Mike2.0

Matt Corral is a decent prospect with upside. Ok, he’s not seen as a generational passer, but there’s talent there to work with. Maybe he can be our Dak Prescott? It would be nice to think we get a legitimate starting QB on a third round pay scale. Hopefully there is an open competition this off season and Corral can beat out Darnold for the starting job, or he can light a fire under Darnold’s backside to make him play better.

It really depends on who they take. For example, if Thibodeaux or Walker are available at six, then I could understand us drafting one of them to pair with Burns. I could even understand if we decide to select Gardner or Stingley to upgrade our secondary. They are all value picks sixth overall. Ok, there are potential franchise left tackles that could be on the board then, but there are also pro ball caliber talents from other positions too. The only time I’d be annoyed is if they reach for someone or trade up for a quarterback in this year’s class. But even then, I could understand their desire to get their guy, even though I wouldn’t necessarily be happy or agree with giving up assets for them.

Does Rhule legitimately have his support for five years or has he been given the dreaded vote of confidence? There have been many times across sports when owners / decision makers have backed their coach / manager, only for them to fire them a week later or in the off season. Now maybe Rhule does have his unwavering support through this rebuild. If that’s the case we’ve got our version of Gus Bradley with the Jaguars.

Jobs are on the line and it’s a quarterback driven game. Until you have that quarterback you aren’t going anywhere. We don’t have that quarterback. So I’m not surprised to hear that we are considering a quarterback at six even though the value isn’t there.

Garoppolo and Mayfield are both better quarterbacks than Darnold based on how they’ve performed in the league so far in their careers. The only way you could possibly argue they are virtually the same, or that Darnold can do as much as them (if not more), is if Darnold is given the same caliber of supporting cast and coaching. At that point, maybe he could utilise the potential that saw him drafted third overall by the Jets, but based off his decision making that would be a big maybe. As for us not going after Garoppolo or Mayfield, I can understand that because we don’t feel they are the caliber of quarterback to elevate us simply by walking into the building. For example, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning etc, can take a team to the next level simply by being there. So it kinda makes sense for us to be looking for better if we have aspirations to compete for the play offs and championships. It also makes sense for us to acquire a cost effective option on the rookie pay scale rather than pay excessive amounts to quarterbacks we feel are average.

We’ve gone 5-11 and 5-12, we could always win less games… The Browns are a perfect example of ineptitude and the next guy up not doing better. They replaced Crennel with Mangini, Mangini with Shurmur, Shurmur with Chudzinski, then Pettine with Jackson. What about the Buccaneers? Four failed attempts to replace Gruden, then they hit on Arians and luckily Brady came to town. Maybe Rhule is the floor and we won’t get worse, but I wouldn’t bet against it if we make another poor hire influenced by the owner.

Personally I’m not convinced by this year’s draft class, and I’m unsure if trading for Jimmy G/Mayfield is the answer. I am not against either of these scenarios, but I feel we are better off waiting for next year’s class if we are going to draft someone or trading for a legitimate difference maker. For me, I’d look having a QB competition between Darnold, Cam, and whoever else. Let the best man win the job.

Offer an incentivised deal. Let him compete with Darnold and whoever else we have in the quarterback room, then start whoever earns it in preseason. If we aren’t drafting a rookie to start, or trading for a QB to start, then we might as well have a QB competition with the best options we can muster.

Depends on who we hire. Our owner and front office thought Rhule was a good idea. I’ll be honest. I’m not convinced I have a great deal of faith in them making a better decision second time round. We could get someone equally inept or worse!

It depends on if that production translates to wins or whether it’s garbage time. For example, Blake Bortles threw for nearly 4,500 yards and 35 TDS, but they only won five games and most of his production came in garbage time. The main thing we need is a quarterback that can lead us to a winning record. Some QBs that achieve that are more prolific than others. It would be nice to have a Pat Mahomes, but if it’s more 4k and 20 TDs so be it.

I’d rather have Baker Mayfield than Sam Darnold or Cam Newton, but I’d honestly prefer for us to look elsewhere for our next starting quarterback. I guess at this point beggars can’t be choosers since our options aren’t great.

I suspect we won't be able to shield any rookie quarterback we draft with how Cam Newton and Sam Darnold played last season. Newton has looked shot as a passer the last two seasons, and Darnold has been a bust. How can we shield a rookie quarterback with them under center? Rhule is arguably in an improve or get fired season, so if things go south he’ll be motivated to make a quarterback change because his job is on the line. Besides, a lot of our fan base will be calling for a change at quarterback if Darnold or Cam play poorly. The only way I can see us being able to shield a rookie quarterback is if we make a deal with the 49ers for Garoppolo and he stays healthy and his production replicates his 2019 and 2021 seasons. At that point we can bring the rookie along slowly, but even in that scenario, if Garoppolo struggles and/or gets hurt, the rookie will get thrown in. So, if we are going to take a first round quarterback, why not just role with them and see what happens? Best case scenario, they hit the ground running and show enough to be our future franchise quarterback. Worst case scenario, they struggle and we consider our options next season.

Hasn’t Brady recently purchased a mansion in or near Miami? I’m sure I remember reading something about it before he ended his retirement. There was even a rumour that he was tipped to gain a minority ownership stake with the Dolphins in his post playing career. Granted there’s no reason why the Buccaneers would trade him, but I guess stranger things have happened.

The colts getting Ryan for a third round pick was likely due to a combination of factors. For example, his contract, age and recent production would likely have been a big factor. There’s also the possibility that they sold low as a thank you for the years of service, especially after they pursued Watson. Quite why we paid as much as we did for Darnold is still a mystery. The picks this year should always have been provisional picks based on appearances and production.

Bet Arthur Smith is having a swell time! Come work with Matt Ryan. “Ok” Hey Arthur, we are going for Deshaun Watson. “Hell yeah!” Sorry Arthur, we’ve not got him. “I guess we’ve still got Matt Ryan” Oh btw, we hate to break it to you but we are trading Ryan to the Colts. “FFS”

The Buccaneers should win the division, but after that it’s a toss up who finishes second. An argument could be made for any of the teams… Saints are still a team with good players and with Winston they were on track to make the play offs; however, no Payton this season, so will his replacement do as well? I’m not sure. Falcons would be heavily reliant upon Matt Ryan having a big year and their defense coming together. Problem is, outside of Kyle Pitts, who is left for Ryan to throw to? No one really. When it comes to us we’ve got our own downside, well, two major ones. First, no clear cut starting quarterback. Second, our lacklustre head coach. We can’t do anything about the latter right now, but if we can fix the quarterback spot then a second place finish is possible.

In all honesty I’m glad about this trade on two fronts. First, I don’t think I could support the team who makes a player with those accusations the face of the franchise. Second, he’s staying out of the NFC and division, which potentially makes our route forwards easier if we can find our next franchise quarterback. The AFC certainly has a great bunch of young quarterbacks. It will make certain team’s prospects of qualifying for the play offs tougher, and it will make back to back visits a big achievement.

I don’t think I could support the team if we acquired Watson. I guess it’s possible that every accusation is false and he could be proven not guilty. However, there would always be that doubt over whether he did or didn’t do what he was accused over with that many accusations, and on top of that, could be trusted going forwards. Personally I’d have a hard time with us acquiring Watson. Much like had we signed Big Ben this off season to a short term deal. I’d rather us look elsewhere for our QB.

To be fair, the 49ers were 20-10 up going into the fourth quarter against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, then proceeded to concede 21 points. Not the first time a team with Kyle Shanahan calling the plays has choked in the fourth quarter in a Super Bowl. That said, Jimmy G is not the answer for our quarterback position unless he’s being used as a bridge while we develop the long term answer to the quarterback position.

Reportedly Robert F Smith, the country’s richest black billionaire, is not interested in buying the Broncos. However, the NFL are apparently begging him to buy the team. It would be big for the league if they could persuade him or another rich black person to buy the team. Problem is, it comes down to interest and ability to purchase an NFL team. If rich minority persons do not want to buy one, or they are priced out (eg Broncos are reportedly worth 4 billion), then it won’t happen unless the league amends ownership rules.

Good news for CJ Beathard. Pederson does his best work with backups!

I wasn’t aware of it until today, but it could be the case that his rap sheet as a player could be an issue. The coaches from the Rams/Packers haven’t had legal issues. Maybe that could be playing a role in it?

Flores was given a quarterback to work with and the quarterback didn’t develop as hoped. There’s a number of reasons for that: the player; their OL being one of the worst in the league; and their offensive staff and scheme. The latter of which is under Flores’ direct control and in two years he failed Tua. Last summer Flores had the chance to hire a new coordinator to improve the offense and failed to do so, he picked two average candidates and couldn’t pick between them. Sorry that screams poor leadership. For a head coach to not support the quarterback he has is not really what you want from a head coach. I’m all for speaking up and standing your ground, but when you lose that battle you can do two things: get with the program or resign. Flores apparently chose option three which was to do neither and instead undermine and not support his quarterback during their two seasons together. That’s the last thing any team needs from their head coach. Whatever your personal feelings towards Tua are, he has shown flashes of ability. What he needs is an improved OL and a coaching staff that supports him and puts him in a position to succeed. Flores didn’t do that, and if their next head coach does, I can see Tua doing a fair job. Not elite, but certainly middle of the pack to top half.

That's no excuse for his reportedly strained relationship with Tua, repeatedly criticising him, and basically being negative about him. Whether Flores wanted Herbert or not, he should have had his quarterback's back and not tried to burry him. If Flores felt that strongly that he was not being listened to when they selected Tua over Herbert and did not believe in Tua - resign. Don't stick around and whine, bitch, and try to undermine the players.

The Dolphins managed to field a good defense under his tenure, but their offense was below average and there was little sign that they knew how to develop a quarterback. Heck, they even tried to reinvent the wheel by hiring co-offensive coordinators. The only way Flores works out as a head coach is if he found a strong offensive coordinator, which is something he did not do with the Dolphins, and his indecision left them having co-offensive coordinators. Personally I'd look elsewhere for a head coach because of Flores' failures on the offensive side.