Icege

Pls lawd, we have paid our penance with Sam Darnold. Bless us with Ikem Ekwonu so that we may smite the Aints.

...I'll be damned.

After After thinking about it, and because I've been busy af for the last cpl of months without any relief in sight until June, a Willis draft would basically be the same but with Obinna Eze (OT, TCU) in the 6th and Willis at #6 ofc.

The one that snitches on the rest of the owners first. :3

Lives in Cali during the offseason. Bought a place and renovated it 4yrs ago. I know most folks won't even bother clicking the video, BUT if you want to hear a funny conversation about Cam, click here. tldr; Lewan didn't like him because of the Tennessee game where Avery Williams ran up on him after dancing in the endzone, Sam literally glowed when speaking about him though and emphatically said that he was the best. Complimentary of him as a teammate, person, leader, etc. Says his energy is unmatchable. Absolutely nothing to say about Cam but good things, and spoke about how Cam is a normal dude that's dialed in and quiet while preparing. Mentioned learning how to avoid the "noise" while he was in New York and has done the same this season. Focused on learning McAdoo's system. Was asked about being nervous about a QB being taken at #6. First time Sam said he's had to answer those questions since he avoids the noise and folks in conversation don't bring it up, but whatever happens happens at #6. He understands that it's outside of his control but has enough confidence in himself to believe that if something happens that he could find a team. Impressed Lewan with his demeanor. Still rolls with a group of 6 or 7 best friends from his high school days that bust his balls and keep him grounded. Shared a story about how after the Rose Bowl he got his IDs taken away and they had nothing to do. Went an hour south back to his hometown and hung out with those aforementioned best friends where they had a few drinks and DM'd Snoop Dogg. No response to this day lmao

Had minutes 40 - 90 summarized, but Chrome killed my tab Nothing really crazy aside from how often he says "100%" as an affirmative. Sam's a big proponent for mental health awareness and was very complimentary of Dak's transparency with his own struggles. Talked about how interesting social media is in regards to mental health in that we're all flies on people's walls with it now. Believes that the pressure on QBs is deserved due to the money that the position commands. Ranked his top 5 USC QBs as 1) Carson Palmer, 2) Matt Leinart, 3) Mark Sanchez, 4) Matt Barkley, 5) Rodney Peete. Talked about the "seeing ghosts" games and was complimentary of Adam Gase. Said that the Patriots came after them with cover-0 even when they went with tempo, and that the Belichick tree is incredibly good at disguising their blitzes to the point where you end up sliding protection away from the guy that's actually coming. Mentioned the fun of talking to fans when they strategize (especially when they don't know things like somebody is nursing an injury being why they're not getting the ball more often), but also tunes them out once they get judgmental. Told the Jets they made the wrong call when they traded him before telling his agent to communicate with him anything going on since he was going off of social media to avoid the crosstalk. Complimentary of Joe Douglas and how he handled the trade process. Got about 20min left, so I'm going to go ahead and post this summary before Chrome eats poo again.

Sitting alone for 30min in a vendor call that they no showed gave me some empty space to fill But to be completely honest, it's been an enjoyable listen that's profoundly more fulfilling than arguing with clueless Steelers fans about the salary cap

Taylor Lewan has a podcast and Sam Darnold was his most recent guest: Kind of like with Rhule, regardless of how we feel about his job performance, Sam's a likable dude that might be chill to a fault... His story about getting his first scholarship offer and not understanding the importance gave me a good laugh. Summary (~40min in so far, will update with more bulletin points as I listen) Voluntarily oblivious to news stories about him Country music fan Garrett Bradbury and Pat Elflein training together surprised me a little bit since Bradbury replaced Elflein in Minnesota, but I came across a 2019 article afterwards that highlighted how Elflein had become a mentor to Bradbury. I still don't want Elflein anywhere near the starting lineup tho... :x Basketball was Sam's first love, grew up idolizing Kobe and watching the Lakers with his pops. Played baseball as well. Taylor Lewan put up similar combine numbers Was a WLB in a 3-4 while in HS and took over for 2 games at QB after the HS QB went down (nothing new to my fellow research fiends, but I didn't know that he was specifically a WLB at 190lbs trying to deal with kids pushing 300lbs!) Was originally recruited and offered a scholarship by the University of Utah to play QB after those 2 games his sophomore season Giants WR David Sills was originally one of the top QB recruits in Cali, having committed to USC in 7th grade while playing in WV Converted to QB full time his junior year, but before that was a LB/WR Tennessee + Pac12 + Big10 schools recruited him, including Harbaugh but he was a big USC fan growing up so he was committed to them Northwestern + Duke + Oregon had recruited him before going to a camp at USC where he threw for Sarkisian + worked out before getting offered that day Obligatory Chris Rock/Will Smith conversation to pass time Redshirted behind Cody Kessler and lost the QB competition to Max Brown (who he became pretty good friends with) before starting week 4. Was originally going to get a few redzone packages (including 3rd+4th & short) where he might have the opportunity to run the ball.

After free agent moves: 1. Ikem Ekwonu, LT, NC State 4. Donovan West, C, Arizona St 5. Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE, Maryland 5. Isaiah Thomas, DE, Oklahoma 6. Aqeel Glass, QB, Alabama A&M 7. Josh Ross, LB, Michigan Gotta brainstorm a Willis draft still

I STILL BELIEVE But now that the team has Bozeman and Elflein might not see the field should Christensen play LG, I'm all in on Ikem Ekwonu. Wouldn't mind Neal, Cross, nor Willis at #6 either

Lots of folks are still butthurt from pounding the table over Shaq's contract and claiming that Jermaine was going to allow the team to move on from it.

Breaking my sabbatical for the only QB I'm okay with at #6

Whatever the word would be, what's with the one-sided beef?

Out of curiosity, why do you hate her so much? On topic though: It's incredibly disappointing hearing that the Panthers were willing to throw away even more resources to not fix the QB situation.

Still gotta scout Penning, but I'm incredibly high on Ekwonu + Cross. Wouldn't mind Neal either.

What do you think of Pootie (Juwan Carter)? Might be an interesting day 3 or UDFA guy! While falling even more in love with Aqeel Glass as a prospect, I've gotten a chance to watch Carter and there's some intrigue there for me. Corral I love one day, hate the next. I can't figure him out. Part of me thinks he won't hold up against an NFL beating, but I also like the idea of putting him on a team with a good run game to utilize play action. He throws a super pretty ball too on slant routes. "Diet Mahomes" is a mind-blowing good analogy for Corral.

Minshew presents the best value overall imo in terms of what the team has resources wise and what other players will end up costing. Can we fast forward to next year's offseason?

I think that it is very much possible considering that they're going to have to substantiate the claims in court in order to have any chance, but you straight up said that it is fiction so the burden of proof is on you. Rather than asking you to provide evidence for it, I'm just asking you to explain your reasoning. I don't know the arrangement that Flores has with his attorney. What does it matter whether or not he pays them as retainers and/or they take a % of the settlement? It's literally how attorneys are paid. Also, the section of the lawsuit I quoted beings with "Among the other relief sought," which shows that they're seeking monetary compensation. What in the world is the point that you are trying to make here?

Why do you think that the $100k/game bribe allegations were fabricated? Attorneys get a cut of the settlement usually, yes, that's how they get paid. Disability attorneys take up to 50% of back owed payments when folks have been initially denied. Does that make them ambulance chasers?

Why do you think a check for $5M would make it go away when Flores turned down a bribe of $100k per loss?

Finally got to finish my armchair QB scouting. Aqeel Glass is still my favourite QB prospect in this draft in terms of overall value/upside, but if the team can trade down from #6 and pick up a 2nd rounder selection then pls go get Carson Strong.

Copy pasted from the lawsuit itself:

Matt Rhule: "Hear me out... we rebuild the line." Panthers fans: "The offensive line?" Matt Rhule: "The special teams line." Panthers fans: "We hate you so fuging much."