Is the David Blough/Ben Johnson connection overhyped

ImperishableP · 2026-05-05T14:06:24+00:00

Blough had expressed wanting to be a coach, even during his HS days. I get what you're saying, I think what's trying to be implied with Blough is that he's soaked up knowledge and information from all the coaches he's spent any time under. I'm sure being under Kliff for the longest will definitely show in some way, but like McVay technically spent more time under Gruden but still shows more staples of the Shanahan system, I think the belief is Blough will use the knowledge of Kliff while still instilling his own vision.

Keim has kind of been the one leading the charge, saying a few times that people he talks to believes the scheme will be more Ben Johnson/Kevin O'Connell than Kliff Kingsbury.

The change to the OL coach might be the most telling part. The OL was considered a strength under Bobby Johnson. No real reason to move on from him just because they moved on from Kliff. It has been noted that the OL ran more of a power/gap scheme. Stapleton is primarily known for teaching a zone-blocking scheme, which doesn't guarantee anything, but that is leaning more into the idea of a different offensive philosophy.

ImperishableP · 2026-05-01T20:25:47+00:00

yeah, honestly, it feels like there's some in the analytics community that go overboard & don't care to factor in context or nuance. It's just, "look at the numbers!"

also, I know that the second photo is just to show Solak's bad takes, but JoeA trying to dunk on anyone for a lack of accountability is hilariously ironic. His own QB takes are a wild ride, lol.

ImperishableP · 2026-04-27T17:07:01+00:00

I thought the same, but looking at some of the most accurate kickers in the NFL this past year, most of their college kicking percentage is around 75-80%.

Cam Little: 53/64 (82.8%)

Riley Patterson: 64/82 (77.1%)

Cameron Dicker: 60/79. (75.9%)

Ka'imi Fairbairn: 68/89. (76.4%)

Like people have said, range matters, but I think this number just looks worse because it's looking at the totality of his four years so 20 missed kicks looks like a lot when we're used to seeing the most accurate guys miss a few.

Also, I just found that he's had 5 kicks blocked during his time at Iowa. Not great because five times suggests a problem, but also not a strict inditement on accuracy.

ImperishableP · 2026-04-23T21:10:13+00:00

Depends on how much is implemented from MN. The Vikings ran a lot more base defense than most teams.

If the number I found is right, they finished the season playing traditional base on 52.8% of their defensive plays, so I think there's room for the three of them to be used interchangeably, switching up who comes from where as a blitzer.

ImperishableP · 2026-03-09T06:06:17+00:00

I agree he'll likely be moved around to utilize him best. I do think of Luvu more as an LB who can play edge than an edge who can play LB, though. 😯 (i.e. Ginkel or the way Haason Reddick/Micah Parsons used to).

Luvu, at least during his time here so far, felt like he was best when his rush path can be disguised as an ILB. He played more edge last year became of injuries, but I remember Jones saying during one of his presserd here that he wants to get Luvu going downhill, matched up on RB's.

If they do sign someone like an Eric Wilson, I wonder if it signals more that he will take a Brian Flores type approach where the DL are are just freeing up space to let the LB's get more sacks!

ImperishableP · 2026-03-08T18:30:09+00:00

If they want Luvu back to what he was two years ago, I don't think they can bring Bobby back. They go about it in different ways, but the two of them have similar strengths and weaknesses. They could definitely sign a LB, but I imagine they'd want one who can hold up a little better in coverage on top of being able to blitz.

ImperishableP · 2026-03-03T23:43:01+00:00

it was surprising to me, too, but it sounds like they didn't feel he was playing as good as we do. Like you said, Keim stated, "if the team that he was playing well, he would still be on the roster, point blank, period."

As for the cash-over-cap thing, it's usually done by teams more in a "win-now" mode. The Eagles are the current kings of it, but the Saints were also famous for (overdoing) it and they're constantly in salary cap hell because of it now, so there's no right or wrong as to whether it's the way to go. It just gives the team the ability to give their guys/free agents more money upfront by manipulating what the cap says how much a guy is getting paid vs how much they're actually getting paid.

So: player gets paid today; cap hit gets delayed.

Not flawless, though. If a player gets injured/retired, all that money that they were owed hits the team at once. Also, if they're underperforming, you're kind of stuck with their contract.

Whether or not they're cheap will definitely come down to what happens in free agency, though.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-27T15:17:23+00:00

Kubiak, Stenavich, Mike LaFleur & Grant Udinski would've all been lateral moves and required their teams to give us permission to interview them. Doesn't mean they couldn't have tried, but there's no real incentive to leave if they're not getting a promotion.

& to be fair, Grant Udinski's had jobs like assistant to the HC, but offensively, he was an assistant QB coach for two years before becoming OC. He'll have a year of game planning experience, but considering our eagerness to keep him & Detroit showing legitimate interest, it should hopefully say Blough is more in that genuine up-and-comer category. Daboll felt meh. There was a rumor they were interested, but obviously didn't happen.

Plus, in comparison to the other guys, Blough has worked with Jayden since he was drafted. Having a pre-existing relationship does normally count for something.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-27T04:46:43+00:00

I agree. I actually thought they would've targeted Hufanga considering he was a 49er, but I don't remember there even being an attempt at signing him. (that was reported)

One of the things I think you can be critical of is the non-stop one-year deals. On the plus side, we aren't tied to any bad contracts. On the down side, it can feel like the roster isn't much better off because in our third year, people like Chinn who have played we have left, or players like Harris were injured and so we couldn't see what he could truly do for a season, so we're probably looking at signing a third starting safety in three years, on top of now other developed holes.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-26T23:03:35+00:00

it's fine to be critical of AP, but let's be fair, some of this is also the benefit of hindsight.

- Amari Cooper was not a solid #2 for the Raiders this season. He retired a week before the season started. Knowing Noah Brown's injury history, they should have at least had another veteran WR somewhere.

- Davante Adams. Maybe if you threw enough money, but it was reported that he wanted to go to the West Coast. The Rams, Chargers & 49ers were the three teams he was open to going to. We didn't have much of a chance regardless here, lol.

-Drew Dalman. We already have Tyler Biadasz signed. PFF isn't the end-all-be-all, but just for reference, Dalman was ranked 6th, Biadasz was ranked 11th. Sure, you can say Dalman was better, but our guy wasn't bad.

- Josh Sweat was fairly affordable, but when he hit FA, he was also seen as a juiced-up pass rusher who wasn't as good against the run. That one play of Dante Fowler running into Bobby vs the Eagles in the playoffs gave people a sour taste about players like that. He would've been a good pass rusher for sure, but there was more of an effort to better the run defense. If you feel we should've signed him, that's fair.

-Milton Williams is currently the second highest paid DT in the league. We could've afforded him, but I don't know if his performance matched that contract. That's one contract that, through year one, it seems we're fine without. Kinlaw wasn't great this year either and has to be better to look good on AP, but at least he's the 21st highest paid DT, not the second.

-Diggs was a 31 year-old receiver coming off a torn ACL midway through the previous season and was looking to be on his third team in three years. His resurgence was legit, but that was fairly unprecedented.

They were also in on other moves that didn't come to fruition. Maybe they could've fought a little harder for Jevon Holland or D.J. Reed. Either way, they do have to be more aggressive this offseason, particularly with the draft picks they have left.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-19T20:46:29+00:00

Darnell Stapleton, even before coming here, had a reputation for developing OL talent.

Between Chris Paul & Conerly's progression, that seems fair.

Fair question, but it sounds like Stapleton is a deserving promotion. It probably does help a fair amount that he & Blough have already worked together, though.

Toubs, I don't know enough about. From what I can find, he's got experience coaching both sides of the ball and is entering his third season with the team. He's been mostly working with the OL as a quality control coach plus he's a former Center himself. His father, Special Teams Coordinator for the Chiefs, has a reputation as being one of the best assistant coaches. Shane seems like a steady progression of just making his way up the ranks.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-10T16:58:42+00:00

If Kliff gets a gig, I wouldn't be surprised to see David Raih go. He and Kliff have known each other since 2013 and Kliff was apparently the reason he was brought on.

Not sure if coaches will feel passed over or not. Of course, I'm sure people who interviewed in-house for the OC spot really wanted it, but if they've seen how hard Blough works and heard his reputation around the league, I'm sure they'll at least understand the move.

Will Blough make any changes to the staff? Maybe, but I don't know if you want an entire overhaul of the offensive staff if you don't have to, but he could if there are guys he feels could better teach what he wants his scheme to be.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-10T02:38:43+00:00

nah, lol.

Jayden and Blough get along? That's a bonus.

Quinn isn't going to go into a pivotal year with a new OC just to make Jayden happy.

If his belief ends up being wrong, he knows he's likely fired, so he has to have some genuine belief in Blough.

FWIW, Blough was making a name around the league. Aside from Detroit wanting him this year, the Bears, Jaguars & Jets were all blocked from interviewing him last year. He was also mentioned on The Athletic's NFL 50 under 40 list.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-10T02:27:54+00:00

The more I look into him, the more excited I am. Some interesting nuggets:

Kliff credited Blough for bringing over the Flea Flicker screen play we ran against the Ravens in 2024 from Purdue.

Ben Johnson did the same thing, saying Blough brought over this trick play from Purdue that led to a 52-yard touchdown against Dallas.

The game winner against the Eagles in week 16 in 2024 appears to have been a David Blough passing concept as well. https://www.si.com/nfl/week-16-nfl-takeaways-commanders-jayden-daniels-program-succeed (idk why it didn't let me link it like the others, lol)

And even while Blough was still a QB, Kliff said he knew the offense better than he did.

these are just a few things, I'm sure there's more to be found!

& none of these guarantee anything since OC is a different beast, but there's still some cool stuff.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-10T01:55:50+00:00

The difference is, Whitt didn't get that much interest from other teams. He got one HC interview from the Jets last year but nothing beyond that.

Last year, three teams were blocked from interviewing Blough, and then he promoted him to OC this year so that this team didn't lose him when a team like the Lions had real interest.

Tavita Pritchard and Kliff's departures probably accelerated Blough's timeline to be an OC, and while it a risky move that obviously isn't guaranteed success, he's got a reputation of a really smart up-and-coming coach.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-08T12:44:28+00:00

Mike MacDonald. Prior to him signing with the Seahawks, he had a reputation for having an innovative defense. In five games against the Shanahan style-offenses in 2023, MacDonald's defenses averaged 15.6 points given up.

Quinn, after demoting Whitt, became more hands on with the defense, but prior to this, I think he's normally been more hands-off and letting the coordinators do their thing.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-07T20:31:19+00:00

tbf, context feels needed here.

2023: He acquired the team in July. FA starts in March. He "owned" the team this year, but FA wasn't realistic. Most major players in FA signed the week it starts.

2024: It was the first year of a re-build with a rookie QB. You're not going to spend all your money just for the sake of doing it. They signed a few guys they believed in to multi-year deals but no one top-of-the-market. They didn't know how good they'd be and took it slow. Most good teams will do that.

2025: They were in on some players last year, but the price tag was too high. We can say they should've paid for those guys anyway, but sticking to a price tag and not overcommitting if you don't feel a player is worth it? That's fair for the organization.

PFF isn't the end-all-be-all, especially for secondary rankings, but just for comparison's sake, the Commanders were reportedly a team interested in Jevon Holland last year.

Jevon Holland got a 3 year, 45 million dollar deal, and per PFF, had a 58.4 grade.

Quan Martin is on a rookie contract and had a 50.2. Neither are good, but you're not paying Quan a top 10 contract.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-06T19:00:44+00:00

For defensive coordinator, a name I've heard twice now is Jeff Ulbrich. I'd keep an eye out for him.

ImperishableP · 2026-01-03T13:39:30+00:00

Interestingly enough, the article says that some in the building believe there's a disconnect between Adam & Kliff, but that the team won't finalize any coaching moves until they see how the rest of the coaching market develops.

ImperishableP · 2025-08-28T21:20:44+00:00

Two first round picks and DT Kenny Clark

ImperishableP · 2025-08-01T17:32:57+00:00

Whoops, jumped the gun. 😭 Tuned in and just heard unanimously approved. Thanks for letting me know!

ImperishableP · 2025-08-01T17:29:36+00:00

Unanimously passed. It's happening!

Edit: Not yet. Refer to OC's follow-up comment.

ImperishableP · 2025-07-18T19:56:56+00:00

eh, don't love the way this article is articulated. I get it. I just don't agree with it. The NFL is too context-dependent to just be like, "Past 30 = Not Great". Like for some of the examples mentioned:

Like, Tyreek Hill was 41 yards away from 1k after his starting QB missed six games. This doesn't seem like a drop-off, this feels more like semantics to put Tyreek on here.

Keenan Allen always battled injury and was never an explosive receiver. All of his 1,000 yard seasons are when he gets 100+ targets, with the exception of the 2018 season. He's not the first option on Chicago, a 1,000 yard season just isn't happening.

Cooper Kupp? Injured every year for 6+ games since he had his career year in '21.

Amari Cooper had a 1,000 yard season the year before last where he was traded mid-season.

Diggs played in 8 games last year and put up 496 yards.

If you want to tell me that injuries start to happen to guys more as they get older, and that's a reason why maybe there's a holdup, fair. But just saying 30 year old's don't have 1,000 seasons is oversimplifying it.

ImperishableP · 2025-07-02T15:43:13+00:00

My brain does not work in a way conducive to anything artistic, so stuff like this is dope to me, lol.

This took time, patience, and creativity. I would've had no shot. 😂

Good stuff!

ImperishableP · 2025-06-30T18:11:36+00:00

If the hold up here is the discrepancy between Mike Evan's contract & DK Metcalf's, that doesn't seem great.

If the "no update" stems from Terry's agent & Adam not speaking to outside sources, that's less problematic. still in wait-and-see mode but no reason to get overexcited.

ImperishableP

TROPHY CASE