, has always been assignment sound. I don't think you need to worry as much about him needing to get back in the flow of the defense -- he's a smart player.

But even having him as an option is enormous and gives teams something to prepare for.

I doubt they risk it. But given the 21-day practice window, he should be a go for the divisional round.

Even if he’s on a pitch count and plays 3rd downs it’s a big boost. And poor Josh Williams can finally be covering WR3’s as well as Roland-Wallace.

But yes you need McDuffie to cover the fast slot guys like Khalil Shakir, Jayden Reed, Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison’s of the world

Ha!

So I read your post and went "This weekend? They have a bye - what the hell are you talking about?"

Man, I just completely forgot that they have another game against Denver.

Nah, I wouldn't play him this week. Andy won't either. He's a 'full week of practice' guy. And besides, if you're going to rest starters, you need as many active 'depth' guys as possible. You can't have him be a gameday active and then only take 10 snaps because that would come at the expense of someone like Taylor being active or a LBer that can absorb some defensive snaps.

Nah, there's no room for pitch counts in a game where you're likely going 45 guys deep in your rotation.

Yeah, that would be best case. I think some of the run game issues are focus/design (not really committing to the run), but getting Thuney back inside would help.

I'm more worried about strong pass-rushing DTs for the playoff run than getting the run game going, but everything else is coming up aces...

Real masterclass, how Veach has put this thing together.

Still rather him rest and play in divisional.

He’s a lot better than Nazi Johnson, even if he’s a bit rusty

LETS ****ING GO, BOYS!

And that also means we can put Nelson in there and have 3 great press corners OMG.

Good for him. I wonder what he'll look like... I imagine quite rusty.

Rick Burkholder has been phenomenal. You can say what you want about not having enough people but in terms of rehab, PT and functional recovery, Burkholder and his team need to openly tell the NFLPA survey mongers to shut the **** up.

Omenihu, Hollywood and now Watson just this year. Not to forget Mahomes ankle 2 years ago.

And we could put Uche into a NASCAR package and really create havoc on 3rd downs!!!!!

If Spags didn't ask for ya, you ain't playing. And Spags didn't ask for Nelson.

I really liked the idea (of both Nelson and Uche) but it seems that Spags simply has zero use for either guy. I think he's wrong, but he knows a lot more about this than I do so I guess I just gotta shot up and dribble or something...

Perfect timing.

We can beat Pitt/Houston without him, but his presence will be huge against Buffalo/Baltimore and the super bowl