Great show that inspired a lot of responses here.

– Jack: “Herbert is having his first grown up season.” He seemed to characterize this as “relatively efficient and controlled in Harbaugh’s offense” as opposed to “5000 yard passer as gunslinger.”

The question presumes a false premise, that these are mutually exclusive choices, and Herbert cannot be a higher volume passer with efficiency and/or without being a “gunslinger” with negative connotations implied. It is obvious to me that he could be both high volume and efficient in a modern offense called by a high quality modern day play caller, like McVay, Shanahan, O’Connell, Johnson, et al. The implication of the discussion is that the problem is possibly Herbert and not Roman. I disagree with that. The entire discussion also ignores the impact of the OL play.

– Andy mentioned Herbert’s interceptions. Per PFF, Herbert has 9 interceptions but only 8 turnover worthy plays (1.7%). (Ryan said 12 TWPs, but that is not accurate.) Last year, in the regular season, Herbert had just 3 interceptions but had 13 TWPs (2.1%). He has actually been better this season.

Andy mentioned that Herbert has been off on some throws. True, but consider that his PFF adjusted completion percentage last season was 76.9%, compared to 76.7% this season. Nearly identical.

– Jack asked if Roman should be replaced. I think unequivocally yes as of today. I understand Al’s concern, but hard for me to believe the probability of getting lesser offensive coaching under Harbaugh’s head coaching is low enough it is worth the risk. Now, I hope Roman shows more positively impactful creativity and adjustments down the stretch, which could change my mind.

It is extremely easy to counter a point like “the win against PIT was adjusted offense,” which someone posted in the chat. I agree that it was successfully adjusted offense. But that begs the question, what the hell happened at JAX the very next week? Where was the adjusted offense there? Nowhere to be found.

– I agree with all of the general discussion about the front 7 on defense. The most obvious reason is letting Poona go, as we have discussed plenty ever since it happened. I agree with committing more bodies up front and playing more man. I also think Naquan Jones should play more; I don’t really grasp why they made him inactive for 4 games. Glad Ryan agreed with me on that in response to a later question.

– On the question of whether it is only in hindsight that we can say Hortiz blew it on IOL, it is absolutely not only in hindsight. We talked about it plenty leading up to the draft and ever since. We covered alternatives in another thread recently, and Al mentioned some of those examples… they drafted luxury players in Hampton and Harris, and they couldn’t afford to allocate their resources that way, especially while signing only Becton in free agency.

– “For Minter’s defense to take the next step, a quality MLB is a greater need than a man shutdown corner.” Ryan agreed, and I understand why. However, adding a true “man shutdown corner” could be what Minter needs to be willing to play more man coverage, which is needed. I would vote for true shutdown corner.

IMO there is still reason to believe Henley can recover to his 2024 level of play. He dealt with an illness after week 1 that led him to reportedly lose 20 pounds; it seems reasonable to believe that affected him for weeks. Then his brother was killed on November 1. I have to believe that has also affected him.

There is also a chance, albeit perhaps a slim chance, that Colson can stay healthy going forward and turn his play around. Both Henley and Colson will be on the roster next season, so I think they need to given them one more season before bailing on both of them. Perryman can go, though.

– In the discussion on Zion, Ryan said he won’t be back on a reasonable contract because he will be overpaid, and I tend to agree. Andy said, that just makes the hole bigger. I agree, just as not drafting a center so far, particularly in 2024, is a continuing problem. Hortiz should have drafted a center in 2024 (e.g., over Eboigbe) and Ratledge instead of Harris in 2025. Had that happened, it would have positively affected both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and the outlook going forward would look totally different, and much more positive.

– “Do you think it’s wrong to follow the Ravens model of success?” Andy said yes, and I agree. Although I would like the team to make a similar move to when the Ravens replaced Roman with Monken.

– Not responding to most of the non-football questions, but agree with Andy on Louisiana. It is worth it for the food alone.

Thanks, guys.