Proudiddy

No doubt, the front office absolutely has an incredible grasp of market value. By aggressive, I'm referring to the willingness to seek out upgrades, not outbid people for them.

That's incredible. I'm not subscribed and had no idea about that piece. My take was strictly off watching his pressers, interviews, the accounts given from Tepper, and obviously the amazing results we've been getting ina record number of trades completed lol. But, those characteristics are exactly what I see in him, and it has proven to be one of the greatest assets we could ever hope for in our front office (talent evaluation isn't too shabby either ).

I was gonna post a thread yesterday about something related to the gist of this blurb with the main point being, the reason we're able to do all of these deals now is because our organization has branched out, expanded our talent pool in the front office by acquiring talent evaluators with far-reaching connections throughout the league, and now have the ears and respect of people who matter. Fitt is the straw that stirs the drink, who happens to be a mad genius who is constantly looking for the next move to upgrade the roster and when the value is right, he is more than ready to pull the trigger. He is truly an insanely bright, creative, and aggressive GM. But, I think what is equally important is, those connections I mentioned, as well as Fitt's disarming, and charming nature as an everyman with incredible people skills. In regards to the connections, we have so many guys now that we have brought in who have experience and connections that are invaluable. Just as in this case, Stewart had the relationship with Ziegler - and that matters. When we traded for Darnold, Fitt and Rhule already had a good dialogue and relationship with Douglas there, and it laid the foundation for that trade. And even when there isn't an obvious existing connection, that's where Fitt's pesonality, due diligence, and persistence comes in, such as with acquiring CJ Henderson. And in all of his dealings, I get the feeling that he earns the respect from other front offices in how he approaches them and negotiates with them, which lays down the ground work for a future business relationship. It's obvious that in the past, our organization was so closed off from the rest of the league and were seemingly so nepotistic and incestuous in many ways... we didn't recruit from the outside, we kept everything in-house, and we didn't allow for much dialogue or relationship building with other teams. I always got the feeling that we weren't very respected or even well-liked outside of a very few. When other organizations respect you, the whole dynamic changes - when you call, they listen. When you have a much larger network of professional connections, you're well-regarded, and you're good at your job, it allows you to make a call and get a former DPOY for a 6th round pick before other teams really even have a chance to make a competitive offer. These things would never happen under Hurney or Gettleman. Both were extremely flawed in their own ways, and I think their biggest common denominator was that they lacked good communication skills, which in turn hurt their professional relationships around the league, which in turn, closed doors off before they even had a chance to open. I keep thinking back to an interview during one of the preseason games and Fitt told the story of how the trade for Sam came about, and he mentioned the conversations and checking-in periodically with Douglas in NY. Smitty then made a crack at NY and how no one there has any idea of what they're doing, and Fitt immediately defended Douglas in a very disarming kind of way. That has always stood out to me. In observing that and how Tepper said Fitt came in and kind of busted his balls in a last minute interview for a job in which he hadn't even previously been considered a day or two before, it is clear that Fitt's interpersonal skills and ability to win over people are an asset that can't be quantified, but they are absolutely the most valuable assets a front office can have. Add in the connections from around the league we now also have from football guys in the front office like Sulaiman, Stewart, and Morgan, and it is the perfect recipe for the supreme talent acquisition capabilities that we're seeing now. What a time to be alive.

This. Rhule alluded to it multiple times in the presser yesterday that they want to become more and more positionless. Fitt did also say that this move was just about the opportunity to get a great player and person and they would figure out fit as they go... he did name off all the corners and said they could play multiple positions and areas in the field and mentioned safety as well. Interestingly enough, only 3 corners have won the DPOY in the NFL since 1990. It was Rod Woodson, Deion, Charles Woodson, and Stephon Gilmore. I found that list extremely intriguing because both Woodsons ended up playing a lot of safety by the end of their careers.

He seems like an upstanding guy with a different set of values from all I've read. I think his motivations are different from most pro athletes and he seems to take great pride in being from here... the fact that it was rumored he was looking for more money but agreed to play out this year with the hope/intention to extend down the line makes me think he definitely wants to be here long-term because it's home.

Love it.

He also laughed with the reporters when one asked if he knew if any of his neighbors were LTs. This after Fitt said part of the familiarity he had with Gilmore was because he is one of his neighbors lol. Fitt laughed at the question and then even said he didn't know, but he definitely was going to go door to door and find out in Halloween. It was hilarious because he was acknowledging that LT is a huge problem, and all I could think of was Cameron Erving squirming as he watched this somewhere.

Damn straight, bro. It feels so good to finally be one of those teams that are actually in the mix on everything. We are wheeling and dealing and doing everything in our power to put ourselves in a position to get better and to upgrade where needed. Gone are the days of sitting on the outside and looking in, while all the other teams are upgrading and pulling in all the big names (bog names who still have tremendous value by the way). Gilmore literally was rumored to be released this morning and Fitt jumped on the phone and struck a deal within hours. Man, this feels so good... it's never been like this before, but man, is it awesome!

Woooooow, Fitt is ridiculous!!!

Nor would I want it to... but honestly, considering he's coming off this injury, he's 31, and no team really knows what they're getting until they get him in the building, I honestly have no idea what team would pay him anywhere near that amount.

Yeah he is most likely a lock for TB, but it'll be interesting bc if he really wants 15M a year, that ain't gonna happen there lol.

I know Snow developed a reputation for running zone last season, but that was more out of necessity because of our personnel at the time. Drafting Horn and Taylor, paired with Donte, plus looking st our scheme this year, we are actually running a ton more man. I dont have any stats on it, but just from observing the games, I would venture to say we are primarily running man now, and if not, it's gotta be real close. Gilmore would be an incredible get, but I have a feeling he's gonna end up in Tampa, too. I really hope we try though.

I dont out a lot of stock in PFF, but just as I suggested after the loss, Erving and Miller have to go, and it just so happens they both graded out as our worst OLinemen. I think, just as with Whitehead last year, Rhule was giving them the chance to secure the job with the their play. They haven't, and now it's time to give the younger guys a chance, just as he did with Carter last season. I think we definitely see at least 1 of them benched this week and possibly both. There might be some early growing pains, but it can only go up from here.

Luckily for us, I don't think most teams have as much versatility offensively as the Cowgirls do. Despite our slight size at various spots in the front 7, I'm not overly worried about it. I do expect to see more powers, traps, etc. though.

Yeah, we have to bring him in. Period. From what I've watched of him over the last few years, he looks plenty fast and athletic still, so I can see them just moving on bc of him not being a Quinn guy, the contract, etc. It's not because of his physical capabilities.

I kept noticing him during the game, but then looked when this thread popped up and saw he only had 1 tackle.

He's subject to waivers?

Welcome to Carolina, Jaylon.

Wow. Was excited about this pickup when we got him.... he clearly sucks or our staff does at evaluating OL.

While I mostly agree, it was a perfect storm of many different variables that allowed that to happen yesterday too. It may be a testament to how good Dallas is, again, but, the was by far the worst tackling we had through 4 weeks. We were able to contain the run the first 3 weeks, in large part, because guys were taking the runner down on first contact, and if they didn't, they held up the runner long enough for the calvary to come clean him up. None of that was happening yesterday... The first 3 weeks we also were making contact either behind the LOS or within the first 4 yards... that wasn't happening yesterday either. To cite an old Foxism - we picked a bad day to have a bad day.

Yikes

You don't have to be any major to determine that's a very different statement than the one you purported I said. But, I make rash decisions and opinions. Ok.

Was just watching their MTS podcast and they still seemed really impressed with Darnold and said Darnold to DJ is quickly becoming one of the best QB/WR duos in the league. They said "the Panthers will be fine," that we're not going away anytime soon, and they'll be talking about us all season. They really harped on that 3rd quarter. Overall, they seemed less down on us as a result of the game and more impressed with just how good Dallas is. They mentioned how they've featured our defense on their podcast multiple times and that we are for real - fast and aggressive, but Dallas was just that physical. (No mention of how getting turnovers negated and being allowed to hold every play enables you to be more physical, but who's counting?) Said Dallas attacked us intelligently, because anytime you face a really fast but slighter up front defense, you run into it. Bucky said they ran into the speed and thats how you negate it... so there's that. Anyway, two guys with pro scouting experience whose football opinions I greatly value, still believe in us.

Reddick had a stinger, said he should be good to go for Philly.

He's definitely opening the door...