Khyber53

We need to walk away before the Jets bail and we're left holding a very expensive bag that isn't happy to be with us.

Something to keep in mind when looking at trading the farm for Watson and his contract...

It's a frikkin' crime that each county can't take two to three days' worth of supplies and vaccinate their entire education workforce en masse: teachers, bus drivers (many of whom are elderly), cafeteria workers, janitorial staff, support personnel and administrative people. No teacher is saying "Don't send us back in to those massively difficult underpaid jobs!" They are saying "Don't send us back to one of the most highly infectious places ever devised without giving us vaccinations first!" And what they are saying makes perfect sense. Teachers want to get back to doing their jobs, as do the rest of school personnel. They just want to be protected from the pandemic, and we should want the same things for them if we are any kind of a decent people. And for those screaming "Where's my tax dollars that weren't spent??!!!???" Just shut the fug up.

Next will be a few cuts to smoke screen the drafting process a bit more. We're spending a lot of time talking about the necessity of re-signing Moton (which I am in total agreement with) but bookending that one is the Russell Okung question -- he's a free agent now. He wants to be the player's union president, so he has to be on an active roster for the upcoming season. Will we re-sign him and would he be willing to do so at a massive discount? If not, taking an LT at 8 and paying the cheaper rookie rate might be where we end up having to go.

Hate to see him go. Good guy, he'll be missed. Back in 2019 folks were talking about needing a new coach and management, a few squeaks about blowing up the team. Well, this is what it looks like: a dismantling of what we had and a total rebuild. If you thought we were trying to be competitive for next year, you haven't looked at Rhule's track record and methodologies. Third year is his target year after two years of house cleaning and recruiting. I said back in the day, things were going to look worse before they got better. They did and they are. I said back then that there was a pretty good chance that Rivera would have a winning record and be relevant again before the Panthers were. He did and he is. I'm buckled in, though, and waiting for next season to see if we can see that sea change starting to happen. I'd hate to think that after 2021, Rhule would be sailing into 2022 still wrecking the roster and trying to get his plan in place.

Well, there was that ass-grabbing incident at the press conference. What's the point of having a trophy if you don't polish it in front of the peons, I guess.

I'm getting that what I'm seeing is just another billionaire, nothing special. So far. I'm not mad at the guy, I'm just not very impressed with him since the honeymoon ended.

Jerry, for all his multitude of problems, at least new something about football. Not heartbroken he was moved out, but The Who had a lyric that was something about "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."

Well, the Rooney family in Pittsburgh have been great, and Tepper has a tie in there with his history as a minority owner. The Hunt family have done well with the Chiefs since their inception. There were definitely some tough times, but there were also long periods of steady competitiveness even before the Andy Reid years. The Kraft ownership in New England have to get part of the credit for turning around a terrible franchise, along with Belichick and Brady. The Pegulas seem to be handling ownership of the Bills very well, returning that team to a level of prominence Green Bay's community ownership group has done an excellent job. While there was a vast wasteland in the late 1970s and 1980s, it has still created three distinct competitive/championship dynasties over their long history. Winning one Super Bowl doesn't give you a mark for good ownership, but regularly putting teams for long periods of time into the top competitive level points to strong capabilities among the leadership. Short blips of championship quality or competitiveness really don't mean much except that perhaps they caught lightning in a bottle once.

The musical chairs thing holds a lot of water, but I think that if we're patient, something very good could fall to us. Maybe a QB in the draft, maybe a QB in FA, maybe an LT in the draft... In chaos, there's opportunity for the person who keeps their wits about themselves and their feet on solid ground.

This has been so entertaining that I really don't want any spoilers or leaks, yanno?

In truth, I have no idea. For many teams, the ownership lets their management team and coaches guide this kind of process. Some others have very hands on ownership, or even a situation like the Cowboys where Jerry Jones is both owner and GM (I believe that is still his title). Tepper seems to be the kind of guy who needs to have his name all over everything. If he wins big and often, that's just great. If not, then he's just another spoiled billionaire teabagging everything he can. So far, he hasn't been terrible, but he's been far from impressive. Lots of noise, little constructive growth.

Better to sit and wait for the furor to calm down. These are nothing but predictions, there's nothing being said by the Houston front office that they want to move him. Let the silly season roll on and see what they want. Whoever buys right now (trades that is) will be guaranteed to be overpaying. And as to Tepper wanting to buy his guy... I'm still really waiting to see Tepper do something other than look like a wannabe when it comes to making it big in the NFL. As to NFL owners, he's nouveau riche and acting like it.

@Mr. Scot and I disagree frequently, and last year epically, but I always, always read what he has to say. He always has good takes on things, has solid research and couches it in an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and its history. You can learn a lot from what he posts. I sure have.

Let's at least wait and see what that price tag is going to be. I'd like for Samuel to stay with the team, but if he is looking at a WR1 spot and the pay that comes with it, we're going to be hard pressed to find that just laying around. And are Samuel and Moton our only two big keeps we need to work out this year? If so, then we should be able to. New Orleans keeps all their guys rolling in big money somehow...

Dang, forgot that. Quarantine brain missed quarantine things. Well, that doesn't bode well for sanity returning soon.

We saw it. For lack of a better phrase, it was just soulless. There were maybe two fun moments, the rest was just an annoying drag of a movie that just kept going on and on and on. The first WW movie was stellar. This was just bleh. Is there one particular thing I hated about it? Nah, not really, it didn't have enough oomph to generate any feelings other than, wow that was unimpressive. They set it in the 1980s but managed to create zero notes of nostalgia. I mean, there ain't much meat left on those bones, but still... shoulda been able to hit on something other than fanny packs and pushed up jacket sleeves.

Like I said, I'd prefer for us to keep #8 and run with it.

It's a crazy time. Some smoke screen work, some agents tossing accelerants onto the fires, some folks just trying to make deadlines and generate clicks. Until the Combine is over, things are going to be amorphous like this. Can't trust any of it right now.

We hear so much about making crazy trades, multiple first rounders over the next couple of years, throw in CMC and Bridgewater, a third this year, a fifth next year, a case of baseballs and Tepper's new trophy wife just to get Watson or to trade up for the third pick. Sheesh, why not just get Jacksonville (who have massive rebuilding to do) and make them the crazy offer and just snag the first pick in the draft, get the Clemson Crusader and be done with it? (Personally, I say stay out of massive trades/swaps and play the cards you are dealt. There will be someone great available at #8.)

Considering what we've seen from their bench and their late pick, I'm thinking this is pretty much smoke and mirrors. Throw the idea out there, see if anyone calls for a trade attempt. He'll retire a Steeler after this season, at least that's where my money is at.

Zack Kerr and Brayvvion Roy can handle the interior and I wouldn't be surprised to see Efe Obada rotating in there on pass rush downs at DT. Short was never the same after they gave him the big contract, even before the injuries. That might be lack of effort, but it was more likely the loss of Lotulelei which left a lot of interior double teaming for Short.

This, 100%.

It's a terrible thing and there's a family that is really hurting from this loss. May the Lord be with them during this time.

There's a lot of wisdom in what you're saying. Minshew, for all his issues (which may have been caused by the factors you listed) has this going for him that Teddy does not offer: he can and will wing that ball out there and push to win. Foolish at times (which may be a product of his youth), he can also be fearless and that can win games with the right personnel. We have the right personnel. Now, about Mac Jones. There is going to be a lot of jockeying for those prime real estate QBs, the famous top four or five that get all the press. We aren't going to be able to grab one of them without making some serious sacrifices. Odds also say that roughly half of them aren't going to pan out, no matter who picks them. (And this is a very young group of top tier QB prospects who don't have a whole lot of starting experience between them). We're going to let teams churn the draft order above us and stay out of the fray. If Jones is still there, we take him. If not, he probably won't make it past Denver. If he somehow does, he won't make it past the needy teams like Minnesota or New England. Belichick will take Jones if he is still on the board. And honestly, I wouldn't put it past New Orleans to try and trade up to get him mid round... they have all of the tools in place to give him a team that overpowers opponents like he had at Alabama and a coaching staff that is very good at turning a pure passer into a huge threat. Jones doesn't have the star quality of the guys in front of him. He doesn't have the athleticism of the guys in front of him. He's a 20-something with a Dad bod. But he wins and he makes the guys around him look like the best in the business. A good coach can ride that all the way to the championship game again and again.