crushedspirit
Footballguy
You are right in that the bar can't possibly get any lower than the last two seasons on offense. Running game is an essential part, but you simply won't beat the elite QBs come playoff time by just controlling TOP. You need both the ability to score quickly and also the ability for long drives ending in TDs. Mahomes is in a tier alone, then you might have Allen and a healthy Burrow to contend with. Now it appears CJ has possibly entered the mix. I would include Lamar, but he isn't a consistent playoff performer. It will come down to QB play in playoffs more often than not, and when you enter the postseason with just a running game threat, teams have shown that can be shut down time and time again. Even when Arthur had the best RB in King, he tasted humble pie and had no answers when teams took King out of the game.I'm excited to move past the KP mistake after only 2 seasons. Ending this nightmare at least 1 year earlier than expected when he was drafted. Cut Kenny and upgrade to Russ/Fields is best case scenario this offseason.As is, he'll fit right into MT's vision of an offense and is an upgrade from the worst QB last season. I'm guessing that's enough to get some fans excited.
Same time we get a Matt Canada free training camp. Smith has been very successful as OC and is more hands on than Canada will ever be. After several years of being one of the worst offenses in the league, the bar is LOW. Looking forward to see how the offense progresses with all the changes. Hopefully people give them some time to put it all together & not over react if we start out slow.
Say what you want about the NFL being a passing league now and running game is less important... the best teams are able to lean on the run today. KC wasn't great at it, but ran the ball a ton down the stretch. CLE, SF, PHI, DET (Montgomery and Gibbs TD numbers are crazy), Buffalo offense centered around Cook in december/january. Baltimore was probably the best team in the NFL before getting cute in the playoffs attempting to win through the air.
As is, there should will improvement with Wilson/Fields over KP at that position. They haven't addressed losing a legit outside WR in DJ yet. Say what you want about him, but he is a legit #2 who can play at X or Flanker, something they do not have aside from Pickens right now. What they gained at the QB position was met with a downgrade at the WR position. Not sure it matters much in an Arthur/MT offense though.