(12-13-2023, 04:05 PM)Cleatwood Wrote:

(12-13-2023, 03:38 PM)Caldrac Wrote: Meh. Toney's in his 2nd year there already. Ridley's 13 games in after being at home for 2 years. Big difference. Also, Ridley's made some tougher catches this year that Mahomes would die to have on his offense. 

Toney's been targeted a whopping 34 times this year. That's nothing. BUT, it does tell you how awful he is with the limited opportunities he's had with the football in his direction or out on the football field. 

I think there's two ways to look at this, well, three really:

1. There's four games left plus the post season to judge him further. With Kirk out? I don't see Doug, Press and Trevor shying away from him in the grand scheme of things. He's going to keep getting fed out there. For better or worse. You cannot coach scared and you cannot play scared in this sport. 

2. People are really swept up in the whole contract and 2nd RD thing. I am not. I think it's a gamble either way, BUT, I would prefer to gamble on Ridley going into year two with this offense and another off season to work with Lawrence to get better. 

I think everybody was hoping for a Stephon Diggs year one in Buffalo or DaVante Adams year one in Las Vegas like season out of him, but, again, two completely different sets of circumstances there. 

3. Him actually NOT playing like Diggs and Adams right off the bat is a good thing and could benefit this team more than people realize right now I think. I don't think you're going to have to break the bank for him and I don't think he'll command as much as people think. Trying to backfill another WR spot on this team with all of the other holes to fill along the lines on both sides is just a nightmare. 

Bringing in a new face just adds another year of potential frustrations, chemistry imbalances and rhythm breakdowns. I still think Lawrence is capable of being good enough to make average receivers look above average if they give him a better offensive line. This offensive is line is below average. That's the biggest problem we have on the table to address today and moving forward.

You can't use the "he's still rusty" excuse anymore.

It's week 15.

I don't think it's rust. I think it's a lot more complicated and complex than just saying "Chopper, sick balls" or "Sick em' boy!" and he just goes and gets it done out there on a weekly basis. This has been an interesting offense all year. 

We've had a lot of inconsistencies, we've had a poor showing for the 2nd year in a row now with this offensive line unit, we're not getting the running game going and we've seen a lot of injuries hit the WR room now. Zay Jones got hurt, Jamal Agnew got hurt, now Christian Kirk is hurt. 

Not sure what all has been asked out of Ridley in this offense. Some people will say we're not moving him around enough or using him around the field enough like other quality offenses do with their best receiver on the football field. 

My biggest thing I'll keep going back to, is, who are you replacing him with in 2024? Whether it's with that 2nd RD pick or another free agency target? And, is it worth it? I know Tee Higgins' name keeps coming up. Again, I get the Lawrence to Higgins connection at Clemson. But, we're looking for a #1 WR, and that's not Higgins. Higgins benefits from having a true #1 in Chase. 

So, there's just a ton of things to consider and the good thing is that there's plenty of football left for a lot of this to be put to rest for good. We'll see soon enough.

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