SmokinwithWilly

They were all dummy years.

Linebacker is one of the least risky positions. Everyone talks about Hurneys masterful 1st round picks but his 1st round picks weren't all risky either. Peppers was the best player in the draft. Gross was the highest rated tackle. RBs aren't 1st round picks IMO, there's too much production available in much later rounds. We need to focus on the hard to get positions with our early picks and fill in the lesser demand with FA and later rounds.

We're between a desperate coach and a hard place.

Well send our 2023 1st for Jimmy G and draft Pickett, keep PJ as our 3rd string, convert darnold to HB/TE, and make Cam our slot receiver. That should give us enough QBs to make it to week 7 behind our line.

Mainly because the first anheiser Busch brewery was in st Louis. The stadium would still probably serve stale beer though.

Would be renamed the St Louis Clydesdales.

That's one way to keep your job. Make sure it's so bad no one else will want it.

I don't want to do this 5 more years.

Will be interesting to see if it was 1000% Meyer or if Rhule kept forcing him to play guys out of position. For instance, Miller should have been at home watching the game instead of starting.

Rhule has no leash. He's already proven he's a master bullshit artist and can talk his way out of anything resembling failure.

1a. Fire Rhule. I know too little too late to with all the other positions already filled. 1b. IF our draft played out something like this but only if 1a is met because I don't trust Rhule to pull this off. IF the top 3 tackles are gone, AND Thibadeaux or Hutchinson are available, take them, then.. Trade Burns and our 2023 3rd to Philly for 15 and 19. (separate thread about why already) Draft Linderbaum at 15 Trade 19 to Detroit for 32 and 34. Detroit takes their QB since I don't think one goes at 2 but one could possible go in the 20s, at 32 we take Raimann, Penning or Petit-Frere, whichever is the best of the 3 available. Pick 34 we take Muma, Cine or Brisker or Zion Johnson if all 3 of those are gone. Yes we would lose Burns, but would gain an elite level edge rusher prospect, top center, address the tackle position, address LB, S or guard and save 15m on the cap next season. Again, I would only want to see this if Rhule was gone, otherwise he would just fug it all up and we'd end up with some Baylor alum that was going to go UDFA.

He just may have not cared about football in Jacksonville. Not saying Carolina is any less of a poo show right now.. but still, it's Jacksonville.

The fact that he had to be told he needed to hire a rock star OC or his job was gone tells you a lot. I'm don't know how McAdoo qualifies as a rockstar but whatever. He had to be told to improve with someone other than his college buddies or else. These are things he shouldn't need to be told.

That's not paying everyone. That's paying the players that you value. Which is exactly what I'm talking about. What is Burns actual value? If you think that Thibs or Hutch can replace 90% of Burns production at 15m per season less, acquire another first and 1-2 day 2 picks, and use that 15m to upgrade at another position, is the overall gain greater than keeping Burns. It's the same question I would be asking if it were Horn and it was Stingley/Gardner or Chinn and Hamilton. I'm not actually saying trade Burns but I think it brings up an interesting talking point at least other than Matt Rhule sucks.

Even with the money we spent, part of the reason we were able to do it is we had guys like Burns on rookie contracts. It's just part of having a salary cap. There's just no way to pay Reddick, Burns, Moore, Chinn, Moton, CMC, Gilmore, DJax, Shaq and still field a team. Also have to consider if Burns will want to still play here when his contract is up. It's very possible he could want to go play for a contender. There's a lot to consider, not just can we pay him.

I know. I'm just trying to be creative and positive in an otherwise depressing offseason. Can't really criticize Rhule for doing nothing if I don't offer at least an objective proposition.

It wasn't really relevant for me for my thought process. Since Reddick is a FA we have no leverage with him other than his current contract offer. Burns however has trade value if we are trying to rebuild. We don't need an edge rusher as a high priority, but if we could draft a young elite graded one and possibly address a couple of other issues with our line. It's a risk obviously, but in 2 years we could lose Burns to FA anyway if we don't tag him.

Rarely a good idea but we also can't keep and pay everyone. This move requires thinking a bit further down the road, managing cap space, trying to build a contender and I don't really think Rhule is capable of more than deciding what to do when asked "Would you like fries with that?"

So on draft day, pick 6 is up, top 3 tackles are off the board and Thibodeaux or Hutchinson are available at 6. Would you be open to taking either pass rusher and putting Burns up on the block immediately? Here's my reasoning behind it. 1. Burns is entering year 4. We are going to have to pick up his 5th year or offer him an extension. He's going to command 16-18m per year with the increase in salary cap. We can't realistically pay him and Reddick. 2. By taking Thibs or Hutch, we get an elite level prospect on rookie contract for the next 3-4 years without extension which is cap productive. 3. Burns, fresh off a pro bowl would command at least a 1st in the teens or early 20s, and a 2nd or 3rd, possibly both depending on the draft slot, allowing us to recoup some picks from the Darnold fiasco. Ideally, I'd like to be able to get Philly's 15 and 19 even if we had to add a 2023 3rd or 4th to make it work. Ryan Kerrigan is a FA this year so edge rusher is a need and Burns is already proven over a mid level 1st rounder gamble. 4. Teams are always looking for elite level edge rushers, so making a trade for Burns should be easier than finding a trade partner to move up to 6 unless one of the QBs wows in the combine. In this scenario, my ideal situation would be, draft either Thibs or Hutch, move Burns and a 2023 3rd for 15 and 19, take Linderbaum at 15 and Raimann at 19, Then we could possibly trade back again to mid 20s to pick up an additional 2nd or 3rd, and take Raimann there if we feel that's where he ranks on our road. BC becomes our swing tackle. Use the extra picks to get IOL or Muma at LB solving 2 more of our problems and relieving us of some cap space issues potentially. It's a little crazy, but with only 1 pick in the first 3 rounds and being somewhat cap strapped to improve our line, it seems like a reasonable option, emotions removed. But again, this all would hinge on Thibs or Hutch being available and the top 3 LTs being gone already. Thoughts?

When the NFL scripts it for us to have it.

If Matt Rhule is coaching that same roster they're sitting at home 5-12, 6-11. Coaching matters and we don't have it.

Was Marty Hurney the GM responsible when Rhule was hired? Then I'm pretty sure it's safe to hold him responsible for his part.

Amazing how much weight these guys drop when they aren't playing football. That's a lot of beef to carry around, especially for linemen.

Other NFL owners are probably as happy as can be with Tepper as an owner right now. He allowed Marty Hurney to hire a college coach that never beat a ranked team before he was fired, has kept him despite his greatest success being back to back 5 win seasons. Nothing says wanting to win like 10-23. A .300 average is good in baseball I guess.

What we've established is a culture where passing the buck, never admitting your own weaknesses, and getting embarrassed on a regular basis is considered success 1000% and it took less than 2 years to do it.