Mr. Scot

I know some people pay attention to analytics and stuff, but I think most of the longtime draft guys would tell you it's not simple (they probably wish it was). The problem with any form of stat based evaluation is that there are waaaay too many variables. Take completion percentage. A quarterback can throw a perfectly accurate pass but it counts against him if it isn't caught. Likewise it could be a terrible pass but if a receiver can make a circus catch, it helps the quarterback look better than he might really be. And yeah, "next gen" folks can try to count drops or "catchable" throws, but those things are awfully subjective. There's an old quote from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart that says something along the lines of "I may not be able to define obscenity, but I know it when I see it". I guess I'm kinda the same way when it comes to good football. I don't worry about the stats from this generation, the next generation or the last generation. I just watch the game. Well, that and study it. Lady Cowboy Fan bought me Steve Belichick's "Football Scouting Methods" book for my birthday. She got me one by Neil Stratton for Christmas too. You could always try reading stuff like that, but I don't think too many folks are that obsessed (like me)

Holy...

I don't know that Rhule holds a lot of sway in the personnel department right now outside of him being old friends with Pat Stewart. He gave Evan Cooper some goofball title having to do with personnel evaluation but I'm not sure he has any actual influence on scouting.

Once you factor in the draft pool and money set aside for the season, it's only about 9 or 10 million really available, and that number only counts the top 51. We won't have anywhere near as much by years end.

That whole "I don't need to watch tape, I just go out and fling it" thing really soured me on Murray.

Only if he's accurate... Remember, the goal on a football play isn't to throw the ball the farthest or the hardest. The goal is to throw it to a spot. Being able to throw it as far as Uncle Rico doesn't matter if it doesn't go where it's supposed to go.

There weren't a whole lot of changes in the scouting department from last year to this year that I know of. My general read is that we're a little less experienced in that area than some other teams but they're hoping to change that. The things that I do know of: - The team promoted BLESTO scout Lee McNeil to Pro Scout - They also parted ways with Pro Personnel Director Matt Allen - Jeff Morrow previously changed titles from Director of Player Personnel to Senior Personnel Executive and is still on board with that title Allen and Morrow are the most interesting stories. Morrow's title change was basically something of a demotion. He used to run the college scouting department but now that's under Cole Spencer. It's a similar move to what Dave Gettleman did when he was preparing to retire (before getting the Panthers GM job). Morrow may also be looking to retire...or may have just lost some favor within the organization. As far as Allen, although he was Jerry Richardson's grandson, the general take was that he legitimately earned his job and was well thought of within the team offices. The sudden news of his departure was kind of a surprise. If any more information has come to light about that, I haven't seen it. Word is they'll look for Allen's replacement sometime later in the offseason, probably after the draft. I wouldn't be too surprised to see other changes happen then too. That's generally the season for it. FYI: If you want to know more about the scouting department, your best option is to look up the Panthers media guide (pretty easily found online). It'll be last year's information, but the team doesn't list scout bios on their website so that's generally the best you can get.

Yep. And several teams signed him thinking they could be the ones to maximize that physical talent. Nobody ever really succeeded.

Dude, you know I don't go by stats. But I don't go by awards either, especially given that if you look back at history you'll see that MVPs generally don't win the Super Bowl in the same year (sometimes not at all). It's the same with "Coach of the Year". People spent a lot of time propping up Ron Rivera because he was a two-time Coach of the Year. It was ultimately meaningless. I have always, and will always, go by what my eyes tell me.

Now Matt Rhule is interested

Or Drew Brees... It's basically buying into the notion that if someone is a physical freak, you can easily teach them how to be a great pro quarterback. Except that's not really true, and more than one team has made big draft mistakes by adhering to that philosophy.

Adjustments... or basically coaching.

Nobody has an issue with mobile quarterbacks. The problem comes in when people can't differentiate between those who are great quarterbacks vs those who are merely great athletes. Being able to outrun people at the college level and throw the ball really hard or really far idoesn't make anyone a great quarterback at the pro level. At the pro level you need accuracy, intelligence, the ability to read defenses and quick mental processing speed. If you have those traits and are also a great athlete, that's fantastic. If you have those traits but your athleticism is merely decent, you can still win in the pros. If you don't have those traits, it doesn't matter how great an athlete you are. You're not going to be a great NFL quarterback. You'll probably produce some fun highlight reels and maybe even phenomenal stats, but that'll be your highest achievement while better passers are winning championships. Basically, don't assume that just because a guy makes highlight reel plays in college that he's automatically gonna succeed in the NFL. He might, but only if he's got the qualities that make a great passer first.

Not how I'd phrase the question. History shows you can win a Super Bowl with a guy like Trent Dilfer if you build a good enough team around him. If you're asking whether or not Jackson is an elite level quarterback, my answer would be I'm not sure yet. His physical traits are definitely elite, likely a step above Newton as both a runner and a passer. He's clearly a dangerous run threat and has a rocket launcher for an arm. As far as accuracy, based on what I've seen I'd put him above the Newton / Farve level but a few steps below the Brees / Brady level. With regard to other intangibles, it's harder to say. He certainly wins plenty of games during the regular season, but also seems to fade during the playoffs. He'll need to get past that before he can really be thought of as up there with the others. Whether or not he does will say a lot, but I'm not ready to predict either way.

How many people will be off the board already if we pick #1?

I've seen some pretty crazy comparisons with Willis, everything from Cam Newton to Lamar Jackson to now Steve McNair I guess... Willis was nowhere near as good a college player as any of those guys, and all of them faced much better competition. There's more projection going on here than in a twenty cinema multiplex.

One thing I'd say regardless of your feelings about the cap. This narrative I see people carrying around about how we're going to have tons of cap room next year and we can just fix everything then via free agency and pay all our best players big money to stick around... Let It go.

If we were bros, they'd have given us Stafford

Except when he has to take a sh-t

I'm a lot less concerned with whether he does what I want than I am over the fact that his results have consistently sucked.

You positive we're picking at #6?

Fair enough...

Figured You're missing a decent show if you don't, though.

And it was these clips specifically that changed your mind, of course