Khyber53

Whatever happened along the way, Alex Smith came to be one of the toughest and most professional QBs to ever play the game. No shame on his name.

And we saw that with Luke and Cam and Jake. TD spoiled us into believing anyone could come back if they wanted it enough. TD was the exception more than the rule, though.

Lets be honest. There was need in just about every position on the team if you look at it critically. So following BPA was going to improve us no matter who we got. There's not a position group that didn't need some kind of help. And I think we had some added luck in who fell to us.

Oh good for them! Hope this is the start of a long happy time in their lives here.

There was no reason to believe in either Cam or Jake as a top tier elite QB before those seasons either. Cam was an "athletic" QB in most people's minds and his passing skills were open for debate. And there was a bit to that as he was still trying to get that massive power in his arm tamed to be able to put some touch on his passes. And then, he did it. Missiles became bombs, the firing lanes became points of finesse. Cam grew up and leveled up, while still retaining the ability and drive to truck people whenever he wanted. And Jake... no one freaking believed in Jake except Jake himself. He got, and let's be honest with this, one chance in a losing game to make something out of his career. And he rose to the occasion like some kind of mythical hero and continued to do so for the season. He became a true leader for the team, and his gunslinger capabilities rehabbed Moose's career and created Smitty as a force in the league. Smitty went from a barker to a biter. But no one believed in Jake going in. And they trashed him on his way out. Now Bryce... who knows? I've seen some improvement. Maybe he finds his footing. His teammates seem to love and respect him and that means a lot. The game should be moving at his speed now. He has weapons available to him and maybe a defense that doesn't just roll over by the third quarter. And his coach seems to be moving this team in the right direction. Could he do it? It's up to him, if he can find the magic like Jake and Cam did. But don't doubt this, magic is really, really hard to find.

Going into the 2003 and 2015 seasons we were supposed to be the joke of the league each time. In 2003, John Fox was supposed to still be in rebuild mode. We had a guy named Peppers on the defensive line who was supposed to be pretty good. We had Rodney Peete as our starting QB and a line that was a lot of hope and not much experience. Our new running back was a guy the Redskins, errrr Commanders, had jettisoned for being too old. We had a good kicker and writers thought that was needed because there were going to be more field goals than touch downs. Heck, it looked like they were right up until just before halftime of that first game when we had to yank Rodney Peete and put in some Cajun duded whose name couldn't be pronounced. And Steve Smith? He wasn't Smitty yet. Moose Muhammad, well, he was close to being written off as a bust. You know how that turned out. And then in 2015, we had Cam Newton, who was electrifying to watch but hadn't really won anything yet. There was an offensive line in front of him that looked like it was made in a defunct Swiss cheese factory and our big hope on offense was the great Kelvin Benjamin. And then he got taken out for the year with a knee injury in training camp. Ted "Feet of Lightning, Hands of Stone" Ginn became our default go to guy beside our next best hope, yeah, Devin Funchess. Our defense was pretty good, a scrappy bunch with frikkin' awesome linebacker play and a cornerback who had done more than drank the Kool-Aid, but had snorted the powder. He played like a superhero and became sort of a bat-man during the season. By the Super Bowl he had completely lost his freaking mind, though, and managed to talk his way out of a contract with the team next year. No one was expecting us to win the NFCSouth that season, much less almost go undefeated and into the Super Bowl. So, 2026? Who knows? But our best seasons came when no one had a reason to believe in us, except us.

Let them disrespect us. They never thought we'd be any good going into the 2003 or 2015 seasons. It's time to run it back on them again.

Good luck to him. Hope to see him out there breaking up passes and causing problems for offenses. Welcome aboard man, we need ya.

He could be one of those guys that comes out of nowhere for us. He's got a seat at the table now and a paid gig for summer camp. He'll figure heavy into special teams and maybe get some time in the linebackers room learning from some of the best. He's got potential and he's got an opportunity. I hope it all pans out great for him and us.

I hope he ends up being our best ever at the position. Ryan Kalil left big shoes behind that we haven't quite been able to fill since.

Let's go safety or center here.

Or their travel vouchers aren't covering much. I've often said we should look to grabbing guys who grew up and played in the south so they'll be adjusted to the heat and humidity we can have during training camp and the early part of the season. It can be brutal for these big guys, especially. And yeah, I know, the winter games arrive eventually, but you can always put on some extra clothes, but you can only take off so many.

It does seem to come up regularly.

It was air-fryer nachos here.

I like the pick, but only in light of what they may be saying with it. I don't think Icky is coming back this year, and maybe not ever as a tackle. Moton has a history of injuries and is getting long in the tooth. We picked up a lesser known starting LT and have him on a short contract and we have two aging, injury prone guards. There's even a shake up at Center. What this pick tells me is that there isn't just a long term need on the line, there's an immediate one that we're not sure of. I wonder if they know of a retirement incoming before the season starts. You don't grab a lineman in the first with the idea of stashing him on the bench and developing him. On the upside, the kid is going to tower over his opponents, is excellent in the run game and pass protection and can swing to either left or right tackle. He's also from South Carolina and played in Georgia which is going to give him a lg up on surviving the heat and humidity of training camp and our first few home games. I wanted something else at 19, but I like the kid. He's one of our guys now, so I'll be cheering him on for sure.