Khyber53

The NFL Network, hands down.

I don't want this pick, but I think that's where we are going to go. I'd rather see an OT (if available) or trade back and take Linderbaum. But you look at the number of Temple and Baylor guys that Rhule has brought here and see the connections with Pickett, and it just seems like this is a done deal. Will they trade back in hopes of getting him or will they pull the trigger at #6?

Now, do we judge the quality of our pickers by their intent or the results of what they did? The Gilmore trade lost us a pick and got us nothing in return. He did fairly well in some games that we didn't win and wouldn't have without him either. That's a wash. CJ Henderson was invisible, but not in the useful superpowers kind of way. Marshall was really nothing special and didn't see the field much or was just out there being the 11t dude. BC sat on the bench for most of the year and played meh when he saw the field (although meh is an improvement over what we had been doing). Darnold was either really bad or poorly supported, probably both. And that cost us picks. We drafted a long snapper who couldn't win the job over a retired JJ Jansen and ended up being put on phantom IR before the season started. Jaycee Horn looked better than the other DBs we fielded, until he got hurt. Like I've said before, he was the tallest dandelion on a field ready to be mowed. The injury gives this one an incomplete grade at best. Tremble, Nixon, Hubbard, Hoskins all saw some playing time. They looked good, in comparison to their counterparts on the Panthers at times. Cs and Bs, but there's some hope that with good coaching maybe they will play out. Otherwise, they are just roster fillers, maybe role players. Deonte Brown didn't have the conditioning to be an offensive guard. Shi Smith went from preseason IR to late season bench sitter. Underwhelming on the field in limited playing time. Keith Taylor, well, I'm hoping he catches on and develops. He had 3 passes defended on the season, but gave up a 70% completion rate when targeted. If we can get him some NFL-level coaching he might be okay. Yeah, in the end, that was a lousy effort at team building by Fitterer and Rhule. And this year, they're going into the draft with even fewer resources. I'm hoping there's a mandate from Tepper that they cannot trade away next year's draft picks for ones this year. They cannot be allowed to hamstring the next HC and the franchise because of their poor decision making.

In on every deal meant "was a sucker time and time again" last year. I don't get the feeling they've gotten better.

Grab Zappe in the fifth, get our backup now (we do need one) and then move on to grab a starting QB next season.

I've beat on the drum for Linderbaum for quite a while now, but it's hard to really convince anyone how important having a good center is. And it is vitally important. Not just for the line, but for the QB as well. A good center can and does call the protection schemes, at least partially freeing up the QB pre-snap. A good center makes room for a QB to climb the pocket under pressure -- it can make for the extra 1-2 seconds to make a play work or can save a team 3-4 yards in a sack situation. A center can set the tone for the offense -- Ryan Kalil's ability to keep things light hearted played a lot in 2015 for us and kept Cam up in a couple of games where he could have ended up under the towel again. A great center does make the entire line better. They are the glue and the pivot point. They are often the person tasked with making a hit on the second level. And they are always involved in QB sneaks. Linderbaum is the kind of guy that if we grab him, he's going to be a positive fixture here for 10 years or more. He'll anchor things now and lead things through the future. But we'll probably choose Sauce Gardner so they can market Jaycee and the Sauce t-shirts.

Me, neither, on Fitterer. I think he played musical chairs with all those trades last draft and we got about what you'd expect from it, a handful of mehs and some clear misses. And before you say, "But what about Jaycee Horn???" Well, he did look good, for a Panther. He was like the tallest dandelion in a yard about to be mowed. Fitterer's genius extended to those O-line pickups and the Darnold deal. We can call them Rhule's babies, but that's just deflecting. And he at least had a part of the extension pick up for Darnold before a single snap was played AND the Butterfingers Bobby Anderson new contract. We're going to have to see some real magic this time around for Fitterer not to go down as the worst GM of the last four GMs here. To be the best of that bunch wouldn't take much a leap to clear the bar, but he's tripped and fallen on his face trying to do it so far. At this point, he appears as out of his performance tier as Rhule has.

They're going to take CB again, right?

Which, if you're looking at the kid as a back up QB would be excellent. Get him a bit of field time this year after Rhule has left, then set him up behind our high first round pick next season.

Let Sam have another crack at it. We were all singing his praises until week four. And then the other teams found our defense's weaknesses, leaving us exposed. In the Vikings game, Sam pretty much led the comeback purely on his own shoulders and we'd have won the game had our defense not been completely gassed by the end of the third quarter. As bad as he was (and he was soooo bad in some games), a case for extenuating circumstances and bad play calling can be made in almost every case. Having Butterfingers Bobby Anderson over on the sidelines chewing him out didn't help either. On the less nice side of it, Rhule and Fit gave up the ship for Darnold and tied us to him for two years minimum, so let them ride that ship until it sinks or finally makes it into port. And for Pete's sake, don't let those guys try AGAIN to get us a franchise QB and waste a good draft slot.

Take Zappe in the late rounds, because we're going to need a backup QB here, too. That bench is worthless at the moment. Maybe play the kid a bit later in the year. Take OT at 6 and set your line. Grab this kid and either get a decent back-up or maybe find a Jake Delhomme type. 7. BAILEY ZAPPE, Western Kentucky (6-0 ½, 217, 4.85, 5): Started at FCS Houston Baptist from 2017-’20 before transferring up a level to the Hilltoppers in ’21. “At the beginning of the season I wouldn’t have given you poo for him,” one scout said. “He looked awful on the hoof. He’s coming out of the Air Raid offense. Name me a quarterback not named Mahomes that succeeded from there? I watched the Houston Baptist film and it was like playground football. But he had a great season (’21). He elevated the team at Western Kentucky. He has a really quick release. He’s got a lot of swagger. He’s smart (Wonderlic of 35). He’s got some baller in him. But he’s not a very good athlete for a smaller guy. Arm strength is an issue. He’s like a West Coast, dink-dunk, poor man’s Chase Daniel, maybe. If you want to keep a third guy and develop him as a backup … he’s got something to work with.” Improved his passer rating each season, finishing with 97.8. Hands were 9 ¾. “He had a phenomenal year,” said a second scout. “There’s no way this guy’s a real NFL quarterback. But, with some of these spread coaches coming into the league, maybe somebody would take him as a No. 3. He got exposed in the Senior Bowl game. Looked like he was in the wrong weight division.” From Victoria, Texas.

Shhhh man, that's their draft secret! The rest is the smoke screen!

Nah. That was just harmless fun. Lighten up man.

Did we see the same movie? Watched it last night. Three hour snooze fest obviously written in someone's angst-filled Forever 21 journal. Pattison walking around with the black makeup around his eyes just made me think he was Robert Smith of The Cure fighting crime. At least Halle Berry isn't the worst Catwoman anymore. Wow, Zoe Kravitz is to acting what her dad Lenny is to classic rock. And worst mask of all time... did no one even go "Hey, are you sure you want it to look like a toboggan with a chinstrap that's being used as a nose wiper?" The Riddler and his Army of Incels, well, that was definitely a new take. Basically it turn Oliver from the Brady Bunch into a psycho. So many things were ripped off to make this movie, and poorly in the process. Se7en was lifted from whole cloth and the scene with the capture of Riddler began with a riff on Edward Hopper's The Nighthawks. Honestly, they did the whole thing better on Gotham, and Gotham wasn't that great. And don't get me started on the Batmobile. It was like some kind of trailer park fever dream kit car, that was inexplicably rear engine AND rear-wheel drive. Step on the gas and that thing is just going to start doing donuts whether you want it to or not. And the big car chase? How many people died fiery deaths and neither Batman or Commissioner (soon to be) Gordon don't bat an eye for even a moment. Sound was terrible and the dialogue was nearly inaudible for the first quarter of the movie. Lighting was non-existent in that "I wanna be edgy and film noir AND let's not put too much into the scene dressings" vein of direction. The one moment that the movie becomes self-aware and laughs at itself, the flying squirrel suit escape, did crack up my whole family, but we couldn't even try to take it seriously from then on out. I want those three hours of my life back. Is it the worst Batman movie so far? Nah, the Joel Schumacher Batsuit with Nipples ones take that cake, but woof this one was lousy. For someone to have such great starting material and lore, so much funding for the project and access to such top level actors (except as mentioned above), to turn that dreck out is pretty mystifying.

Best case scenario.

I've got to agree. His instincts make him a better linebacker. My only worry is that his build might be a bit slight for the role and I'd worry about his durability there. Still, how he played at LB was spectacular and once he left that position we suffered.

Kyler Murray doesn't look old enough to fly on a plane by himself to New York, much less QB a football team. As someone else here once said, "He's just two little kids in a trench coat."

So great to see that! I liked your OP, and I think that Detroit is going to go QB and take Willis in an effort to jump start that nearly dead franchise. They've got the kind of coach that can make that happen and a desperate need to slough off the old turtle shell they've been wearing. And that could well leave us with an excellent tackle at pick #6. I think there's even a chance that Neal goes first between the two because of the Alabama powerhouse program thing. The program has better pro credentials than NC State. And I'd love to see Ickey end up here. If we trade back, wayyy back, what chance do you think there is that we really swerve and stay away from QB and OT? I've said we need Linderbaum for long-term planning here, but honestly, we need a first class LB and no one is talking about that. If we're sitting back at say pick 16-20, and Nakobe Dean is still on the board, do we pull the trigger?

Get the name of a good therapist for the guy and his ex, then send him a polite note on a slip of pink paper. Then officially release the contract and move on. We don't have to have a team of choir boys, but we DO need to have a team of good men.

I'm not agreeing with all of your previous statements, but that Romanowski and Incognito were thugs of the worst kind. To be honest, I think Dan Morgan during his playing time could be considered one as well. The guy had a penchant for dishing out concussions, including at least one to a rookie teammate that pretty much ended his career.

The credit cards always win in the end. Always.

Everyone always thinks they can outsmart the credit cards. No one ever really does.

Fitter-magic! Can somebody just pull the lever and flush this regime? We're stuck with Tepper but surely we can move on from this set of failed experiments, hopefully a little wiser now.

Tepper's brass balls were bought on Sharper Image and it shows.

I don't think much will help this franchise until there's a regime change.