d-dave

While everyone wants to comp Burrow to Pickett because of their size, age, and internet buzz; there is a MAJOR difference between the two: Burrow is a straight up baller. Burrow has the professional arrogance and processing ability to make great plays. Pickett has better physical tools, but he's not on Burrow's level of confidence and decision making. Pickett is interesting. And someone we should strongly consider at 6, but on the flip side, he's not going to be a Joe Burrow for us. He's going to be Kenny Pickett. A guy who can make all the throws, is a good athlete, but who isn't as cerebral as Burrow. It's going to depend on the coaches if they can develop him. Now if people start trading up for QBs in the top 5, let's try to get on that trade down energy. We need more than a rookie QB. We have legit needs a long the lines. We could use talent everywhere. This draft doesn't have the quality of QB that we're looking for. So to me, let's look at him, but let's also make good choices for the rest of the team.

It comes down to tools and coaching. We've seen coaches who have maximized limited QBs to be successful in the NFL. While there are guys like Rodgers who can do what he wants because of his success, there are so many more who need to be propped up by a system. Would Mahomes be as successful on the Raiders? Or Josh Allen in Jacksonville? Much less anyone in Detroit? You have to have a good coach who creates an environment for the player to be successful.

Daniel Jeremiah was saying that he used to fear the hate from fans. Now he just embraces it (because it drives clicks and helps him keep his job). Mock drafts are an intellectual exercise at best. Entertainment. Just something to pass the time before the real decision makers fug it all up

Well, as we say about Tepper "not my billions." lol It remains to be seen. Can MS clean up the culture and improve morale the greater Activision environment? Can they take a franchise like COD, which sells millions of units each year and tons of microtransactions no matter the quality of the game, and keep it profitable on game pass without sales to Sony? That's why I think that MS is going to continue to push for Game Pass on Sony, while still allowing the sales of CoD and other activision/blizzard games on Sony products. Just add a Microsoft Game Studio in front of each loading screen. I'm very curious to see how it all works out. I've been an Xbox guy since the 360 (even though I had the PS1, PS2, and eventually the PS3 for the blu ray drive) so putting my not very rabid fanboi-ness aside, I really do want gaming to get better for everyone. The world sucks enough as is, I think we should all be able to escape into some gaming, regardless of platform.

There is no pitch for Rodgers. Matt Rhule has the ultimate ego, and he won't allow someone else to come in and interfere with his "process." So aside from all the other reasons Rodgers would never come to Carolina, Rhule and his ego would be one for sure.

https://news.microsoft.com/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/ So this is kind of a major development. I've heard a lot of people talking about this, and some people think that Microsoft is going to make all of new games from Activision only on game pass. No future Call of Duty after 2023 on Playstation. I think that's a little short sighted. I think that MS is going to, at a minimum, still sell games to PS - but they will all have a Microsoft Games Studio logo and adds for Game Pass. I think the real thing that MS wants is to put game pass on the Playstation. I know MS wants a gaming future where you play their content wherever, and I think they are still going to move toward that. Also, how funny would it be for Sony to have to pay royalties to MS on games from their store? It's like MS could never really get a game identity. Like Nintendo has games that are authentically Nintendo. Sony has the market on 3rd person, epic and cinematic games. MS just wants to be the place for games. I really don't think they care about where you play because Game Pass is the end game for them.

Here's a good little pod about Kirk - http://tun.in/piBO0 Take it for what it's worth, but the takes on Kirk are pretty damning. I would hate to see the Panthers trade even more assets for a QB who won't take us over the top.

Read up on Cousins from Vikings fans. Not a pretty picture. On the surface, he looks good stat wise, but his teams have never gotten over the hump. Cousins is good for 7-9 wins a year, no more, and that's assuming everything is perfect. Look at what happens to the receivers where he was? In Washington, in Minny, great were chased off by Cousins and his crazy contract demands and his erratic play. He would absolutely be an upgrade, but he's not enough to see us to the playoffs and build sustained success no matter how good his stats look. we'd have to eat his $35 million cap hit, which would require us to off load Darnold. How is that going to happen? If he's cut, you know he's not playing for a "prove it" deal. He's going to extract every red cent he can.

Interesting 3rd hand rumor for sure! As far as Kubiak, I've read a lot that he's overrated and not much of an upgrade for us. Definitely a name, but not so much of a rock star. I'm much more interested in the Rams guy.

This made my laugh really hard. Thank you

I think this speaks more to the vibe in the building: Rhule is God. He has unlimited carte blanche to do what he wants, cut who he wants, and no one wants to get on his bad side and lose their paychecks.

In with the meme: "Don't know you all the players will be picked top 5!" nonsense! It's still a QB driven league, and there are still a lot of teams looking for their QB1. And there are two amazing pass rushers who could go top three. I have no idea what will happen, lol.

I have no idea what the future holds for Cam. Will he retire? Is he willing to be a QB2/Short Yardage back? He still runs very well. I did see him hyping up Sam and looks to be a great guy even on the sideline. Some of y'all have been super eloquent about what Cam has meant, and I appreciate it and agree! This team though, good lord what a poo show. I wish nothing but the best for Cam, either on or off the field for all the joy and excitement he's brought me.

Here's a thought, in the stream of "safe/unsafe" stories, one thing that stuck out was Rhule has to hire a real OC. What if he doesn't? What if Rhule isn't able to get anyone soon, and gets canned? I'm grasping for straws

I know. My parents were OG PSL owners. It sucks. Just sell your tickets if you don't want to go. That's what they ended up doing until they have to just give them up.

If you want to make a real statement, boycott the Panthers. No new Panthers licensed stuff, no games, no purchases, etc. That's about the only way peons like us can "take it" to big cats of the world.

Thanks! I am a pretty prolific reader. My poor sleep schedule! I also have started reading more in the daytime, like when my wife wants to watch her terrible 90 Day Fiancée Shows. I just put in my noise canceling headphones and I'm down for an hour of reading at a time lol. I also have a tendency to skim through crap. Like as soon as I see Rand start complaining, I skip to the last line of the paragraph to see if it's worth reading. LOL. Honestly, he's not a well written character at this point in my reading. I understand he goes through a lot of changes, but man he's whiney AF!

Too much dead money, too much for a team to pay, and his market is SO dead right now. CMC is going to have to come back and be a difference maker again. Then we'll see. As far as Rhule. Who knows? "be patient while I do impatient things."

Yes! I had to spend a LOT of time studying a map lol. Between WoT and the Witcher...so much fantasy geography!

Oh yeah, that was the weakest episode of the season for me. It was such a let down. The scene from the book is intense AF. I loved that part. I think they could have done something similar with the show, and keep the changes to Rand's exit.

I think the far bigger point is that Matt Rhule is a bad pro coach. He makes arbitrary decisions, and Matt Rhule being right is far more important than doing the right thing. Rhule's ego is enormous. It's costing the team, and will continue to do so.

That's the biggest thing for me. Imagine if they had 10-12 episodes? Sheesh, that would make life a lot easier. One of the best parts of the show, and what is so central to the story, is when the Emond's Fielders get to hangout. The chemistry of the cast is so good in those moments. In the books, that is one of the driving forces of the entire series. Seems that a lot of those moments were cut out of the show for the sake of getting the information across. My hope is that season 2 will have the time to adjust to the loss of the Mat actor and consequent recasting, and then be able to combine the main points of Book 2 and 3 (still working on three, but I have a good theory as I read it). Book 2 was entertaining, but way too long in certain aspects. There's a fair amount of fat to trim there. I saw on reddit someone say that WoT was a bunch of 800 page books that could have been cut in half. There is a bit of truth to that, and hopefully the showrunners will take the opportunity to showcase the important stuff without burying the story in poo.

Fun thought game, for sure! No idea what the Panthers will actually do. Here's mine 1. H. Reddick (OLB) - Got to think if Rhule is back, Reddick will be resigned. 11. F. Luvu (LB) - He's a must keep guy. He plays with so much energy! 2. S. Gilmore (CB) - No clue what he really wants, but I'd love to keep him as a vet presence and starter 22. M. Haynes (OLB/DE) - He's a good depth guy for sure. Though will probably get signed by Buffalo. 14. Z. Gonzalez (K) - Before he got hurt, he looks like the guy we need to be our kicker. 5. D. Jones (DT) - I'd love to see him back, very good mentor, but might get paid elsewhere. 15. A. Abdullah (RB/KR) - Loads of speed, I like him as a complimentary piece. 9. D. Jackson (CB) - I really thought he was playing very well. He might get a prove it deal, or he might leave for the paycheck. 19. B. Zylstra (WR) - I really like his utility. He's a useful piece and he should be pretty cheap. I love Cam, but this isn't the place for him anymore. Breaks my heart, but Cam either needs to retire or find a place that's going to be a better fit.

Ghost of Tsushima looks amazing! Since I upgraded my TV, I've noticed the new consoles really do bring that "extra" bit of polish and flair in games. I was messing around with Fallen Order the other day, and the train section in the beginning, where it's all wet and rainy was so pretty. The reflections, ambient light, etc. Super cool. I can't wait for more games to be "built" for these new platforms with their super fast SSDs and GPUs. I think we're all in for a treat!

After the first two or three episodes, I started reading. I finished the first book before I finished the show. You won't find any spoilers for the 2nd book in the first season. Really, it's more of a different kind of story-retelling, if that makes sense. It's adapted from the source material, but it's still fairly different, for some usually good reasons - some problematic.