TheMaulClaw

McCown is more or less a peer. He is an extreme veteran qb not far removed from playing ball himself. He is a mentor, who was hired to be specifically that.

I agree. He was never supposed to be the guy. Kuechly's retirement made him have to be the guy a little prematurely.

Yeah so it's the accumulation of hits, that's the problem. I get that your a huge Young supporter, and probably a Bama fan. That's cool.

Watch his footwork and perfect delivery of the football. When skills are similar you take the bigger player. Like it or not Young's size is a huge problem, ironically.

I don't think this is true, there are a just a good number of us who know that CJ Stroud is the best qb in the draft.

It's Kony Ealy. Comparing Kony Ealy to CJ Stroud is one hell of a stretch. CJ Stroud has had sustained success at a major program and delivered a monster performance in the biggest game of the year. He was consistently good all year and has great leadership qualities. He also showed out at the combine. He has the best in pocket footwork of all the qbs and delivers the ball with deadly accuracy. I remember when we drafted Kony Ealy, Ealy was the complete opposite. Positionally and personality wise.

That day in the zone doesn't usually happen in a huge game against the best team in the country.

Yeah I just don't buy that. Specifically if you look at Stroud's performance against Georgia I'm not sure how you could say that. Conversely if you don't want to use Tua then use Kyler Murray. When it comes to Levis. Dude played at Kentucky. Dynamic WR's and TE's aren't a thing there. I would venture to say that Levis would have the same if not more success at Alabama then Young did. Levis elevated a middling program, while had a bad year by Alabama's standards with Young at the helm. I'm not taking away from Young's skill, but his size is a flat out concern.

Stroud then Levis is my ranking for the number 1 and number 2 qbs in the draft. Levis has great measurables, played against very stiff competition and brought success to a football program that by and large had been mediocre. I think Levis has a high ceiling in the pro's. He comes across as a bit of a douche in his press conferences which annoys me, but I would be excited to have a player like Levis. My fear with Levis is his leadership. He comes across as a cocky prima donna and I'm not sure how that will play out in the locker room if he is authentically that way. It's possible he could just be trying to project confidence in lieu of the draft. Does Levis get to much hate? Absolutely. I think it's more that he comes across as a douche then a bad player though. Stroud has good physical intangibles, can make all the throws, and you can tell he possesses great leadership characteristics. That's why he gets the number 1 nod for me. Bryce Young is just too small. What happened with Tua scares me away from him. At Alabama you have so much talent and protection around you that you can just display your fundamentals and your skills. That's great. In the NFL its different. The QB has to elevate the team, there isn't always a talent advantage. Fundamentals and reads break down more often then not on any given play. In these moments it's physical ability, creativity, and ingenuity that are the most important. I would not look forward to holding my breath the first time Bryce Young gets his welcome to the NFL moment. Durability is the reason he is out for me.

Only two TE's in Panthers history have mastered that unless you count the Jeremy Shockey year.

Rod Bendthem' oversomemore

Seattle has no incentive to take a qb this year and tie up on that cap space with two qbs. I think it's more likely that they give Geno a year at the helm and if the team nose dives they take a qb next year. Seattle needs help on defense and they will be in position to take maybe the best defensive player in the draft.

The question is, is it actually collusion if the team owners talk. It's an entertainment company and I'm sure most of us have worked places where they have manager meetings and the normal employees aren't privy to the conversations in that meeting. I think collusion could only be proven if they have a vendetta against that specific employee, or an enron situation. I don't agree much politically with Kaepernick but he was colluded against. I think the situation with Jackson is far different.

So no doubt there is collusion in the NFL. Fans have a habit of wanting to selectively believe when it happens. In regards to Lamar Jackson there could be collusion. Someone should be interested in him. Teams are definitely staying away from paying that kind of money. Owners don't just compete with each other, they work together. Ultimately they're all business partners so there is no doubt they compartmentalize their teams strategy for profit and the league's strategy, which has to be the collective. The league wants to erase the mistake of the Watson contract, and I have no doubt that many owners are probably furious over how that scenario played out, and now are trying to prevent it. I will say that there are concerns about Jackson on the field. While a great player he has had limited success in the playoffs. His style of play greatly increases the chance of injury. Jackson is a QB with the same injury risk as an RB. Historically these players do not have the same length of careers as pass first qbs. We saw that this past season. It could have been a holdout situation marketed as an injury too. While I think he is an underrated passer, I don't think he could have the same modicum of success that he has now if his mobility was more limited. If I was a GM I'd only want to sign Jackson to a 3 year deal. Anything over 5 years with Lamar is an extreme risk. It's not impossible that most owners may individually think this way. Jackson's contract being compared with Watson's contract is not a fair comparison. That actually might be a comparison rooted with a racial undertone because they are completely different players and one of the few things they have in common is they're color. Court cases aside. Watson the player, while mobile, is a pure QB. His game lends itself to being able to play into his late 30s. He can absolutely destroy you in the pocket when he is in form. While he can definitely rely on his legs when things break down in the play, that's not what his game is structured around. Conversely running the ball is precisely what Jackson's game is structured around. If you can stop Jackson running the ball you beat the Ravens unless your offense is shut out. The type of physical punishment that Jackson will be required to take for a playoff push is insane and far more then most qbs. I think this is also why we haven't seen Jackson in the SB. Ultimately Jackson is relatively one dimensional. He doesn't have a comparison in that regard. Vick was a great passer, who had the ability to adapt his game. If it wasn't for the dogfighting thing then he's a hall of famer. Cam was a good pocket passer as well. Cam stood in that pocket and took some shots to deliver the ball. Jalen Hurts reminds me a lot of Cam not Jackson. Still though both Vick and Cam's play drastically deteriorated around the age of 29 and 30. Vick came back as a bridge starter slash back up, but was unable to capture the magic, and we know how it went for Cam. I'm comparing Cam and Vick, because those are two of the most proficient QB's at running the football other than Jackson.

You have to ask for that kind of money in NYC. It's 4 times as expensive there with higher income taxes. You have to be a millionaire to rent an apartment there.

I could see us signing Carr and drafting a QB, but not moving up to do so.

I remember when Darin Gantt was celebrated on this board for his work with the Rock Hill Herald some years ago. Since he's become an official employee of the Carolina Panthers he opted for the vanilla paste rather than the cuddlefish (Southpark reference). However as I was taking a weekly check on the Panthers website I came across his latest mailbag. I did find it interesting because he definitely insinuated that the Panthers bringing in Carr makes sense. I would have to think that Darin Gantt does have incredible access. Even though he is a fluff writer now, when he indicates strongly that the Panthers would likely bring in Carr for a visit after the combine you take notice. If the Panthers we're disinterested he would just give a vague androgenous answer. Here's the link to the mailbag.. Ask The Old Guy: What comes next? (panthers.com)

Not a couple of first, but 3 first a 2nd and a 3rd.

I still think we need reinforcements on the Oline. They had games where they played really well, but they looked incredibly inconsistent game to game to me. Icky will obviously progress. As far as Christensen goes, he's good, but I think we still need a dominant LG. The guards and the center really make the run game work. All the talk is about Reich and the QB position, but Thomas Brown, and Deuce Staley were brought in to oversee the run game. If we can be consistent in the run game from game to game it's really going to make life easier on the QB and open up the passing game and playaction. Reich spoke about passing the ball downfield, but you've gotta have good protection and a strong run game to sell the playaction for that.

I don't see a point of drafting him to sit for a year or two. There's a guy like Richardson every year in the draft. Now that I thought about it and watched a little tape, I'd be cool with the Skoronski pick. Skoronski would solidify us having one of the best OL's in the league. Corbett is coming off the ACL tear so we have a hole there. I'd also swing Christensen to RG. Icky, Skoronski, Bozeman, Christensen, Moton. If Corbett is 100 percent I'd switch Christensen back to primary rotational player. Icky, Skoronski, Bozeman, Corbett, Moton. That's a nasty line.

Yeah that's why I said it. He's a prospect that intrigues way more then Hooker. I'm a Gamecocks fan dude, I keep up with every team in the SEC.

It's debatable. Hooker is an okay scrambler. But the comparison remains valid. Hooker isn't significantly more athletic then Bridgewater. I'm not sure he bounces back completely after that ACL tear either. Both of them are similar in the pocket. I'd rather have Hookers backup at UT honestly. Bridgewater didn't scramble at all in the two years following his knee rebuild. The years after that when he was the starter both here and Miami his ypc were on par with Hookers and that's in the NFL. That's all I'm saying. It's a legit comparison. Hooker is a backup at best.

You are the one that quoted a random metric to start this debate off. You decided to only use a small portion of Bridgewater's college statistics to make him seem slow, unathletic, and unable to scramble. His yards came after major knee reconstruction too. When the reality is Hooker and Bridgewater both have mild scrambling ability, are known for accuracy, and are both injury prone. Hooker should be happy if he winds up with the same career as Teddy toilet water.

Hooker's ypc his senior season was essentially identical to Bridgewater's the year he was here

Yeah and he blew out his ACL when the wind blew the wrong way. Btw Bridgewater rushed 53 times for 279 yards his year with Carolina averaging over 5 a carry. He isn't Eli Manning.