Martin

It will be very interesting to follow the senior bowl practices this year. I wish some more OTs were there as well, but all QBs are in attendance.

All top QBs this year are going to the Senior Bowl, so that should give us a lot of additional insights. I still think Strong will sky rocket post senior bowl. I prefer O-line, but could see taking Strong.

I wouldn’t take that. The loss in quality in the player you get moving from 6 to 13 is too big (just my opinion), and a mid second rounder is not enough to make up for it. I love the idea of having another first/early second, but I don’t know if we can get it.

1 hour ago, mrcompletely11 said:

You want to trade down from 6 and only get a 2nd or 3rd in return?   You guys are nuts.  

Agree. I would not trade down and miss out on a stud LT to just get two good players. At one point we need to get that LT.

Also trading down just because we have to recoup our picks from our earlier bad decision is terrible. That bad decision should not impact any future decisions.

If we get a crazy offer, e.g. two highish first rounders and a high second rounder, maybe. But take that stud LT and build from there.
 

41 minutes ago, CRA said:

Person has been good all year. But he has been really good since camp doing his job and since leaving the Observer. 
 

 

Agreed. He’s been great since joining the Athletic. He’s not a breaking news guy which for some reason bothers people. But he’s a very good writer, and that’s what I prefer.

It is ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. If he keeps Rhule he hasn’t learned a thing so I would no longer trust him with any football and coaching decisions. 

So everyone has been talking about the new early interview timing for coaches. It is still early, but have we heard of any team taking advantage of it? I wonder if it is not that big of a deal and teams like the Bears (and pray it is true for Panthers as well) prefer to play out the season and just wait the extra two weeks and then start with interviews.

Even the teams firing coaches (Jags) haven’t started interviewing yet.

I’m clinging on to some desperate hope that Rhule will get let go after our final game.

17 minutes ago, Cdparr7 said:

Nathaniel Hackett

Matt Eberflus

Doug Pederson

Jim Caldwell

Would be my top four as well.

I thought he looked pretty ok considering his limited experience (fun you Rhule) and considering Tampa’s front four. He should get two more starts this year. 

1 minute ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

AFAIK Dave Tepper hasn't come out in support of Matt Rhule.

 

100% agree, and that is what still gives me hope.
 

Also, if today’s game didn’t do it, I don’t know what will.

Would love to see Ryan Jensen at C and Norwell back at G. We need that attitude on the line. Then draft a LT. They are currently both FAs, but might be resigned before free agency stars.

This years super hyped rookie QB class has been very underwhelming in the games I’ve seen. There are a few wow throws in there, but overall meh. 

37 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

They traded a first for Brown.  KC signed the left starting left guard.  Andy Reid is one of the best coaches in history and even he couldnt overcome the poo oline in the SB last year.  Yeah coaching matters but having talent doesnt hurt. 

Totally agree, I just think it is harder for talent to overcome bad coaching than the other way around.

It is all about the coaching. If we would have had great coaching this year we probably would have made the playoffs. We wouldn’t have gone far, but we would have made it.

As to O-line, you can mage significant improvements with a combined FA and Draft approach. KC changed out four linemen this year, two FAs and two draft picks, Rams stabilized their line in FA etc. But you need people who can evaluate and coach O-line first.

What a joke

54 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I feel the opposite. Please do embarrass us. It's going to hurt, but we need this to get as ugly as possible to force Tepper's hand. I hate Cam's return had to go this way, but we need to get embarrassed every game until Rhule gets fired. I really wish Tepper would just go ahead and pull the trigger so I could root for Cam to play well again for a few more games.

This is what I tell myself ahead of kickoff. Once the game starts I can’t help myself rooting for a win. But I expect it to be over early on and then I’m with you, if we are going to lose, embarrass us to help force the Rhule decision.

I’ll watch hoping to see our young guys play on O-line, but I don’t expect it, so I’ll most likely have it on in the background. 

I’m waiting to see who we start on o-line. If we start Miller & Jordan at G I might kick off with an Old Fasioned and take it from there...

good news, now there are three potential stud LTs in the draft

Mississippi State offensive lineman Charles Cross has officially announced his decision to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.

1 hour ago, trueblade said:

I would point out that those rookies play for Kansas City, a team with a plethora of NFL level coaching experience drawing up NFL plays and training players from college to be good NFL players.

We have Matt Rhule and the Baylor "Bad News" Bears coaching staff.

Agree. We can talk players for hours, but if you don’t have the coaching it doesn’t  matter. Look at Chargers last night. Missing their starting stud LT, they started som random guy at LT and he did ok. We see this all the time across the league, random backups starting and doing fine. Yes our players are terrible, but I don’t know if that matters with our coaches. I would throw as much money as needed at a great O-Line coach next year. I see that being as crucial as a new HC and OC.

Read that Carson Strong’s knee is looking good. If so he will sky rocket after the senior bowl.

Here is one for some laughter:

3 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Lewis is a very good defensive coordinator. Caldwell runs a really good offense and is an exceptional quarterback coach.

Neither of them have been all that successful as head coaches. Lewis got a lot more years on the job but if I was going to take a look at one of them it'd probably be Caldwell.

Caldwell is a bit boring from a personality standpoint, but he worked miracles with Detroit and before that was the OC for two Super Bowl winners (unless I remember it wrong). These numbers are pretty impressive:

16 hours ago, amcoolio said:

Charlie Campbell who has called the last 4 Panther picks and has a bunch of inside sources says that teams are telling him that Pickett is a top 2 pick, #1 if the Lions or Texans get it

It happens every year, so I wouldn’t be surprised.

46 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

DJ is a model citizen, fantastic receiver and nowhere near his potential. Even with bad QB play, bad scripting of plays and inept coaching, he still far outshines every receiver we have on the team -- combined.

You don't let him walk, or more specifically, you do what it takes to get him to stay. Yes, he is a first rate receiver, but we need him as much for his intangibles as anything else. There's a fair to middling chance we will have an entirely new coaching staff next season, hopefully someone that can actually coach. That guy, and us, deserves a reliable receiver and non-diva team leader. DJ fits that admirably. Pair him with the right QB on top of that and you can make a lot happen.

Is he going to cost us? Yes. And compared to other things we've committed to, he's the only surefire thing we've got going on the offensive side of the ball. 

I agree with everything you said.

I would also like to see him being used more like Debo Samuel. I don’t think this coaching staff does him any favors whatsoever. He’s also got speed and is very strong with contested catches, but they seem to never send him deep.

I’d resign him in a heartbeat.