SmokinwithWilly

One QB that struggles to see over the line and one that will need cataract surgery at some point during the year. Good times.

It's only going to get worse with NIL and transfers. These QBs aren't NFL ready and they need to sit. I think if we see them sitting the first year or 2 after being drafted, it will change the QB NIL situation as well.

The right answer was re-sign Darnold, sit at 9 and let the draft come to us. Even if we took a QB, it's been better to let them sit and learn the 1st year or part of it than shove them straight into the fire unless there's no other choice. Too much risk for a QB that wasn't likely to be an elite franchise QB anyway based on the history of overall 1st pick QBs. If that Manning or Luck caliber QB had been available, Chicago wouldn't have traded out.

And brought to you by a pharmaceutical company. I wonder why.

Maybe not, but he can run the system and doesn't look like he's got one foot in the NFL grave and one on a banana peel. You have to have someone capable. Dalton most definitely has not been the past 2 years, arguably 3.

Interesting that they just brought up the point of having a real backup QB because your season can be over from one bad break if you don't. Hope Dan is listening.

He had one game in the playoffs, and that last drive was anything but clutch. However, if it wasn't for the epic collapse of the Bucs, the Saints not starting Shough earlier in the season, or the Falcons bailing us out with a win we couldn't get ourselves, there is no playoff game. Yay, we made the playoffs at 8-9. That ain't happening every year. You gotta be clutch during the season too and we didn't see that. To be clutch in the playoffs you have to get there. Bryce's performance this year is taking no one there except in the NFCS on a really bad year. Criticize Darnold all you want, but he wasn't the one sitting on the couch cheering on another team to get him there, because he failed badly to get us there when he needed to be "clutch." You may not consider him clutch in the playoffs, but he's gotten 2 teams there, both with very good records too. It's an unpopular opinion, but I think if you can't win your division with a winning record you shouldn't be in the playoffs unless by some miracle your wildcard record gets you in. It's just another participation trophy if you do.

This has been the attitude that's given us horrible centers since Kalil injured his neck. This is not a good center class to draft one high, but having the attitude that anyone will do calling all the protections for the line has proven to be the wrong approach for years.

They weren't well thought out. We needed one, not both. 2 top center/guard candidates were going to be available in the 2nd. We would have been fine with JPJ or Frazier. Drafting either over XL or Brooks would have made perfect sense. Hell, drafting both would have made sense even if we had signed Lewis or Hunt. Instead we drafted a 1 year wonder project WR and a luxury RB that we didn't need since we had Hubbard. Draft IOL, pay tackles. Plenty of 2nd round guards and centers start immediately and play very well. Those 2 picks were not good then, now, no matter how much explaining anyone tries to do. Several of called it then.

Ill take that kind of juju. Playoffs in 6 straight years. Yes please.

Like we sent out a legit request to Ryans. He turned us down. He was a top coaching candidate that turned us down. I think that meets the standard. Bringing someone else in who isn't up to that standard just to mark a checklist is a bit insulting I would think.

Of all the trucks we saw Cam do, that was one of the least memorable when I think of him running over someone.

Pickles was a 2nd round pick. Bryce was 1st overall. At some point you expected to see something, anything for any period of time that showed why he was a 1st overall pick. I never saw it. The top QB in the draft is expected to elevate the players around him. Clausen didnt have that same level of expectation. Also have to remember that Bradford got a record rookie contract that year too. Can you imagine if we had given Bryce a comparable contract? We'd probably be paying close to 40m a season or more. We'd be doing more than screaming if Clausen and Bryce had been drafted in the same era.

We gotta start swinging at some point. We need a rookie QB body in camp that could actually have potential. If he works out, fine. If not, swing again next year. We need to keep at it until we have a definite QB1 and a serious conversation piece at QB2.

Rookie year? Yeah. They could be in the same conversation. Both were terrible to the point of deserving to never have stepped foot on the field at all that year.

I get what you're saying about showing up but like you said, TV money dwarfs stadium, but people have to tune in. That's the normal fans they've lost the connection with. I barely watch NFL anymore because the product is poo. With all the technology, it's easier to see how bad the calls are and most of it could be fixed with some effort. I realize they're trying to go abroad but soccer is far more popular worldwide and I don't see American football taking that away. If they wanted to maximize profits, fix the product before it gets down right impossible to watch, and it's damn close to being there. Pro wrestling is still popular even though it's scripted because they're embraced the show and entertaining the fans. Goodell is probably one of the most out of touch people I've ever seen when it comes to being relatable to the fans. At least Vince McMahon is someone that embraced his villain character. RG is just a douchebag.

I think there needs to be a level of expectation for the players too that you're going to work on this in the offseason. We need to find QBs dedicated to the craft, not just those that are going to rely on their talent or whatever worked before or at the college level.

We're the wrong environment right now. Ring chasers aren't coming here. Players are coming here for a payday. We need a few back to back winning seasons before we can start attracting the bigger name FAs at regular prices.

Hey Roger, Thailand, Thailand, Thailand.... Nope. No Thailand. Must be a mistake on the schedule. Sincerely, Bob.

Check out the rant by PK Subban about the culture difference between NHL and NBA. Now while this doesn't necessarily apply to the players, I think it applies to the owners. The owners are losing touch with the fans and it's becoming more about money than the people that pay to watch it. Conversely, it's why Banana Ball league become such a huge success. It's a fan driven sport that people get to immerse themselves in. Football is losing that in a hurry and owners like Kraft will keep true home grown fans away if it keeps up.

This is why I think we need to be developing 2 QBs at all times. You just don't know what's going to happen and taking a vet backup is wasted time. Mahomes is now out for the majority of next season. Can you imagine if that was us and we were going into 2026 with Dalton as our starting QB just because we didn't want to try and develop a QB2. If you want vet QB presence, hire him as an assistant QB coaching water boy or whatever title is necessary to have him on the field on game day, but we should always be working on developing at least 2 on the main roster and a 3rd on the PS.

The more they do this, the more the NFL will turn into a war of attrition. It's hard enough to keep these guys healthy for a season, much less adding another full speed, high impact game to the schedule. Another bye week and expanding the roster is going to be the only way to do it and keep people interested. It seems like half the playmakers are done for the year by week 10 anyway and the season starts getting boring. Probably why we see so many questionable/terrible calls that lead to upsets and closer divisions to keep the season somewhat interesting.

Pretty sure the Patriots game will be in place with lots of massage parlors.

I think it’s probably easier to find a QB once you have your team built and your system established. You know exactly what you need your QB to do and it narrows down your choices. So much of early QB problems revolve around fitting into the system or signifigantly adjusting the system to fit the QB. Plus you have that rookie cap space to work with, or if it's a FA bridge QB or reclamation project like Darnold or Baker, maybe you get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle. Dynasties are rare. Have the team built to take your shot in a 2-3 years window.

Half of them probably played here at one point anyway