SCO96

I know Vrabel played for Bill Belichik, but did he actually work as a coach under him in NE?

You know, I really can't balme him for that. They decided to go in a different direction, which is well within their right. Carr responds by saying I'm going to pick where I go and I'm not going to let you get anything in return for kicking me to the curb. I love it!

Good point. Trevor Lawrence looked great at the end of 2022. The year before he had 3 games in which he threw 3 INTS. He even had 4 INTS in the first half of this years playoff game against the Chargers. He had 12 TDs and 17 INTS in 2021. This year those stats were 25 TDs and 8 INTS! Matthew Stafford threw 20 INTs in his rookie season Peyton Manning holds the rookie record with a whopping 28 INTs Those guys have one thing in common, they were all taken with the first pick of the draft. They're given more opportunities to mature/improve because 1) the investment the team has made in them and 2)they all went to terrible teams that needed rebuilding. Guys taken after the 1st round are usually looked down upon because of their draft position. Anyone picked after round one is automatically labeled a "non-franchise QB". In the right environment these guys could turn out to be just just as good or better than they guys picked ahead of them. Unfortunately, most of them want get the chance because teams will likely panic if they don't excel immediately and decide to go all in for a guy in the top 10. We haven't seen Corral take a live snap in a regular season game under the guidance of a competent NFL coaching staff and large number of the fans on this board have already written him off.

I'm not a big fan of Carr. I don't have a dislike for him either. I'm sort of indifferent exactly. But, I think it's pretty evident that he's better than any QB we've had since Cam's last healthy season (2017). We probably would have won our division by a couple of games last year if Carr had put up the numbers he had in Las Vegas last season. (24 TD, 14 TDs, 3,522yds and passer rating of 86.3). If we somehow ended up signing him, I wouldn't be thrilled...but I wouldn't jump off of a cliff either. He'd immediately be the best QB in our putrid division. Under the guidance of Reich, McCown, and whoever we hire at OC I think we'd be the odds on favorite to win our division in 2023, which would guarantee us a home playoff game.

That would be a really dumb move on our part.

Based on salary the 4 major pieces would be (QB, LT , CB , Pass rusher...usually DE, but Aaron Donald would be an exception at DT). Those are the highest paid positions because they are the hardest to fill. When I referred to pieces I was referring to our team across the board in terms of the depth chart. If you had an all-pro at each position of those positions you won't make the playoffs if the rest of the team is trash. Our team is looking good on the O-line. We should be even better if we resign Bozeman at Center. RB: Freeman and Hubbard played well last season. That tandem could be even more effective in 2023 with Frank Reich overseeing things. WR: DJ belongs in the NFL. He's a solid two at worst. Possibly even a #1 in the right offense. Outside of him how many of our WR's could have started on another team in the NFL and ben a true offensive threat in 2022? TE: 42 receptions combined for our 3 TE's on the roster and 3 TD's (all from Tremble) Our D-line is a problem. Outside of Burns (12.5 sacks), we don't have much in terms of the pass rush. Do you know who finished 2nd in sacks in 2022? Frankie Luvu (7 sacks). The next highest d-lineman in terms of sacks was Marquis Haynes (5). Gross-Matos had 2.5. For all of the talk of Derrick Brown improving (which he did) he finished the season with the same number of sacks as Jeremy Chinn...(1 sack). We could use an interior lineman to collapse the pocket and/or a beast to come from the LE spot. LB: Luvu was a pleasant surprise last year (111 tackles, 7 sacks). Shaq led the team in tackles (135). He's steady and provides some veteran leadership. But he's not an elite player. He had 0.5 sacks and no INT's. No other LB on our roster had 50 tackles. CB/S: JC led the team with 3 INTS despite missing 3 games. Donte finished in a tie with CJ Henderson (17 games) for second on the team with (2) despite missing the last 8 games of the season. We had 3 others players with one INT each (Luvu, Brown, and Roy). Our team had 10 INT's for the season. Two of our defensive tackles had more INTs than Safeties, who had NONE in 2022. --- We need to use those extra picks and put some playmakers at Safety, LB, WR, and the D-line. We could honestly use another CB. We saw how bad we looked without JC and Donte out there down the stretch.

I would like to see what Corral under Frank Reich's tutelage in our new offense. I don't believe any QB was going to flourish under Matt Rhule's leadership. Bridgewater is never gong to be great, but he played better in Denver in 2021 season as starter than he did in his 2020 season in Carolina. He had a career high in TD passes and the 2nd highest QB rating of his career with the Broncos in 2021. Mayfield completion percentage and QB rating improved when he joined the Rams in the middle of the 2022 season. I think even their most avid haters will agree their tenure in Carolina would have gone much better under a better coaching staff. Coaching makes a huge difference when it comes to QB play. The difference between 2021 Trevor Lawrence and 2022 Trevor Lawrence is largely attributable to one thing: the change in coaching from Urban Meyer to Doug Pederson. I don't think Corral is as bad as he looked in preseason. I've seen BAMA fans make post about how they were glad to see him leave Ole Miss because the defense had a hard time playing against him. Chris Simms thought he was the best QB in last year's class. I want to see how he does in a Frank Reich offense.

Yes. A lot of us feel this way. If we drafted a QB at #9 and he succeeds we'll all be happy. I think the top 4 (Young, Stroud, Levis , and Richardson) could all do well in Carolina with Reich as our new HC. The man just seems to understand offensive football. I feel he'd help each of them maximize their potential and at worst make them serviceable QB's. We'd still have the following picks: * Our own 2nd rounder. * San Francisco's second-rounder * San Francisco's third-rounder * Their own fourth-rounder * San Francisco's fourth-rounder * Our own fifth-rounder We could use those picks to really build up our roster to improve the rookie's chances of succeeding immediately. If the rookie bombed, which you really won't know the 2nd or 3rd year, you'd still have a better team...and all of the your 2024 draft picks to try again if necessary. You could afford to move up in 2024 if the right guy was there because most of the major pieces needed to compete would be in place. My problem with the "move up" philosophy is the belief that every draft has a franchise QB in the top 5. If Mayfield, Darnold, Mariotta, Rosen were the top 4 prospects this year there are people on this forum who would insist we needed to swap # 1 picks with Houston or Chicago and give several years of high draft picks to grab one of them. That is too risky unless you already have a team that is only a QB away from making a SB run. I don't see a QB in this draft worth that type of gamble.

Usually, when you see proposals like this the teams try to equalize the deal in terms of the point value for draft choices. The team that moves up tends to get a couple of lower selections to balance things out. We don't appear to be getting anything in this deal besides the #1 draft choice. We're exchanging first round picks with the Chicago and giving then 4 other selections. I'd have to pass on this one unless all of the pieces were in place except for a franchise QB.

I don't buy into the Justin Field hype. He makes big plays with his legs. That's about it. He isn't a great passer and gets hurt too much. The latter is really bad for a QB that is more dangerous with his legs than his ability to throw from the pocket. I'd be hesitant to give up anything for him unless it was 3rd round pick or lower. I will say that he's had the misfortune of playing for a bad franchise in terms of QB play and offensive coaching. Our team is better in terms of depth which would help him. A coach like Frank Reich would surely make him better .But I don't think adding him makes us a championship contender overnight. He'd need a couple of years to really learn how to play within the pocket use his legs as a 2nd, not 1st, option.

KC traded to move up and get Mahomes at #10, but they were a playoff team before Patrick arrived with Alex Smith as QB. They could afford to part with the drafts because: a) they didn't have to move all the way up to #1 or #2 which would have been a lot more expensive. b) they were already a playoff team without him as previously stated. Mahomes had the luxury of sitting on the bench his rookie year. The Bengals didn't have to move up to get Burrow. They had the #1 pick in 2020. They were also able to get Tee Higgins in round 2 the same year. The next season they added Jamar Chase in the 1st round. They may have the best 1-2 punch in terms of young WR's (under 25) in the NFL. They wouldn't have been able to do that if they had traded up from a lower number spot in the top 10 to get Burrow and parted with next year's # 1 as a result. If the team is solid, I'm all for moving up and getting your guy (like KC). When you have holes that could be filled with those high draft choice, keep adding talent and depth to roster so any QB who comes along (trade, draft, or FA) has the tools on the roster to succeed.

The Bust potential is just as high (possibly higher) for CJ Stroud. Ohio State has never has a QB from their school even make a Pro Bowl in almost 70 years. Yet, a lot of people are so enamored with him that they believe we should give away multiple high draft picks in multiple years to move up to the #1 or #2 spot in the draft.

I was starting to think that Payton was heading back to the Fox studio for 2023. Apparently he isn't intimidated at the prospect of facing Mahomes and Herbert twice a year. If he can revive Russell Wilson's passing game then things are gonna be real competitive in the AFC West for the rest of the decade.

I agree with everything you said. However, we are "win now" team in terms of the NFC South. Our division is terrible! Suppose Brady moves on (and it appears that he will). Tampa Bay could be one of the worst teams in the NFL if they don't find a QB. No one on this board thinks the Saints or Falcons are head and shoulders above us in terms of depth or in QB play. Carolina could very well take the division with 8-10 wins just by acquiring a competent (not even great) quarterback. The NFC division champs finished with an 8-9 record (with Tom Brady behind center). We would have had the same record if not for the debacle in Atlanta with DJ's helmet. And, if we had bothered to double Mike Evans we very well could have hosted a playoff game at 9-8 against the Cowboys.

A guy on YouTube pointed this out last year after the Rams won the SB. I didn't list everything, but these are the 4 things that jumped out on his video. 2020 season A team (Tampa Bay) acquired the biggest QB on the market: Tom Brady Same team acquired a talented/controversial WR during the season: Antonio Brown Same team happened to have SB at the home stadium: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Same team did not have home field advantage but advanced to SB to win it all. 2021 season A team (Los Angelas) acquired the biggest QB on the market: Matt Stafford Same team acquired a talented/controversial WR during the season: OBJ Same team happened to have SB at the home stadium: SoFi Stadium in LA area. Same team did not have home field advantage but advanced to SB to win it all. ---- Coincidence or something else

While I agree with you right now, I do think DJ game woud improve significantly if he had top 5 (or even top 10) throwing to him. He's played with arguably the worst QB room in the NFL for half a decade. He didn't even get a chance to play with Cam in his prime.

Don't forget about Tee Higgins. He's been balling too.

The Bengals O-line just looks overmatched. Compare the time Mahomes has to throw to the time that Burrow has.

Andy Reid vs His old team "Philly"

This is why I wasn't upset that Tepper opted to pivot away from Steve Wilks. I would have supported him if he had got the job. I can't see Wilks taking over as HC and improving the offense to the point where we could go toe to toe with the great offenses in the NFL. We've been in the league 28 seasons and still haven't posted back to back winning seasons. The one thing we've lacked during that period was an offensive minded HC. I much more confidence in Reich to acquire/develop a productive QB(which is what this team desperately needs) than Wilks.

Good post. I think the main problems is with how the "pundits" evaluate QB's. We assume someone is a first rounder because the evaluation people say they are. They may not really have 1st round talent. Remember how Mel Kiper Jr was all in on Jimmy Clauson being a 1st round pick? Back in 1978 Joe Montana was viewed as a 3rd round talent. Tony Romo and Kurt Warner weren't even drafted which means the pundits didn't think they were worth drafting. How did the above scenarios turn out. In reality, some QB's are overrated draft prospects, and some QB's are underrated prospects.

Great post. I was goimg to post some thoughts on this topic. You're thoughts mirror mine so closely that I don't need to do so now. So, I'll just add to what you said. Hurts (2nd round) is in a good situation right now and is showing the world what he can do. As you pointed out, he wouldn't be a NFL MVP candidate playing for Matt Rhule and the O-line we had during his first 2 years as head coach. Players need to be put in positions to maximize their talents and help them reach their potential. Look at Trevor Lawrence (1st round). He didn't look like a generational QB last year. Part of the that was due to being a rookie and having to adapt to the speed of the game. But his struggles last year were largely due to the poor coaching of Urban Meyer. Now he's got two full seasons under his belt; A good HC; and the team is steadily adding pieces for him to flourish. He looks like he's really poised to break out in his 3rd year. Brock Purdy: (6th round pick). So far he's played lights out. Why? Great coaching staff and arguably the most talented team in the league man per man. He's in a situation where he can thrive. He wouldn't have had type of success in Carolina he played here in 2022 (or any other season under Matt Rhule) Geno Smith: A won't go too long on this. But he looked like a legit starter in the league in 2022. Once again you have a guy who is playing for a good coach. He had some competent pieces in place prior to the season; and his GM had the best draft class of the year. Geno thriving due to his effort and playing in a good situation/envirionment. It's great if you can get a super talented/elite prospect like Trevor at the top of the draft. But, if you can't you nab one of those early, teams can find solid starters after the first round if the team is well constructed and is able to put the player in a good situation to start their career.

I believe "any QB" in the NFL would enjoy playing with an offensive guru like Sean Payton. I really can't blame Russell for wanting him to come to Denver. Payton is one of the guys in the league who could probably revive Wilson's career and make everyone forget about his nightmarish 2022 campaign.

Payton may not be interested in any of those jobs. He'll never spend the money that he's already earned. Plus he's got a cushy job as an analyst at Fox. He can afford to sit out another year (or two) if he wants. After that he can still sign with the Panthers (or Falcons, or Bucs for that matter) and still face the Saints twice per year. You're right about our needs but those can be filled via FA. Payton's offensive mind is respected by the players in the NFL. I'm sure there are veteran WR's and TE's that would strongly consider coming here if he took over the team in 2023. His reputation may be able to lure some defensive players as well. A brilliant offensive coach can make life a lot easier for those who play on the other side of the ball.

Normally you wouldn't. But as someone pointed out, the Saints would hate to see him sit out until their rights to his services expire and they get no compensation from him. If Payton goes to the Panthers in the 2023, the draft choice(s) they'd receive would offset to some degree his decision to coach a division rival. And let's be honest. The Saints need a QB. A first rounder in 2023 or 2024, or a package of lower picks could be used to acquire a young QB to lead the team in the foreseeable future.